Halloween is not a holiday I had ever considered making a special dinner for but after receiving these recipes I may just change my mind. Any of you that visit on a regular basis know I am a big fan of making homemade pasta for dinner. I also realize that a lot of people have issues and need gluten free options. The recipes below all use pastas from Explore Cuisine and were created by Lori Hirsch Stokoe.
This post is not sponsored. I just thought these recipes were fun and thought you would enjoy learning about them in time for a fun Halloween party.
Creepily Delicious Halloween Recipes
I have three delightfully delicious and creepy recipes to inspire you in your Halloween party planning. Two different gluten free pastas are utilized – organic green lentil lasagna and organic black bean spaghetti. First up, a lasagna with a filling that sounds like heaven.
Pumpkin Ricotta Lasagna
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¼ c. fresh sage leaves, chopped, plus more whole leaves for garnish
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2 t. butter
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15 oz. ricotta
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10 oz. canned pumpkin puree
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2 eggs, beaten
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1/2 t. salt
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1/4 t. pepper
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½ t. pumpkin pie spice
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1 box – 8 sheets Explore Cuisine Green Lentil Lasagne (no boil)
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1 ¼ lb. mozzarella, shredded
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Fry sage in butter until crisp. Remove to paper towel. Then combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to cook the flour, about two minutes. Add the milk slowly and continue to stir. Bring to barely a boil then immediately turn down the heat. Cook, whisking until thickened for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
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Spread ½ c. of white sauce over the bottom of a greased 8″ square (2 qt.) baking dish. Place 2 sheets of no-boil lasagne noodles over the sauce in a single layer.
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Top lasagna noodles with a third of the ricotta mixture. Layer with a quarter of the mozzarella. Then top with a third of the remaining of the white sauce. Top sauce with 2 more sheets of lasagne noodles to build the second and third layers the same way.
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For the top layer, place last two sheets of lasagna over the white sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella.
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Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes, covered with foil. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes until the lasagna is bubbling hot and the top is browning. Remove from oven and let sit at least 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish with fried whole sage leaves.
Pumpkin Ricotta Lasagna
A twist on a classic using no bake lentil lasagna noodles
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 9
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Ingredients
¼ c. fresh sage leaves, chopped, plus more whole leaves for garnish
2 t. butter
15 oz. ricotta
10 oz. canned pumpkin puree
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
½ t. pumpkin pie spice
1 box – 8 sheets Explore Cuisine Green Lentil Lasagne (no boil)
1 ¼ lb. mozzarella, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Fry sage in butter until crisp. Remove to paper towel. Then combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to cook the flour, about two minutes. Add the milk slowly and continue to stir. Bring to barely a boil then immediately turn down the heat. Cook, whisking until thickened for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
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Spread ½ c. of white sauce over the bottom of a greased 8″ square (2 qt.) baking dish. Place 2 sheets of no-boil lasagne noodles over the sauce in a single layer.
-
Top lasagna noodles with a third of the ricotta mixture. Layer with a quarter of the mozzarella. Then top with a third of the remaining of the white sauce. Top sauce with 2 more sheets of lasagne noodles to build the second and third layers the same way.
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For the top layer, place last two sheets of lasagna over the white sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella.
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Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes, covered with foil. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes until the lasagna is bubbling hot and the top is browning. Remove from oven and let sit at least 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish with fried whole sage leaves.
Notes
Just add a side salad with a Blood Orange vinaigrette and you have a perfect creepy Halloween dinner
Keywords: gluten free, vegetarian, pumpkin, lasagna
Garlicky Black Bean Spaghetti Spoons with Deviled Eyes
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Hard Boiled Eggs
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Food Coloring
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Jumbo Black Olives
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Garlic Mayonnaise
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Unflavored Gelatin Glaze
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1 box Explore Cuisine Black Bean Spaghetti – cooked, drained
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2 T. olive oil
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2 garlic cloves, minced
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1 T. fresh herbs, finely chopped – such as tarragon, parsley, chives
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salt, to taste
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red chili flakes, to taste
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1 T. cooked egg yolk, grated
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Use the larger tube to cut the top of the egg in a circle for the iris. Remove the egg white plug. Paint the egg white plug with diluted food coloring to look like an iris. Let dry.
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Use the smaller tube to cut out a place for the pupil in the painted iris. Use the same tube to cut a pupil out of the black olive. Place the olive pupil into the iris.
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Cut off the bottom third of the egg so it will nestle in the spaghetti spoon. Reserve any hard-boiled egg yolks for spaghetti recipe.
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Scoop out a small amount of the egg yolk from the top of the egg to make room for mayonnaise. Squirt garlic mayonnaise into the hollow top of the hard-boiled egg, and then replace the iris plug.
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Paint food coloring bloodshot lines around the iris. Let dry.
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Finish by brushing a light coat of slightly thickened gelatin glaze over the entire eye to give an authentic glossy finish.
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In a medium bowl – combine olive oil with garlic, herbs, salt and chili flakes. Add spaghetti and toss. Sprinkle with grated egg yolk.
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Arrange spaghetti in decorative serving spoons. Place deviled eyes in center.
Garlicky Black Bean Spaghetti Spoons with Deviled Eyes
A striking appetizer sure to up the creep factor at your next Halloween party
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 10
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Hard Boiled Eggs
Food Coloring
Jumbo Black Olives
Garlic Mayonnaise
Unflavored Gelatin Glaze
1 box Explore Cuisine Black Bean Spaghetti – cooked, drained
2 T. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. fresh herbs, finely chopped – such as tarragon, parsley, chives
salt, to taste
red chili flakes, to taste
1 T. cooked egg yolk, grated
Instructions
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Use the larger tube to cut the top of the egg in a circle for the iris. Remove the egg white plug. Paint the egg white plug with diluted food coloring to look like an iris. Let dry.
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Use the smaller tube to cut out a place for the pupil in the painted iris. Use the same tube to cut a pupil out of the black olive. Place the olive pupil into the iris.
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Cut off the bottom third of the egg so it will nestle in the spaghetti spoon. Reserve any hard-boiled egg yolks for spaghetti recipe.
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Scoop out a small amount of the egg yolk from the top of the egg to make room for mayonnaise. Squirt garlic mayonnaise into the hollow top of the hard-boiled egg, and then replace the iris plug.
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Paint food coloring bloodshot lines around the iris. Let dry.
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Finish by brushing a light coat of slightly thickened gelatin glaze over the entire eye to give an authentic glossy finish.
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In a medium bowl – combine olive oil with garlic, herbs, salt and chili flakes. Add spaghetti and toss. Sprinkle with grated egg yolk.
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Arrange spaghetti in decorative serving spoons. Place deviled eyes in center.
Notes
The prep and cook times are estimates. It’s going to depend on experience levels and how adept you are at working with the tools to make the egg eyes. Yield is going to be dependent on how many eggs you hard boil
Special Equipment Needed:
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Two sharp thin tubes for cutting hard-boiled egg into (1) the size of an iris, and (2) into the size of a pupil.
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Fine paintbrush to paint food coloring.
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Pastry brush for brushing gelatin.
Keywords: appetizer, gluten free, Halloween, spooky
Black Bean Spaghetti with AFRAID-O Sauce, White Carrot Phalanges
- Peel 8 white carrots then carve with small knife into finger-bone shape. Steam until al dente. Set aside.
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1 box Explore Cuisine Black Bean Spaghetti – cooked, drained
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1 jar of alfredo sauce (can choose gluten-free)
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1 jar of marinara sauce (choose one that is more blood red in color, rather than orange)
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fresh basil
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Heat the sauces in separate saucepans over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
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Place warm Explore Cuisine black bean spaghetti in the center of four serving plates.
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Ladle alfredo sauce over the center of the spaghetti.
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Arrange carrot phalanges over the sauce.
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Splatter marinara sauce over the entire dish, in a gruesome manner.
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Garnish with basil.
Black Bean Spaghetti with AFRAID-O Sauce, White Carrot Phalanges
A creepily delicious take on Alfredo
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Italian American
Ingredients
Scale
- Peel 8 white carrots then carve with small knife into finger-bone shape. Steam until al dente. Set aside.
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1 box Explore Cuisine Black Bean Spaghetti – cooked, drained
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1 jar of alfredo sauce (can choose gluten-free)
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1 jar of marinara sauce (choose one that is more blood red in color, rather than orange)
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fresh basil
Instructions
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Heat the sauces in separate saucepans over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
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Place warm Explore Cuisine black bean spaghetti in the center of four serving plates.
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Ladle alfredo sauce over the center of the spaghetti.
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Arrange carrot phalanges over the sauce.
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Splatter marinara sauce over the entire dish, in a gruesome manner.
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Garnish with basil.
Notes
The prep time is a guestimate as I have no idea how long it takes to carve white carrot phalanges. :0
Keywords: spaghetti, gluten free, Halloween, pasta
Are You Ready for a Creepy Gluten Free Pasta Party?
I hope you enjoyed these creepily delicious gluten free recipes from Lori Hirsch Stokoe. They certainly give inspiration for a freaky and fun way to entertain for Halloween. You find out all about the gluten free pasta at explorecuisine.com
