Pinterest's top-trending Halloween recipes for your feasting inspiration

Get ready for the spooky season with the help of Pinterest’s annual ‘Pinfrights Report‘, which tracks the biggest trends for Halloween. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite food-related ideas from the report, as well as some of the other scream-worthy pins we’ve seen on our endless Pinterest scrolls. There’s an idea here for everyone, from the cute and creative to the downright creepy, so use your imagination and prepare to scare the pants off your friends and family.

1. Easy ideas to keep your trick or treating simple

It’s a busy time of year for everyone, so coming up with creative treats to indulge in on Halloween can often be pushed to the bottom of your to-do list. Whether you need to take a plate to a Halloween dinner party or are trying to find something to please trick or treaters, keep things simple with these quick and easy ideas.

Pretzels are key to making quick and easy Halloween snacks, as there are so many ways you can dress them up to make them look on-theme. We love the look of these creepy Warty Witch Fingers or these cute Ghost Pretzels – all it takes is a quick melt of the chocolate and getting a little creative with your decorating!

If you want to be the hero of your Halloween party, put your hand up to be on drinks and whip up a pitcher of these super-simple Witches Brew cocktails. The spooky shots have been pinned over 9,000 times on Pinterest, with their supernatural purple colour making them a shoo-in for themed parties. Obviously, this recipe isn’t for kids – but who said Halloween is just for kids anyway?

2. Healthy snacks sneakily disguised as treats

Halloween can be a bit of a nightmare (no pun intended) for those who are trying to keep their households nutritious – just watching Jimmy Kimmel’s “I told my kids I ate their Halloween candy” videos can cause sugar-induced stress! There’s no need to throw the healthy lifestyle out the window this year though, as there are so many ways to keep trick or treaters happy with fruit and veggies that have been sneakily disguised as exciting goodies.

With over 62,000 pins, this Jack-O’-Lantern Chips and Dip is Pinterest’s top-trending recipe this year, turning a simple snack into a hilarious Halloween-themed nibble that might make your stomach turn at first glance! The recipe includes a deliciously cheesy queso inside the jack-o’lantern, but feel free to skip that part out to keep things on the healthier side.

For the ultimate in health and simplicity, we love this spooky fruit platter with mandarin pumpkins and ghost bananas. These little snacks will seriously take just ten minutes to pull together, so if you’re pressed for time it’s a perfect way to help you avoid reaching for a bag of lollies to put in the trick-or-treat bowl.

3. Fun ideas that the kids can help with

Half the excitement of Halloween party snacks is the actual process of making them, so get the kids involved where you can. Finding simple ideas that result in unique and creative nibbles will mean everyone can join in on the fun without the stress of complicated recipes.

These Dark Chocolate Halloween Cookies have had 39,000 saves on Pinterest and are super easy to make but look amazing when finished, with an extra-dark dough studded with vibrant pops of orange M&Ms. Similar but even more simple are these Monster Oreos, which just require a batch of smooth orange icing and some edible googly eyes to make some fabulously freaky snacks.

If you’re looking for a fun way to bring a grazing platter to life (so to speak) for Halloween, try this idea of filling a toy skeleton with goodies. It’s a breeze to pull together but makes for an unforgettable table decoration. You can go as basic or elaborate as you want with the fillings, just make sure it’s colourful and creative!

4. Dinner ideas that are extra howl-worthy

Halloween food fun isn’t just reserved for snacks and nibbles – you can also get adventurous with dinner and give your family or flatmates a spooky surprise! Out-of-the-box dinner ideas are all the rage this year on Pinterest, with everything from ghoul-shaped baked potatoes to skull-shaped burritos featuring among the top-trending pins.

Jazz up your usual homemade pizza toppings with this simple recipe for Mummy Pizza Pies, which put a deliciously freaky spin on a family dinner favourite. This recipe uses pepperoni and capsicum as toppings, but you could mix it up with anything you like – as long as it is covered in crispy strips of pastry bandages!

This funky Eyeball Pasta recipe is another great way to turn a simple dinner into something spine-tingling for Halloween – the little eyes on the top make it look like something pulled straight out of Monsters, Inc! Just cut out small circles of olive with a straw, place them into a hole of the same size in a piece of cheese and voilà – Mike Wazowski on a plate.

5. Creepy recipes that will make you look twice

When it comes to weird and wacky recipes for Halloween, Pinterest is full of blood, guts and gore. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s an edible treat, but isn’t that what Halloween cooking is all about? Try one of these recipes to really confuse your friends and family… or any unsuspecting trick or treaters.

Brains seem to be the order of the day on Pinterest, and these Rice Krispy Treats are the most realistic we’ve seen. Cleverly moulded out of rice bubbles and dotted with uncanny speckles of red, you might have some trouble convincing your own brain of what it’s actually eating.

For another hilariously gut-churning idea, try these Bloody Band-Aids – be warned though, these little treats are so lifelike you might be put off eating them! All you need is a packet of wafer biscuits, some white icing and a few drops of raspberry sauce to create a Halloween snack for the ages.

Finally, give these creepy cupcakes a go for a sweet treat that will make your blood run cold. Featuring shards of (edible) glucose-syrup glass and an incredibly realistic fake blood concoction, these cupcakes are not for the faint-hearted.

For more scrumptious Halloween food ideas, check out our Pinterest board of recipes that are perfect for the spooky season!