This Ghost Pizza for Halloween is here to make your spooky dreams come true. It's so easy to make and super yummy, plus it's vegan-friendly and perfect for you and your friends (or kids) to enjoy together. So grab your aprons and get ready for a ghostly Halloween pizza party!
With its simple preparation, scrumptious taste, and kid-friendly appeal, our ghostly pizza guarantees a hauntingly good time. While it's the perfect treat for the Halloween season, we know that some of you can't get enough of spooky things, no matter the calendar date. Imagine enjoying this eerie masterpiece in the middle of summer – how cool is that?
If you're loving our Halloween vibes, you're in for a treat (or two) with our other recipes! Get ready to whip up Vegan Halloween Cookies that look like spooky mummies, or make Halloween Fortune Cookies – they're all about turning ordinary moments into extraordinary memories. Now, let's dive into the world of flavor, fun, and frights!
📋 Ingredients
To make a ghost pizza for Halloween at home you need the following ingredients:
Ingredient Notes
- Pizza Dough: What would be a pizza without dough? You can either use a store-bought dough that's ready to go, or you can make your own using our easy vegan pizza dough recipe. Our favorite stores to get fresh pizza dough at are WinCo and Harmons, and Trader Joe's!
- Vegan Mozzarella Cheese: Unlike regular dairy-based cheese, it doesn't get too melty and helps our ghost friends keep their shape on the pizza. Plus, being vegan is like giving a friendly hug to the planet and all its creatures. So, we're not only making delicious pizza but also doing something kind for our world! Read our 7 Reasons to go vegan to learn more about why going vegan is so important for our future.
- Black and Green Olives: We use black and green olives to create spooky spider shapes. They add a little surprise and a lot of fun to our ghostly pizza!
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🍴 Substitutions
Are you looking for substitutions or quicker alternatives? We got you!
- Pizza Dough: Instead of making dough from scratch, you can use pre-made store-bought pizza dough for convenience. If you are looking for a gluten-free option use gluten-free pizza crusts made from rice flour, almond flour, tapioca starch, or a combination of gluten-free flours. Another great GF option is cauliflower crust!
- Marinara Sauce: You can use any tomato-based pasta sauce as a substitute for the marinara tomato sauce. Other sauce options include pesto, homemade vegan alfredo sauce, or store-bought marinara sauce.
- Italian Seasoning: If you don't have Italian seasoning, you can make your own by mixing equal parts of dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and dried parsley.
- Vegan Mozzarella Cheese: If you can't find Miyoko's vegan mozzarella cheese, you can use any other brand of mozzarella that you like, or make vegan mozzarella at home from scratch. Another option is to opt for cheese slices, for example, Daiya's vegan cheese slices.
- Olives: If you're not a fan of olives or prefer other toppings, omit them entirely or get creative with your choices. Sliced mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, or even vegan pepperoni could be great alternatives.
Enjoy exploring different variations and discovering your favorite twist on this scrumptious and spooktacular recipe. Remember, substitutions will bring their own unique flavors and textures to this ghost pizza recipe!
🥄 Variations
There are many delicious flavor variations to explore with this ghost pizza for Halloween! Here are a few ideas to play around with to zing up the flavor of your Halloween pizza party:
- Marinara sauce: For more flavor feel free to add garlic and onion powder, and salt to taste.
- BBQ: Instead of marinara sauce, use your favorite vegan BBQ sauce. Other topping ideas for this flavor include vegan cheddar cheese slices, caramelized onions and smoky tempeh bacon.
- Spicy: Add a kick with a drizzle of hot sauce on top of the marinara sauce. Use vegan pepper jack cheese slices to make the ghosts, sliced jalapeños, and red onion.
- Garlic: Mix minced garlic into the marinara sauce for an extra punch. Top with roasted garlic cloves, caramelized onions, and sprinkles of vegan parmesan.
- Mexican-Inspired: Use spicy tomato salsa as the base. Top with vegan taco meat, black beans, corn, and avocado slices, before you top everything off with ghost-shaped cheese pieces.
- Buffalo Cauliflower: Add roasted buffalo cauliflower florets and drizzle with vegan ranch dressing for a tangy twist.
Feel free to mix and match these flavor variations and play with this Halloween pizza recipe. Experimenting with different ingredients and flavors is part of the fun! If you end up whipping up a fantastic variation, don't forget to drop a comment at the bottom of the blog post! I'm all ears and absolutely thrilled to hear about your culinary adventures.
🍽 Equipment
To make a ghostly pizza you need a few kitchen items! First, you need mixing bowls for combining ingredients like flour, yeast, and water if you are making the pizza dough from scratch. To accurately measure ingredients we always recommend using a scale. You also need a baking tray to bake the pizzas. We love a round tray, specifically for pizzas!
To make the ghost-shaped cheese, we recommend using a small ghost-shaped cookie cutter (use their smallest size). However, cutting them out by hand with a paring or small kitchen knife is another option. To prepare the cheese ghost, and olive spiders use a cutting board! Last but not least, don't forget your pizza cutter and oven mitts to handle hot baking trays and pizzas safely.
👩🏽🍳 How To Make Ghost Pizza
Let's chat about how to make the best ghost pizza!
Start by preparing your pizza dough, whether you are using homemade dough or a store-bought variety, there are a few things to do. Please remember that many pizza doughs have to be prepared a day ahead! You can follow our easy-to-make vegan pizza dough recipe if you want to make yours from scratch. Make sure to follow the package instructions if you are using a store-bought crust.
1. While your oven is preheating coat the tray and your hands in semolina flour. Spread out the dough into a 14” pizza, which is Ø35cm. Shape it into a thin round base by pressing and pulling.
2. Pour marinara sauce into a small bowl and add Italian seasoning. Stir and let it sit to enhance flavors.
3. Thinly slice the mozzarella cheese wheel.
4. Cut it into ghost shapes using a ghost-shaped cookie cutter, or by hand with a paring knife.
How To Make Olive Spiders
1. To cut the olives into spider shapes: cut one olive in half for the body.
2. Cut another olive in half, and then into 8 slices for the legs. Continue steps 1 and 2 until you have enough for several olive spiders.
Assemble Ghost Pizza
1. With a spoon spread marinara sauce onto the pizza crust.
2. Then, add your cheese ghosts and assemble olive spiders as desired.
3. With a food marker, you can draw eyes on the ghosts. Alternatively use small pieces of black olives.
4. Assemble olive spiders as desired on your pizza for an extra spooky touch. Place one olive half on the pizza, which resembles the body. Then assemble the leg slices around it.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 425°F (which is 220°C), slide your pizza in, and bake for 15 minutes or until baked through and the sides of the crust are browned.
Once baked, sprinkle the pizza with more Italian seasoning and optionally with some more olive oil.
✨ Sprinkle's Expert Tips ✨
- Do not roll the dough out with a rolling pin, as it can compress and remove the air, leading to a dense and less airy crust.
- While creativity is great, don't overload your pizza with toppings to avoid a soggy pizza crust.
- Using food tweezers can be helpful for assembling the olive spiders!
- Don't let cheese scraps go to waste! Grate or chop them for vegan omelets, quesadillas, and sandwiches, melt them into pasta dishes, or use them in cheesy bread recipes. For more food-saving ideas, check out our food waste guide.
🍕 Serving Ideas
Serving your ghostly pizza is a fun and engaging experience. Here are some of our favorite serving ideas to complement your ghost pizza for Halloween:
- Spooky Presentation: For the perfect presentation arrange the ghost pizza on a black serving platter for a spooky effect. Or serve it with more Halloween snacks on a Halloween-themed vegan charcuterie board.
- Spooky Buffet: Set up a Halloween-themed buffet with a ghost pizza as the centerpiece. Alternatively, make mini ghost pizzas instead of one large one! Include other themed snacks and treats like "witches' fingers" (carrot sticks with almond slice nails), "eyeball" fruit skewers, and "mummy" cookies.
- Halloween Tablecloth: Lay out a Halloween-themed tablecloth or runner to enhance the festive atmosphere.
- Customizable Toppings: Provide a variety of (vegan toppings and let guests customize their own ghost pizza slices. This interactive approach can be a hit at parties.
- Themed Plates: Use ghost-shaped or other Halloween-themed plates and napkins to tie in with the theme.
- Boo-tiful Beverage: Pair the ghostly pizza with a spooky drink, like a "blood" red punch or a dark purple mocktail.
Remember, presentation is key to enhancing the Halloween spirit of your ghost pizza gathering. Have fun and get creative with your serving ideas! We'd love to see your creations, so make sure to tag @thesimplesprinkle on socials.
💭 Recipe FAQ
We got ours on Amazon and used the smallest size of these ghost-shaped cookie cutters. As an alternative, you can make a stencil out of cardboard yourself and cut the cheese into ghost shapes by hand. Use a small kitchen knife then, like a paring knife.
You can call it "Spooky Slice," "Haunted Pizza," "Creepy Crust," or something similar to give it a Halloween-themed name, such as "Ghost Pizza" or "Ghostly Pizza". Let your imagination run wild and come up with a creative name that captures the fun and spirit of Halloween!
Dressing a pizza for Halloween is a fun way to celebrate the spooky season. As we learned in this blog post it is very easy to turn a regular pizza into a spooky treat by arranging toppings creatively.
Other ideas in addition to a spooky Ghost pizza include a spider web design with olives or peppers, making a pumpkin face using sauces and veggies, or creating a mummy look with cheese strips and olive eyes.
You can also shape the pizza dough into spooky shapes, for example, a cauldron, and then use dark toppings, or craft broomsticks from (vegan) cheese sticks. Be sure to use safe and tasty toppings for your themed pizza.
🥣 Storage and Reheating Instructions
Storage: If you have leftovers, plan to consume them within a day or two. You can refrigerate any leftovers. Place the cooled pizza in an airtight container or wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. This will help prevent moisture from making the crust soggy.
Reheating leftovers: To reheat pizza from the fridge, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C), place the slices or whole pizza on a baking sheet, and heat for about 10-20 minutes, checking for soft cheese and a warm center. For a crispier crust, broil briefly before removing and enjoying.
Freezing: This recipe tastes best fresh! We do not recommend freezing any leftovers.
📖 Recipe
Ghost Pizza for Halloween
Equipment
- ghost-shaped cookie cutter (use the smallest size) or
- paring knife to cut cheese ghosts by hand
- small bowl for marinara sauce
- food tweezers optional
Ingredients
- 18 ounces pizza dough
- ½ cup marinara sauce
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 8 ounces vegan mozzarella cheese
- 8 black and green olives more as desired
- 1 handful of semolina flour
Optional
- extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle
Instructions
Prepare dough
- Prepare homemade pizza dough, if you are making pizza dough from scratch. Skip this step and follow package instructions if you are using a store-bought crust. Please remember that many pizza doughs have to be prepared a day ahead.
- Preheat the oven and a baking tray to 250°C / 480°F.
- Coat the tray and your hands in semolina flour. Spread out the dough into a 14” pizza, which is Ø35cm. Shape it into a thin round base by pressing and pulling. Do not roll the dough out, as it can compress and remove the air, leading to a dense and less airy crust.
- Place the pizza crust on your tray and let it rest while you prepare the toppings.
Prepare toppings
- Pour marinara sauce into a bowl and add Italian seasoning. Stir and let it sit to enhance flavors. For more flavor feel free to add garlic, or onion powder and salt to taste.
- Thinly slice the cheese and cut it into ghost shapes using a ghost-shaped cookie cutter or by hand with a paring knife.
- Cut the olives into spider shapes: one olive in half for the body. Cut another olive in half, and then into 8 slices for the legs.
- You can use a food coloring marker to draw eyes on the cheese ghosts. Alternatively, use small pieces of black olives as eyes for the ghosts.
Bake
- With a spoon spread marinara sauce onto the pizza crust. Then, add your cheese ghosts. With a food marker, you can draw eyes on the ghosts Alternatively use small pieces of black olives.
- Assemble olive spiders as desired on your pizza for an extra spooky touch. Place one olive half on the pizza, which resembles the body. Then assemble the leg slices around it. Using food tweezers can be helpful for assembling olive spiders!
- Reduce the oven temperature to 425°F (which is 220°C), slide your pizza in, and bake for 15 minutes or until baked through and the sides of the crust are browned.
- Once baked, sprinkle the pizza with more Italian seasoning and optionally with some more olive oil.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
For food safety see guidelines at USDA.gov.
We love doing pizza nights and this is such a fun pizza to make with my boys. They absolutely enjoyed the idea and had so much fun making their own.
Hi Sandhya, thank you so much for trying this recipe with your boys and sharing your experience with us! It always makes me so happy to hear about your experiences.
I love it! This pizza is super cute (and yummy!) Perfect for Halloween!
Thank you so much for your feedback Holly!
This vegan pizza is so scrumptious, thank you for teaching us how to make homemade pizza dough, it's really that simple and much better than the store-bought!
Hi Marinela, it is great to hear you enjoyed the pizza dough recipe for this spooktacular pizza. Thank you for your feedback!
Another great recipe Jacqui! The marinara was out of this world.
Thank you so much for your feedback Kaitlin! I am happy to hear you enjoyed the added seasoning to the marinara sauce.
So easy to make and delicious pizza! I will do this for my family tonight.
Thank you for your feedback Lucas! The pizza dough recipe is actually from my Italian grandpa (he’s from Sicily). I’m sure everyone in your family will enjoy some homemade pizza!
this pizza is the cutest and most delicious pizza ever! so fun for the kids and outright tasty!
Hi Andrea, thank you so much for your feedback on this recipe!
Super fun recipe to make and easy to customize with the shapes. The kids really enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for your feedback, Joshua! It is always a delight to hear about your experiences with my recipes!
Love how simple this vegan pizza is to make. It is a fun activity for the kids too!
Hi Ana, thank you so much for your feedback. I am happy to hear the recipe was easy to make!