Halloween brings out the kid in all of us. Make the most of the holiday with a frightfully fun family dinner to get everyone in the spooky spirit. These 10 creative Halloween meal ideas range from quick weeknight dinners to special party menus, with themes and decorations that will delight kids and adults alike.
Planning a Family-Friendly Halloween Dinner
When planning a Halloween dinner for the whole family, keep things fun and festive. Aim for menu items that kids will enjoy but can also appeal to adult palates. Create a spooky ambiance with decorations, but don’t make it too scary for little ones. Focus on interactive activities and getting everyone involved.
Tips for Halloween Dinner Success:
- Ask kids to help with decorating and making decorations like place cards or paper bats.
- Make it a potluck and have everyone contribute a dish. Assign Halloween-themed names.
- Incorporate Halloween traditions like carving pumpkins, ghost stories or Halloween movies.
- Use color themes like black, orange, green, purple. Tablecloths, napkins and dishes can match.
- Light candles or string up Halloween lights to create mood lighting.
- Play Halloween music, sound effects or make spooky playlists.
Keep reading for 10 creative and easy Halloween dinner ideas perfect for families.
1. Mummy Pizzas
Customize individual pizzas with scary faces for a fun, interactive dinner.
Ingredients:
- Store bought or homemade pizza dough
- Pizza or pasta sauce
- Shredded mozzarella
- Assorted toppings like pepperoni, olives, mushrooms etc.
Directions:
- Roll out dough and shape into rounds. Top with sauce, cheese and toppings.
- Before baking, use strips of dough, olives, peppers etc. to create mummy faces.
- Bake pizzas until crispy. Let kids help with designing the mummy faces.
Serve mummy pizzas with spiderweb shaped breadsticks for dipping in marinara sauce.
2. Chicken Finger Mummies
Bread chicken tenders to look like mummified fingers for some frightening finger food.
Ingredients:
- Chicken tenders
- Flour
- Egg
- Panko breadcrumbs
- slices provolone cheese
- French fries, carrot sticks
Directions:
- Bread chicken fingers by dredging in flour, egg, then panko crumbs.
- Bake at 425Β°F until cooked through, about 12 minutes.
- Cut provolone slices into bandage shapes. Wrap over chicken fingers.
- Arrange on plates with fries and carrot “bones” for a complete mummy hand.
3. Mac and Cheese Skulls
Transform creepy shaped pasta and cheese into a delicious dinner.
Ingredients:
- 1 box skull shaped pasta or macaroni
- 3 cups milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup parmesan
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Boil pasta according to package directions until al dente.
- In saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour to make a roux. Slowly whisk in milk and cook 5 minutes.
- Add cheeses and stir until fully melted and smooth sauce forms.
- Drain pasta and mix with cheese sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve mac and cheese in skull-shaped bowls for added spookiness!
4. Spider Bites
Kids will get a kick out of this clever potato side dish.
Ingredients:
- Mini potatoes, halved
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Sliced olives
- Pretzel sticks
Directions:
- Toss halved potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 425Β°F until tender, about 20 minutes.
- Once cool enough to handle, cut slits into potatoes and insert olive slice “bodies” and pretzel stick “legs” to make potato spiders!
Pair with chicken wings or meatballs for a themed dinner.
Read More: How to make a frightfully delicious 3-course Halloween dinner
5. Berry Eyeballs
These yogurt treats look remarkably like oozing eyeballs.
Ingredients:
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Vanilla yogurt
- Whipped cream
Directions:
- Hull out the top of strawberries and scoop out some inside flesh to make room for filling
- Fill strawberry caps with vanilla yogurt and top with blueberry “pupil”.
- Arrange on platter and top with whipped cream eye “goop”. Gross and delicious!
6. Spooky Sloppy Joes
Make an easy family favorite into a Halloween dinner.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- burger buns
- cheese slices
Directions:
- Brown beef with onion and bell pepper in a skillet. Drain fat.
- Add ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire. Simmer until thickened.
- Serve on buns and use a ghost cookie cutter on cheese to make spooky faces on the sloppy joes.
7. Monster Beans
Transform green beans into this fun Halloween side.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Steam green beans until bright green and tender.
- Melt butter in skillet and add garlic. Cook 1 minute.
- Add green beans and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
- Use a cheese slicer or vegetable peeler to slice almonds into thin oval shapes for “monster teeth”.
- Mix into beans before serving. Spooktacular!
8. Spiderweb Pancakes
Make breakfast for dinner extra special with a spiderweb design.
Ingredients:
- Pancake mix
- Milk, eggs, oil
- Chocolate chips
- Whipped cream
- Halloween sprinkles
Directions:
- Prepare pancake batter and cook on griddle or pan.
- Place pancakes on plates. Top with whipped cream.
- Use chocolate chips to create spiderweb design on the pancakes.
- Finish off with Halloween sprinkles. Sweet and scary!
Add sausage links, bacon or fruit on the side for a complete meal.
Read More: 45 Best Halloween Cake Ideas β Updated 2023
9. Halloween BBQ
Fire up the grill for burgers, hot dogs and all the fixings, dressed up for Halloween.
Ingredients:
- Beef, turkey or veggie burger patties
- Hot dogs
- Burger buns, hot dog buns
- Toppings: cheese slices, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, condiments
- Candied apples
- Halloween cookie cutters
Directions:
- Make burgers and hot dogs as desired.
- Cut cheese slices with pumpkin or bat cookie cutters.
- Skewer candied apples for dessert.
- Set up topping bar with creepy signs like βWitches Brewβ or βVampire Sauceβ.
- Use nΓ©crophage shaped picks for serving burgers and dogs.
10. Dessert Pizzas
Decorate individual mini dessert pizzas with all your favorite Halloween candy toppings.
Ingredients:
- Ready-made sugar cookie dough
- Frosting
- Halloween candy like chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, candy corn
Directions:
- Roll out dough into mini pizza rounds and bake until set. Cool.
- Spread frosting on top like pizza sauce.
- Arrange candy toppings all over. Kids will love customizing their own!
With a bit of imagination and creativity, you can easily transform ordinary dinners into frighteningly fun occasions. Use these ideas to get your family excited for Halloween and make some spooky memories together.