If you're wondering what sort of meal you should be preparing on or around the year's scariest holiday, look no further. We've got all the hearty, seasonal fall dinners to fuel you up for Halloween parties or a long night of trick-or-treating, ranging from refined to kid-friendly. Looking for more? Scroll through all of our Halloween faves.
"I made this the other night to go with some gnocchi. I was looking for something with pumpkin, as it is the season for it and all. I think it turned out really well."
-Pismo
"I have never seen pumpkin ravioli but found the frozen butternut squash variety and needed an inventive way to serve it. This was spot on! We loved it with just the sauce and cheese."
-SusieQusie
"This was great! Easy and very filling. I must say that I ate five bowls. I just couldn't stop!"
-Laura Vick
"This is more than good, it is a savory bite of fall with a wonderful melange of flavors and textures. Loved the mix of carmelized potatoes and squash with the nuttiness of the brown rice. Easy to pull together and worthy of a holiday or company meal."
-justcallmetoni
Using the Halloween essential Nordic Ware skull pan, you can create these Instagram-friendly baked skulls—jam-packed with Buffalo chicken and a two-cheese blend—for dinner or a solid snack.
A true comfort food, and the prosciutto adds the perfect amount of saltiness.
"This is the best soup I've eaten in my entire life! That's saying a lot, considering I was raised by a five-star chef! My kids and husband don't eat many veggies and I got them to eat kale for the first time ever!"
-Erica G.
"This was so good! Wonderful flavors, creamy sauce. The olives are a great salty balance to the sweet sauce."
-DianaEatingRichly
"I loved this recipe. This was my first time cooking anything Indian, and I found it less difficult than I had imagined. This all started with a can of pumpkin that I wanted to use, but what a nice surprise."
-sharon.ebaugh
"Now this is a delicious couscous salad! All the flavors go so well together and even though it doesn't have many spices in it, it is very flavorful. Especially when you bite onto the cumin seeds. I love the roasted pumpkin in this, as it adds moisture and lots of flavor."
-Lalaloula
"The pumpkin was a great complement to the salty ham—and what can you say about the creamy goodness of Arborio rice, slowly cooked in white wine and broth? The bright colors of the vegetables made this a beautiful dish to serve."
-Jostlori
'X' marks the spot in this Pirate-themed pasta, which features a buried treasure of creamy cheese hidden inside "sea" shell pasta. It's baked in an ocean of marinara sauce and topped with zucchini 'X's.
"Outstanding! Really, really easy to prepare and it has a nicely zippy flavor! I found it was easier to cook the sausage in a skillet, then add it to the stockpot."
-ckmclements
"I made this for our Halloween dinner and my family got a big kick out of it. It looked great and very festive. We also enjoyed the taste of this and I plan on making it again soon."
-mommyoffour
"The seasonings in this chili really play off each other so well. The barley malt adds a sweetness that's not sugary but more complex. I tend to like my chili a little saucy so I tossed in a second can of tomatoes."
-justcallmetoni
"Wow... really good! I absolutely loved it and will be making this again! I don't eat grains so I actually replaced the pasta with thinly sliced eggplant and it was still really good!"
-Errrrin
"This is one of my favorite recipes, and also one of the easiest! I use leftover pulled pork, so it has more of a smokier flavor than traditional posole. But we love that!"
-Emmy W
"The hoisin sauce gives this dish a slightly smoky and sweet flavor! Tasty and very different from your average beef stew!"
-Vino p.o. prn
"Yum! I cut the butter in half and thinned the sauce out with some of the salted pasta water. It was wonderful! Perfect for the first few days of fall!"
-snicholas77
"Delicious and very easy! I made this on one of the first cold fall evenings, and it was perfect for the occasion. The prunes added a lot of depth and complexity, and the cilantro was a nice touch."
-ozugo
"This was super easy and delish! I highly recommend using shredded chicken rather than ground beef. I made it both ways and the chicken gets far better reviews."
-Clamoleon
"Made as directed, using an organic cream of chicken soup. It was SO good! My kids loved it. This is a really easy dinner in a pumpkin and will become a Halloween tradition!"
-DianaEatingRichly
"I never knew you could make a delicious lamb dinner in a Crock Pot until this recipe! I chopped up celery and potatoes and then added some frozen vegetables. Pure hearty comfort food."
-Lorac
"Made these last year for Halloween and they were a hit! Making them again this year!"
-Jodi O.
"Terrific recipe, and not just for Halloween! These were easy and so fun to make. My six-year-old had a blast, and then she got a kick out of "tricking" Daddy into thinking he was eating eyeballs!"
-Leslie
"Simple, easy and oh my, so delicious! I did however not wait for the meat to cook for an hour, I simply cooked all the ingredients together."
-COOKtm
"A huge hit for my daughter's Scary Sleepover Birthday Party! My husband had so much fun carving a different face on each pepper, and it was the perfect serving size for young girls. Just gruesome enough that it stayed with the theme, but spaghetti's familiar enough that the kids readily ate them."
-Lizzymommy
"My girlfriend and I used this recipe for a chili cook-off contest and took second place. Our pot was the only one that was almost empty by the end of the day! Couldn't have turned out better."
-Rory N.
This "bloody" pasta is made extra-scary with red wine and beet juice. If you're actually a vampire, feel free to skip out on the garlic!
"Delicious and simple to make. And for once, the breading stayed on the chops! Fried in half butter, half olive oil. I can't wait to make this again."
-FlyingCook
