When you’re preparing for a Halloween party or deciding on an office potluck dish, it’s easy to get stuck in a sweet rut. After all, it’s much easier to turn desserts into ghoulish delights.
It’s not difficult to add a savory element to your Halloween spread though. These ideas are both filling and festive, and they can be adapted from recipes you already have on hand.
Bloodshot Deviled Egg Eyeballs: Any deviled egg recipe will do here. Just paint red lines on the egg whites with food coloring and place a black olive on the yolk.
Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Pepper: Whether your filling is inspired by Mexican or Italian cuisine, or something else all together, all you need is a handful of orange peppers for stuffing. Before you bake, cut triangle eyes and a ghoulish grin into each pepper. Make sure to bake with the tops on so it looks like a pumpkin.
Mummy Baked Brie: You can go savory or sweet for this party snack. Just cut the dough into even strips then drape them over the brie to look like a mummy. Use dried fruit like cranberries or cherries for the eyes.
Spider Pizza: Both regular-sized pizzas and mini versions can be topped with Halloween flare. Construct a spider using pepperonis for the body, black olives for the eyes and strips of green peppers for the legs.
Taco Dip Graveyard: Any taco dip can be turned into a graveyard scene. First, top it with a layer of lettuce for the grass then place several mounds of finely chopped black olives throughout to act as dirt. Baked tortillas in the shape of tombstones and trees add the final creepy element.
Green Halloween Zombies
Recipe courtesy of The Popcorn Board
Mix sweet and savory with this festive snack. You can even get the kids involved with party prep by allowing them to decorate the zombies after you’ve made the base.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ quarts popped popcorn
- 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
- 4 tablespoons lime gelatin powder
- Red gum balls, candy corn, flat green candy strips (or fruit leather), green sugar sprinkles
Directions
- Place popcorn in a large bowl; set aside.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Stir marshmallows into butter until melted. Stir in gelatin powder until evenly colored. Pour over popcorn and stir until evenly coated. With buttered hands, shape popcorn into 7 oval shapes.
- Flatten one oval shape slightly and squeeze one end to form a ‘skull’ shape. Place onto parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining shapes.
- To decorate: Press two gumballs into each skull to form ‘eyes’. Press candy corn into skull to from ‘teeth’. Use scissors to trim candy strips and press into top for ‘hair’. Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles.
- Allow ‘zombies’ to set for about 20 minutes before wrapping individually in plastic wrap (or serve immediately).