Buzz
Despite the abundance of candy and brightly wrapped cakes and cookies filling the stores, Halloween isn’t really known for its food—especially when stacked against holidays like Thanksgiving. As a long-distance runner, I don't have space for a bag of Twix anyway. Needless to say, I was struggling to get into the Halloween spirit—until I came across the idea of spooky charcuterie boards.
A friend of mine sent me an Instagram reel from Petal & Platter, showcasing some incredibly creepy yet creative ways to style a Halloween cheese and meat platter. (Brie cheese shaped like Pennywise, the infamous clown from Stephen King's *It*, was almost too much to handle.) After pushing past my initial fear of clowns, I found myself inspired. Maybe Halloween could still be a food holiday after all—at the very least, it could be a substantial snack celebration.
The two key elements of an unforgettable Halloween charcuterie board
I noticed a few trends in the Petal & Platter charcuterie and cheese boards. The key element is to have one large, central spooky feature. For instance, it could be a skull with olive eyes, the eerie face of the *Scream* mask with a blackberry hood, or the terrifying face of Pennywise with pepperoni hair.
Another trend I spotted is the importance of using brie cheese for that central spooky item. Brie comes in flat rounds, rather than wedges or blocks, giving you more surface area to work with. Its white rind makes a perfect backdrop for using jam as 'ink' to add intricate details. Brie is soft yet holds together well, so you can easily carve it without it cracking. I suggest going with double cream brie, as triple cream can become too runny once sliced.
Other than that, your Halloween charcuterie board doesn't require drastic changes from the ones you'd make for other occasions, like Valentine's Day. Just add some eerie touches where possible. Fill in the gaps with nuts, crackers, sliced cheeses, blood-red jams, and plenty of eyeballs—crafted from olives and creatively shaped cheeses. You can also carve slices of white cheese into ghost shapes, and yes, salami roses fit right into this morbid setup.
I found it helpful to start with a pre-sliced assortment, like this charcuterie tasting board from Columbus Craft Meats. It provides a great variety to build from. I added a wheel of brie to my collection, along with some Cracker Barrel cracker cuts, dried apricots, olives, and candied pecans.
How to assemble a Halloween charcuterie board
To create your charcuterie graveyard, I recommend using a separate cutting board for slicing and handling the messier tasks, while reserving a nice presentation board for the finished look.
1. Begin with your main centerpiece: the brie cheese tombstone.
Cut two straight sides, keeping the natural curve of the wheel for the top. Slice a flat bottom, and you've got a perfect grave marker.
2. If you'd like, create cream cheese 'grass'.
I thought this was a fun addition, and it allowed me to stick short crackers into the cream cheese, making them stand up like gravestones. Mix a few drops of green food coloring into whipped cream cheese, about half to a full cup. Use a spoon to drop little blobs along the cheese board and then chop at them to give them a grass-like texture.
3. Create a couple of residents for the graveyard.
Create a few white cheese ghosts using cheddar or any other white cheese that holds its shape. I used a paring knife to carve out ghostly forms and pressed black sesame seeds into the cheese to create facial features.
4. Arrange the statement pieces.
Place the brie near the grassy cream cheese. Insert short crackers or thick-cut pepperoni halves into the cream cheese to represent additional graves. Don't forget to add the cheese ghosts.
5. Complete the tombstone.
Use a red jam to spell out 'RIP' on the large brie tombstone. I used a toothpick to make it appear extra gory. After all, Halloween food doesn’t need to follow any rules, so why not add some bloody writing?
6. Fill in the empty spaces.
The large tombstone and two cheese ghosts provide enough context for guests to understand the display without needing additional clues. Remember, its main purpose is still a meat and cheese board. Add layers of sliced cheese, a pile of crackers, folded chorizo, and some dips. Include a small bowl of green goblin olive 'eyes', pecan 'dirt' and 'rock' piles, and a meaty rosette to show respect for the dead.
Even if you’re not creating a graveyard theme, the steps are generally the same: start with a prominent brie piece, add other Halloween-themed elements, arrange everything on the board, and fill in the gaps. Toss in some bloody jam splatters, green goo, or monster eyeballs, and you’ll have the perfect Halloween snack setup whether you're hosting friends or enjoying a spooky movie night with family.
