Easy Halloween Charcuterie Board with Candy Corn Cheese
A lighter Halloween charcuterie board featuring cheese cut to look like candy corn, paired with grapes, dark chocolate, almonds, and other wholesome ingredients. It’s festive, fun, and won’t leave you with a sugar crash.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- Sharp cheddar cheese block (8 ounces)
- White cheddar cheese block (8 ounces)
- Colby Jack or mild cheddar (8 ounces)
- Red and green seedless grapes (2 cups total)
- Dark chocolate squares or chunks (4 ounces)
- Roasted, salted almonds (1 cup)
- Dried apricots or figs (1/2 cup)
- Pumpkin seeds (pepitas) (1/4 cup)
- Whole-grain crackers or rice crackers (about 20-25 crackers)
- Fresh rosemary sprigs (a few)
- Apple slices (1 apple, sliced, optional)
- Black olives (1/2 cup, optional)
- Honey or fig jam (a small bowl, optional)
Instructions
- Make the candy corn cheese: Slice each cheese block into 1/4-inch thick slabs. Stack a white cheddar slab, a Colby Jack slab, and a sharp cheddar slab on top of each other. Press gently. Cut the stack diagonally into triangles to form candy corn shapes. Repeat with remaining cheese. You’ll get about 8-10 ‘candy corns’ per stack.
- Prep the fruit: Rinse the grapes and pat them completely dry. Slice the apple if using, and toss the slices in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice. Arrange the dried apricots or figs in a small pile.
- Set up the small bowls: Pour the almonds into one small bowl, the pumpkin seeds into another, and the olives (if using) into a third. Place these bowls on your board first as anchors.
- Arrange the cheese: Place the candy corn cheese triangles in a row or cluster near the center of the board. Fan them out slightly. If using cookie cutters, cut extra cheese shapes from scraps and tuck them around the board.
- Add the crackers: Arrange the crackers in small groups around the cheese, scattering them in little clusters.
- Fill in with fruit and chocolate: Place the grapes in small bunches around the board. Tuck the dark chocolate pieces between the cheese and crackers. Add the apple slices if using. Fill any empty spaces.
- Garnish and finish: Tuck fresh rosemary sprigs around the board. Sprinkle a few extra pumpkin seeds over everything. Step back and adjust if needed.
Notes
Assemble the board no more than an hour before serving to keep crackers crisp and fruit fresh. Let cheese sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before slicing for cleaner cuts. For dairy-free, use firm plant-based cheese blocks. For nut-free, swap almonds for roasted chickpeas or sunflower seeds.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of the board
- Calories: 320380
- Sugar: 1216
- Sodium: 400500
- Fat: 2024
- Saturated Fat: 810
- Carbohydrates: 2228
- Fiber: 46
- Protein: 1418
Keywords: Halloween charcuterie board, candy corn cheese, Halloween appetizer, easy Halloween snack, healthy Halloween board