10 Appetizers to Serve at Your Halloween Party
Having a Halloween party? While candy might take center stage this holiday, you’ll need more than just fun-sized treats to serve at your spooky bash.
Luckily, we’ve rounded up some scary good appetizers, bites and dips for you to whip up this Halloween. These Halloween ‘horror d’oeuvres’ will prepare everyone for the oncoming sugar rush of trick or treating or the excitement of your costume competition. Create a fiendish spread of appetizers.
Here are our top 10 tantalizing and terrifying appetizers to serve at your Halloween party this year… Any one of these recipes will knock ‘em dead!
1. Clever Cheese and Charcuterie
What is a party without some kind of cheese plate? Put a seasonal spin on your cheese or charcuterie board by forming soft cheeses into a candy corn shape or pumpkin shaped cheese ball, with a variety of dippers, like crackers and raw veggies, on the side. A truly opulent cheese and charcuterie board gives you the opportunity to create an edible centerpiece or focal point for your event.
2. Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are a classic Halloween snack and by simply toasting and spicing them, you can create a flavorful and fun party food. After toasting the pumpkin seeds in a hot oven, sprinkle them with a sweet mix of cinnamon and sugar or a savory combo of salt and hot pepper flakes. Toss during its cooking time and then allow to fully cool before serving. These are the perfect pairing for cider or cold beer at a Halloween gathering!
3. A Cauldron of Dip
Save time and buy your basic dips already made at the grocery store, then put some care and effort into the presentation. For instance, buy a couple of tubs of simple onion dip and fill a dollar-store witch’s cauldron with them. Make sure to wash and sanitize the plastic cauldron first! Serve alongside some pretzel rods or veggie sticks for a super easy and spirited appetizer.
4. Devilish Deviled Eggs
So, how do you make deviled eggs more ‘devilish’, you ask? Add a bit of mayo, mustard, paprika, and cayenne pepper to the yolks and then add a can of deviled ham. Look for deviled ham in the canned meat section of your grocery store; it’s a salty, smooth puree of ham which pairs well with the rich egg yolks. Use a piping bag to fill the egg halves with your devilish mixture and garnish with a slice of black olive. Or, to make the eggs even more devilish, cut red bell pepper into tiny triangles and top the eggs with ‘devil horns.’
5. Candied and Caramel Apples
The ideal sweet appetizer for a Halloween party is caramel and/or candied apples. The presentation is fun and whimsical; line the apples up on the table, each one wrapped and tied with festive ribbon or tape. While adults love the nostalgia of candied apples, it also works for a kids’ party, themed around Snow White’s poisoned apple. If making your own candied apples, create a range of different topped apples for your guests to select from and enjoy, with options like sprinkles and chocolate chips. These also make fantastic favors for guests to take home after the party.
6. Stuffed Mushroom Eyeballs
Stuffed mushrooms are a popular appetizer for any party, but for Halloween, make the mushrooms into eyeballs! This is easy enough to do with olives and sundried tomatoes. First, make your mushrooms by filling clean button mushroom caps with a mixture of cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped garlic, and spices to taste. Top each filled cap with a slice of black- or green- olive. Use thin strips of the pimento or sundried tomato to replicate red veins in the ‘eyeball’. Bake at 400-degrees for about 15 minutes, serve and watch your guests’ eyes pop out of their heads!
7. Witchy Finger Breadsticks
Even the youngest of guests will enjoy some witchy finger breadsticks to dip in marinara or Alfredo sauce for an appetizer. Prepare homemade dough or buy pre-made pizza dough and roll it out and cut into sticks to bake. Before baking, add a whole almond to the end to replicate the look of a pointy fingernail. Push the almond into the dough to secure it during baking. Pile high on a platter and watch them disappear!
8. Squash Hummus in a Pumpkin
Something else that you can dip your witchy finger breadsticks in is a tasty squash hummus served in a hollowed out pumpkin shell! Make your favorite hummus recipe but add a pound of cooked, mashed butternut squash and a good pinch of cinnamon to it before pureeing in the blender. The result is a satiny smooth, spicy hummus that is a gorgeous orange hue for your party. Serve in a cleaned pumpkin with cut veggies and pita chips.
9. Spidery Guac and Chips
Create a clever platter of spidery guacamole with black tortilla chips to serve as an appetizer at your party. Spread the guac in a shallow round dish; draw circles in the guac with sour cream and use a skewer to create spiderwebs. Surround the web with piles of black tortilla chips for dipping. Make a little spider in the corner of the web with a whole black olive and little black slivers of olive for his legs.
10. Sushi Brain
Do you like sushi? For a fantastic focal point of the table that won’t soon be forgotten, make your own sushi brain! Simply cover half of a ripe avocado with cream cheese and folded slivers of smoked salmon to look like a creepy brain.
