My Snake Salad is a fun Halloween salad recipe that is loaded with flavor and frightfully delightful. Save this idea to Pinterest now so you can make it for Halloween or any slithering kind of event!
Come Halloween time I’m always looking for fun food ideas and seeing what I can use to make everyday delicious things more spooky. This season I’ve been a little slow because I’m in the middle of writing a recipe book. However, I think I can squeeze a few fun things in that are easy to make and delicious too like my Snake Salad Halloween Salad recipe.
There’s so many sweet treats for Halloween and sometimes I find not enough options that are actually healthy. This Snake Salad is actually good for you and delicious too! It doesn’t contain meat or dairy either so it is vegetarian friendly.
The ingredients you will need
First, to make the Snake Salad you will need cucumbers. This Halloween salad recipe is basically a cucumber salad recipe presented in snake form. To make this I used two English cucumbers and about 3 Persian cucumbers.
I also added red pepper to my salad. It felt a little plain just using the cucumbers themselves and I wanted to get more vegetables in. I just the red pepper small and just scattered them around my plate.
I also used mushrooms in the snake salad. I used Oyster mushrooms that I cut at the base so they would stand. I also used some smaller ones that I can’t seem to fully identify that came in a chef’s sampler pack. You can use any kind you like.
Lastly, I didn’t include any greens because I made this kind of on a whim, but I think using fresh spinach as a base would be lovely. It would make it truly feel a little more like a salad and give you more vegetables. It would also go well with the dressing.
An asian dressing to top it
The dressing I made for this is a sesame and soy based dressing. I wanted it to taste tangy with a little spice but I also wanted it to be darker in color so it was more like kind of dirt. With the mushrooms standing on end I wanted to give the impression the snake in the Snake Salad was slithering through a wetlands or something like that. I knew using soy sauce in the dressing would make it darker and sesame oil goes well in soy sauce based dressings.
Additionally I used a little maple syrup, lime juice, olive oil and more. The full ingredient list and measurements are below in the printable recipe.
How to cut the cucumber (Photos below)
When cutting the part of the cucumber that is going to be the snake’s head for the Snake Salad, slide a bamboo skewer through the center of the cucumber at the opposite end. Be careful and go slow. Now, start at the end opposite of the snake head and cut in a spiral around the cucumber, using the skewer as a the stopping point. Stop cutting about 4 inches from the top to leave roomfor the snake head in this Halloween Salad recipe. You might have to repeat the spiral cut several times before the snake’s body “rings” are small enough for it to make sense and work.
Then remove the cucumber. It should be pliable enough to bend a little for you. Cut off the tail-end opposite the head.
Once the head piece is done, I found it easier to work in smaller sections for the other cucumbers. I sliced them on a slight diagonal and then would group several of them together. Then I used tooth picks to help secure the different sections of the snake. I found this made it easier to shape the snake and believe this makes it easier for guests to eat too.
Tips for making the Snake Salad
- When making this, bring your patience and buy an extra cucumber or two. Getting the ends to line up properly isn’t always as easy as it seems. Also, you can use the extra to cut as wedges for any corners that don’t turn smoothly.
- To make the eyes, use a tooth pick or a prong on a fork to make the little hole. Then take a peppercorn and push it in.
- I used a dried chili pepper to make the tongue and slide it over part of the stem of the cucumber that was still attached. You could also use regular red pepper.
- You can make the dressing ahead of time and leave it out on the counter for several hours. If you make it the day before refrigerate it and then take it out about 30 minutes before you need it to allow the oils to come back to room temperature. If you have leftover Snake Salad you can put it in an airtight container and save it for up to four days. Just make sure to take the toothpicks out first.
Looking for more Halloween fun?
If you’re looking for more Halloween recipes, try these posts too!
- Soul Cakes {HERE}
- Black Magic Sangria {HERE}
- Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats {HERE}
- Ghost Cupcakes {HERE}
- Halloween Dirt with Spooky Chocolate Trees {HERE}
- White Chocolate Covered Ghost Pretzels {HERE}
Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! I hope you love my Snake Salad Halloween Salad recipe. You can find a full, printable recipe below with all the ingredients and steps. Happy Eating and happy Halloween!
Snake Salad - Halloween Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for the snake salad
- 2-3 English Cucumbers You will only need 2 for the body but 3 is a good idea for making extra cuts, curve cuts, etc.
- 3 Persian cucumbers
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 10 mushrooms, whole or 5 mushrooms sliced
Ingredients for the dressing
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 1/3 cup soy sauce If you prefer low sodium use that
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 1/2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
- 2 Tbsp shallots, minced
- 1/2 Tbsp grated or pureed ginger
- 1 large piece of garlic, grated
- 1/2 Tbsp Sriracha
- 1/2 Tbsp Tuxedo sesame seeds
- 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
- Optional: 1/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake them to combine.
- Arrange the cucumber on a platter how you want it. Add the eyes and tongue.
- Scatter the red pepper around the platter and place the mushrooms.
- Pour the dressing onto the platter and serve immediately.
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