Easy & Fun Halloween Pasta
Serve spaghetti and meatballs but with a twist! This Halloween pasta puts a fun holiday spin on a classic meal that your kids already love!!
Themed meals are a great way to celebrate the holidays!! And I mean, c’mon, what kid isn’t going to devour a plate of spaghetti that looks like a jack-o-lantern?!
There are tons of complicated recipes and crafts out there, but I have simplified this recipe so that ANY MOM CAN MAKE IT! You won’t just love it, but your kids will too.
Halloween night can get pretty busy so this is a go-to because it is
- Easy to make (ready in 30 min or less!)
- Fun way to celebrate Halloween
- Inexpensive
- and a win with the kids EVERY TIME!
Ingredients for Halloween Pasta
I wanted to keep this recipe as simple as possible. The closer to traditional spaghetti and meatballs, the better!! That way, you won’t have picky kids sticking their noses up at dinner, haha.
In order to make this Halloween pasta, here are the ingredients you will need.
Pasta and Sauce
- Spaghetti Noodles
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Sour Cream
Meatballs
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Italian Bread Crumbs
- 1-2 eggs
- Sweet Ground Italian Sausage
- Italian Seasonings: Garlic Salt, Pepper, Salt, Basil, etc.
- Olive Oil
Toppings
- Fresh Basil Leaves
- Meatballs, mushrooms, squash or olives
Kitchen Appliances/Tools
Don’t worry about having any special kitchen appliances either. This recipe uses basic kitchen appliances and cooking tools so that even the most beginner chef can make it successfully.
In order to make Halloween Pasta you will need:
- Sauce Pan
- Large Pot
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Plastic Spoon/laddle
- Strainer
How to Make Your Halloween Pasta
Cooking the Pasta
- Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Once the water is boiling, put your noodles in the water. Cook for the recommended time (8-11 minutes).
- When cooked al dente, remove the noodles from the heat. Strain the noodles.
Tip: How to Know When Your Pasta is Done Cooking
A nice trick for knowing whether or not your pasta is done cooking is to try tossing a noodle at the wall. If it sticks, your noodles are ready to be eaten! Another trick you can try is biting into it to make sure there isn’t any white left in the middle of the noddle.
Tip: Keeping Your Pasta From Sticking Together
Toss it with a tiny amount of sauce or oil! (after draining the water) Otherwise, you will end up with a large clump of noodles.
Making the Meatballs
- While the water boils, add the Italian sausage, egg, breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, salt, pepper, basil and Italian seasoning to a bowl.
- Mix together the meatball ingredients until fully combined.
- Roll the meatball mixture into balls about an inch in diameter. Should yield 16-20 meatballs.
- Lightly grease a large pan and put on medium heat.
- Place meatballs onto the pan and allow to sit for 1-2 minutes for a good sear. Continue to cook for the next 10-20 minutes, turning over every few minutes.
Tip: Cooking Your Meatballs – What is too crispy?
The nice thing about sausage is that it is pretty hard to burn. It can get pretty crispy and dark, while not tasting like char. You will notice that I allowed the meatballs I used for the eyes on the Halloween pasta to get pretty dark. While this is not necessary, I think it makes the pasta look more like a jack-o-lantern.
Making the Orange Spaghetti Sauce
- Add a jar of spaghetti sauce to a pan on the stove. Warm it up on low heat for a few minutes.
- Once the sauce is warm, add in 1/4 cup of sour cream.
- Mix the tomato sauce and sour cream until fully combined.
- Add in any seasonings you want to your sauce: basil, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, etc.
Halloween Pasta Assembly
Once you have made your pasta, orange spaghetti sauce, and meatballs, you are ready to put together a plate of Jack-o-lantern inspired pasta.
- First, lay down a bed of pasta in a circular shape. (Using a round plate can help)
- Then, cover the noodles with as much of the orange spaghetti sauce as you like.
- Next, add a few fresh basil leaves to the top. They help create the look of pumpkin vines.
- Once you have done that, cut 3 triangles out of your meatballs. These will be the eyes and nose.
- Cut out a rectangle from the meatballs for the stem at the top of the “pumpkin”.
- Finally, cut out a few chunks of meatball to use as the mouth.
- Add your meatball facial features onto the bed of pasta and serve your easy, delicious Halloween pasta! (in total about 3 meatballs per pasta plate)
Vegetarian Option
Do you want an option that doesn’t include meat? Using the same orange spaghetti sauce, and vegetarian toppings you can still create a fun pumpkin pasta dish.
Simply follow the recipe, but instead of making meatballs, cook a vegetable that could be used to create a jack-o-lantern face.
Some possible toppings include:
- mushrooms
- black olives
- zucchini
- squash
- cauliflower
- broccoli
Easy Halloween Pasta
Equipment
- 1 Sauce Pan for cooking the meatballs
- 1 Large Pot for the noodles
- 1 Mixing bowl mixing meatballs
- 1 small pot for making the sauce
- 1 Set of measuring cups/spoons
- 1 Spoon/laddle
- 1 Strainer
Ingredients
Noodles and Sauce
- 1 box Spaghetti Noodles
- 1 jar Spaghetti Sauce (typically 1 lb or 8 oz of sauce)
- 1/4 cup Sour Cream
Meatballs
- 16 oz Sweet ground Italian Sausage
- 1 Large egg (or 2 small ones)
- 1 cup Grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 tsp Minced garlic
- 1 tsp Basil
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Olive oil (for cooking the meatballs)
Instructions
Cooking the Pasta
- Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Once the water is boiling, put your noodles in the water. Cook for the recommended time (8-11 minutes).
- When cooked al dente, remove the noodles from the heat. Strain the noodles.
Making the Meatballs
- While the water boils, add the Italian sausage, egg, breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, salt, pepper, basil and Italian seasoning to a bowl.
- Mix together the meatball ingredients until fully combined.
- Roll the meatball mixture into balls about an inch in diameter. Should yield 16-20 meatballs.
- Lightly grease a large pan and put on medium heat.
- Place meatballs onto the pan and allow to sit for 1-2 minutes for a good sear. Continue to cook for the next 10-20 minutes, turning over every few minutes.
Spaghetti Sauce
- Add a jar of spaghetti sauce to a pan on the stove. Warm it up on low heat for a few minutes.
- Once the sauce is warm, add in 1/4 cup of sour cream.
- Mix the tomato sauce and sour cream until fully combined.
- Add in any seasonings you want to your sauce: basil, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, etc.
Halloween Pasta Assmebly
- First, lay down a bed of pasta in a circular shape. (Using a round plate can help)
- Then, cover the noodles with as much of the orange spaghetti sauce as you like.
- Next, add a few fresh basil leaves to the top. They help create the look of pumpkin vines.
- Once you have done that, cut 3 triangles out of your meatballs. These will be the eyes and nose.
- Cut out a rectangle from the meatballs for the stem at the top of the “pumpkin”.
- Finally, cut out a few chunks of meatball to use as the mouth.
- Add your meatball facial features onto the bed of pasta and serve your easy, delicious Halloween pasta! (in total about 3 meatballs per pasta plate)
Notes
- A nice trick for knowing whether or not your pasta is done cooking is to try tossing a noodle at the wall. If it sticks, your noodles are ready to be eaten! Another trick you can try is biting into it to make sure there isn’t any white left in the middle of the noddle.Â
- Toss your noodles with a tiny amount of sauce or oil! (after draining the water) Otherwise, you will end up with a large clump of noodles.
- The nice thing about sausage is that it is pretty hard to burn. It can get pretty crispy and dark, while not tasting like char. You will notice that I allowed the meatballs I used for the eyes on the Halloween pasta to get pretty dark. While this is not necessary, I think it makes the pasta look more like a jack-o-lantern.
Other Halloween Food and Activities
- Halloween Bingo
- Halloween Mystery Box Activity
- 15 Halloween Party Foods
- DIY Bride of Frankenstein Wig
- Easy Trunk or Treat Monster Tutorial
Halloween Costume Inspiration
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