28 Wickedly Delicious Appetizers Perfect for Any Halloween Party
Whether you're hosting a monster mash, a costume party or a gathering of little goblins and ghouls, these creepy-cute snacks will fit right in.
Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher
Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher
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Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher
Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher
Photo By: Ray Kachatorian
Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher
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Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher
Photo By: Jason DeCrow
Photo By: Ray Kachatorian
Photo By: Jason DeCrow
Our Best Halloween Appetizer Ideas
You’ve sent the invites to summon your family and friends. You've planned a few Halloween drinks (or cauldrons full of punch). Now it’s time to start thinking about your menu. If you’re wondering what to serve before all the haunted Halloween desserts (because, let’s be honest, sweets are always top-of-mind on October 31st), we can help. These snacks and small bites are every bit as festive as the cookies or cupcakes — and just as delicious, too. Just take these adorable mummies, for example. They're based on a game-day favorite, but wrapped up in the perfect disguise. Instead of getting the breaded-and-fried treatment, the poppers are wrapped in strips of crescent rolls to resemble mummy bandages then baked until golden brown and bubbly. Removing the seeds from the jalapeños tames a lot of the heat, but if you’re craving a spicy kick, you could use pepper jack cheese instead of Cheddar Jack or add chili powder or hot sauce to the filling. These poppers can be assembled ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, just brush with beaten egg and pop them in the oven.
Get the Recipe: Mummy Jalapeño Poppers
Halloween Vegetable Tray Witch with Herb Dip
This cute — but slightly scary! — witch is easy to construct (no special tools needed) and sits in the center of a fun, healthy Halloween snack or appetizer. We’ve given some crudité options here to round out the platter, but feel free to use whatever raw vegetables you like. The creamy green dip can be made a day ahead.
Get the Recipe: Halloween Vegetable Tray Witch with Herb Dip
Mini Skull Pepperoni Pizza Bites
These savory, cheesy pizza bites are irresistibly spooky and bound to be a hit at Halloween celebrations. Better yet, they come together in just 30 minutes: A quick one-bowl batter is scooped into adorable skull-shaped molds, stuffed with ooey-gooey string cheese pieces and baked while a pizza sauce is whipped up for dipping. We added pepperoni to the bites, but you can customize them with your own favorite pizza-topping ingredients like peppers, onions or olives.
Get the Recipe: Mini Skull Pepperoni Pizza Bites
Taco Graveyard Dip
This taco dip is truly to die for! It's layered with seasoned ground beef, refried beans and all your favorite toppings. Use a variety of flavored tortillas for an array of colors and an assortment of small cookie cutters to create graveyard shapes and characters.
Get the Recipe: Taco Graveyard Dip
Cheesy Pumpkin Puffs
These boo-tiful jack-o-lantern treats are stuffed with a pumpkin-and-cheese filling and baked until golden-brown and perfectly puffed for an appetizer that’s sure to keep everyone coming back for more.
Get the Recipe: Cheesy Pumpkin Puffs
Witches' Brooms
Little monsters will love putting together these creepy-cute witches’ brooms, which are made from pretzel sticks, sliced string cheese and fresh chives.
Get the Recipe: Witches' Brooms
Chicken Pumpkins
How do you make chicken bites look like little pumpkins? The trick to this savory treat is a few strategic (but straightforward) knife cuts. The nuggets are soaked in buttermilk, then coated in Cheddar-cracker breadcrumbs and stuffed with mozzarella for the ultimate chicken and cheese experience.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Pumpkins
Ghost Hand Pies with Honey Dijon
How adorable are Molly’s ghostly hand pies? Each one is stuffed with cheese and onions — perfect for dipping in a sweet and tangy honey Dijon sauce.
Get the Recipe: Ghost Hand Pies with Honey Dijon
Witch Finger Breadsticks
These eerie breadsticks, made with store-bought pizza dough, get their flavor from Italian seasoning and sesame seeds. Turning each rope of dough in the middle forms a gnarly finger knuckle which, paired with a green olive "nail," helps to create a haunting and delicious appetizer!
Get the Recipe: Witch Finger Breadsticks
Spider Web Deviled Eggs
The trick to Trisha’s magical deviled eggs? She boils the eggs in a mixture of black food coloring and water, then lightly cracks the eggshells to create a spiderweb effect.
Get the Recipe: Spider Web Deviled Eggs
Bourbon Maple Pumpkin Seeds
We've added a sweet twist of maple to classic roasted pumpkin seeds, and thrown in a bit of bourbon too for a more grownup flavor.
Get the Recipe: Bourbon Maple Pumpkin Seeds
Stuffed Mushroom Eyeballs
All eyes on this Halloween appetizer! These mushrooms are packed with a garlic-cream cheese filling and topped with sun-dried tomato strips and sliced black olives. The key is to really scoop out the mushrooms and not overfill the caps for a festive snack worth a second look.
Get the Recipe: Stuffed Mushroom Eyeballs
Candy Corn Cheese Tower
Tap into your inner sculptor and make some edible Halloween art with cheese — three different kinds to be exact! Together Cheddar, goat and a red wine and paprika-brushed Monterey Jack represent those iconic candy corn colors. Serve with several cheese knives and a bunch of your favorite crackers and watch this cheese tower disappear.
Get the Recipe: Candy Corn Cheese Tower
Bloody Berry Fruit Salad
Instead of a simple syrup, this fruit salad uses raspberry jam to coat and flavor the mixed fruits. It has just enough natural tartness to keep the fruit salad fresh. For the spookiest fruit salad, let it sit for a few hours and the lychees will continue to absorb the ruby glaze.
Get the Recipe: Bloody Berry Fruit Salad
Sausage Worms
The refrigerated chicken sausages in this recipe have a smooth texture, similar to a hot dog. When sliced and then cooked, the ends of the sausages curl up, making them perfect for a Halloween-themed brunch. Use a light glaze of butter, vinegar and sugar to add an extra pop of flavor and caramelization.
Get the Recipe: Sausage Worms
Bloody Mary Tea Sandwiches
Inspired by the classic cocktail, Valerie fills each sandwich with tomato, arugula and an olive-celery cream cheese.
Get the Recipe: Bloody Mary Tea Sandwiches
Pizza Pumpkin Seeds
These savory seeds dressed up in a mix of Parmesan, tomato, garlic and oregano give plain old salted seeds a run for their money.
Get the Recipe: Pizza Pumpkin Seeds
Black Bean Swamp Dip
Magical creatures will swarm to this swamp dip, which gets its coloring from black beans and charred poblano peppers.
Get the Recipe: Black Bean Swamp Dip
Pumpkin Cheese Ball
This adorable cheese ball gets its pumpkin-orange coloring from ground-up cheese puffs and the stem is cleverly stolen from a bell pepper.
Get the Recipe: Pumpkin Cheese Ball
Fall Spice Snack Mix
Put a seasonal spin on snack mix with a simple and cozy blend of cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg.
Get the Recipe: Fall Spice Snack Mix
Spider Web Guacamole
This webbed guacamole is a super-easy way to make a themed appetizer for your next Halloween party. Mexican crema (or sour cream) is used for the web and black olives make an edible spider. The avocado skull is a bonus.
Get the Recipe: Spider Web Guacamole
Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus with Scary Baked Tortilla Chips
Eat the rainbow with Trisha’s boo-tiful hummus. The squash lends the dip its deep orange color, which pairs perfectly with a side of ghoulishly green tortilla chips.
Get the Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus with Scary Baked Tortilla Chips
Meatball Mummies
With strips of puff pastry and ketchup or mustard eyeballs, these yummy mummy snacks truly are to die for. Best of all? You can prep the meatballs ahead of time and let them chill in the freezer until you’re ready to start wrapping.
Get the Recipe: Meatball Mummies
Pumpkin Seed Party Mix
Combine pumpkin seeds, pistachios, wasabi peas and sesame seeds to make this sweet and spicy snack mix.
Get the Recipe: Sesame-Pistachio Snack Mix
Compost Crudites with Ranch Dirt Dip
Little ghouls and goblins will love eating healthy on Halloween with this dreadful spread of colorful veggies and ranch dip.
Get the Recipe: Compost Crudites with Ranch Dirt Dip
Fried Olives
Trisha says, “These make for the perfect party snack, because they are seriously irresistible! This recipe is so versatile — you can use olives stuffed with any kind of soft cheese.”
Get the Recipe: Fried Olives
Peppery Sausage Fingers
Slice sausage on an angle to make the “fingers” for these bite-sized party snacks.
Get the Recipe: Peppery Sausage Fingers
Jack-O'-Lantern Onion Dip
There’s a trick to this cheesy Halloween dip — the bread balls alternate between sweet and mild fillings! To ensure that your guests are in for a treat, give them a heads up before serving.
Get the Recipe: Jack-O'-Lantern Onion Dip
