I’m not a scientist, but I am a great cook, and I think the recipe goes like this:
1 part spooky1 part sillyA double dose of fun4 parts deliciousPlenty of sprinkles, food dye, and candy eyeballs (Optional)
For this list, I’ve pulled out all the stops. I love Halloween. So putting together this list of some of the most fun and exciting Halloween appetizers I could find doesn’t even feel like work to me. I look forward to making Halloween-themed articles every year. And not to toot my own horn, but this year’s list might be the best I’ve ever made. I hope you have as much fun reading about these recipes (and making them!) as I did writing about them.
1. Mini-Spider Pizzas
All you’ll need to make these scary spider mini-pizzas (okay – they’re too adorable to be scary) is pizza crust, tomato sauce and paste, herbs, cheese, and black olives. The way you’ll arrange the olives on top makes them look just like big, black spiders crawling on each pizza. If some of your people don’t like olives, don’t worry; you’ll add them after the pizzas finish cooking, so they can easily remove them without leaving any of the olive taste behind.
2. Mummy Brie
If you’ve never tried brie, it can be hard to describe. It’s somehow fruity, tangy, nutty, and herby all at once. Baked brie is also creamy and warm. The puff pastry crust adds the mummy’s bandages and a rich, buttery taste that’s simply delightful. Add a couple of olives and mini-pepperonis for the eyes, and you’ll have an adorable mummy!
3. Veggie Tray Skeleton
You won’t believe how easy it is to turn a simple veggie tray into a cute and realistic, albeit colorful, skeleton. With some peppers for ribs, dipping sauce for a head, celery stalks for arms, and mushrooms for hips, this guy doesn’t precisely look like the real thing, but everyone will know what he is.
4. Pigs in a Blanket
Sadly, not every Halloween appetizer can be Halloween-themed. Some of them, like these pigs in a blanket, are just tasty and easy to make. All you’ll need are hot dogs, a can of crescent rolls, and some cheese slices. You can have them ready in less than 30 minutes, and honestly, they kind of look like mummies. Add two dots of ketchup or mustard to the top for eyes, and they’ll be convincing .
5. Jack-O-Lantern Cheese Quesadillas
You can make these enchanting little Jack-o-lanterns in 15 minutes with only two ingredients – cheese and tortillas! If you can cut a pumpkin shape and a Jack-o-lantern face, then you can make them with no trouble. You can even get your kids in on the fun by buying them edible markers to draw the faces. (You’ll want to do the cutting yourself, though.)
6. Queso
It may not be Halloween-themed, but there is never a wrong time for queso, especially when it’s delicious copycat queso from Qdoba. It’s creamy, spicy, and full of flavor.
7. Reese’s Peanut Butter Ball
It’s not Halloween without chocolate, and this Reese’s peanut butter ball is supremely chocolatey. You’ll make the inside with cream cheese, brown and powdered sugars, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and crushed peanut butter cups. Then, cover the outside in sweet, crunchy Reese’s Pieces. Serve it with vanilla wafers, broken ice cream cones, graham crackers, or anything you like.
8. Bacon-Wrapped Smokies
I don’t know what it is about wrapped things that make me think of mummies, but that’s where my brain goes, particularly around Halloween. These are a meat lover’s dream. Each one is ideal for bite-sized snacking. They’re smokie sausages wrapped in bacon and covered with brown sugar. Seriously, what’s not to love?
9. Halloween Cheese and Crackers
Get creative with your cheese and crackers this Halloween by using Halloween cookie cutters to cut the cheese. Top each cracker with a pumpkin, ghost, bat, or kitty cat. (This is a versatile option that you can use for any holiday.)
10. Monster Munch
Take some Chex, pretzels, and all your favorite cereals and Halloween candies, mix them, and cover them in melted white chocolate chips and Halloween sprinkles. It takes mere minutes to make and tastes so good. Plus, you can follow this recipe or make it up as you go along! It’s the perfect Halloween sweet treat.
11. Jack-O-Lantern Hand Pies
These are mini-pumpkin pies that look like Jack-o-lanterns. I’m not sure I’ve ever loved a pie so much in my life. They’re absolutely enchanting. They also aren’t hard to make. You’ll only need pumpkin, milk, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the fillings, and flour, butter, and water for the crusts. You can make half a dozen in about 40 minutes. I’m not sure there’s a cuter Halloween dessert anywhere in the world.
12. Halloweeno Jalapeno Popper Mummies
Halloweeno Jalapeno – how fun! These have buttery, flaky crusts and are creamy and full of heat. There’s a massive burst of spice and flavor in every bite. And who can resist those candy eyeballs staring back at them from the mummy wrappings?!
13. Halloween Seven-Layer Taco Dip
This is not your traditional seven-layer dip. Of course, the cream cheese spider web and olive spiders probably gave that away already. It has everything you love about taco dip – beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and more – but it looks a bit more witchy than the standard variety.
14. Spooky Spinach and Artichoke Halloween Dip Recipe
Okay, so this is just spinach and artichoke dip, but with the proper presentation, you can definitely make it spooky. Even the non-spooky variety will be a hit, though. It’s smooth, creamy, cool, and incredible. No one can turn down a second (or third) helping of this delectable dip.
15. Halloween Witch Guacamole
This, too, is just simple – but yummy – guacamole. However, with the right extras, you can easily make it look like a warty witch. All you’ll need are carrot sticks for hair, black tortilla chips for a hat, peppers and olives for eyes, peppers for a mouth, lime wedges for eyebrows, and a pickle to make her nose. The hairy carrot tops are also an excellent touch.
16. Jack Skellington Ricotta Olive Tarts
If you love The Nightmare Before Christmas and enjoy olives and ricotta cheese, this will be your new favorite recipe. They take a bit of time and effort to make, but they look exactly like Jack and are salty, cheesy, garlicky, and great. Seriously, they’re incredible.
17. Eyeball Caprese Bites
I love Caprese bites because you can mix up a dozen or more of them in 10 minutes with minimal ingredients – mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and basil leaves, in this case. I never knew you could make them look like little eyeballs until I found this recipe. How spectacularly spooky!
18. Witches’ Broomsticks
If you have pretzel sticks, cheese sticks, and fresh chives, you can whip up dozens of these adorable witches’ broomsticks in no time. Plus, the salty pretzels taste phenomenal with the cheese. (These are also ideal for Harry Potter-themed parties!)
19. Clementine Pumpkins
If you can peel oranges and cut cucumbers, you can easily make these adorable – and surprisingly realistic – miniature pumpkins. Everyone will love them because who doesn’t love clementines, especially when they’re pre-peeled.
20. Apple Monster Bites
These are so much fun! Who knew sliced apples, strawberries, and sunflower seeds could look so much like monsters? Add some homemade googly eyes (or candy eyeballs) to the tops, and these look eerily realistic. I’ll be honest, though; those sunflower seed teeth are almost too creepy to eat.
21. Crescent Roll Witch Hats
The warm, flaky, buttery taste of crescent rolls combined with yummy cheese and flavorful salami and basil – are you drooling yet?! Oh, and they’re shaped like witch hats! If these don’t tickle your sense of whimsy (and your taste buds), nothing will.
22. Pizza Rolls
No matter your age, you never really outgrow the love of pizza rolls. When you cut down on the grease and manage to retain the crispy crust and gooey, cheesy center, that’s even better. You can do that with ease by cooking them in an air fryer. And it only takes about 6 minutes to make two dozen. You can’t beat that.
23. Ham ‘n’ Cheese Spiders
I’ll be honest. These look more like crabs than spiders to me, but they have eight legs, so… Anyway, they’re so tasty that people won’t care if they look like Hannibal Lecter once they take the first bite. The ham is tender and juicy, and the cheese is pure melted goodness. The onions, mustard, butter, and poppy seeds add even more rich, bold flavors.
24. Nachos
This recipe for nachos is my all-time favorite, and I don’t care if it’s Halloween, Thanksgiving, or the Ides of March. These nachos make a fantastic appetizer any time of year. With sharp cheddar cheese, tender, well-seasoned beef, and every vegetable and topping you can fit on them, you won’t have to worry about the chips going soggy. They won’t last long enough.
25. Witches Finger Breadsticks
All you’ll need to make these is pizza dough, eggs and water (for an egg wash), and raw almonds. The knotty, twisted pizza dough looks creepily like a long finger, and once you add the almond fingernail, it’s almost too authentic to eat! You can also add poppy or sesame seeds for extra texture and flavor.
26. Halloween Snack Tray
You can add anything you like to your Halloween snack tray. The key is to include plenty of bright, vibrant colors and several unique textures and flavors. Don’t be afraid to mix sweet with salty and sour, soft with crunchy and squishy, and fruits with candy and chips. Add some Halloween candy and decorations, as well.
27. Monster Halloween Popcorn
If you can pop popcorn and coat it in melted candy melts, you can make monster Halloween popcorn in 10 minutes or less. Add some Halloween sprinkles, candy eyeballs, and candy corn to make it extra Halloween-themed.
28. Eyeball Deviled Eggs
For these extra scary treats, you’ll make your deviled egg filling from the yolks, green pesto, mayo, salt, and pepper. Then you’ll add red veins (food coloring) to the egg whites to make them look bloodshot. Finally, scoop your green goop (the filling) back on the eggs and add a candy eyeball on each one. Honestly, these look a bit gross, but they’re a huge Halloween hit, especially with the kiddos.
29. Halloween Eyeball Bruschetta
These aren’t quite as chilling as the deviled egg eyes, but if you enjoy bruschetta, you’ll love them. You don’t have to do any cooking for these – just assembling. They’ll look like bloodshot eyes and are full of cheese, pepper, and garlic flavor. They’re the perfect Eye-talian treat.
30. Pumpkin Cheese Ball
I’m a massive fan of cheese balls, anyway. Add that to my love of Halloween, and this is one of the best appetizers I’ve ever found. I make it any time it even remotely makes sense – Halloween, Thanksgiving, any get-together held in fall, or October birthday parties. It tastes marvelous – creamy and cheesy on the inside, with an outside covered in crunchy, flavorful Doritos. I usually serve it with crackers, but honestly, I could eat it by itself. Plus, it looks just like a pumpkin! With something this cute, can you blame me for making it far too often? Click on a star to rate it!
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