Easy Halloween Party Appetizers for a Crowd

Every year we do a Halloween thing at our house before trick or treating, and every year the guest list grows because apparently word gets out when there is a crockpot involved. Last year it was twenty two people in a house built for four, half of them in costume, one of them a very sweaty Spider-Man who was nine and would not take the mask off to eat.

Feeding that many people used to stress me out until I figured out the real trick, which is that a crowd does not want variety, it wants volume of a few good things. Six appetizers for twenty people beats twelve appetizers every single time, and it means I am not still plating at 7pm while everyone else is having fun in my living room.

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Mummy Pigs in a Blanket

Two packages of crescent dough, cut into thin strips about a quarter inch wide, wrapped loosely around little smokies with a gap left for the face. Bake at 375 for 12 to 14 minutes until golden. Two dots of mustard for eyes after they come out, not before, because mustard in the oven turns brown and sad. One package of smokies plus one tube of dough makes about 24, so for twenty people I do three of each. These disappear first, always, and I have stopped fighting it.

The Crockpot Meatballs That Do All the Work

Two bags of frozen meatballs, one 12 ounce jar of grape jelly, one 12 ounce bottle of chili sauce. Dump it all in, stir, cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2. That is the whole recipe and I know how it sounds, but it is genuinely one of the best things on the table. If they look watery at the end, take the lid off for the last 30 minutes and let it reduce. Keep them on warm during the party and stir once an hour so the bottoms do not scorch.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Two cups shredded rotisserie chicken, 8 ounces cream cheese softened, half a cup of ranch, half a cup of buffalo sauce, and a cup of shredded cheddar. Mix, spread in a pie dish, bake at 350 for 20 minutes until bubbly at the edges. The cream cheese has to be genuinely soft or you get lumps that never smooth out, so pull it out an hour ahead. Serve with celery and sturdy chips, and make two because one is never enough.

Spiderweb Deviled Eggs

A dozen eggs, boiled and cooled, yolks mashed with a third of a cup of mayo, a teaspoon of Dijon, a splash of pickle juice, salt and pepper. Pipe it back in, then pipe a spiral of balsamic glaze on top and drag a toothpick from the center outward to make a web. Deviled eggs can be made the morning of, but keep the filling and the whites separate in the fridge and assemble an hour before. Filled eggs sitting all day get weepy and the tops crust over.

Sausage Cheese Balls

One pound of hot breakfast sausage, uncooked, mixed with 2 cups of Bisquick and 4 cups of shredded sharp cheddar. Work it with your hands until it comes together, roll into 1 inch balls, bake at 375 for 20 to 22 minutes. Makes about 45. The most common problem is a dry crumbly mix, which happens with pre-shredded cheese, so shred your own or add a couple tablespoons of milk. These freeze beautifully raw, so I make a double batch in September and bake them straight from frozen with 5 extra minutes.

A Skeleton Veggie Tray

This sounds fussier than it is. Lay out a rough skeleton shape on a big platter with cauliflower florets for the skull, celery sticks for the ribs, carrot sticks for arms and legs, and a bowl of ranch where the stomach goes. It takes eight minutes and kids lose their minds over it. Also it is the only vegetable most of them will touch, so I consider it a public service.

Walking Taco Bar

Individual bags of Fritos or Doritos, a crockpot of taco meat, and bowls of cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and salsa. Guests crush the bag, cut it open along the side, and load it up. Two pounds of ground beef with two packets of seasoning feeds about fifteen this way. This is the single best thing I have ever added to a Halloween party because it eats like dinner, there are no plates to wash, and the kids can carry it around while being a dinosaur.

Soft Pretzel Bites with Beer Cheese

Buy the frozen pretzel bites, do not make them, life is short. For the cheese sauce, melt 2 tablespoons butter, whisk in 2 tablespoons flour, cook a minute, then add a cup of milk slowly until thick, then 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar off the heat. Adding cheese over direct heat is what makes sauce break and go grainy. Off the heat, always. Keep it warm in a small crockpot on low.

How Much Food for Twenty People

• Plan 6 to 8 individual bites per person for a two hour party, more if it replaces dinner
• Two dips minimum, one hot and one cold
• One thing that eats like a meal, which is what the walking tacos are doing
• Twice as many chips and crackers as feels reasonable
• One vegetable thing, mostly so the adults feel okay about themselves

My Make Ahead Timeline

• Two weeks out, make and freeze the sausage balls raw on a sheet pan, then bag them
• Two days out, shop, and boil the eggs
• One day out, make the deviled egg filling, brown the taco meat, shred the chicken, mix the buffalo dip and refrigerate unbaked
• Morning of, start the meatballs on low, cut all the vegetables, set out serving dishes with a sticky note in each one saying what goes there
• One hour out, bake the pigs in a blanket and the sausage balls, assemble the eggs
• Fifteen minutes out, make the beer cheese and bake the buffalo dip

The sticky note thing sounds silly and it is the reason I stopped finding a forgotten bowl of olives in the microwave the next morning.

What I Would Skip

Anything fried, because you will be standing at the stove all night instead of at your own party. Anything that has to be served immediately. Anything requiring individual assembly per guest, unless it is the walking tacos where they assemble it themselves. And skip green punch that stains, unless you have hard floors and low standards, both of which I do.

One Last Thing

Put the food in two different rooms if you can. It splits the crowd, keeps the kitchen from turning into a bottleneck, and gives you somewhere to hide with a plate for four minutes.

If you have a crowd appetizer that never fails you, please leave it in the comments. I am always one recipe away from retiring something.

So glad you are here. Pam