From dinner in a pumpkin to creepy hot dog fingers, we’ve got tasty Halloween-themed dinners that’ll satisfy your trick-or-treaters before they hit the candy trail
Before the inevitable sugar rush of trick-or-treating, we try (note: try) to fill our kids up with a somewhat nutritious dinner. These healthy Halloween-themed dinner ideas combine our favorite things about the holiday (think charming jack-o’-lanterns, friendly ghosts, and spooky Halloween decorations) with ingredients that kids will actually eat. (Ok, yes, we also sometimes rely on these go-to pumpkin recipes and CrockPot recipes, too.)
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Deviled Egg Spiders
Our friends over at Weelicious know what kids want to eat and it's definitely deviled egg spiders. A tiny bit creepy and super tasty, these are an easy addition to your Halloween festivities.
Jack O'Oranges
Another fun option from HelloFresh for when you’ve carved all the pumpkins and apples in sight. Get started on the citrus and scoop out the insides, but don’t throw them away! You could always blend them into a juice or smoothie. Then, carve eerie faces and overload the insides with berries, apples, kiwis, and whatever else you have on hand.
Pizza Mummies
Take the kid-favorite pizzas and mummify them with this fun recipe from Weelicious. Bonus: it's perfect for group gatherings when you want some single-serving options.
Related: Fun Halloween Meals for Kids: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Pumpkin isn’t just for pie! Halloween is the perfect time to try out a savory pumpkin dish, and this one from Tara’s Multicultural Table is bound to be a hit. The pumpkin adds an extra layer of creaminess and flavor, and the whole meal will take less than half an hour to make.
Mummy Dogs
Combine your two favorites—hot dogs and pizza dough—and you've got these too-cute-to-eat mummy dogs from Weelicious. You could even put the kids to work making these.
Creepy, Crawly Toasts
Ewwwwww spiders. But also, YUM. These creepy toasts are the creation of our friends over at HelloFresh and are made by slathering a layer of either goat cheese or cream cheese on thick slices of toasted French baguette. Then, one half a black olive is placed in the center of the body while four smaller slices are placed on either side as legs. Sprinkle with finely chopped basil, and you’re done!
Dinner in a Pumpkin
How much more Halloween can you get than dinner in a pumpkin? You can add anything you'd like to the pumpkin, but we think soup or chili would be delicious! Coat the inside of the pumpkin with cream cheese and bake it in your oven first so that when you add your soup or chili, you can scoop out some of that yummy cooked pumpkin to go along with it.
Monster Burgers
How cute is this pair? All you need to get your monsters started are olives and toothpicks. These would be super adorable as sliders as well!
Skeleton Mushroom Pasta
This brilliant idea for a spooky pasta dinner has you carving little skeleton faces into your mushroom slices. We think they are totally on point for your Halloween dinner spread!
Halloween Shepherd's Pie
We love this idea for a ghoulish shepherd's pie from @rachplusfive—check out this YouTube video for more tips. This is a hearty meal to serve before the candy onslaught begins.
Ghoulish Fruit & Veggie Tray
If this doesn't get your kids to eat some fruit and veggies, we don't know what will! This super cute veggie tray from @foodbites will have everyone snacking in no time.
Hot Dog Worms
Do you think the kids will be creeped out by this spooky take on hot dogs? Head on over to Holley Grainger's website for the full scoop. (Spoiler alert: You just need to cut thin strips of hot dogs and they will curl up when cooked).
Frankenstein Avocado Toast
Up your avocado toast game with toasted seaweed, olives, and tomatoes for a creepy meal. This fun recipe from @veganchowdown is perfect to bust out for Halloween.
Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin
You'll want to eat all of your soups out of a pumpkin after you give this recipe from the Pioneer Woman a try. Serve it in a large pie pumpkin when you've got a group coming, or use mini ones so each kid gets one of their own.
Spooky Stuffed Peppers
How cute are these stuffed peppers from Pinch of Parsley?! Filled with a Mexican-inspired mixture of ground beef, rice, salsa and cheese, they’re the perfect healthy meal to keep your kiddos going through a long night of trick-or-treating.
Mummy Sammies
Transform sandwiches into edible art with this fun idea from Feel Good Foodie. Topped off with a cute pair of candy eyes, these kabobs (along with three other suggested Halloween-y snacks!) are sure to make your kids smile.
Chicken Fingers
We’ve never seen chicken fingers quite like this before! These super crispy bites from Create Eat Happy are called karaage, aka Japanese fried chicken. With a bit of strategically placed ketchup, you’ve got a fun twist on (literal) chicken fingers that’ll be gobbled up in no time.
Halloween Pizza
For a tasty meal that comes together in no time, spice up a frozen pizza with this fun idea from Chewable Structures. A few carefully placed veggies become spooky witches’ fingers—easy peasy!
Scary Delicious Spinach-Feta Pie
What’s the best way to get kids to eat their greens? Add cheese to it and bake it in puff pastry! This spinach-feta pie from .@in_anastasias_kitchen is sure to be a hit with your whole crew, and it doesn’t hurt to get some veggies in before everybody pigs out on candy.
Spider Sammies
Looking for the easiest Halloween dinner ever? Make these cute grilled cheese sandwiches from Rachel Cooks. With pretzel legs and dried cranberry eyes, they only take a couple of minutes longer to make than normal grilled cheese, and that’s a win in our book.
Spooky Soba
This soba-centric idea from Bento Monsters is equal parts creativity, adorable details, and tastiness. Despite looking like a work of art, these Halloween dishes are easy to make for your little monsters.
Candy Corn Quesadilla
Candy for dinner? Well, not quite—but these quesadillas from Boulder Locavore do channel classic Halloween candy corn in a big way. The best part? There’s triple the cheesy goodness.
Related: 8 Frightfully Easy Halloween Cupcakes
Spirited Pizza
Boo! We’re digging the ghostly genius of this pizza idea from Lauren at Tastes Better From Scratch. It’s got gourmet impressiveness, and kid-friendly flavors, and can be made with a team effort from the whole family. Plus, Tastes Better From Scratch has three other spooky toppings ideas!
Spider Web Soup
We want to award extra Halloween points to The Foodie and the Fix for coming up with a Halloween-themed dinner that has tons of fall flavor and a simple spider decoration (Hint: for your awesome webbing, it’s all about the coconut yogurt!).
Friendly Quesadillas
Simple, cheesy finger food? Sounds like a kid-pleaser to us! This idea from Once Upon a Cutting Board involves pumpkin, chicken, goat cheese, and oh-so-cute quesadillas—put it all together, and you’ll have a hit with pint-sized foodies.
Eyeball Meatballs
We guarantee giggles when you serve up this dish from Boulder Locavore. The kids will get a kick out of “eyeballs” in their pasta—and you’ll love that it’s a healthier twist on a Halloween-themed dinner.
Severed Fingers
We’ve got to hand it to Party Tipz for coming up with a truly creative way to serve up hot dogs on Halloween. Add ketchup for an extra “bloody” Halloween-themed dinner that little ghouls will love.
Pumpkin-Inspired Pizza Pockets
Your kid crew will go gaga for these homemade pizza pockets from Dinner at the Zoo. They’re inspired by jack-o'-lanterns and are the perfect pepperoni addition to your Halloween-themed dinners.
Witchy Veggies
Need a magical way to get the kids to eat their veggies? How about this idea from Boulder Locavore, which involves arranging crudité edibles to look like a screaming witch? Now that’s what we call fun with food!
Related: 15 Easy Homemade Snacks for a Healthy(ish) Halloween
Skull Lasagna
Take your Halloween-themed dinners to a new level with this spooky lasagna from Brick Star. Your pint-sized chefs will love getting creative with the toppings—but they’ll love eating the cheesy result even more.
Ghoulish Pasta Salad
Looking for an easy way to make Halloween a little healthier? Smile Sandwich has you covered with this festive and oh-so-cute pasta salad. The flavors are light and refreshing but the star of the show is the jack-o-lantern cucumber slices (Psst! Don’t like cucumber? Sub in zucchini instead!).
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