20 terrifying (and easy) Halloween recipes for a frightfully good dinner
31 October is coming and the same question comes back every year: what to cook for Halloween without spending the whole day in the kitchen? No need for complicated recipes. A few olives for eyes, strips of puff pastry, a carved squash or a blood-red sauce are enough to turn an everyday dish into a memorable Halloween meal.
Here are 20 savoury Halloween recipes, all explained step by step on GustoPlan: spine-chilling starters, main dishes kids devour, and a vegetarian selection. For each one you will find the total time, the difficulty level and an estimated cost per person.
In this article:
- Starters and party bites to set the spooky mood
- Halloween main dishes for the whole family
- Vegetarian Halloween recipes
- How to put together a complete Halloween menu
- Our tips for stress-free spooky decorations
- Frequently asked questions
Starters and party bites to set the spooky mood
1. Witch-finger sausages
The classic Halloween party food. Sausages wrapped in pastry and scored with a knife to look like wrinkled old knuckles, with an almond for the nail and a drop of ketchup at the tip. Kids love making them with you, and they vanish within minutes.
45 min · Intermediate · about €1.13 per person · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Witch-finger sausages
2. Deviled eggs with olive spiders
Deviled eggs spiced with paprika, each topped with a black olive spider: half an olive for the body, thin slivers for the legs. The ideal cold starter to make the day before so you can relax on the night.
35 min · Easy · about €0.78 per person · vegetarian · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Deviled eggs with olive spiders
3. Sesame bat-wing chicken
Soy and honey glazed chicken, darkened with sesame seeds, that looks like outstretched bat wings. It is the finger food of the bunch: crisp outside, juicy inside, and always the first plate to empty.
50 min · Easy · about €1.60 per person
👉 See the recipe: Sesame bat-wing chicken
4. Bloody beetroot soup
A deep, almost sinister red soup, softened with cream. Beetroot brings the colour and potato makes it silky. Served in small glasses or bowls, it is the cheapest starter on the list.
40 min · Easy · about €0.99 per person · vegetarian
👉 See the recipe: Bloody beetroot soup
5. Spiderweb pumpkin soup with bat croutons
No 31 October is complete without pumpkin soup. Here, a cream spiderweb is drawn with a toothpick and cheesy bat-shaped croutons stand guard on the rim of the bowl.
50 min · Easy · about €1.45 per person · vegetarian · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Spiderweb pumpkin soup with bat croutons
Halloween main dishes for the whole family
6. Puff pastry mummy sausages with mash
The most famous mummy on the Halloween table: sausages swaddled in golden puff pastry strips, with two mustard eyes, lying on a buttery homemade mash. Simple, quick, and requested every year.
45 min · Easy · about €1.64 per person · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Puff pastry mummy sausages with mash
7. Monster-eye meatball spaghetti
Spaghetti in a homemade tomato sauce, topped with oven-roasted meatballs that each wear a black olive eye. They stare back at your guests from the plate. A familiar main course that reassures fussy eaters while still joining in the fun.
50 min · Intermediate · about €1.84 per person
👉 See the recipe: Monster-eye meatball spaghetti
8. Halloween graveyard cottage pie
A proper French hachis parmentier (cottage pie) whose mashed potato topping turns into a graveyard of tombstones and crosses. Comforting, a little macabre, and perfect for a Halloween dinner as the nights turn chilly.
60 min · Intermediate · about €2.28 per person · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Halloween graveyard cottage pie
9. Monster burgers with potato wedges
Homemade burgers that bare their teeth: melted cheddar fangs, a lettuce mane and olive eyes on the bun. Served with crispy paprika potato wedges, it is the Halloween meal that wins over teenagers.
50 min · Easy · about €2.62 per person · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Monster burgers with potato wedges
10. Mozzarella mummy pizza
Strips of mozzarella criss-crossed over tomato sauce, two olives for the eyes: the mummy is ready. It is the quickest recipe of the lot, perfect to hand over to the kids while you take care of the rest.
30 min · Easy · about €1.35 per person · vegetarian · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Mozzarella mummy pizza
11. Chicken jack-o'-lantern quesadillas
Chicken, kidney bean and sweetcorn quesadillas with the top tortilla cut into a pumpkin face. The melted cheese oozes through the eyes and mouth: crisp, gooey and ready in half an hour.
30 min · Easy · about €2.08 per person · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Chicken jack-o'-lantern quesadillas
12. Jack-o'-lantern stuffed peppers
Orange peppers carved like jack-o'-lanterns, filled with a beef, rice and sweetcorn stuffing. In the oven the cheese melts and spills out through the eyes and mouth: a complete meal in individual portions.
55 min · Intermediate · about €2.11 per person · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Jack-o'-lantern stuffed peppers
13. Mummy meatloaf
Meatloaf, the star of American dinner tables, dresses up as a mummy with pasta bandages and two mozzarella eyes. Tender, glazed with ketchup and served with buttered green beans.
85 min · Intermediate · about €3.15 per person · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Mummy meatloaf
14. Pumpkin and sausage lasagne
Lasagne as orange as a pumpkin: creamy pumpkin sauce, golden sausage and mushrooms. On the gratin, mozzarella and olive monster eyes watch whoever helps themselves. The generous dish for a big table.
90 min · Intermediate · about €2.71 per person · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Pumpkin and sausage lasagne
15. Black spiderweb risotto
The most spectacular dish for a grown-up dinner: a squid ink risotto, black as night, with mushrooms and spinach, topped with a crème fraîche spiderweb. Guaranteed effect by candlelight.
45 min · Intermediate · about €2.89 per person
👉 See the recipe: Black spiderweb risotto
Vegetarian Halloween recipes
16. Jack-o'-lantern stuffed butternut
The Halloween pumpkin, but edible. A butternut squash carved into a grinning face, stuffed with rice, mushrooms and melting cheese. Set it in the middle of the table and carve it in front of everyone.
70 min · Intermediate · about €1.42 per person · vegetarian
👉 See the recipe: Jack-o'-lantern stuffed butternut
17. Cauliflower brain gratin
A whole cauliflower coated in a pink beetroot cream: under the golden cheese crust, the resemblance to a brain is unsettling. It is also the cheapest recipe in this selection.
55 min · Intermediate · about €0.47 per person · vegetarian
👉 See the recipe: Cauliflower brain gratin
18. Monster tomato pie
A melting tomato, mustard and cheese tart hidden under a puff pastry lid that grimaces with big eyes and a mouth full of teeth. It is crisp, and served with a green salad.
60 min · Intermediate · about €1.58 per person · vegetarian · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Monster tomato pie
19. Baked mini pumpkins with eggs en cocotte
One little pumpkin per guest, roasted and filled with its own flesh mixed with cream, plus an egg with a runny yolk. Toasted soldiers for dipping: warming and meat-free.
75 min · Easy · about €1.97 per person · vegetarian · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Baked mini pumpkins with eggs en cocotte
20. Spinach and feta puff pastry snake
The newest recipe in the collection, inspired by Greek strifti (a spanakopita rolled into a spiral). The puff pastry roll filled with spinach, feta and dill coils up into a snake, with olive eyes and a red pepper tongue. Share it at the table like a wreath.
85 min · Intermediate · about €2.52 per person · vegetarian · kid-friendly
👉 See the recipe: Spinach and feta puff pastry snake
How to put together a complete Halloween menu
For a successful meal, alternate one showstopper with simpler dishes. There is no need to carve three squashes in one evening: one "wow" moment per course is plenty.
Halloween menu for kids
- Starter: witch-finger sausages
- Main: puff pastry mummy sausages with mash or mozzarella mummy pizza
- Alternative main: monster burgers with potato wedges
Halloween dinner for grown-ups
- Starter: bloody beetroot soup
- Main: black spiderweb risotto
- To share: deviled eggs with olive spiders with drinks
Vegetarian Halloween menu on a budget
- Starter: spiderweb pumpkin soup with bat croutons
- Main: cauliflower brain gratin or spinach and feta puff pastry snake
Our tips for stress-free spooky decorations
- Black olives are your best friends. Halved, they make eyes; sliced, they make spider legs. One tin is enough for the whole meal.
- Puff pastry makes mummies in two minutes. Cut thin strips and wrap them around, leaving a gap for the eyes.
- A spiderweb is drawn with a toothpick. Pipe a spiral of cream onto a soup or risotto, then drag lines from the centre to the edge.
- Make ahead whatever keeps. Hard-boiled eggs, mashed potato, fillings and soups can all be made in advance: on the day, all that is left is assembling and decorating.
- Get the kids involved. Placing the eyes, cutting out faces or wrapping the bandages: these are their favourite steps, and they need no technique at all.
Frequently asked questions
What should you eat on Halloween night?
On Halloween night, go for familiar dishes in disguise: graveyard cottage pie, monster-eye meatball spaghetti, sausage mummies or pumpkin soup. They reassure picky eaters while joining in the fun.
What is the easiest Halloween recipe?
The mozzarella mummy pizza and the chicken jack-o'-lantern quesadillas are ready in 30 minutes and need no particular technique.
Are there vegetarian Halloween recipes?
Yes: the jack-o'-lantern stuffed butternut, the cauliflower brain gratin, the monster tomato pie, the mini pumpkins with eggs en cocotte, the puff pastry snake, the mummy pizza, the deviled eggs and both soups in this selection are vegetarian.
Can you prepare a Halloween dinner in advance?
Most of these recipes lend themselves to it. Soups, the cottage pie mash and fillings can be made the day before and kept in the fridge. Just keep the plating and decorations for the last minute so they stay sharp.
Plan your Halloween week with GustoPlan
All 20 recipes are available in GustoPlan. Add the ones you fancy to your weekly menu: quantities adjust to the number of guests and your shopping list is generated automatically, aisle by aisle. All that is left is to find a costume.