How to Make Bell Pepper Jack-o’-Lanterns

Halloween is certainly a holiday of indulgence for the kiddos, whether bobbing for candy apples at a Halloween party or filling up trick-or-treating bags with candy. Balancing out all the sweets with some fresh, healthy Halloween recipes is a noble objective, but it can be a challenge! We’ve got you covered with this fun dish that isn’t just healthy, it’s also one of the best easy Halloween appetizers to make, hands down. It’s essentially crudités and dip with a holiday-appropriate twist. All you need is a knife and cutting board to nail it.

Start by cutting circles around the stem of a bell pepper and then removing the cut-out tops. Score the pith out of the pepper with a sharp knife and then scoop out the pith and seeds with a spoon. Now the creativity comes in. With that sharp knife, carve a pumpkin face in the pepper’s side. You can carve a classic jack-o-lantern face, consisting of triangular eyes and a banana-shaped mouth or a mouth with jagged teeth. If you’re feeling artistic, you can attempt a spooky Halloween jack-o-lantern face or a silly one; the design is up to you, but even a simple one will do the trick.

Once your pepper is carved, fill it with your favorite veggie dip, either freshly made or store-bought. We like this dish best with artichoke dip, but you’d have equally tasty results with spinach dip, hummus, onion dip, tzatziki, or any other party dip that pairs well with vegetables. If you’re using multiple bell peppers in this recipe, you can fill all of them with dip or use one for the dip and others as the serving vessels for cut-up vegetables like celery stalks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, romaine lettuce leaves, and more. Your party guests will flip for the cute presentation of this fun Halloween appetizer and will appreciate a lighter bite than the likes of Halloween appetizers like mummy dogs or Halloween jalapeño poppers (which, while adorable-looking, aren’t the most forgiving of one’s waistline).