15+ Must-Try Halloween Dinner Ideas

Toasting the cumin brings out its flavor, and a bit of Madras curry powder makes this a savory pie that's as appealing to grown-ups as it is to kids.

Not only is this chili easy to make ahead, it actually improves with time. If you like your chili very spicy, add an extra teaspoon of chipotle powder. Prep and Cook Time: 50 minutes. Notes: Prepare chili up to two days ahead. Cool, cover, and chill; reheat before serving. Buy the best-quality chorizo you can find, preferably from a butcher or Mexican market, and avoid the type of chorizo that is very soft and sold in plastic casings; it tends to break down too much in cooking. Substitute another spicy uncooked sausage if you can't find good chorizo.

We made good old chicken pot pie Halloween party-worthy by loading up the filling with fresh vegetables and herbs, and decorating the top with bones and skulls cut from puff pastry. You'll need special cookie cutters; or you can create your own skull and bones from cardboard and cut around them on the pastry with a knife. For the best "puff," keep the pastry cold as you work.

Skip the food coloring this year and bring Halloween hues to the table in the form of a healthy salad, instead. Orange slices, black Kalamata olives, feta, and a red wine vinaigrette infuse this arugula salad with bright Mediterranean flavors.

Serve these devilishly tasty treats as part of a Halloween feast. Roasted red peppers and paprika give the filling an orange hue reminiscent of jack-o-lanterns, while snipped chives resemble their stems.

These make-ahead hot dogs use refrigerated breadstick dough, perfect for goblins, pretty princesses, superheroes, and even their parents. 

These adorably spooky pizza bagel bites make a tasty app for guests before your Halloween feast starts.

You only need three ingredients to create these spooky quesadillas. Use colorful wheat wraps to make them even more fun. 

These 5-ingredient, money-saving mini sandwiches will satisfy the heartiest of appetites. Using premade frozen meatballs keeps preparation swift and simple.

Frozen pizza dough is the secret to this easy pizza which is topped with slices of mozzarella cheese shaped like ghosts.

These chubby sandwiches have shredded cheese on the outside, which melts into a crunchy sheath as they cook. We used a Wilton 4 1/2-in. cutter for the large sandwiches and a 3 3/4-in. cutter for the smaller ones (find both as part of a nested set on amazon.com). Make these festive Halloween sandwiches alongside a pot of tomato soup for an easy dinner if you're having guests over to trick-or-treat. 

These wrinkly dumplings are filled with pork, shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, scallions and ginger. For Halloween, David Burtka soaks the brain-like dumplings in the dipping sauce, then serves them in science-lab beakers.

Plain-Jane bagels turn into Jack-'O-Lanterns with just a little green pepper and some bacon strips.

Surprise the kids with these tasty little Halloween cats.

Notes: The hominy can pass for teeth and the green peas as beady little eyes. If making soup ahead, don't add peas; cover soup when cool and chill, then add peas when reheating. For a tureen, use a rustic pan, such as a cast-iron Dutch oven. Or you can use a pumpkin shell. You'll need a pumpkin at least 12 to 16 inches tall and wide. Cut off top and scoop out seeds. About 10 minutes before serving, fill shell with boiling water to warm. Drain and fill with hot soup. Use top as lid for the pumpkin tureen.

Turns out that spinach wrapped in pie dough passes the picky-eater test! For these Halloween riffs on the classic calzone, use 4- by 5-in. pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters (find at cooking or craft stores and online). Or cut out a pumpkin-shaped template from paper, set it on the dough, and cut around it with a thin, sharp knife.