The scariest thing about Halloween is not the ghosts and ghouls, it's all the sugar if you are watching your calories! Never fear. Vegetables have never been so fun as with this Halloween Veggie Tray!
A spooky vegetable Halloween appetizer is all that's needed to bring on the fun! This easy Halloween veggie tray turns a pack of unassuming vegetables into a screaming witch whose (bell pepper) mouth holds a slimmed down dressing.
This healthy option is a fun Halloween treat for everyone.
If you avoid Halloween food celebrations due to candy-corn-phobia, this healthy Halloween party food is the prescription you need!
We have some fun healthy ideas to make this holiday enjoyable for all! This is a great Halloween food idea that gets just as much attention as other treats too.
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Making vegetables fun again
Ok, they may not ever have been 'fun' but we can change that.
All they need is a little life. Take a colorful mix of vegetables and transform them into something special for a Halloween gathering, that's the secret.
It becomes an extension of any Halloween decor too.
This veggie tray masterpiece is a perfect Halloween platter. In the season of spooky sweets and junk food, a veggie snack tray is a tasty treat that makes a happy Halloween for everyone.
What makes this skinny?
- It's all vegetables!
- You control the dip or dressing you choose so you can make it skinny!
Recipe Ingredients + Notes
This healthy Halloween treat is highly customizable. We used specific vegetable to give color, variety and create the witch image. Choose options that are dippable too!
Cauliflower florets and broccoli florets. These make up the witches face. Bumpy, cratered and what we'd guess a witche's complexion would be!
Zoodles or spiralized zucchini noodles. The hair is a mixture of spiralized zucchini noodles and spiralized carrots. You can buy spiralized vegetable noodles too if you've rather not make them.
Orange carrots. Large, peeled orange carrots were spiralized for the hair.
Baby carrots. These were used as her hat brim. They are a great choice because they are already prepared when you buy them.
Dragon Carrots. We love these carrots if you can find them (try Whole Foods or a Farmer's Market). They are purple on the outside and deep yellow on the inside. They are stacked to make the witches hat. Regular carrots work here too.
Cherry tomatoes. These make a necklace that's also perfect for dipping!
Celery sticks and sweet Snap Peas. These combine to form a collar and one snap pea is the witch's nose.
Red Bell Pepper. A large bell pepper with the top sliced off is the witches mouth and holds the dip or dressing!
End of the spiralized zucchini sliced or cucumber slices. For the eyes.
Green olive stuffed with pimento. These make the iris and pupil of the witch's eyes. Black olives can also be used.
Variations
This fun veggie tray can be easily changed up. Just pick vegetables that are dippable.
- Zucchini slices
- Yellow pepper slices
- Sliced green bell peppers or red bell peppers
Using a spiralizer
This inexpensive gadget was all the rage a few years ago. Though the fixation has died down it's still a kitchen staple everyone needs.
Use it for spiralizing fruits and vegetables into noodles or ribbons in minutes. It's a great tool in your calorie-watching arsenal to create easy healthy recipes.
We used it to create the witch's hair but it can be used to create the base for salads, for pasta replacement, and fun fruit salads.
There are many types and brands of spiralizers. They come with multiple blades to make different shapes and sizes of noodles or ribbons.
How to make the Halloween Veggie Tray
This is more of an art project than a recipe. It's an assembly to create the witches image.
If you have a large serving tray that will work great. Also a large rimmed baking sheet (you can even line it with foil if desired) works too!
STEP 1. The hair
Mix the spiralized zucchini and carrot together and make an upside down U on your serving tray. This will frame the witches face, and determine space for her hat and collar.
STEP 2. The eyes and mouth
Place the two zucchini rounds or cucumber slices in the spot for eyes on the witches face.
Add half of the olive to the zucchini round for the iris and pupil.
Add the red pepper mouth where it would go on the witches’ face.
STEP 3. Face
Starting at the center of the tray, place pieces of cauliflower for the witches’ bumpy skin, interspersing with broccoli for warts, like making a cruciferous mosaic to fill in the face around the eyes and mouth to the hairline.
Place 1 snap pea on the cauliflower for a nose.
STEP 4. Witch's Hat
Stack the long carrot sticks next to each other and on top of each other to form a triangle with the lower edges touching the top of the hair.
Layer the cut baby carrots underneath the hat on top of the hair to form a brim.
STEP 5. Necklace and collar
Underneath the witches’ face, line the tomatoes side by side as a necklace. Underneath the tomatoes place the celery sticks next to each other leaving a bit of space on with side to place the snap peas, fanning out.
When ready to serve, fill the witches’ mouth with dressing or a dip.
Pro Tip
An easy way to make a quick Halloween veggie tray buy the vegetables already prepared.
In the produce section of the grocery store or prepared food department many of these vegetables have already been prepared. Spiralized noodles and bagged florets all make pulling this together a breeze.
Make it Ahead
The vegetables can be prepared ahead of time and kept in individual airtight containers until assembling the veggie tray.
Assembly can be done a few hours before a party, sealed tightly with plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator until serving. Add the dip just before serving.
Skinny Dressing Ideas
- Skinny Blue Cheese Dressing
- Skinny Tzatziki Sauce
- Skinny Green Goddess Dressing
- Skinny Spicy Greek Feta Dip (Tirokafteri)
- Dill Pickle Ranch Dip (skinny version)
- Non-fat plain Greek yogurt (1 cup) + 2 tablespoons of powdered dressing mix (like Ranch). Adjust to desired flavor.
- Favorite reduced calorie dressing (liquid) mixed with non-fat plain Greek yogurt
- Salsa
Add some fruit to the Halloween vegetable tray
Adding Halloween fruit to the serving options is delicious too. We have some fun, easy and FAST options you'll love on this Halloween Fruit Platter.
Pick a few you love or make the whole platter!
More recipes you'll love!
Recipe
Halloween Veggie Tray
Ingredients
- 2 medium Zucchini squash spiralized (no peeling required) (reserve two of the zucchini ends for the witches eyes, cutting the circular piece of squash from the spiralizer hole flush with the end piece; refer to photos)
- 2 medium-large Carrots peeled and spiralized
- 1 small head Cauliflower broken into florets and sliced flat on the back side so they lay flat
- 2 large stems of Broccoli cut into florets and sliced on the back side so they lay flat
- 1 Green Olive stuffed with a Pimento sliced in half horizontally
- 10 Snap Peas
- 1 carton Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
- 3 medium Carrots unique color if available; I used Dragon Carrots; peeled and sliced into quarters vertically
- 8 Baby Carrots sliced in half vertically
- 2-3 medium Celery Stalks trimmed, sliced vertically into thirds and into 3 inch lengths
- 1 medium-large Red Bell Pepper slice in half horizontally, inside membrane and seeds removed (note: this will be the mouth/dressing container so select a pepper that sits flat without rocking)
- Dressing of choice
Instructions
- Mix the spiralized zucchini and carrot together and make an upside down U on the serving platter. This will frame the witches face, and determine space for her hat and collar.
- Place the two zucchini rounds in the spot for eyes on the witches face. Add half of the olive on top of the zucchini round for the iris and pupil. Add the red pepper mouth where it would go on the witches’ face.
- Place pieces of cauliflower for the witch's bumpy skin, interspersing with broccoli for warts, like making a mosaic to fill in the face around the eyes and mouth to the hairline.
- Place 1 snap pea on the cauliflower for a nose.
- To make the Witch's Hat: Stack the long cut carrots next to each other and on top of each other to form a triangle with the lower edges touching the top of the hair. Layer the cut baby carrots underneath the hat on top of the hair to form a brim.
- Underneath the witch's face, line the tomatoes side by side as a necklace. Underneath the tomatoes place the celery sticks next to each other leaving a bit of space on with side to place the snap peas, fanning out.
- When ready to serve, fill the witch's mouth with dressing!
Sue says
Toni this is really great ~ we're having a Halloween gathering for the first time in years, so this will be featured for sure!
Tara says
This definitely is a fun use for veggies. It was fun to make the hair with my spiralizer. spiralizer. So so perfect for Halloween.
Nikki says
This is such a fun veggie tray. Perfect for any Halloween party.
Gloria says
Perfect for Halloween parties. Such a fun way to present this veggie tray. We served it last Halloween and it was a hit with the guests.
Dana says
This is such a fun idea! Love the face and all of the squiggly zucchini noodles! Perfect for a halloween party, kids and adults alike.
Aya says
This is such a creative and fun idea! I'm sure the kids will love it! I can't wait for Halloween to make it!
Agnieszka says
This is such a fun idea! Can't wait to make this for Halloween!
Sondra Barker says
The mini pumpkins and banana ghosts are genius! I know my family will find them to be both adorable and creative.
Jennifer says
I am SO excited to make this for halloween this year! So fun! Everyone is going to love it!!
Allyson Zea says
I am DEFINITELY making this for Halloween! This is SO fun!!!
Eden says
The cutes idea!! We loved making this and the kiddos went crazy for it!
Lillian says
This is such a cute Halloween idea. You turned veggies into a masterpiece; I hope I can do it as well as you. =)
Gloria says
OMG how cute is this? I will have so much fun putting this together. It will be a hit at the party.