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Try this easy and impressive Halloween Side Dish featuring cucumber skulls for a simple, spooky salad everyone will love.

Cucumber slices carved to look like skulls are arranged on a white plate, sprinkled with chili flakes and a dressing. Plastic black spiders surround these festive bites.
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Top the skulls with a quick sweet and sour dressing and serve the salad as a fun side at your Halloween party alongside grilled meat, burgers, stir fries, or anything you fancy, really.

Cucumber slices carved into skull shapes, layered on top of each other to create a striking pattern.

You can even skip the dressing and add the skulls to a lunchbox or colorful veggie platter. They’re great to snack on throughout October, and especially tasty with a delicious onion dip, ranch, or guacamole.

Short on time?

There’s no need to shape all the slices. Make 10-20 skulls and arrange on top.

Halloween Side Dish Ingredients

Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the complete details!

  • Cucumber: I use English or Persian cucumbers, for their thin skin, mild flavor, and delicious crunch.
  • Dressing: Rice vinegar, honey, chili flakes, sea salt, and black pepper.
Ingredients for Halloween side dish featuring an English cucumber, a bowl of honey, rice vinegar, chili flakes, sea salt, and pepper.

How to Make this Halloween Side Dish

A knife slices a cucumber on a chopping board.
  1. Slice the cucumber into similar sized pieces.
A knife shapes a cucumber slice into a skull on a white marble platter with more cucumber skulls in the background.
  1. Shape the cucumber skulls and cut out the eyes with a metal straw. Cover the skulls with salt and leave for 15-20 minutes. Wash off the salt and dry the slices with a paper towel.
A spoon rests in a white and blue bowl filled with a sweet and sour dressing.
  1. Prepare the dressing: Mix rice vinegar, honey, chili flakes, sea salt, and pepper.
A hand pours a dressing on top of a cucumber skull salad.
  1. Assemble the salad: Arrange the cucumber slices on a serving platter and top with the dressing.

Possible Variations

  • Cucumber: You can peel the cucumber first, or leave it on.
  • Rice vinegar: Apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or lime juice.
  • Honey: Maple syrup or cane sugar.
  • Chili flakes: Sriracha, fresh chili, jalapeños, hot paprika, dried chili, or cayenne powder.
  • Add-ins: Add finely sliced red onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, chopped green onions, chopped peanuts, or fish sauce.

How to Store Leftovers

Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 2 days.

FAQs

I don’t have a metal straw. What can I do?

You can use any straw if you have one, or a sharp knife to cut out holes.

There isn’t enough dressing. What do I do?

You can double or triple the quantities to your liking.

Do I need to shape all of the cucumber slices? That will take too long.

Not at all. To save time, shape 10-20 of the slices into skulls and arrange on top of your salad.

More Halloween Platters

If you make this recipe or any other recipe on Foodbites, then I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to leave a comment and rating below.

Cucumber slices carved to look like skulls are arranged on a white plate, sprinkled with red pepper flakes for a healthy twist. Plastic black spiders surround these festive bites, making them perfect for Halloween-themed food recipes.
Servings: 3 people

Halloween Side Dish

By Sine Siemkowicz
Cucumber slices shaped into skulls and topped with a simple, spicy dressing.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 0 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
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Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cucumber, English
  • 5 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
  • sea salt, to taste
  • pepper, to taste

Instructions 

  • Slice the cucumber finely.
  • Shape the slices into skulls using a metal straw for the eyes.
  • Use a sharp knife to shape a symmetrical indent for the jaw.
  • Cut out teeth with two small v-shaped incisions.
  • Place the cucumber slices on a plate.
  • Top generously with sea salt for 15-20 minutes to extract the moisture.
  • Wash the salt off the skulls and pat them dry with a paper towel.
  • Mix the rice vinegar, honey, chili flakes, sea salt, and pepper for the dressing in a small bowl.
  • Top the cucumber skulls with the dressing and allow to soak for 30 minutes.
  • Serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 33kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 0.4g, Fat: 0.1g, Saturated Fat: 0.01g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 7mg, Potassium: 79mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 135IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 0.2mg

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

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