This festive Halloween vegetarian grazing board is packed with cheese, crackers, fruit, olives, nuts, and a couple of easy homemade snacks. The centerpiece is a creamy smoked gouda spread served in a carved jack-o’-lantern bell pepper, making this an easy and fun appetizer for Halloween parties and fall entertaining!
A Festive Halloween Vegetarian Grazing Board for Parties and Cozy Nights In
This Halloween vegetarian grazing board and a lineup of my favorite spooky movies sounds like the best way to spend a cozy night in! It’s packed with a mix of salty, sweet, crunchy, and creamy elements and since you can adjust the size, this Halloween appetizer is perfect for any size party from two to twenty.
This Halloween charcuterie board has a little something for everyone from the spiced pecans to the creamy date caramel and the super festive smoked gouda spread served in a carved bell pepper jack-o’-lantern. It’s packed with seasonal fruits, veggies, crackers, and some fun and spooky mozzarella eyeballs. It’s also incredibly easy to make and the homemade elements don’t require turning on the oven!
If you’re not planning on hosting a party, you can still make a small version of this Halloween snack board to enjoy solo. I definitely recommend including the smoked gouda spread because it was my favorite part!
JUMP STRAIGHT TO
- Filling Your Board
- How to Make the Jack-o-Lantern Smoked Gouda Spread
- How to Make Mozzarella Eyeballs
- Building Your Halloween Vegetarian Grazing Board
- Tips for Serving
- More Halloween Party Recipes
Filling Your Board with a Mix of Homemade and Store-Bought Elements
I wanted to keep this Halloween charcuterie board on the easy side while still including some delicious homemade elements. Since they are personal favorites, I included my stovetop spiced pecans and my no-cook salted date caramel. The other homemade element is a smoked gouda cheese spread that is packed into orange bell peppers carved like jack-o’-lanterns! You can have all of these done in about 30 minutes!
To go along with the homemade elements, the remaining space is filled with a mix of store-bought items. Here’s what I used:
- Crackers – I recommend having at least two different kinds that will pair well with the cheeses on the board.
- Cheese – I used an aged British cheddar and a mini log of goat cheese rolled in dried blueberries. I highly recommend combining different textures and flavors so that there’s a little something for everyone.
- Fruits – I went with sliced apples, figs, and grapes.
- Veggies – I used purple carrots and sweet snacking peppers from my garden.
- Olives
- Halloween candies
- Pimento stuffed olives and mozzarella balls to make edible eyeballs
A note on vegetarian cheese: make sure to always check the label! Some cheeses are made with rennet which is not vegetarian. Cheese made with microbial enzymes instead of rennet is typically vegetarian.
How to Make the Jack-o’-Lantern Smoked Gouda Spread
This smoked gouda spread couldn’t be simpler. It’s made in a similar method to a cheese ball since it starts with a base of softened cream cheese. The smoky flavor comes from a combination of shredded smoked gouda and smoked paprika. Chopped chives and garlic help add more depth of flavor.
The fun part of this smoked gouda spread is carving the orange bell peppers into jack-o-lanterns! While this isn’t necessary (the bell peppers look like mini pumpkins already!), it definitely adds some Halloween charm and makes it super festive. You’ll cut off the very top of the pepper, then scoop out the veins and seeds. Using a sharp paring knife and a very steady hand, carve a simple jack-o-lantern face.
All that’s left is to put the smoked gouda spread into the carved bell pepper. The bell peppers I had for the photos were on the small side so I used two. If you have large peppers, you’ll just need one. You can spoon the cheese in or pipe it in with a sandwich bag. The smoked gouda spread can be served immediately or covered and placed in the fridge until you need it.
How to Make Mozzarella Eyeballs
To make these spooky mozzarella eyeballs, you only need two ingredients: mozzarella balls and pimento or red pepper stuffed green olives. For the mozzarella balls, I recommend going with ciliegine because the pearls will be too small. Bocconcini will also work, they’ll just be a little bigger.
In my opnion, the end of the olive works the best as a convincing pupil/iris. Slice off the end of each olive then place it on a mozzarella ball. That’s it! You can use the mozzarella eyeballs to fill in space on the board and serve the extra olives in a small bowl.
Building Your Halloween Vegetarian Grazing Board
1. Add anything that will be in a small bowl first
Grab a big board or platter. I used a wooden one that is about 15 by 12 inches. Add anything that will be in a bowl to the board first, which includes the date caramel, spiced pecans, olives, and some candies I grabbed at the store.
2. Add the cheeses, including the jack-o’-lantern smoked gouda spread
Add your store-bought cheeses and jack-o-lantern smoked gouda spread next. I kept them spaced apart in different quadrants of the board because I think it looks better visually. I went ahead and sliced the cheddar to keep serving easy and placed a small cheese spreader next to both the goat cheese and smoked gouda spread right before serving.
3. Add the crackers and anything crunchy
Once the cheeses are on the board, add your crackers and crunchy elements. I ended up using two different kinds of crackers: a plain salted one and a heartier crisp with dried fruit. I also decided to grab a bag of churro crisps at the store because I knew they would pair well with the date caramel.
4. Fill in with fruit, veggies, and the mozzarella eyeballs
Fill in all of the empty space with your fruits, veggies, and mozzarella eyeballs! I used sliced green apples, figs, moondrop grapes, sliced purple carrots, and these festive-looking sweet peppers from my garden that have a swirl of red, purple, and brown. Regular mini snacking peppers would also work great!
Tips for Serving Your Halloween Charcuterie Board
Your board will be good for about 2 hours once you sit it out at room temperature (based on food safety laws for cheese). Make sure that you have serving implements next to your board, specifically a small cheese spreader for the smoked gouda spread and for the goat cheese log if you bought one.
Make sure to keep a stack of small plates and utensils by the board along with napkins. If you happen to have a random collection of Halloween plates like I do, now is the perfect time to use them!
Keep all of your extras together in the kitchen so that you can easily refill spots on the board as needed. Crackers always go faster than you think they will! I keep extra fruit and veggies washed and ready to go on a designated plate in the fridge.
More Halloween Party Recipes
These Halloween dot cakes are the perfect Halloween party treat since they’re already individually portioned and look super festive! You can even send them home as favors if you want. If you want a super easy mocktail that can be made in a pitcher ahead of time, this apple cider mule mocktail is my go-to. Since you’re already making the date caramel for the Halloween snack board, set some aside to drizzle over these apple crumble bars.
Halloween Vegetarian Grazing Board
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Description
This festive Halloween vegetarian grazing board is packed with cheese, crackers, fruit, olives, nuts, and a couple of easy homemade snacks. The centerpiece is a creamy smoked gouda spread served in a carved jack-o’-lantern bell pepper, making this an easy and fun appetizer for Halloween parties and fall entertaining!
Ingredients
For the jack-o’-lantern smoked gouda cheese spread
- 8-ounce block cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups shredded smoked gouda, lightly packed, about 8 ounces
- 2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 large orange bell pepper, or 2 medium orange bell peppers
For the Halloween vegetarian grazing board
- 1 batch spiced pecans with rosemary
- 1 batch salted date caramel
- 8-ounce container mozzarella ciliegine cheese
- 1 jar green stuffed olives
- 1 log goat cheese
- 1 block aged English cheddar
- 2 boxes crackers
- Moondrop grapes, or any grape variety
- Figs
- 2 green apples, sliced
- Sweet snacking peppers
- 1 bunch purple carrots
- Halloween candies, or other preferred sweets
Instructions
- Make the jack-o’-lantern smoked gouda cheese spread first. Beat the softeend cream cheese on medium low to medium speed in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until creamy. Add the shredded smoked gouda, chopped chives, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and salt. Beat on medium low until combined.
- Slice off the very top of the orange bell pepper(s). Reserve the top to use as your jack-o’-lantern lid. Carefully remove the veins and seeds from the pepper then use a paring knife to carve a simple jack-o’-lantern face. Fill the bell pepper with the smoked gouda cheese spread. Cover and store in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble your board.
- When you’re ready to assemble your board, make the mozzarella eyeballs. Cut the ends off of a stuffed green olive to use as the iris and pupil, then set it on top of one of the mozzarella balls. Set these aside on your cutting board for now.
- Add all of the items that will be served in bowls first, including the date caramel, pecans, and any extra olives.
- Add the jack-o’-lantern smoked grouda cheese spread, goat cheese log, and block of cheddar to the board next.
- Add the crackers to the board close to the cheeses.
- Fill in the remaining gaps with the mozzarella eyeballs, grapes, figs, apple slices, snacking peppers, sliced carrots, and Halloween candies if you’re using any.
- Serve and enjoy! Once the board is assembled it should be enjoyed within 2 hours or placed back in the fridge (mostly due to the cheeses). Cover leftover cheese, fruit, veggies, and date caramel and keep them in the fridge. Leftover pecans and crackers can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature.
Notes
Always make sure to check the label of the cheese you buy to ensure it is vegetarian!
Though I have the recipe listed as having 8 servings, the more you add to the board, the more servings you’ll have.
If you don’t want to make the spiced pecans or the date caramel, feel free to use your favorite store-bought roasted nuts and caramel dip.
I ended up using a larger jar of stuffed green olives so that I could use some for the eyeballs and have extras for serving on the board. Feel free to use your favorite olives on the board!
I used a 12 by 15-inch board for the photos. I recommend using something that is similarly sized.
The smoked gouda spread is especially delicious with the sweet snacking peppers! For a quick appetizer without the fuss of making the board, make the cheese spread then use it to fill halved mini sweet peppers. Sprinkle with extra chives before serving.
The fruits and veggies are simply recommendations — fill your board with what you love!
- Category: Appetizer
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