Raw Jack-o-Lantern Pepper Vegetable Holders for Full GAPS

Use these raw jack-o-lantern peppers to hold guacamole and vegetable sticks on a Halloween vegetable platter. One orange pepper holds green guacamole, and two yellow peppers hold upright vegetable sticks. Carve friendly grins, crooked teeth or wide-open mouths, then let a little guacamole spill through the orange pepper’s face for a green-slime finish.

The peppers stay raw throughout. Cut the faces before adding any dip or vegetables. There is no baking, cooling or carving a softened pepper in this version.

Jump to the Recipe

Have the guacamole ready

Make the Lime and Cilantro Guacamole With Paprika first, then measure about one cup of the finished dip. Keep it covered and refrigerated while you carve. Its ripe avocado base is thick enough to scoop with vegetables; avoid adding water to make it pour.

This platter uses prepared guacamole. Follow the separate recipe for its ingredients and method, including its optional tomato. Making that dip takes additional time beyond the pepper assembly.

Choose peppers that can stand

Use one large orange bell pepper and two large yellow bell peppers with broad, reasonably flat bases. Set them on the serving platter before cutting so you can check that they stand without support. A pepper that rocks badly will be awkward once it holds dip or vegetables.

Wash the peppers and dipping vegetables under running water and dry them. Use a clean knife and cutting board, keeping this ready-to-eat food separate from raw meat and its utensils.

Carve the faces while the peppers are intact

With a small, sharp paring knife, cut eyes, a nose and a mouth through one side of each whole pepper, before adding any food. Leave enough pepper between the openings to hold the face together. Simple triangles and a broad smile work; turn the eyes sideways and add jagged teeth for a more sinister face.

Next, cut around the stem end and lift out the top and core. Use a spoon to remove loose seeds and the pale inner ribs. Check that the bottom stays intact. Remove any loose cut-out pieces before filling.

Keep the sharp-knife carving with an adult. Someone helping with the platter can arrange the prepared vegetable sticks after the cutting is finished.

Fill two holders with vegetables and one with dip

Cut introduced raw carrots, cucumber and celery into thin spears that are easy to pick up. Peel them where needed for your own tolerance. Make the pieces long enough to stand above the rims, and fill the two yellow peppers loosely so the sticks can be removed without pulling the whole pepper over.

Vegetable amounts depend on the size of your peppers. Prepare enough to fill the two holders rather than forcing a fixed weight into them. Keep extra sticks chilled and replenish the platter as needed.

Spoon the measured guacamole into the orange pepper and set it between the vegetable holders. Some dip can peek or ooze through the carved mouth onto the platter. Put the whole arrangement on a plate with room around the faces to catch it.

Where this fits on GAPS

This is for Full GAPS after the selected raw vegetables and all the guacamole ingredients have been introduced and tolerated. The dip contains raw onion, garlic, lime, cilantro and paprika, with optional tomato. Using avocado does not make the whole platter an early Introduction Diet food.

Bell peppers and paprika are nightshades, as is the optional tomato. Introduce nightshades gradually and one at a time. Wait to introduce raw vegetables until diarrhea, abdominal pain and other digestive symptoms have completely cleared. Until then, keep vegetables peeled, deseeded and cooked rather than using this raw platter.

Other variations

Gruesome faces: Give the guacamole pepper a wide mouth and spoon some of its dip onto the platter in front. Use slanted eyes or uneven teeth on the vegetable holders. Keep enough connected pepper around each opening to support the bowl.

Different vegetable mixes: Use the raw carrots, cucumber and celery you already tolerate. Choose the mix you enjoy and cut enough to fill the holders. You can use only one of those vegetables if that is what you have.

A cooked pepper dinner: For a separate hot main dish, use the Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers With Beef and Cauliflower. Follow that recipe from the beginning; its filling and baking instructions belong to that dish.

Holding and serving

Keep the prepared vegetables and guacamole covered in the refrigerator at 40°F or below until serving. Assemble close to serving time for crisp vegetables and the freshest guacamole color. Lime does not guarantee that avocado will stay green.

Put out a smaller platter and replenish it with chilled food during a longer party. Refrigerate perishable food within two hours, or within one hour when the temperature is above 90°F. Discard dip and cut vegetables left out beyond those limits.

Questions before you start

Do these go in the oven?

No. The faces are carved into raw peppers, and the peppers stay raw when you add the prepared dip and vegetables.

How much does the recipe make?

It makes three edible serving bowls: one for about a cup of guacamole and two for vegetable sticks. The number of people it serves depends on the size of the peppers, how much vegetable you put out and the rest of the party food.

How long should I allow?

Allow about ten minutes to carve and assemble when your dip and vegetables are ready. Elaborate faces, making guacamole and preparing more vegetable sticks take additional time.

Other Halloween recipes

• Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers
• Werewolf Finger Cookies
• Clementine Pumpkins With Celery Stems
• Blueberry Lime Gummy Worms

The planned GAPS Holiday Cookbook Collection is listed in the WFLI Shop.

Raw Jack-o-Lantern Pepper Vegetable Holders Recipe

Assembly amounts adapted from Margo True’s pepper bowls for Sunset, with the raw carving method from Pamela Salzman’s Bell Pepper Jack o’ Lanterns.