These spook-tacular healthy Hallowen snacks are perfect for school Halloween parties or after school snack time! Ghost-nanas, orange pumpkins, apple monster mouths, broomsticks, and cucumber skulls are healthy, fun, and irresistibly spooky!!
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Key Ingredient Notes:
- Key Equipment Notes:
- How to make this Halloween Snack Board:
- How to make pumpkin oranges
- How to make ghost-nanas
- How to make apple monster mouths
- How to make ranch dip
- How to make broomsticks
- How to make cucumber skulls
- How to make pepper ghosts
- How to make bat cheese
- Tips for Success:
- Make-Ahead Tips:
- Storing Tips:
- Healthy Snack Treats FAQs:
- More snack board ideas:
- Halloween Snack Board Recipe
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Pin ItWhy you’ll love this recipe:
I’m not usually one who makes cute cut-out veggies and sandwiches for my kids. But I make an exception on Halloween when the competition is fierce with all the temptation of sugary treats!
Your kids might say no to plain old carrot sticks, but I guarantee they’ll gobble up apple monster mouths, broomsticks, and cucumber skulls on this healthy Halloween snack board! Mine sure did!
- Fun & healthy Halloween snacks, perfect for bringing to Halloween parties at school.
- Easy – Snack boards are such a simple appetizer. It takes less than 30 minutes to make this fun Halloween snack board!
- Creative – If you use your imagination, snack time can be magical… and just a little bit spooky!
While kids enjoy their cha-BOO-terie board, prepare an epic charcuterie and cheese board for the grown-ups!
Key Ingredient Notes:
For the fruit platter
- Mandarin oranges – You’ll need mini, easy-to-peel, seedless oranges. I prefer mandarins, but tangerines, clementines, or the oranges marketed as “cuties” would also work.
- Mini chocolate chips – Choose either milk chocolate, or semi-sweet chocolate.
- Bananas – Choose just-ripened bananas that are firm and free of brown spots. Overly ripe bananas will be too mushy to work with, and brown spots will take away from the ghost-like appearance.
- Apples – You can use green apples, red apples, or both green and red if you’d like! Look for large, crisp apples.
- Dulce de leche, caramel, or peanut butter – Spread one or all of these onto the apple slices. They act as a delicious glue for the teeth and eyes. Skip the peanut butter if you’re making these healthy Halloween treats for a party at school or daycare. Or use a nut-free butter instead.
- Slivered almonds – These are the monster teeth! Substitute mini marshmallows or sunflower seeds for a nut-free option.
- Candy eyes – All monsters need some super scary, silly-looking googly eyes! Try one big eye in the middle or three small eyes in a row.
For the dip
- Cottage cheese – A good source of protein, this is the base of the veggie dip. It’ll become smooth and creamy when blended, just like mayonnaise or sour cream. Choose full-fat cottage cheese for an extra creamy texture.
- Ranch dressing mix – You’ll need a powdered ranch dressing mix packet. This will make a tangy ranch dip full of savory, garlic and onion flavors.
For the veggie platter
- Cheese sticks – Mozzarella string cheese is best. For variety, you may use a few cheddar cheese sticks. But keep in mind, cheddar cheese is not as flexible as mozzarella and can easily break when sliced into thin strips for the broomsticks.
- Pretzel sticks are for broomstick handles. Choose a sturdier brand, nothing marketed as “extra thin.”
- Cucumber – Seedless cucumbers, such as English cucumbers, are best. Leave on the skins!
- Sweet peppers – You can find mini sweet peppers in a bag in the produce section. They’re mild and slightly sweeter than bell peppers.
- Cheddar cheese – Sandwich-sized slices of cheddar cheese are easy to cut out using Halloween-themed cookie cutters. I prefer to use orange cheddar or Colby Jack cheese for the festive color it adds to the platter.
Add extras
Use up any leftover veggies or snacks you have on hand by sprinkling them in any blank spaces on your snack board!
Key Equipment Notes:
- Halloween cookie cutters – Make sure your cookie cutters contain at least one bat. Pumpkins, witch hats, and black cats are also fun additions!
- Blender – Any high-speed blender will work.
- Round piping tip is perfect for cutting out cucumber skulls.
How to make this Halloween Snack Board:
Prepare your cookie cutters, blender, and round piping tip before you begin. You’ll also need an empty piping bag without a tip fitted to it.
How to make pumpkin oranges
- Peel the oranges.
- Place a mini chocolate chip on top for stems.
How to make ghost-nanas
- Melt the mini chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second increments, until smooth and fully melted.
- Transfer the melted chocolate to your piping bag. Then, cut the tip off.
- Peel the bananas, and cut them in half horizontally.
- Slice each half down the middle vertically, starting from the top of the banana. You’ll get four ghost-nanas from each banana.
- Draw eyes and a mouth on the banana ghosts using your piping bag filled with melted chocolate.
How to make apple monster mouths
- Slice the apples into thin wedges.
- Wipe any moisture off the apple wedges. Then, spread the dulce de leche (or caramel or peanut butter) on one side of each apple wedge.
- Stick slivered almonds into the dulce de leche to resemble teeth.
- Stack two apple wedges on top of each other to form a mouth.
- Add candy eyes to your monster mouths, using dulce de leche as glue.
How to make ranch dip
- Blend the cottage cheese in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
- Mix the Ranch dressing mix into the blended cottage cheese until well combined.
How to make broomsticks
- Cut a cheese stick horizontally into thirds.
- Slice each cheese stick section into thin strips that resemble broomstick bristles. Only slice the cheese sticks halfway up, keeping them connected at the top.
- Poke a pretzel stick into the unsliced tops of the cheese sticks for a broomstick handle.
How to make cucumber skulls
- Chop the cucumbers into thin, round slices.
- Cut out the lower sides of each cucumber slice using the wide end of a piping tip. This forms the lower cheeks of the cucumber skulls.
- Cut out the eye sockets of the cucumber skulls using the smaller end of the piping tip.
How to make pepper ghosts
- Cut the tops off of the sweet peppers, and slice them in half length-wise. Remove any seeds.
- Arrange the peppers on your platter with the outside of the peppers facing up.
- Add ghost eyes using cottage cheese dip as glue.
How to make bat cheese
- Cut shapes out of the slices of cheese using cookie cutters.
- Arrange the cheese slices on your snack board.
Tips for Success:
- Use chocolate chips instead of melted chocolate for the ghost-nana faces. If you’d like to simplify the ghost-nanas, use mini chocolate chips for the eyes and a regular-sized chocolate chip for the mouth.
- Let the Ranch dip chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This will allow the ingredients to meld together, resulting in a stronger flavor. I recommend to make the dip first!
- Use a sharp paring knife to slice the broomstick bristles. A paring knife will give you more precise cuts.
- Use cold cheese when making the bat cheese. It’s easier to cut shapes out of cold cheese.
- Plan on enough servings based on the number of children eating and their age. You can always save extras for later!
- Cut the bananas and apples right before serving, because they will brown quickly.
Make-Ahead Tips:
- You can make the orange pumpkins, broomsticks, cucumber skulls, pepper ghosts, bat cheese, and Ranch dip in advance!
- Wrap any prepared snack board toppings tightly in plastic wrap, and store them separately in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble your Halloween snack board platter.
- It’s best to prepare banana ghosts and apple monster mouths no more than an hour before serving.
Storing Tips:
- These healthy treats are best eaten fresh. The leftovers usually don’t keep well and aren’t that appetizing.
- However, you can save any snack board toppings that haven’t turned brown or dried out. Transfer leftovers to an airtight container, and store them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Healthy Snack Treats FAQs:
What do you put on a charcuterie board for Halloween?
In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, chocolate-covered almonds, candy corn, peanut butter cups, M&M’s, yogurt-covered pretzels, mini cookies, candy eyeballs, and mini mummy hotdogs are all popular choices. I also like to add Halloween cake pops, but anything goes! Feel free to mix and match whatever you have on hand.
What is the most popular Halloween snack?
It’s hard to say what the #1 Halloween snack is. Candy corn, Tootsie pops, Reese’s peanut butter cups, and Twizzlers are popular around Halloween. If it’s chocolate or candy, it’s sure to fly off the shelves in October!
What kind of board should I use?
You can use any large platter for serving Halloween snacks. If you have it, black or orange platters are perfect. But you can also use any good old baking sheet to serve your delicious snacks!!
More snack board ideas:
Halloween Snack Board
A Halloween sugar rush is bound to happen! Balance it out with a healthy and fun Halloween snack board for kids, packed with fresh produce and delicious dip.
Ingredients
Fruit platter:
- Mandarin oranges
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips plus more for decorations
- Bananas Note 1
- Apples green and red
- Dulce de leche caramel or peanut butter
- Slivered almonds Note 2
- Candy eyes
For the dip:
- 24 oz (680g) cottage cheese Note 2
- 1 oz packet Ranch dressing mix
For savory veggie platter:
- Cheese sticks
- Pretzel sticks
- Cucumber
- Sweet peppers
- Candy eyes
- Cheddar cheese slices
Equipment
- blender
- Round piping tip
Instructions
For pumpkin oranges:
- Peel the oranges and place a mini chocolate chip on top for stems.Mandarin oranges, ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
For ghost-nanas:
- Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave in 30-second increments. Transfer into a piping bag and cut the tip off.Bananas
- Peel the bananas and cut them in half horizontally and vertically. You’ll get 4 ghosts out of 1 banana.
- Draw eyes and mouth with melted chocolate. (Alternatively, if you want to simplify it, you could use mini chocolate chips for eye and regular chocolate chip for mouth. But I like how it looks when I draw the eyes and mouth with melted chocolate.)
For apple monster mouths:
- Slice the apples into thin wedges.Apples
- Spread the dulce de leche (or caramel, or peanut butter) on one side of each apple wedge. (Use a paper towel to wipe off the moisture, if the dulce de leche doesn’t stick well.)Dulce de leche
- Put a few almond slivers into the dulce de leche to resemble teeth.Slivered almonds
- Now stack two apple wedges to form a mouth.
- Using dulce de leche as a glue, stick candy eyes on top apple wedge.Candy eyes
For the dip:
- In a blender, blend the cottage cheese until nice and smooth.24 oz (680g) cottage cheese
- Add the ranch dressing mix and mix until well combined.1 oz packet Ranch dressing mix
For broomsticks:
- Cut a cheese stick into 3 equal parts.Cheese sticks
- Then cut half of each cheese stick into thin strips to resemble bristles. (A sharp paring knife makes this step easier.)Pretzel sticks
- Gently poke a pretzel stick to the top and voila!
For cucumber sculls:
- Slice the cucumber into thin round slices.Cucumber
- Using a wide side of a piping tip, cut out lower side of each cucumber slice.
- Then using smaller end of the piping tip, cut out the eye sockets. (I used Wilton 10 round piping tip.)
For pepper ghosts:
- Cut the top of the sweet peppers and slice them in half. Remove the seeds.Sweet peppers
- Arrange on the platter and put the candy eyes using cottage cheese dip as a glue.Candy eyes
For bat cheese:
- Arrange the cheese slices on a cutting board. (TIP: It’s easier to cut the shapes out of cold cheese.)Cheddar cheese slices
- And cut out desired shapes.
Tips & Notes
Note 1: Use just ripe bananas that are slightly firm. If they are too soft they won’t hold their shape well.
Note 2: Plain, full-fat cottage cheese is best, but any percentage will work.
Note 3: Substitute mini marshmallows or sunflower seeds for a nut-free Halloween snack board.
Storing Tips:
– Prepare the orange pumpkins, broomsticks, cucumber skulls, pepper ghosts, bat cheese, and Ranch dip up to 1-2 days in advance. Wrap them in plastic wrap, and keep them in the fridge.
– Transfer leftovers to an airtight container, and store them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
– Prepare the orange pumpkins, broomsticks, cucumber skulls, pepper ghosts, bat cheese, and Ranch dip up to 1-2 days in advance. Wrap them in plastic wrap, and keep them in the fridge.
– Transfer leftovers to an airtight container, and store them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Nutrition
Servings: 1 serving
Calories: 777kcal
Carbohydrates: 91g
Protein: 40g
Fat: 32g
Sugar: 59g
Sodium: 1605mg
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