9 Halloween Dinners Kids Love (Spooky Looks, Easy Cooking)
Mummy dogs, monster pizzas, spiderweb nachos and more: familiar dinners with a spooky twist, ready before the trick-or-treating starts.
Halloween night is busy: costumes, shoes that will not stay on and a bag of candy waiting by the door. The best dinner is one that is quick, filling and fun enough that kids sit down for it. Everything below uses ordinary ingredients; the spooky part is mostly in how you arrange them.
Make it spooky without making it hard
- Use what kids already eat. A familiar food with a silly face gets eaten faster than a new recipe.
- Decorate at the table. Set out olives, cheese, peppers and ketchup and let children build their own monsters.
- Plan for a short window. Pick something that holds well on the table, since trick-or-treat timing is unpredictable.
- Fill them up first. A real dinner before the candy makes the evening calmer.
Short on time? See our 15-minute dinners, or let the dinner decider choose for you. More build-your-own ideas are in picky eater dinners.
Mummy hot dogs
8
- 8 hot dogs
- 1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated crescent dough
- Mustard for eyes
Cut the dough into thin strips and wrap each hot dog, leaving a gap for a face. Bake at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes until golden, then dot on mustard eyes.
Monster face pizzas
4
- 4 naan breads or large pitas
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- Sliced olives, peppers and pepperoni
Spread sauce and cheese, then let each child make a face with the toppings. Bake at 425°F for 8 to 10 minutes.
Spiderweb nachos
- 1 large bag tortilla chips
- 2 cups shredded cheese
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Black olives
Bake the chips, beans and cheese at 400°F for 6 to 8 minutes. Pipe a spiral of sour cream on top, drag a toothpick outward to make a web, and add an olive-half spider.
Spaghetti with "worms"
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 cups marinara
- 12 ounces meatballs, cooked
- Parmesan
Toss the spaghetti with warm marinara and heap it on plates with meatball "eyeballs" on top.
Jack-o'-lantern quesadillas
- 8 flour tortillas
- 3 cups shredded cheddar
- 1 cup cooked chicken or beans
- Salsa
Fill and toast the quesadillas in a skillet until golden. Cut a face with a small knife and serve with salsa.
Pumpkin-shaped orange rice bowls
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup corn
- 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
- Soy sauce
Stir-fry everything together until hot, with chicken reaching 165°F. Serve with a green pepper stem on top for a pumpkin look.
Witch's cauldron soup
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Grilled cheese for dipping
Simmer the tomatoes, broth and basil for 15 minutes, stir in the cream, and blend until smooth. Serve in mugs with grilled cheese "broomsticks" cut into strips.
Bat-wing sliders
12
- 12 slider buns
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- Pickles and ketchup
Fill the buns with cooked beef (ground beef is done at 160°F) and cheese, and bake until melted. Cut triangle "wings" from extra cheese slices and tuck them in the sides.
Ghost baked potatoes
- 4 baked potatoes
- Butter and sour cream
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- Black olives or peppercorns
Split the potatoes and mash in butter, sour cream and cheese. Shape the filling into a ghost on top and press in olive eyes.
Questions, answered
What should I make for dinner on Halloween?
Choose a quick, filling meal such as mummy hot dogs, pizza, pasta or soup. Eating a real dinner before trick-or-treating means fewer candy-only evenings.
What are easy Halloween dinner ideas for toddlers?
Mini pizzas, pasta with soft meatballs, quesadillas and mashed potato "ghosts" are soft, familiar and easy to decorate. Cut hot dogs lengthwise and into small pieces for little ones.
How do I make regular dinner look like Halloween?
Add faces and shapes: olive eyes, cheese bats, sour cream webs and orange foods like carrots and cheddar. Decorating is easier than cooking something new.
