Halloween Fruit Platter with Ghost Bananas, Jack-O’-Lantern Clementines & Berry Yogurt Dip

This Halloween fruit platter is the easiest centerpiece you can put on a party table: a patch of peeled clementine jack-o’-lanterns with little celery stems, a crowd of banana ghosts with chocolate chip faces, and piles of dark grapes and berries around a pink raspberry yogurt dip. It needs no oven, no special tools, and no artistic skill, and kids can help with most of it.

It’s also planned like a real recipe, with exact amounts for 12 people, a make-ahead schedule, and the two things that matter most with a fruit tray: keeping the bananas from browning and keeping everything safe to eat while it sits out. From start to finish, it takes about 35 minutes.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Simple, realistic decorations: Two chocolate chips make a ghost’s eyes and one more makes the mouth. A short piece of celery turns a peeled clementine into a pumpkin. Nothing requires carving, candy melts, or food coloring.
• A dip that goes with everything: Thick Greek yogurt sweetened with a little honey and swirled with mashed fresh raspberries is tangy, pretty, and light next to the candy bowl.
• Exact quantities for a crowd: One platter feeds 12 as part of a party spread, with 12 ghosts and 12 pumpkins so every guest gets one of each.
• Mostly make-ahead: The dip, the clementine pumpkins, and the grapes can be ready a day early. Only the bananas wait until the last half hour.
• Fresh, bright colors: Orange, white, deep purple, and red read as Halloween without a single drop of dye.

Ingredients

Prep: 35 minutes  |  Cook: 0 minutes (no cooking)  |  Total: 35 minutes  |  Yield: 12 servings (1 large platter plus about 2 1/2 cups dip)

Equipment: 16- to 18-inch round platter or a large rimmed board, 3-cup serving bowl for the dip, larger bowl for ice (optional), paring knife, cutting board, small bowl and fork, pastry brush, colander, clean kitchen towels or paper towels

• 2 cups (16 ounces) plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 1 cup (about 5 ounces) fresh raspberries
• 3 tablespoons honey, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 12 clementines
• 1 celery rib
• 1 1/2 pounds seedless black or red grapes
• 1 pound fresh strawberries
• 12 ounces fresh blackberries (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 6 ounces fresh blueberries (about 1 cup)
• 6 medium bananas, just ripe (yellow with no brown spots)
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice or lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon mini semisweet chocolate chips, for the eyes
• 12 regular semisweet chocolate chips, for the mouths

Ingredient Notes

• Greek yogurt: Whole-milk Greek yogurt makes the thickest, creamiest dip that clings to fruit. Low-fat Greek yogurt works but tastes tangier. Regular (not Greek) yogurt is too thin for dipping.
• Raspberries and honey: Mashed raspberries give the dip its color and fresh berry flavor, and 3 tablespoons of honey is enough to soften the yogurt’s tang without making it taste like dessert. Maple syrup works the same way. Don’t serve honey to babies under 1 year old.
• Clementines: Seedless clementines (sometimes sold as Cuties or Halos) peel cleanly and hold their round pumpkin shape. Pick heavy, bright fruit without soft spots.
• Celery: One rib gives you plenty of small, green pumpkin stems. It’s crisp, food-safe, and easy to pull out before eating.
• Grapes and berries: Dark grapes and blackberries give the platter its spooky color; strawberries and blueberries add contrast. Buy seedless grapes. Berries spoil quickly once they’re wet, so rinse them close to serving time.
• Bananas: Choose bananas that are fully yellow but still firm. Riper bananas with brown spots are too soft to stand up and brown faster once peeled.
• Orange or lemon juice: A light coat of citrus juice slows browning on cut bananas. Lemon juice works a little better; orange juice tastes milder on the fruit.
• Chocolate chips: Mini chips make neat eyes and a regular chip makes a surprised ghost mouth. If anyone at the party has a food allergy, check the chocolate chip label for milk, soy, and nut cross-contact warnings.

How to Make a Halloween Fruit Platter

1. Make the berry yogurt dip: In a small bowl, mash the raspberries with 1 tablespoon of the honey using a fork until juicy but still a little chunky. In the serving bowl, stir the Greek yogurt with the remaining 2 tablespoons honey and the vanilla until smooth. Spoon the mashed raspberries over the yogurt and swirl them in with a knife, leaving pink streaks. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until you’re ready to serve.
2. Wash and dry the produce: Rinse the clementines, celery, grapes, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and bananas under cool running water, including the fruit you’ll peel, so nothing from the peels ends up on the fruit. Don’t use soap. Drain the grapes and berries in a colander and spread everything out on clean towels to dry.
3. Make the jack-o’-lantern clementines: Peel the clementines, keeping each one whole, and pull off any loose white strings. Cut the celery rib into 12 thin sticks about 1 inch long. Press one celery stick into the small dimple at the top of each clementine, where the stem was, so it stands up like a pumpkin stem.
4. Prep the grapes and berries: Snip the grapes into small clusters of 4 to 6 grapes. Hull the strawberries and halve any large ones. Leave the blackberries and blueberries whole.
5. Build the platter: Set the bowl of dip on the platter, a little off center. Group the clementine pumpkins together on one side like a pumpkin patch. Fill in around them and the dip with the grape clusters, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, leaving an open space for the ghosts.
6. Make the ghost bananas: No more than 30 minutes before serving, peel the bananas and cut each one in half crosswise. Stand each half on its flat cut end so the rounded tip becomes the ghost’s head. Brush the bananas lightly all over with the orange juice or lemon juice. Press 2 mini chocolate chips, point side in, into the upper part of each banana for eyes, and press 1 regular chocolate chip, point side in, below them for a mouth.
7. Finish the platter: Stand the 12 banana ghosts in the open space on the platter, tucking a few grape clusters around them to keep them upright.
8. Serve and keep it cold: Serve right away. For a long party, set the bowl of dip inside a larger bowl of ice. Don’t let the platter sit out longer than 2 hours (1 hour if it’s above 90°F); refrigerate or discard what’s left after that.

Tips for Success

• Assemble the bananas last. Even with citrus, peeled bananas darken within an hour or two. Put everything else on the platter first, then add the ghosts right before guests arrive.
• Dry the fruit well. Water left on berries and grapes pools on the platter, dilutes the dip, and makes berries spoil faster. Give them a few minutes on a towel.
• Use the stem dimple. Every clementine has a small hollow where the stem was attached. Pushing the celery into that spot keeps it straight without tearing the fruit.
• Build in zones. Grouping each fruit together, pumpkins in one patch, ghosts in another, berries in piles, looks deliberate and is easier than arranging patterns.
• Refill instead of topping off. At a long party, keep half the dip and some fruit in the refrigerator and swap in a fresh bowl or plate after about an hour, rather than adding fresh food to a platter that has been sitting out.
• Keep a small spoon in the dip. It’s easier for kids than dunking whole bananas, and it keeps the dip bowl cleaner.

Variations and Substitutions

• Drawn-on pumpkins: Instead of peeling, leave the clementines whole and draw jack-o’-lantern faces on the peel with a black edible food-coloring marker. Guests peel them before eating. Use only markers labeled edible or food-safe.
• Different dip: Swap the raspberries for 1 cup of chopped strawberries, or skip the berries and stir 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon into the sweetened yogurt. For richer dessert dips, see our Halloween dips 4 ways.
• Extra fruit: Kiwi slices or green grapes add a monster-green accent. Skip cut apples and pears unless you’ll serve them immediately, since they brown quickly.
• Dairy-free: Use a thick, plain coconut or almond milk yogurt and dairy-free chocolate chips.
• Smaller party: For 6 people, halve every ingredient and use a 12- to 14-inch platter.

How to Serve It at a Halloween Party

Set the platter out at the start of the party, when kids are hungriest and before the candy comes out, and keep a stack of small plates and napkins next to it. It fits on a table with savory snacks, a pot of chili, or a dessert board.

For a full Halloween spread, pair it with our Halloween stuffed mini peppers and mummy jalapeño poppers. You’ll find more party food in our party appetizers.

Make-Ahead, Storage, and Food Safety

• 1 day ahead: Make the dip, cover, and refrigerate it (the raspberry swirl will turn the yogurt a softer pink overnight, which is fine). Peel the clementines, add the celery stems, and refrigerate them in a covered container. Wash, dry, and cut the grapes into clusters and refrigerate them.
• A few hours ahead: Rinse, dry, and hull the berries. You can arrange everything except the bananas on the platter, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it.
• At the party: Keep the platter out of direct sun and away from the stove. Cut fruit and yogurt dip shouldn’t sit out for more than 2 hours total (1 hour above 90°F).
• Leftovers: Refrigerate leftover grapes, berries, clementines, and dip in covered containers within 2 hours and use them within 2 to 3 days. Banana ghosts don’t keep; peel off the chips and freeze the banana pieces for smoothies.
• Freezing: Don’t freeze the platter or the dip; the fruit turns mushy and the yogurt separates when thawed.

Halloween Fruit Platter FAQ

How do I keep the banana ghosts from turning brown?

Choose firm bananas, brush the cut and peeled surfaces with orange or lemon juice, and make them no more than 30 minutes before serving. Citrus slows browning but doesn’t stop it, so assembling close to party time matters most.

How far ahead can I make a Halloween fruit platter?

The dip, the clementine pumpkins, and the grapes can be made 1 day ahead. The berries can be washed and arranged a few hours ahead. Add the banana ghosts last.

How long can a fruit platter sit out?

Up to 2 hours at room temperature, or 1 hour if it’s above 90°F. After that, refrigerate or throw out what’s left. Keeping the dip bowl on ice helps it stay cold, but it doesn’t extend the 2-hour limit for the cut fruit.

How much fruit do I need for 12 people?

As part of a party spread, this platter has about 1 cup of fruit per person plus a ghost and a pumpkin each: 6 bananas, 12 clementines, 1 1/2 pounds of grapes, 1 pound of strawberries, 12 ounces of blackberries, and 6 ounces of blueberries. If the fruit is the main snack, add another pound of grapes.

Can I use candy eyes?

Yes, candy eyes stick well to bananas. Chocolate chips are easier to find and look just as cute.

Can I draw faces on the clementines instead of peeling them?

Yes. Use a black marker that’s labeled edible or food-safe on the unpeeled fruit, and let guests peel them. Never use regular craft or permanent markers on food.

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