Halloween Food Ideas
Halloween Food & Hors d'oeuvre Ideas & Recipes
Although Halloween celebrates the sweets, sooner or later it will become necessary to refuel the flesh with more nutritious fare. These easy tasted-and-true Halloween food ideas can offer a savory change of pace as the festivities rage on:
Coffin Canapes
Don’t be bored to death by an endless barrage of sugary Halloween confections--tantalize your taste buds with a mouthful of creamy fresh herbs with a touch of rye.
Utensils:
Evoking the tradition of the classic Halloween candy with none of the waxy finish, these gelatinous sips of creamsicle goodness will elevate the social atmosphere.
Skewer the whole shebang with a long "ice pick" style pick and balance on the rim of the glass. Alternatively, skewer with a cocktail sword or toothpick and carve a very small wedge in the bottom of your eyeball and fit over the rim of the glass.
- Yummy Mummy Pizza Bites
- Coffin Canapes
- Green-Eyed Monster Eyeballs
- Easy Cheesy Jack-O-Lantern Sliders
BONUS: We've also included two party potions for your pleasure:
- Candy Corn Jell-O shooters for a sweet distraction
- A tasty signature Halloween drink to serve a crowd
Yummy Mummy Pizza Bites
There’s nothing uncanny about devouring this glowering pizza-faced dead guy. Even picky eaters will eye this tasty tidbit with “wrapped” attention. Always a hit!
Servings: 32 bites
Oven Temperature: 350 F
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Preparation Level: Easy
Utensils:
- Nonstick baking sheet
- Tablespoon
- Paring knife
- Thin round loaf of French bread or baguette
- 2 cups pizza sauce
- 64 black olives slices (16-24 whole olives)
- Scallions or bell pepper
- 12 oz mozzarella slices
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Slice scallions or bell peppers into tiny slivers, small enough to fit in the center of the sliced black olive rounds
- Slice baguette into 1/2" pieces and arrange on a nonstick baking sheet. If using a regular pan, cover with aluminum foil.
- Spread one tablespoon of marinara sauce onto each piece of bread.
- Gently press sliced black olives into the sauce and bread as eyes.
- Insert small pieces of scallions or bell peppers for pupils. Add a flourish of personality to each creation by using the green and white parts of the scallions or red, green, yellow, and orange peppers
- Cut mozzarella into strips and lay across muffins to imitate mummy wrapping. Trim, as needed, create varying size strips to prevent touching the bottom of the pan.
- Bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.
Swizzle Trick: Add some fluffy spiders or other items from the crypt to your serving tray for a fun presentation.
Coffin Canapes
Servings: 24 canapes
Cook time: None
Preparation Level: Easy
Utensils:
- Paring knife or coffin-shaped cookie cutter
Ingredients
- 16 thin slices of rye or pumpernickel bread
- 8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
- 6 finely chopped scallions
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh dill
- Optional: Tapenade spread, jar of caviar, or smoked salmon
- 15-ounce jar roasted red peppers
- Mix the cream cheese, chopped scallions, and dill in a small bowl and set aside.
- Use a cookie cutter to create 3 coffin-shaped pieces from each slice of bread so that you end up with 48 pieces. If you do not have a cookie cutter: cut sandwich in coffin shapes, 2 slices at a time, to create matching sized pieces.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture on 24 of the small coffin pieces.
- Top with tapenade, caviar, or smoked salmon as desired.
- Add the matching coffin pieces on top to create each canape.
- Arrange on a serving tray.
- Cut the roasted red peppers into 24 equal long pieces and 48 equal short pieces to make the cross on each coffin.
- Arrange one long piece of red pepper and 2 short pieces on the top of each sandwich to form the cross.
Swizzle Trick: Add a tombstone, bat, vampire or other graveyard items to your serving tray for a fun presentation.
Green-Eyed Monster Eyeballs
Our version of the green-eyed monster has all the magical properties that make up great Halloween party food, but is delightfully more palatable than the traditional ogre's ogle.
Servings: 24 eyeballs
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Preparation Level: Moderate
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Preparation Level: Moderate
- Large saucepan
- Medium mixing bowl
- Paring knife
- Measuring spoons
- Blue food coloring
- Red food gel
Ingredients:
- 12 eggs
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 minced scallions
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 24 black olive slices
- 24 pimentos or diced red peppers
Preparation:
- Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cool water until eggs are submerged 1” under the surface. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and boil for 8 minutes. Turn heat off and allow eggs to sit in the hot water for another 2-3 minutes. Pour out hot water and submerge cooked eggs in cold water to cool.
- After eggs have cooled, peel shells off and slice in half lengthwise.
- Pop out the yolks and add to a medium mixing bowl, and mash together with the back of a fork until crumbled.
- Add mayonnaise and seasonings, mixing well into a paste.
- Begin adding blue food coloring a drop at a time until the yolks turn green.
- Make even mounds of the yolk mixture in the cavity of the white halves with a spoon.
- Gently press a black olive slice into each yolk mound.
- Insert a pimento or red pepper for the pupil.
- Drizzle lines of red food gel along white area to create the veins.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours or until ready to serve.
Swizzle Trick: Serve your delectable observers with eyeball salt & pepper shakers for an extra smidgen of attention.
Easy Cheesy Jack O’Lantern Sliders
Ravenous trick-or-treaters will light up with glee to see this classic American favorite Halloween food idea with a twist in jovial miniature form.
Servings: 8 sliders
Cook Time: 24 minutes
Preparation Level: Moderate
Utensils:
- Measuring spoons
- Medium and small mixing bowl
- Paring knife or Jack o’Lantern cookie cutters
Ingredients:
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound ground chuck
- 8 (3-inch) buns or rolls, split in half
- 2 to 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Preheat a skillet on medium heat or griddle to 350 degrees F.
- Set a cheese slice on a cutting board and create Jack O’Lantern faces with a cookie cutter or paring knife. Cut 8 slices and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and salt.
- Add ground chuck to a large mixing bowl, then knead in the seasoning mixture a little at a time, mixing thoroughly.
- Separate into eight small balls and flatten slightly.
- Cook burgers, about 3 minutes per side.
- Spread a small amount of Dijon mustard on the bottom halves and add other dressings if desired.
- Add the hot burger patties and top with cheese slices.
- Arrange the jolly Jack O'Lanterns on a serving tray with the buns to the side.
Candy Corn Jello Shots
Evoking the tradition of the classic Halloween candy with none of the waxy finish, these gelatinous sips of creamsicle goodness will elevate the social atmosphere.
Servings: 80 shots
Preparation Level: Moderate
Utensils:
- Measuring cups
- Paring knife
- Medium sauce pan
- Optional: Ladle
- Optional: Cupcake pan
Ingredients
- 10 oranges
- 1 box orange jello
- 4 oz. ounces coconut milk
- 1 envelope gelatin, unflavored
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1-1/2 cups vodka
- Cut the oranges in half and hollow the fruit out of the rind (save the fruit for the sangria recipe to follow).
- Place the hollowed out orange halves in the wells of a cupcake pan or dish so they won’t tip over.
- Orange Layer
- Bring one cup of water to a boil in a medium saucepan or heat in the microwave.
- Stir the orange Jello mix in the hot water until dissolved, then allow to cool.
- Add one cup of vodka while stirring slowly.
- Ladle or pour the Jello mixture into the orange halves, filling them half way.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm.
- White Layer
- Combine 1/2 a cup of water and 4 oz. of coconut milk into a medium sauce pan and sprinkle in the gelatin packet.
- Let the mixture sit undisturbed for one minute.
- Add 1/2 cup of white sugar and dissolve over medium heat.
- Allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes.
- Add 1/2 cup of vodka.
- Ladle the mixture over the firm orange jello layer
- Cover with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- When both layers have set after several hours, use a very sharp knife and slice the halves into quarters.
- Cut each quarter in half to get a bite-size, triangular candy corn Jello shot.
Swizzle Trick: Scatter real candy corn on the serving tray to complete the presentation. Consider a small bowl in the center for discarding orange peels.
Sweet Transylvanian Sangria
This dramatically red, autumn-inspired punch will add to the levity among friends and sane persons. Serve in a clear decanter or infusion jar to add a delicious bar-top display.
Servings: 16 cups
Preparation Level: Easy
Ingredients:
- 2 cups brandy
- 2 oranges, thinly sliced cross-ways
- 2 red apples, halved and thinly sliced
- 4 bottles well-chilled dry red wine
- 2 cups club soda
- 1-1/2 cups orange juice
- In a large pitcher, stir together brandy, orange and apple slices.
- Let stand 15 minutes.
- Add wine, club soda, and orange juice.
- Serve over ice in glasses (never put the ice in the pitcher).
Inspired by http://www.marthastewart.com
Eyeball Garnish
Eyeball Garnish (horrific & delicious): Hollow eyeball from a canned pear half with the large end of a melon baller. Cut out an opening in the center of the pear, a little larger than a blueberry, with a paring knife. Fill the carved out hole with strawberry or raspberry preserves, then insert a blueberry with the stem side out. Thin out the strawberries/raspberries with your finger so it looks like blood instead of oozing preserves.
Skewer the whole shebang with a long "ice pick" style pick and balance on the rim of the glass. Alternatively, skewer with a cocktail sword or toothpick and carve a very small wedge in the bottom of your eyeball and fit over the rim of the glass.