This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
Turn taco night into a spooky Halloween themed dinner with a trio of puking pumpkins. Great idea for Halloween parties or a fun family dinner that both kids and adults will love!
Halloween Taco Night
Get ready for Halloween with this puking pumpkin taco board. A trio of small pumpkins “puking” salsa, guacamole and sour cream will transform taco (or nacho) night into a fun Halloween themed dinner.
Everybody loves tacos – total crowd pleaser! And what screams Halloween more than having pumpkins throwing up the taco toppings? It’s cute, creepy, kind of gross and a whole lot of fun!
This puking pumpkin taco board is always a hit! Perfect for a spooky Halloween dinner with the family or a fun easy idea for a Halloween party. Both kids and adults love it!
How To Make This Puking Pumpkin Taco Board
Step 1: Gather pumpkins. You will need 3 small pumpkins. I like the size of sugar pumpkins (or pie pumpkins) since they are small but still large enough to easily carve.
Step 2: Carve pumpkins. Hollow out the pumpkins and carve faces into them. I like to carve a simple “vomit” face (see picture below). However, you can get creative and carve any face you like. To make it easy, draw on your outline first and then use a pumpkin carving knife (so much easier than a kitchen knife).
Step 3: Arrange toppings. Place carved pumpkins on a large board or platter. Arrange the salsa, guacamole and sour cream to resemble vomit coming out of each pumpkins’ mouth. You want it to look like the pumpkins are throwing up these toppings onto the board or platter.
Step 4: Add tacos. Arrange tacos around the board. You can either pre-assemble the tacos like I have excluding the wet toppings (those are added on later from the puking pumpkins) or set it up taco bar style. You could also scatter chips around the board as well or substitute tacos for nachos. Lots of options!
Possible Variations
You can customize this board so many ways. Here are a few ideas…
- Set up a taco bar: Since I was making these for the family, I chose to pre-assemble the tacos with taco meat, cheese, lettuce and diced tomatoes so that everybody could grab them and easily finish them off with the “wet” toppings from the board. However, you could also set out all the components separately around the puking pumpkins to make it a “build your own taco bar”.
- Serve with nachos or chips: Instead of tacos, you could also serve the puking pumpkin board with a platter of nachos or tortilla chips to dip in.
- Make it vegan: This can easily be customized to suit any dietary needs or preferences. For example, you could make it vegan by substituting the sour cream for a vegan alternative like cashew sour cream and making tacos with vegan friendly fillings.
Tips and FAQ
- Pumpkin Carving Tips: Carve the mouth low down on the pumpkin. This makes it easier to arrange the toppings to look like “vomit” coming out. Draw your outline on first since it is easier than going in free hand. I also highly recommend using a pumpkin carving tool since in my experience it is WAY easier than trying to carve with a kitchen knife.
- Make Ahead: Carving the pumpkins ahead of time makes this a quick dinner or party idea.
There are a number of options! You could use a large cookie sheet, place each pumpkin on a separate platter or just line the area underneath with parchment paper. You could even simply place small bowls in front of each pumpkin and arrange the toppings to look like they are being vomited into the bowls.
You can serve all your favorite Mexican or Tex Mex side dishes alongside. Some ideas include: Mexican rice, rice and beans, corn salad, Mexican chopped salad, Mexican street corn, etc. And let’s not forget the margaritas! These Fresh Citrus Blender Margaritas and these Passion Fruit Margaritas both have a natural yellow-orange color that works perfectly with a Halloween theme.
More Fun Halloween Food Ideas
Let me know in the comments if you give this Puking Pumpkin Taco Board a try this Halloween!
Puking Pumpkin Halloween Taco Board
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 30 min (plus taco prep)
- Yield: 1 platter 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Assemble
- Cuisine: American, Tex Mex
Description
Get ready for Halloween with this Puking Pumpkin Taco Board. A trio of pumpkins “puking” salsa, guacamole and sour cream will transform taco night into a fun Halloween themed dinner that both kids and adults will love!
Ingredients
- 3 small pumpkins (I like the size of sugar or pie pumpkins)
- salsa (thick and chunky style salsa works best)
- guacamole
- sour cream
- your favourite taco shells and fillings
Instructions
- Carve Pumpkins: Hollow out the pumpkins and carve a simple “vomit” face (or get creative and carve any face you like).
- Arrange Toppings: Place the carved pumpkins on a large board or platter. Arrange the salsa, guacamole and sour cream to resemble vomit coming out of each pumpkins’ mouth onto the board or platter.
- Add Tacos: Arrange tacos around the board. Option 1: Fully assembled tacos excluding the “wet” toppings that will be added on later from the puking pumpkin board. Option 2: Build your own taco bar with all the components placed in separate dishes around the board.
Notes
- Pumpkin Carving Tips: Carve the mouth low down on the pumpkin to make it easier to arrange the toppings to look like “vomit” flowing out onto the board. Draw an outline first and then use a pumpkin carving knife (so much easier than a kitchen knife).
- Make It Ahead: Carve the pumpkins ahead of time to make this a quick and easy dinner or party idea.
- This puking pumpkin board could also be served with nachos or tortilla chips.
- Adjust quantity of toppings and tacos depending on number of people being served. This can be the centrepiece for a small family taco night or a large party.
⬇ PIN it for later! ⬇
This is sooo FUN! My kids would love this and it’s perfect because we have 3 pumpkins to carve- Happy Halloween!!
My kids thought it was hilarious! Hope your family has fun with it too!
I can only imagine the (delighted) chaos that would erupt in my house if taco night became so visually entertaining. I’d probably never hear the end of it from my boys. Lol. Love this fun, silly little Halloween idea – and I’m particularly impressed that you were able to get colour-coordinated mini pumpkins to match your sauces! Cheers.
Keeping my excited boys away while I took pictures was difficult haha. Thanks for noticing the colour-coordinated pumpkins – I couldn’t help myself!
This is hilarious!! Perfect for creeping out the kids at Halloween – and perfect for adults to devour. Great idea Vanessa!
Haha – glad you like it! I had a lot of fun making it and my whole family thought it was pretty funny.
Such a fun idea for Halloween!! I can imagine some excited kiddos around the puking pumpkins! 😀 It sure is gross, but what’s Halloween without some grossness?! 😁
The kids were already excited for taco night and this just put it over the top haha – so much fun!
This is such a fun idea! That would totally transform taco night for Halloween! I had never seen a white pumpkin, love how you have three different pumpkins according to the color of the “vomit” 😉 .
Haha – it wasn’t my intention but I was inspired when I saw all the different coloured pumpkins at the farm!
Thanks for the good read!!! I’ll have to check your other stuff also.