56 Wickedly Good Snacks & Sweets for Your Halloween Party
Our best recipes for ghosts, goblins, and monsters.
ByKatie Macdonald
Published On
Photo by James Ransom
Whether you signed up to bake spooky tombstone cupcakes for a class party, or want to serve a crowd-pleasing snack at your trick-or-treating headquarters, Halloween will creep up before you know it.
Yes, Halloween is all about the candy, but save it for the trick-or-treaters! Instead, mix up a spicy salsa or wickedly good brittle in your cauldron, or bake a boo-tiful pumpkin cake. No matter what the ghoulish night has in store for you, here are 56 of our favorite snacks and sweets sure to be monster hits at your Halloween party.
Savory Snacks to Sink Your Teeth Into
These chicken nuggets might have a spicy kick, thanks to gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) and cayenne, but they get a bit of welcome coolness from a creamy kimchi and bacon ranch dressing.
These savory, salty crackers are deeply satisfying, perfectly crunchy, and super versatile. Dip ’em in hummus. Top ’em with a slice of cheese! Drizzle ’em with honey! There’s no end to snack possibilities here.
Though it’s normally thought of as a brunch cocktail, there really is no more apt drink for Halloween than a Bloody Mary. This epic cheese board is inspired by the fixings of the classic drink, complete with celery sticks, several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, pepperoncini, garlic-stuffed olives, and a few types of cheese.
This spooky dip starts with a base of tangy yogurt, and is topped with a sauté made from balsamic glaze, cumin seeds, hot peppers, and ripe tomatoes. Remember those sourdough crackers? Now’s the time to use them!
As dark as the night sky on Halloween, this bold brittle is made with just a handful of basic ingredients (plus the black sesame seeds, of course) for a startling savory snack.
If you’re hosting a Halloween party, you’re probably looking for fast, easy, and simple recipes to cook for your ghost friends, right? These three-ingredient puff pastry bites are here to save the day.
Take your favorite crunchy snacks—pretzels, sesame sticks, coconut chips, and the like—and make them even more addictive by tossing them in a hot honey and soy sauce blend.
You can riff on this family-favorite stromboli to your heart’s content, but a combination of salty meats, melty cheeses, and green bell peppers will never steer you wrong.
This bright, punchy salsa goes with just about anything, from tortilla chips to tacos, but it also tastes great over top grilled meats and fish.
Making homemade pretzels doesn’t need to be a huge fuss when you use this beginner-friendly recipe that pairs off best with whole-grain mustard or cheesy dip.
You might want to keep this fiery mix away from the younger trick-or-treaters, but it’s sure to be a hit at the adult snack table.
Look up the definition of “crowd-pleasing dip” and you’ll see a picture of this creamy, three-cheese dip.
Take a break from the Halloween sweets with these oven-baked kale chips that get their flavor from a medley of spices, like chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more fall-perfect galette than this earthy leek, fennel, and mushroom rendition.
Whip up a big batch of these flaky baked samosas, stuffed with a spiced potato and veggie mixture, and watch the crowd devour them one by one.
These Devils on Hatchback almost look like bacon-wrapped dates, but they’ve got a spicy secret hiding underneath that crispy goodness: hatch green chile peppers.
Even though these tots are made with more-nutritious cauliflower (instead of potatoes), their garlicky parmesan coating makes them just as lovable.
Put those leftover Halloween pumpkin seeds to good use by roasting them with a sweet-savory mix of salt, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and balsamic vinegar.
It’s a universal fact that everyone loves Cheez-Its. It’s also a universal fact that this homemade version will be a winner at any gathering you bring them to.
This easier-than-it-looks focaccia pizza with crushed tomatoes and gently sweet green onions will knock the socks off any delivery option you can think of.
“We enjoyed this bread hot from the oven with lots of butter and flaky sea salt,” writes our Test Kitchen notes. But that’s not all: They also toasted it “under the broiler with Vermont cheddar and mango chutney.” Yes, please.
Plain popcorn won’t taste the same after you bring this salty-sweet caramel topping, with a hint of vanilla, into the mix.
The outrageously delicious topping on this fluffy homemade pizza is so good, you’ll probably want to make at least three pies if you’re hosting a crowd.
This vegan-friendly recipe calls for just six ingredients in total, most of which (like the canned beans, tahini, Buffalo sauce, and salt) are likely to already be in your pantry or fridge.
Dried rosemary and a pinch of cayenne gives these already toasty, cozy walnuts an extra dash of fall flavor.
It’s all in the name: These spicy, sticky wings were made for a party.
Here’s one more easy snack mix for the road, because you can really never have too many.
Sweet Treats, Right this way!
For a simple snack that will wow a crowd at your Halloween party, make homemade puff pastry, sprinkle it with sugar, and roll it up into this delightful French-inspired dessert.
Is it really a Halloween party without pumpkin? What about brownies? Probably not. This two-for-one special will take care of that for you. “A very dense, fudgy brownie is topped with a quick pumpkin cheesecake-like batter and swirled together,” says recipe developer Posie (Harwood) Brian.
The trick to this extra-creamy, low-maintenance ice cream is a combination of pure pumpkin purée and sweetened condensed milk. No eggs, no churning, and no fuss required!
Recipe developer Eric Kim combined his love of homemade marshmallows with black forest cake for a sweet Halloween snack that’s easy for guests to pop in their mouths while dancing to the “Monster Mash.”
While Halloween means candy apples, fun-sized candy bars, and popcorn balls galore, it also falls during peak apple season. It would be a shame to not serve these miniature apple pie cookies with a nutty brown butter on October 31st.
“Chocolate peanut butter cups, stand back. There’s another bite-size treat in town, perfect for fall: chocolate pumpkin butter cups,” writes recipe developer Carolina Gelen.
34. Wicked Brittle
This nutty, honey-butter brittle is wicked, yes. Wickedly delicious.
Our co-founder Merrill Stubb's pumpkin-y take on classic chocolate chip cookies hits all the right autumnal notes.
Candy apples are a must for Halloween, and this cinnamon and cayenne-spiced version is the best of the bunch.
Alice Medrich gives you the very best base for chocolate cupcakes you could possibly ask for, and then invites you to riff on it endlessly—by switching up the flours, swapping in different sugars, and even adding beets.
If you're wondering just how good this pumpkin cake is, take one reviewer's word for it: "I made this for my family's early Thanksgiving this year. No one even missed the pie."
39. Rocky Road
Alice Medrich is back at it again—this time, with a three-ingredient rocky road you can easily batch up for a big crowd.
If you like peanut butter cups, then you'll love this grown-up chocolatey peanut butter tart that just so happens to be vegan.
Think of this cool-weather cake as the perfect anytime treat: for breakfast, as an after-dinner sweet, or a Halloween party showstopper.
Our Test Kitchen notes couldn't have described these better: "Carrot cake marries blondie bars, then honeymoons in India." We'll take six.
You probably know pumpkin bread well, but have you met it's earthier, nuttier cousin? This butternut loaf takes all those fall flavors you know and love, and cranks them up a bit with squash and rich brown butter.
Sometimes it's warmer than it should be on Halloween, but sometimes it's extra chilly—when it is, make a big batch of this cozy hot chocolate and pass it out to your neighbors and trick-or-treaters.
"To say that they've ruined me for all other gingerbread desserts would be a gross understatement," writes recipe developer Ella Quittner. And we would have to agree.
46. Fig Keplers
What are keplers, you ask? Well, they're a lot like those soft, chewy Fig Newtons you can't eat just one of.
47. Apple Chips
It doesn't get easier than these two-ingredient apple chips. We're talking just apple slices and ground cinnamon—that's it.
Do you need a reason to make these chewy chocolate caramels sprinkled with flaky sea salt? Absolutely not, but Halloween is a pretty good one.
These pumpkin spice muffins technically count as breakfast, but we'd be just as happy eating them for dessert.
Simply put: "In 30 minutes, these no-bake, vegan candy bars can be yours to enjoy."
This snappy toffee looks like it was made by a professional pastry chef, when it really just takes two ingredients and—seriously—a potato.
There are three types of chocolate—dark chocolate, chocolate syrup, and Dutch-pressed cocoa—in these butter-free brownies, and yes, it makes us very happy.
The only ingredients you need to make these homemade fruit roll-ups the kids will go wild for: fresh fruit, a squirt of honey, lemon juice, and just a little bit of patience.
Prep these fuss-free peanut butter and chocolate squares the day or two before Halloween, store them in the fridge, and pull them out when you're ready to serve.
It doesn't get more classic fall than these whole apples baked in cinnamon-spiced cider with brown butter.
These massive molasses cookies are chewy, spice-filled, and perfect for dipping in a glass of milk or hot chocolate.
What's your favorite Halloween party bite? Share spooky ideas in the comments below!
This post was updated in September 2021 to include more Halloween-ready snack ideas.