A Halloween party is the perfect excuse to let kids have a little fun with their food. Set out a table of spooky snacks, let them decorate their own treats and watch the usual party food turn into witches, vampires, ghosts, ghouls and other Halloween creatures.
Planning a Halloween party for kids 12 and under? These 43 Halloween food ideas for kids include creepy-cute sweets and savory snacks that are fun and easy to eat.
1. Scary banana ghosts
Cut a peeled banana in half and push a lollipop stick inside. Dip the banana in melted white chocolate, roll it in shredded coconut, then use mini chocolate chips to add a spooky face.
2. Monster mouths
To make these monstrously fun and healthy treats, cut green apples into thick slices and add a spoonful of peanut butter inside. Then add some yogurt-covered raisins between two slices to look like teeth.
3. Mandarin pumpkins
Peel a bag of mandarin oranges and give each of them a little edible stem. Tucking a small celery leaf or part of a cucumber peel into the top will do the trick.
4. Monster smoothie bowls
Set up a smoothie station with a few premixed bags of frozen fruit (strawberry banana and mixed berry are usually a hit with kids). Let each guest pick their flavor and blend the fruit with milk or a milk alternative until thick. Dish the mixture into a bowl and leave the kids to make a monster only they can imagine by adding food coloring, granola, chopped nuts, pretzels and fruit.
5. Minion gelatin cups
Set out kid-safe markers and let your little partiers draw faces, overalls and goggles on the plastic containers of mini lemon gelatin cups. Add googly eyes to make goofy mini-Minions.
6. Monster fruit squeezers
When your kid has a school Halloween party, this is the perfect way to add some fun to their lunchbox. Wrap a fruit squeezer in gauze so the top sticks out, then add some googly eyes. Or skip the gauze and tape a paper face to a juice bottle.
7. Bloodshot eye deviled eggs
Bloodshot deviled eggs are a hair-raising Halloween party food for older kids who want a scarier spread. To give your deviled eggs a bloodshot look, gently crack the shells of hard-boiled eggs and soak them in water tinted with red food coloring.
After a few minutes, peel the eggs, fill them with the deviled egg mixture and top each one with a slice of olive to create a creepy little eye.
8. Eyeball pasta
Eyeballs go well with pasta, too. Slice up olives for the irises and cut out small rounds of mozzarella cheese for the whites. Place a cheese round and an olive slice on each meatball and scatter the balls on for a creepy peepers pasta dish.
9. Bat bites
Peanut butter cup bats are a spooky-cute Halloween sweet treat that will have kids hanging around the dessert table.
Blue tortilla chip wings give each candy a bat-like silhouette, while candy eyes bring the little critters to life. These ingredients might sound like an odd combination, but many find the salty sweetness satisfying.
10. Batty grilled cheese sandwiches
Give your grilled cheese sandwiches a Halloween twist. Use bat-shaped cookie cutters to cut each sandwich, then slather on the butter and cheddar cheese before grilling.
11. Severed breadstick fingers
Transform plain ol’ breadsticks into severed fingers to make a witchy Halloween snack for kids. Place a whole almond at one end of the breadstick for deadened fingernails. Before baking, cut small creases into the dough to mimic human knuckles.
12. Mac and cheese jack-o’-lanterns
Hollow out mini pumpkins or bell peppers, then carve cute or scary-looking grins on the front of each. Spoon cooked mac and cheese into each pumpkin or pepper and watch your little guests howl in delight.
13. Burger mummies
Make burger sliders, then wrap strips of crescent rolls around each one so it looks like a mummy’s face. Use dollops of ketchup to add two eyes.
14. Mummy kebabs
Mummy kebabs are a fun Halloween lunch idea for older kids, around age eight and up. Start by making a sandwich with turkey, cheese and mayo. Cut it into six pieces, then layer them on a skewer to make a tall stack. Add two dollops of mayo to attach edible candy eyeballs to one side.
15. Strawberry ghosts
To make these adorable strawberry ghosts, dip strawberries in melted white dipping chocolate and add candy eyeballs. Once the chocolate hardens, they’re ready to enjoy!
16. Cookie witch hats
Simply spread a thin layer of pumpkin puree on a chocolate cookie. Then stick a chocolate kiss on top to make a pointed witch hat.
17. Halloween donuts
Plain donuts are a blank canvas for Halloween fun. A little melted chocolate, frosting or icing can turn them into bats, pumpkins, Frankenstein’s monster and other spooky characters in minutes. Try one of these easy decorating ideas:
Batty donuts: Drench glazed donut rings in melted dark chocolate and stick half a chocolate cookie on opposite sides for bat wings. Use two mini chocolate kisses as the bat's ears and two candy eyeballs for a cute-looking bat.
Pumpkin donuts: Top a mini powdered donut with strips of orange frosting, so it looks like a pumpkin, then poke a green chocolate candy in the top to make your stem.
Frankenstein’s monster donuts: Use colored icing to dress up your donut like Frankenstein’s monster, a mummy, or any other favorite monster.
18. Crispy rice treat brains
Start by mixing crisped rice cereal, melted butter, marshmallows and red food coloring. Smush the mixture into the shape of a brain, then pipe frosting to complete the look. Add some red sprinkles down the middle frosting line and serve.
19. Crispy rice pumpkins
Give crispy rice cereal treats a Halloween makeover by tinting the mixture orange and shaping it into little pumpkins. Add a green candy or a pretzel piece on top for the stems. They’re easy to make ahead for a Halloween party and sturdy enough for little hands to grab from the treat table.
20. Tombstone pudding cups
Tombstone pudding cups are one of many fuss-free Halloween snack ideas for kids. Use crumbled chocolate cookies as the dirt and stick an oval-shaped sandwich cookie into the pudding cup to make the tombstone. You could even add some gummy worms to up the creepy factor.
21. Casper cookies
For a sweet treat, Casper-shaped cookies are the perfect Halloween dessert for kids. All you need to do is use a ghost-shaped cookie cutter on a large sheet of sugar cookie dough. Then pipe a spooky expression on each cookie with chocolate frosting.
22. Mummified double chocolate muffins
Dress up double chocolate muffins with lashes of melted marshmallow frosting to create mummified rags. Top off each muffin with a pair of candy eyeballs.
23. Spidery cake pops
For an easy-to-make Halloween food idea, dip red velvet cake pops in melted milk chocolate. Before they cool completely, stick two candy eyeballs on top. Cut black licorice into thin strips and attach eight spidery black legs to opposite sides of each pop.
24. Spooky pizza rounds
Give each kid mini pizza rounds or bagels and ask them to get creative. Supply them with spider-shaped olives, mummified cheese rags and other creepy pizza toppings for this DIY Halloween food idea.
25. Pumpkin dirt cups
Layer chocolate pudding and crushed chocolate cookies in a clear plastic cup for a no-bake Halloween dessert. Let your kids place pumpkin candies on top to create their own edible pumpkin patches.
26. Halloween cookies
Bake up some simple sugar cookies and use cutouts to make fun Halloween shapes. Then give the kids a selection of frosting, icing and sprinkles and let them decorate to their heart’s content.
27. Spider pops
A Halloween craft kids can take with them to school and give to friends. Wrap black pipe cleaners around a lollipop, so the round part looks like a spider’s backside. Add some googly eyes on the front, and watch how excited the kids get!
28. Gelatin dessert brain
A gelatin dessert brain is a Halloween treat for kids who think the grosser, the better. Pour strawberry-flavored gelatin into a brain-shaped mold and let it set before serving.
If the gory look is too much for a younger crowd, swap the brain mold for a shape that feels more silly than scary.
29. One-eyed monster cookies
Create a cookie sandwich with melted milk chocolate between two red velvet cookies. Place a giant candy eyeball on top to create one-eyed monster cookies.
30. Worm-filled candy apples
Decorate candied apples with creepy-crawly gummy worms. Scoop out a few holes in strategic places to make it seem like the worms are wriggling out of the apples.
31. Skull-like apple pops
Put a fun twist on the classic candy apples and turn them into skeleton apple pops. Coat each candied apple with a layer of white chocolate frosting. Next, draw on skeleton faces using a piping bag of melted dark chocolate. Drizzle with red icing for a bloody effect.
32. Ghostified pancakes
Pancakes are a kid-friendly option for Halloween fun. Try chocolate-flavored pancakes for a yummy treat, or fill them with blueberries for a lighter twist. Spread cream cheese frosting on top for a ghostly white look.
33. Spectral pretzels
Turn crunchy gluten-free pretzels into little ghosts with a swipe of no-sugar white yogurt frosting and two blueberry eyes. This is a simple Halloween snack for kids that takes only a few minutes to assemble, making them handy for a classroom party or snack table.
34. Witch’s hat with a surprise inside
Start by filling chocolate ice cream cones with small candy treats like chocolate candies and candy corn. Place some melted chocolate on a chocolate wafer cookie and press it onto the opening of the ice cream cone to seal it. Then draw a ribbon with green icing and a buckle with gold icing.
35. Cookie spiders
Turn regular chocolate cookies into a spooky treat by adding spider legs made out of pretzel sticks. Use a bit of frosting to attach green M&M’s to the top to make eyes.
36. Peanut butter haystacks
Peanut butter haystacks make for a nutty Halloween treat. Break up pretzel sticks and mix them thoroughly with peanut butter in a mixing bowl. Mold the mix into mini haystacks on a baking tray and let them set until serving time.
37. Candy corn popcorn
The perfect party mix consists of candy corn tossed with popcorn. Mix cooked popcorn,candy corn, and melted white chocolate in a large mixing bowl, then let the mixture set. Feel free to add other Halloween goodies like chocolate candies, salted almonds and more.
38. Eyeball punch
The eyeball punch is a refreshing Halloween treat for kids. To make the eyeballs, stuff lychees with blueberries, then freeze them in an ice tray. Pop the frozen “eyeballs” into a bowl of punch for a scary-looking drink.
39. Melting witch hot chocolate
Start by making homemade hot chocolate using whole milk, heavy cream, white chocolate, vanilla extract and green food coloring. Add some green food coloring to whipped cream and put a large dollop on top. Then make a witches’ hat by placing a circle of orange-colored frosting in the middle of a fudge cookie. Use the frosting to hold an unwrapped chocolate kiss in place. Put the hat on top of the whipped cream and serve.
40. Wormy ice
Add a touch of fun to your child’s drink by filling ice trays halfway and adding gummy worms, so they’re partially sticking out. Freeze the trays, then serve them in glasses of punch or cups of water.
41. Spooky veggie tray
Turn a veggie tray into a Halloween centerpiece by arranging carrots, cucumber, bell peppers and other kid-friendly vegetables into a spooky face, skeleton or monster. Keep the design silly for younger kids, who may be more interested in dipping and snacking than a creepy presentation.
42. Dragon fruit monsters
Dragon fruit is already a little otherworldly, so it doesn't take much to turn it into a Halloween monster. Cut the fruit in half or into thick slices, then use edible candy eyes and other pieces of fruit to create goofy faces.
Younger kids can help add the eyes and decorations, while older kids can get creative with different monster designs. If you're serving younger children, cut the fruit into age-appropriate pieces and skip any small decorations that could be a choking hazard.
43. Bubbling witch’s cauldron soup
Make soup the star of a Halloween night—serve it in a big pot dressed up as a witch's cauldron. Choose tomato soup for a bloody brew or a green goddess soup for a witch's concoction.
Instacart makes it easy for Halloween snack fun
Halloween food should be fun for kids and easy for the grown-ups planning the party. Once you’ve picked your party menu, let Instacart handle the grocery run. Order what you need and have it delivered to your door, leaving you more time to hang decorations and get your kids into their Halloween costumes.
