We love Halloween and we also love every excuse to throw a party – so needless to say we went all out with our bash. And that included putting together an epic Halloween themed cheese board.
As a grown adult, you must have food at your party. Gone are the days of being a teenager and hosting simply meant opening your door and maybe leaving out a cooler for people to throw their booze in – there are actual hosting duties involved now. And we love hosting (in the words of Monica Geller “I’m always the hostess”).
A massive cheese and/or charcuterie board is maybe the best thing you can put out at a party. It will please almost everyone (as long as you throw in some vegan options and have gluten free crackers!) and it also encourages social interaction. It pretty much gets the party started.
A cheeseboard is an especially great choice for a Halloween party because there are a ton of ways to ensure it captures your spooky vibes. Are you sold yet? Because we’ve been trying really hard here.
We were really jazzed about how our cheeseboard turned out so we’re sharing everything you’ll need and need to know to make one yourself.
- Cheeseboard
- Cheese knives
- Cheeses – you’ll want at least four. It’s good to have something soft (we chose a double cream brie, which is slightly richer than a single cream), something medium soft (we chose a Port Wine Derby because mood), something hard (we chose Beemster, a Dutch cow’s milk cheese) and something blue (we chose a simple Danish blue)
- Meats (optional) – if you go this route you’ll want at least two. You can always keep it simple with genoa salami and prosciutto which are total crowd pleasers
- Crackers – you’ll want a variety of textures and thickness. We chose a simple crostini, Breton’s white bean and salt and pepper (because it’s the best GF cracker in my opinion) and Lesley Stowe’s Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps
- Olives
- Figs
- Blackberries
- Concord grapes
- Pomegranate (optional – this is more to establish the mood)
- Dark chocolate pieces
- Dark chocolate covered blueberries
- Pumpkin seeds
- Nut(s) – we chose walnuts
- Jellies – a red pepper jelly is always a crowd pleaser
- Rosemary for garnish
- White pumpkins (optional – again for mood)
Start by placing the cheese first, giving them each their own section of the board so people have lots of space to slice them. Then place the meats (if you’re going this route) ideally they’re not touching the cheeses as you may be hosting vegetarians that only want to partake in the cheese. Finish by adding the garnishes to fill the remaining spaces. You may want to place the crackers on another board entirely, but you can include them on the board as well if there’s enough space.
What gives this cheeseboard Halloween vibes is the colours. The dark purples of the grapes and blackberries paired with the bright red of the pomegranate and the deep brown in the chocolate help to establish the mood. The figs and walnuts not only resemble the look and texture of brains, but are also delicious pairings with the cheeses – especially the brie.
The only thing you need to worry about is leaving the cheese and meat out for too long, as certain cheeses don’t sit well and can start to harden around the outside after a couple of hours. We recommend putting out only a certain amount of cheese and meat at a time, and replenish it as needed. It requires a bit more attention, but it’s worth it.
This spooky cheeseboard deserved an equally badass Halloween bar station. So we did just that. Check out how we put together our Halloween drinking lab here.
Looking for other spooky activities, games or cocktails? Check out some of our other ideas and recipes below:
- Hocus Pocus Movie Drinking Game
- The Ultimate List of Halloween Cocktails and Shots
- Our 31 Favourite Scary Movies
- How to Host an Addams Family Dinner Party
- Scream Movie Drinking Game
- How to Host a Virtual Pumpkin Carving Competition
- Zombie Baby Pumpkins
- Host a Halloween Trivia Night (with a free 50-question download!)
This playlist is sure to get your party going. Packed with classic spooky hits and Halloween faves.