Halloween Spaghetti and Meatballs
Turn regular midweek spaghetti into spooky Halloween Spaghetti and Meatballs that will leave your guests gasping while begging for seconds!
Traditional meatballs get an instant spooky twist with the addition of melted mozzarella cheese, topped with sliced olives and rimmed with marinara sauce!
Much like my Eyeball Pie, this dish offers a startling illusion of eyeballs staring back at you, carefully nestled in between tender al dente spaghetti.
Pair this Halloween Spaghetti and Meatballs dish with your favorite Halloween drink and themed dessert!
🌟 WHY YOU’LL LOVE HALLOWEEN SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
If you love traditional spaghetti and meatballs, you’ll likely already have many of the ingredients needed to whip up a fresh pan of this spooky dinner!
Easily adapt this Halloween Dinner recipe with simple ingredient swaps that will cater to your family’s preferences.
Make the meatballs ahead of time to reduce the overall recipe time. This is ideal if you know that you’ll be too busy during the holiday to make a main meal from scratch.
Unlike some other Halloween-inspired recipes that require numerous additional ingredients to create a spooky effect, all you need here are mozzarella balls and sliced olives to recreate eyeballs!
🍽 KEY INGREDIENTS
Meatballs – A combination of all ingredients except for the mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, and olives.
Pasta – I’ve used thin spaghetti for this Halloween spaghetti and meatballs dish.
Marinara sauce – Jarred or homemade marinara sauce is great.
Eyeballs – The juicy meatballs get a spooky twist with the addition of melted mozzarella cheese and sliced black olives.
Swaps
Gluten-free – I’ve used regular thin spaghetti pasta for this recipe, but you can use gluten-free spaghetti instead. Gluten-free bread crumbs should also be used for food allergies.
Meat – I’ve used a mixture of ground beef and ground beef which adds great flavor and moisture from the fat content. You could choose to use only one type of ground meat instead. Lean ground meat will reduce the fat content, although there is a risk of the meatballs crumbling apart or being dry.
🥣 EQUIPMENT
You’ll need a large mixing bowl, a large baking sheet, parchment paper, a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, a small bowl to hold the sauce, a large pot to boil pasta, and a large serving bowl.
🔪 HOW TO MAKE
Halloween spaghetti and meatballs is a straightforward main dish, involving the same ingredients and recipe steps as regular spaghetti and meatballs. Follow my step-by-step recipe instructions and cooking tips for a fail-proof Halloween-inspired meal that’ll seriously impress!
Preparations
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Soak the panko bread crumbs and cream in a large bowl for 10 minutes.
Step 2
Add the ground beef, pork, garlic, eggs, Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, onion, and Worcestershire sauce to the bowl with the breadcrumb mixture.
Step 3
Sprinkle the salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and Italian herbs evenly over the top of the meatball mixture and combine with your hands, being careful not to overmix.
Chill the meatball mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes.
Step 4
Form uniform meatballs using a cookie scoop and roll them in your lightly greased hands. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Once the meatballs have an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, remove them from the oven, but keep the oven on at this stage.
Step 5
Slice the mozzarella balls in half, placing one half on each meatball. Press down lightly with your thumb.
Return the pan to the hot oven and let the cheese eyeballs soften and melt slightly. Remove the sheet pan from the oven.
Step 6
Pour some of the marinara into a small bowl. Use a fork to dip the meatball into the sauce, just to the edge of the cheese.
Gently push an olive slice onto each cheese eyeball. Return them to the oven briefly if you want them to look even scarier!
Cook the spaghetti until al dente, drain, and add to a large serving bowl. Place the eyeball meatballs on top and serve!
💭 COOKING TIPS
- Don’t overcook the spaghetti. If the noodles are too soft, they will break down when mixed with the other ingredients.
- A little splash of oil in the pasta water helps keep the pot from boiling over and the noodles from being sticky.
- I use a cookie scoop to create uniform-sized eyeball meatballs.
- Make sure to press the sliced olives into the melted mozzarella cheese while it is still soft enough for the sliced olives to stick.
🥗 WHAT TO SERVE WITH HALLOWEEN SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
This Halloween Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe is a complete meal as is! That said, feel free to add your favorite side dish too:
SIDE DISHES
Serve a fresh green salad, herb bread, fluffy dinner rolls, or roasted veggies as a choice of side dish.
HALLOWEEN DESSERTS
Finish your holiday meal alongside Easy Halloween Frankenstein Cupcakes, Halloween Bat Cookies, or Dirt Worm Cups.
🙋 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Chilling the meatball mixture helps to form the meatballs and prevent them from falling apart when being cooked.
The addition of cream and eggs adds a good amount of flavor as well as moisture to the meatball mixture due to the high fat content in these ingredients. The ground beef and ground pork also contribute to the juicy meatballs.
Use Ciliegine mozzarella. Each ball is the size of a cherry – perfect for pressing into the tops of the baked meatballs.
🧊 STORING AND ♨️ REHEATING
FRIDGE
Once completely cool, store leftover Halloween spaghetti and meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
FREEZER
You can freeze this dish in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge to reheat.
REHEAT
Reheat refrigerated or thawed Halloween spaghetti and meatballs in a large pan with additional sauce mixed in over medium-high heat until heated through. Smaller portions can be reheated in the microwave.
🍳 MORE SPOOKTACULAR RECIPES TO TRY!
👪 SERVING SIZE
This recipe makes 8 servings. You can easily serve more people by making more meatballs and boiling extra pasta.
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📋 RECIPE
Halloween Spaghetti and Meatballs
Turn regular midweek spaghetti into spooky Halloween Spaghetti and Meatballs that will leave your guests gasping while begging for seconds!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup heavy cream or half & half
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 3 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for optional garnish)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs (I used half curly parsley & half basil)
- 1/4 cup grated or finely minced yellow onion
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Ciliegine (cherry sized)
- 1/3 cup pitted black olives, sliced
- Marinara (jarred or homemade, as much or as little as you like)
- 12-16 ounces Pasta (I used thin spaghetti)
Instructions
- Add the panko bread crumbs and cream to a large bowl. Stir until combined. Allow the mixture to soak for ten minutes.
- Add the ground beef, pork, garlic, eggs, Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, onion, and Worcestershire sauce to the bowl with the breadcrumb mixture.
- Sprinkle the salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and Italian herbs evenly over the top.
- Mix the ingredients until combined, being careful not to overmix. The best tool for this is your hands.
- Place the meatball mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes. This step will make it easier to form the meatballs and allow them not to fall apart while cooking.
- Heat the oven to 400°F.
- Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the meatballs. Roll them in your lightly greased hands and place them on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. The internal temperature of the meatballs should be 160°F.
- Remove from the oven. Keep oven on.
- Slice the mozzarella balls in half, placing one half on each meatball. Press down lightly with your thumb.
- Return the pan to the hot oven and let the cheese eyeballs soften and melt slightly. Remove the sheet pan from the oven.
- Pour some of the marinara into a small bowl. Use a fork to dip the meatball into the sauce, just to the edge of the cheese.
- Gently push an olive slice onto each cheese eyeball. You can return them to the oven briefly if you want them to look scarier.
- Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the package.
- Drain the pasta and pour it into a serving bowl. Place the eyeball meatballs on top.