A Foodie's Guide to Halloween Recipes

These recipes make the most of hard-working kitchen tools and appliances like the slow cooker, Instant Pot, and trusty sheet pan.

This Thanksgiving, take a mental vacation to simpler times by whipping out a few retro-inspired dishes. 

Plus, a turkey shortcut that will change your holidays forever

Take your Halloween party to the next level with Mexican sausage and onion stuffed "intestines". Store-bought pastry dough makes this masterpiece simple to make and contributes to the rich taste and flaky texture. A cranberry sauce adds sweetness to this salty, savory dish while contributing to the realness of its presentation. This appetizer is sure to be a memorable one!

Why cook a boring routine dinner in October when you can make a Halloween-themed dinner instead? Halloween-themed foods are all about putting pumpkin, spiders, and cobwebs where they do not belong, making meal time fun for everyone at the table. Go crazy with pork dumplings (aka, brains) served up in a glass vase or keep it simple with a simple ghost sitting atop your dessert. Whatever your level of Halloween-themed food mania, we've got the dish for you. 

If you're lucky enough to celebrate your birthday in October, you've got a ready-made theme loaded with fun, easy decorating ideas. From spooky sippers to cute cupcakes, there are Halloween birthday party ideas for kids and adults of all ages. Browse our best Halloween cakes, appetizers, snacks, treats, and drinks, then mix and match your favorites to create the perfect Halloween birthday party menu. Our cakes and cupcakes are almost perfect; they're just missing the birthday candles!

Calling all candy corn crazies! We’ve rounded up our favorite recipes inspired by your beloved Halloween candy. Pick a candy corn treat to make for a festive fall or Halloween gathering. 

Bottoms up for delicious, fun, and frightfully good Halloween cocktails. Having a signature Halloween drink is the easiest way to save money on a party, and it lets you really have fun with the theme. Decide whether you want a single drink idea, like Zombie Brain Shots, or an easy punch loaded with eyeballs. Whatever you choose, don't skip the Olive Spiders! They're every Halloween cocktail's best friend! Hungry for more spooky ideas? Check out 200+ Scary Good Halloween Recipes next.  

Go ahead and get in the Halloween spirit by stirring up these wickedly wonderful snack recipes from A Ghastly-Good Halloween by our friends at Gooseberry Patch.

Planning a Halloween party should be fun! Keep your next ghoulish get-together feeling that way by taking advantage of our favorite easy Halloween appetizer ideas to make your table both festive and delicious. Whether you're hosting a dessert party or a trick-or-treat pregame loaded with savory, spooky snacks, there are tons of great Halloween finger foods here to satisfy your every craving. It doesn't take much time or effort to dress up your go-to apps in Halloween style. 

The time to prepare for the coming of the undead is now, not when you have brain-munchers ravaging your door. We’ve got recipes that will help you keep your head, literally.

Plan a spooky soiree with Halloween recipes and a plethora of creative, creepy, and eerie decorations that will instantly ignite the Halloween spirit in any guest.

Gather everyone in the kitchen this fall to enjoy a few fun Halloween baking ideas. From cakes to cupcakes to brownies and more, we've got the best Halloween baking recipes, loaded with fun stir-ins such as marshmallows and pumpkin. Whether you prefer baked goods flavored with pumpkin spice or classic cookies decorated with fun jack-o'-lantern faces, we've got the Halloween baking recipes to solve every sugar craving this season. Bag them up to share at tailgates, class parties, and around the office.

No tricks to these treats! The best part about Halloween desserts is that they're basically your favorite treats disguised as Halloween goodies. You don't need super special icing skills to make these recipes shine. Simple instructions, a few Test Kitchen tips, and a love of fun holiday foods are all you need to get started. Keep these Halloween dessert ideas in mind all season long. Hungry for more spooky ideas? Check out our Ultimate Halloween Guide (with 200+ recipes) next. 

Instead of wearing a garland of garlic around your neck to repel vampires, we suggest preparing one of these tasty garlic dishes.

Whether you need Halloween party food for a school, work, or in-home celebration, these festive treats will impress every ghoulish guest. From creepy-crawly finger foods to spooky and sweet desserts, we have easy Halloween party food for every budget, skill-level, and time frame. We amped up plain ol’ party snacks using everything from jack-o’-lantern guts (a.k.a. pumpkin) to slimy, slithering gummy worms. With these Halloween party food ideas, frightening on the outside still means delicious on the inside.

Halloween is when all things creepy, crawly, spooky, and grody are what's in. Get in the spirit by showing off your most disturbingly tasty dishes at the next Halloween party. Although they'll have you feeling squeamish at first glance, the following gross Halloween recipes are deceptively delicious.

Set out a fiendish spread of appetizers and beverages when you host the annual Halloween costume party.

Whether you're greeting trick-or-treaters at the door or taking cookies to a Halloween party, get into the fun of the season with these "not-too-scary" Halloween treats.

Parties are way more fun if you don't have to do all the cooking, so host a Halloween Potluck and let your friends show off their favorite Halloween potluck ideas. The best potluck ideas are dishes that can be shared, but that doesn't mean you have to make it all main dish. Ask guests to sign up for courses so that you get a range of appetizers, desserts, mains, and sides, not fifteen plates of (adorable!) cupcakes. As host, you should provide the plates, utensils, and napkins, but you can also set up the bar if that makes party planning easier.

Easy Halloween treats, appetizers, and desserts are the best way to celebrate this spooky holiday. Create scary-good Halloween treats in minutes - we'll show you how!

Nothing says "Happy Halloween" better than crisp fall apples coated with gooey, stick-to-your-teeth caramel or smooth, shiny melted chocolate.

These Harry Potter recipes are ridikulusly good⁠—we're dead sirius. Even muggles will love our Pumpkin Pasties, and our Fizzing Whizbees Levitator cocktail will knock your socks off (you might want to keep this libation away from your house elves). And our Butterbeer recipe? Don't even get us started. It's so delicious, we'd give it 9 3/4 out of 10 stars. 

These delicious Halloween dinner ideas guarantee full tummies that won't be tempted to sneak candy during trick-or-treating. You could make a big batch of chili or an easy spaghetti casserole—but why not add a little fun and make a delicious Halloween-themed dinner? A boneyard pot pie, brain-like dumplings, and ghostly pizza graveyard are all easy, fun ways to make Halloween dinner a meal to remember. Hungry for more spooky ideas? Check out 20 Gross (But Tasty) Halloween Recipes next.