Halloween Fruit and Cheese Board
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Assemble this cute Halloween-inspired fruit and cheese board with a variety of snacks and a few simple accessories. Share it as an appetizer at the neighborhood party or use it as an easy grazing dinner before the kids scoot off to trick or treat!
An easy but eye-catching board.
Before we had kids, my husband and I would eat a cheese board for dinner once a week or so. Like so many small traditions, that casually fell away once the baby schedules started to rule supreme. Now that those babies are a bit older, though — nine and almost four — it finally occurred to us that we could do cheese board family dinners. And thank goodness — they actually love it! I guess it isn’t a huge surprise. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a smorgasbord of cheese, crackers, and fruit for a meal?
This board is super fun to throw together and extra exciting as a run-up to Halloween fun. Some creative cutting, candy eyeballs, and a few spooky accessories are all it takes to create the theme. While I thought the bat-shaped cantaloupe with mini chocolate chip eyes was the highlight, my kids’ favorite item was actually the one-eyed kiwi slices. Go figure! We demolished this for a laid-back Sunday supper, and it would be equally fun for sharing at a Halloween block party or as a pre-trick-or-treat bite.
What’s on this Platter
- One-eyed kiwi slices. For something so simple, this sure made my kids laugh. Just peel green kiwi fruit, cut into thin slices, and put a single candy eyeball on the top few. The sweetest one-eyed monsters!
- Cantaloupe bats. This was my personal favorite item. My best tip for this is not to cut the cantaloupe in the traditional way, which is say quartered to scoop out the seeds. Instead try to cut a long thin slice just outside of the middle section with seeds, so you have the most uninterrupted surface area to work with. I used a miniature cookie cutter I found at JoAnn Fabrics but found a similar set on Amazon here. Miniature chocolate chip “eyes” are the cutest finishing touch.
- Fresh blackberries. It’s nice to put berries or any other especially juicy component of a cheese board in a small bowl, just to prevent them from getting smashed or leaking out onto other items.
- Pretzel bites and whole-grain mustard for dipping. These are really popular right now; I can typically find them at Whole Foods, Target, and my big box grocer, Giant. Sprinkle lightly with water and the included salt packet then warm for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F and serve.
- Wide-mouthed cucumber bites. Grab an English cucumber, which has thin, easy-to-eat skin. Cut thin slices, then use any small round item to cut out the middle portion. Just as for these ghost taco hand pies, I used the lid of a Crayola marker! It’s like those poor cucumbers just saw a ghost. 🙂 Candy eye duos on top complete the look.
- Orange bell pepper. Thinly-sliced for easy snacking.
- Dried apricots. Dried or fresh mandarin oranges would be a good swap for these, too.
- Assortment of cheese: this board includes a blueberry-vanilla coated goat cheese log, my favorite Syrah-edged Toscano from Trader Joe’s, and simple cheddar cheese cubes.
- Assortment of crackers: this board includes simple Ritz crackers and these salty almond date crackers my husband and I absolutely loved. If we didn’t have the pretzel bites I’d have included some baguette slices or a third cracker.
More Ideas
Of course the fun is in throwing this together with your favorites or what you have on hand. Other ideas include:
- Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or peeled mandarin oranges.
- Olive tapenade or another favorite dip to spread on crackers or bread.
- Honey for drizzling over bread and cheese. Be sure to add a honey stick!
- Grapes. Especially since these can be purple, green, or black to go with the color scheme.
- Mini bell peppers. I’ve seen cute boards with mini sweet peppers decorated with edible marker to look like ghost faces.
- Pretzel sticks and string cheese put together to look like broomsticks.
- Pepperoni, salami, or prosciutto for a meat component.
Related Recipes
Looking for more Halloween recipe inspiration? Try these recipes next, or browse my full collection of spooky eats here.
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Dip
- Ghoulish Black Bean Dip
- Ghost Mini Taco Hand Pies
- Spooky Charcuterie
- Easy Sliced Caramel Apples Board
If you try any of these Halloween fruit and cheese board ideas, don’t forget to rate it and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.
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Halloween Fruit and Cheese Board
Ingredients
- 2-3 crackers and breads
- 2-3 cheeses aim for a variety of mild and tangy, soft and hard, etc.
- 1 English cucumber
- 1 cantaloupe
- 2-3 green kiwi fruits
- 1/2 orange bell pepper
- 1 cup blackberries
- pretzel bites optional mustard for dipping
- candy eyes, mini chocolate chips, fake spiders, vampire teeth, or other small Halloween decorations for fun!
Instructions
- Set all your items out on the counter so you can quickly size up what you have. Prep the individual ingredients: slice the cucumber, cantaloupe, kiwi, and pepper, etc. (For this board, I cut a "mouth" out of each cucumber slice with the lid of a marker, and cut large sheets of cantaloupe into small bat shapes with a mini Halloween cookie cutter.)
- Begin by placing the berries, mustard if using, and any other dips or wet ingredients in small bowls. Position those in the middle of a large serving board.
- Grab one ingredient at a time and start to fill in small sections of the board. For visual appeal, try to place items with contrasting colors next to each other, and for instance, if you have two green items, try to place them more or less on opposite sides of the board. Keep adding items and working your way out to the edges until the board is full.
- Add fun decorative touches, like candy eyeballs, mini chocolate chip "monster eyes" or "mouths," and possibly small plastic spiders, vampire teeth, etc. (As long as you're serving kids old enough to distinguish the food from the decoration, of course!)
- Add a small knife or serving fork for each cheese, and small spoons for dips or berries as needed. Enjoy!
Notes
- Dip Ideas: Some of our favorite dips to include on a cheese board include olive tapenade, blender salsa (with chips of course), savory pumpkin hummus, and sun-dried tomato white bean dip.
