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–+ servings
A cheese ball colored with paprika and shaped into a pumpkin with a celery stem.
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Halloween Charcuterie Board (A Pumpkin-Themed CharBOOterie Board)

A pumpkin-themed charcuterie board your ghosts and goblins will adore.
Prep Time45 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 1 entire board
Calories: 2113kcal

Equipment

  • plastic wrap
  • butcher's string

Ingredients

  • ½ cup pitted black olives
  • 7 medium mandarin oranges
  • 1 medium celery stalk
  • 1 head green leaf lettuce
  • 2 medium orange bell peppers
  • 10 oz. prepared hummus (homemade or store bought)
  • 2 large carrots
  • 8 oz. cheese ball
  • 1½ tbsp. ground paprika
  • 4 slices colby-jack cheese
  • whole-grain crackers (optional)

Instructions

  • Pour the 1 ½ tablespoons of paprika in a shallow bowl or plate and roll your cheese ball around until it is completely covered.
    A cheese ball fully covered in ground paprika. Overhead focus.
  • Loosely wrap the cheese ball in plastic wrap.
    A cheese ball wrapped in plastic wrap. A roll of twine sits next to it. Overhead focus.
  • Next, cut three 12-inch pieces of butcher’s string. Lay the strings over each other on a flat surface so they intersect in the center, forming a star-like shape.
    Twine laid out on a wood surface for shaping a pumpkin cheese ball.
  • Place the cheese ball directly over the center. Gently lift each string and bring it over the top of the cheese ball, tying a snug knot so the string leaves a slight indentation in the sides of the cheese ball. This will create ridges resembling a pumpkin. Place the cheese ball in the fridge to chill while preparing the other ingredients, at least 30 minutes.
    Wash and dry the green leaf lettuce, and set it aside to dry thoroughly.
    Twine tied around a cheeseball to form it into a pumpkin.
  • Peel the carrot. Make two shallow, parallel lengthwise cuts about ¼ inch deep.
    Cuts in a carrot to shape it into a pumpkin when sliced.
  • Next to each cut, make an angled lengthwise cut to carve out a small triangle.
    Slivers of carrot removed so you get pumpkins when you slice the carrot.
  • Finally, slice the carrot crosswise into rounds to create little pumpkin shapes.
    Sliced carrot pumpkins on a cutting board.
  • Peel your mandarin oranges and cut 1 ½ inch pieces from the celery to make the stem. Press into the top of the mandarin gently.
    Celery cut into small pumpkin stems on a cutting board.
  • Carefully cut the top of the bell pepper, leaving it intact to use as the top of the “pumpkin.” Fill the bell pepper with hummus. 
    The insides of an orange bell pepper cleaned out to make room in the pepper for dip.
  • Each spider will use 1 ½ olives. Cut a few olives in half lengthwise.
    Black olives cut in half on a cutting board.
  • Set a few of the halves aside. With the remaining halves, cut them each into four sections for the “legs”. Each spider uses 1 ½ olives, depending on how thick you want the legs. 
    A black olive cut into thin strips on a cutting board.
  • Using a paring knife, cut slices of Colby Jack cheese into four equal squares. At one corner, cut two small slits to form the stem.
    Cheese slices cut into the shape of autumn leaves on a cutting board.
  • From the stem, carve a rounded edge on each side, ending at the opposite corner to shape the leaf.
    Cutting the sides of cheese slices to form leaves.
  • Finally, cut small triangle notches along the rounded edges to create leaf ridges.
    Notches cut into cheese slices to make autumn leaf shapes.
  • Lay a layer of dry, green leaf lettuce as your base. Arrange your Char-boo-terie snacks: hummus-filled bell peppers, olive spiders, cheese leaves, pumpkin carrot cutouts, the pumpkin-shaped cheese ball, and mandarin “pumpkins” around the board to create a festive pumpkin patch. Fill in any gaps with extra snacks or small garnishes, then enjoy.
    Overhead focus. A pumpkin-themed, Halloween Charcuterie Board.

Notes

Please note that the nutrition data given here is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.

Nutrition

Serving: 1entire board | Calories: 2113kcal | Carbohydrates: 173g | Protein: 106g | Fat: 127g | Saturated Fat: 45g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 30g | Cholesterol: 188mg | Sodium: 3226mg | Potassium: 3844mg | Fiber: 48g | Sugar: 88g | Vitamin A: 69176IU | Vitamin C: 512mg | Calcium: 2182mg | Iron: 16mg