Day of the Dead Skull—Día de Los Muertos Food Art Fun

Day of Dead Skull overhead view
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Celebrate Día de los Muertos with a produce-filled charcuterie food art tray. This festive Day of the Dead skull will be the hit of any party. Fresh veggies, sweet fruits, and earthy herbs are arranged in the shape of the iconic holiday skull for a totally mom-approved snack that’s perfect for the occasion.

We love to honor cultural holidays. Día de los Muertos is a celebration of life, and we at 

The Produce Moms wanted to give you a fresh and flavorful spin on this worldwide beloved day. 

We used fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs to create the iconic Day of the Dead skull. This themed charcuterie board is loaded with nutritious snacks that your family loves — without you having to cook anything. 

Day of the Dead veggie tray

Día de los Muertos charcuterie board is sponsored by NatureSweet.

Just chop and arrange the produce and dress it up with fresh flowers and herbs. It’s easy, beautiful, festive, and yummy. For more fun Dia de los Muertos food art ideas, be sure to check out other recipes.

Let’s get into how to do it!

Día de los Muertos Charcuterie Ingredients

tomatoes, cauliflower florets, black olives, mini bell peppers, salami, limes, raspberries, blackberries, radishes

The best thing about using charcuterie to display your Día de los Muertos food art is it’s customizable. Your options are what make it so fun. Feel free to add your favorite produce to the board so everyone can enjoy it!

Veggies

The main veggies we used were NatureSweet® Dia De Los Muertos Medley tomatoes. They are fresh, juicy, and bursting with flavor and a rich pop of red to make this board festive. Plus the Seasonal Medley celebrates Dia de Muertos and makes a nice accent to the board. We also added baby carrots, radish coins, sliced black olives, cauliflower florets, and sliced NatureSweet® mini peppers. 

Meat 

We mainly focused on the produce of this board, but we added some rolled salami for a little protein. If your family or guests prefer more meat, feel free to add extra salami or a variety for the carnivores in your life. 

Fruit

Blackberries and raspberries are some of our go-to charcuterie fruits because they require almost no prep. All you do is rinse them and arrange them on the board. Blackberries add a natural sweetness that pairs well with tart raspberries. 

Herbs

Cilantro is perfect for rounding out your board, and it also helps prevent the tomatoes from rolling around on the board or platter. When your Day of the Dead food art is assembled, you can fill in any spaces with leftover herbs for a nice and full board!

How to Arrange Charcuterie Into the Day of the Dead Skull

It’s best to do all your slicing before putting your Día de los Muertos charcuterie board together. This makes it easier to grab your ingredients as they fit into place on the board. Remember, have fun with it, and grab your kiddos to help you get extra creative.

Olives in two small ramekins.

Step 1: The eyes

Put your sliced olives into two small ramekins, and place the ramekins on the charcuterie board to make the eyes. This is an easy starting point to work around for the rest of your board. 

Cauliflower in the shape of a skull.

Step 2: The skull

Arrange the cauliflower florets to create the iconic shape of the skull. 

Arrange cilantro and tomatoes around the cauliflower skull.

Step 3: The headdress

Lay some of the fresh cilantro on top of the skull. Put the tomatoes on top of the cilantro and around the skull to round out the face shape.

Sliced olives hooked onto a baby carrot.

Step 4: The mouth

Slice a baby carrot so it’s thin enough for a few sliced olives to fit around it, almost like a hoop earring. You should be able to fit about four olive slices on the carrot. Then place it on top of the cauliflower where the mouth should be. 

Veggie and flower headress.

Step 5: Fill it in

Use the rest of your fruits, veggies, meats, dips, and herbs to fill in your Day of the Dead skull. Add as much or as little as you like — it’s completely up to you. When you’ve added all your produce to your board, fill in the gaps with more cilantro or your favorite herbs. 

Optional: Marigold flowers are believed to attract the souls of the dead to the food, candles, and flowers prepared for them by family and friends. Feel free to dress up your board with fresh flowers to help fill in any spaces.  

Why We Love NatureSweet

Día de los Muertos seasonal medley of tomatoes

This Día de los Muertos food art board uses lots of tomatoes. NatureSweet focuses on growing and delivering sweet, fresh, firm, and vibrant tomatoes in convenient packaging. They are easy to grab and go from the produce aisle and are stored and packaged for optimal freshness. All you do is rinse and add them to your board for a beautiful and flavorful masterpiece.  

Now that you’ve created your Day of the Dead skull, your family will want to keep celebrating. Be sure to try our other Día de los Muertos recipes. 

More Day of the Dead Food Ideas

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Día de los Muertos Veggie Tray

Celebrate Día de los Muertos with this easy, fresh, and vibrant food art charcuterie board in the shape of the famous holiday skull!
Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Servings12 people

Ingredients 

  • 2 10 oz packages NatureSweet® Dia De Los Muertos Medley tomatoes
  • 1 cup blackberries
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • ½ cup baby carrots
  • 6 oz. salami cut to look like flowers
  • ½ cup radish coins
  • ½ cup black olives sliced
  • cups cauliflower florets
  • 2 limes sliced
  • ½ cup raspberries
  • NatureSweet® mini peppers sliced
  • 10 oz spinach dip (or dip of choice)
  • fresh flowers for decor
  • herbs or greenery to fill in empty spaces

Instructions 

  • Place the sliced olives in 2 separate ramekins and put them on the board. These are the eyes of your Day of the Dead skull.
  • Arrange the cauliflower florets to create the shape of the skull on your charcuterie board or platter.
  • Put the cilantro on top of the skull head. Place the NatureSweet® Seasonal Medley tomatoes on top of the cilantro. Continue to fill out the shape of the skull with the rest of the tomatoes.
  • To create the mouth, slice a baby carrot so it's small enough for the sliced black olives to fit around it.
  • Arrange the rest of your charcuterie favorites around the top and sides to build out your Día de los Muertos skull.
  • Use fresh flowers or herbs to fill in the empty spaces at the end and dig in!

Nutrition

Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 552mg | Potassium: 159mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 837IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Appetizer, Party Trays
Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired
Calories: 130
Keyword: day of the dead food, Day of the dead skull, dia de los muertos food, dia de los muertos food ideas, food for day of the dead, food for dia de los muertos
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About Kristin

Kristin Ahaus is the Director of Content and Communications for The Produce Moms. Her focus and passion is helping all of TPM's brand partners share their stories while also helping consumers understand how to select, serve and store fresh produce. Connect with Kristin on LinkedIN.

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