Impress You Guests with These Gross Halloween Food Ideas

From creepy and slimy to downright disgusting, gross Halloween treats are the perfect way to make your next party is one to remember.  Not only is playing with food a ton of fun, but with the right recipes, you can also make sure your Halloween party snacks taste much better than they look. As you start to plan out your party menu, take a look at these 20 gross Halloween food ideas.

Scary starters

Decorating with scary starters is the best way to set the mood for your Halloween party. These gross Halloween treats are sure to get your guests’ attention!

1. Cookies & cream rat

To make a cookies & cream rat, use cream cheese to create the shape of a rat’s body. Then, roll it in crushed Oreo cookies. Repeat the process to make feet and ears, add chocolate chip eyes and a bit of pink frosting to make the nose and tail. Serve your rat with a side of graham crackers.

2. Date cockroaches

This recipe is super gross but also delicious. Start with a package of whole dates. Remove the pit if necessary. Then cut them in half and stuff each one with a mixture of cream cheese and crushed walnuts. Serve them on a dish with plastic cockroaches for decoration.

3. Severed finger hot dogs

Use a knife to gouge out a fingernail shape and add lines to make cooked hot dogs look like fingers. Serve them on half a bun and use ketchup to add some “blood.”

4. Flayed face cheese ball

Mix cream cheese, cheddar, and Havarti and shape it into the shape of a skull. Cover the whole thing in prosciutto, so it looks like muscle tissue, then use green olives with the pimento side up to give your flayed face some real-looking eyeballs.

Main meals

The fun doesn’t have to stop when it’s time to sit down for your main meal. Check out these super-gross Halloween recipes:

1. Pork dumpling brains

To make this stomach-turning meal, steam some pork dumplings, toss them in a red chili-sesame sauce, then serve them in a glass jar, so they look like brains.

2. Meatball eyes

Do you ever feel like someone is watching you? Make your meatballs look gross by baking them until they’re almost done. Cover them with a circle of Mozzarella cheese for the last few minutes, then make eyeballs out of green and black olives.

3. Witch’s hair pasta

This gross and simple dish uses squid-ink pasta tossed in olive oil, garlic, and red chili pepper flakes. The black color is an instant turn-off and will go perfectly with the rest of your Halloween-themed dishes.

4. Batwings

Make (or buy) a sweet and sour marinade for this jaw-dropping food, and add a few drops of black food coloring. Marinade your chicken wings overnight, so they turn black, then bake them.

5. Hot dog worms

Slice hot dogs lengthwise into quarters. Cook them in a skillet, then add some barbeque sauce to add a gross (and tasty!) touch.

6. Feet loaf

When it comes to gross Halloween food ideas, feet loaf takes the cake! Use meatloaf mix to make the shape of a foot with an ankle attached. Use half an onion to make “ankle bones” and slices of onion for the toenails. Finish it off by brushing ketchup around the ankles to make them look like “blood.”

Gross Halloween treats

If your guests still have an appetite after seeing all the gross foods you’ve made so far, they’re going to love these fantastic un-appealing sweet treats:

1. Severed hand pies

Use refrigerated pie dough to cut out shapes of your hand. Put some cherry pie filling on one hand, cover it with another, and press the edges together with a fork. Brush with an egg wash and bake. When it’s done, cut it diagonally before serving.

2. Halloween cake pops

Start by making small cake balls out of red velvet cake, then dip them in melted white chocolate. When the chocolate hardens, use icing to make them look like eyeballs, ghosts, pumpkins, and more. Stick a disposable fork in the top of each one and serve!

3. Rice Krispy meat

Looking for gross Halloween treats that won’t take much effort? Make some Rice Krispy treats with cereal, butter, and marshmallows, then add red food coloring. Put it on a white plate and wrap it in plastic, so it looks like raw hamburger. You can even print out a label to make it look authentic!

4. Pecan roll guts

This is another super easy and gross Halloween recipe. Unroll packages of pecan rolls to make long strips, then coil and twist them to look like intestines. Bake them, then make “blood” frosting by mixing a cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, and red food coloring, then drizzle it on top.

5. Litter box cake

Start by baking a cake with your favorite cake mix and cutting it into small, bite-sized pieces. Place the pieces inside a clean, new kitty litter box and cover it with frosting. Then, crush green and white cookies to look like kitty litter and spread it over the cake. Finally, melt some Tootsie Rolls and pour them on top, so they look like cat poop. Serve with a clean litter scooper.

6. Bloody intestine breadsticks

To make this dish, start by pouring a can of cherry pie filling into a glass dish. Then, twist up some crescent roll dough, so it looks like intestines. Top with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, then bake. Give it a final touch by pouring a bit of the leftover pie filling on top.

Disgusting drinks

You can’t have boring cocktails at a party this gross! These diabolical drinks will show your guests that you don’t miss a single detail:

1. Bloody Syringe Drink

This is one of the easiest gross Halloween recipes, but it’s a ton of fun! Just use some red fruit juice and your favorite spirit, then add a use food-safe syringe full of the drink as a decorative piece to the glass.

2. Bloody brain shooters

To make this gross (but tasty!) shot, start with chilled strawberry vodka shaken with a bit of lime. Strain it into a rocks glass, then use a straw with your finger over the top to carefully add some Bailey’s Irish Cream. The lime juice will cause it to curdle a bit, making it stringy. Keep repeating until there’s a brain-like glob inside the drink. Add a splash of Grenadine to look like blood, and serve.

3. Spider web chocolate cocktail

Mix vodka, chocolate liquor, and cream in a stemless wine glass. Then, microwave a giant marshmallow for 30 seconds until it gets stringy. Stretch pieces across the glass, so it looks like a spider web.

4. Bloody orange cocktail

You can pick up plastic syringes at your local party store. Fill them with raspberry syrup and serve them in a drink of vodka, Licor43, a splash of orange juice, and club soda.

Get everything you need for your gross Halloween recipes

Want to make some of these gross Halloween food ideas, but dread the thought of scouring through the stores for all the stuff you need? Let your Instacart shopper take care of it for you! With Instacart Express you can enjoy free delivery on all orders over $35, so there’s no reason to waste your time at the grocery store!

Create your shopping list and wait for everything you need to arrive at your doorstep.

Instacart

Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.