Halloween
From ghostly cupcakes to spiders web chocolate mousse, iced pumpkin biscuits and bat brownies, we've got some fiendishly delicious recipes to help you celebrate Halloween this year.
We’ve also got savoury recipes, from party pizza and Halloween hotdogs to pumpkin soup to keep both large and small monsters happy.
Whatever spooky snacks you’re cooking up this year, make yours a higher welfare Halloween and use RSPCA Assured ingredients.
When you see the RSPCA Assured logo, you can be sure that the products you are buying came from animals who lived better lives and were cared for to RSPCA standards.
What Is Halloween and Why Do We Celebrate It?
Halloween is the celebration of all things spooky. The night when some people believe, spirits walked the earth and the dead returned to the world of the living. It’s also a great opportunity to dress up like a vampire, eat loads of cake and sweets and probably watch a scary movie.
What Is The History Of Halloween?
All Saints Day was invented by the Catholic church over a thousand years ago. The first of November was a Christian holiday called All Saints Day, also known as All Hallows Day since the word hallow or holy was another word for saint. Over time the three words All Hallows Eve was contracted to just one word, Halloween.
Halloween also has pagan roots, and many of its traditions come from Samhain, the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year.
Why Do We Say Trick or Treat at Halloween?
Trick or treating became popular in the United States at the start of the 20th century when emigrating Irish and Scottish communities brought with them the theatrical tradition of “guising”, which is wearing fancy dress and telling jokes or performing other tricks to earn a piece of fruit or a treat.
Why Do We Carve Pumpkin Lanterns at Halloween?
The tradition of carving pumpkins is almost as old as Halloween itself, though their original use is somewhat ambiguous. While mischievous revellers carved them to scare people, more pious townsfolk and villagers would put out their carved pumpkins to ward off evil spirits.
Download our recipe booklet full of fangtastic recipes
We’ve put together a ghoulish selection of treats to help you celebrate Halloween this year. Whether you’re gathering with your closest wizards and witches or having frightful fun with your own little monsters, there’s a recipe here for everyone. No matter how spooky things may be, we believe that we should all be eating less and better when it comes to meat, fish, eggs and dairy, for the sake of animals, people and the planet.
That’s why our recipe book includes a mix of dishes using both higher-welfare ingredients and vegan alternatives for a Happy Halloween for everyone.
Keep an eye out for RSPCA Assured labelled products, available in most UK supermarkets!
Carving a Pumpkin or Making Pumpkin Soup?
Don’t Let the Seeds Go To Waste
Carved pumpkins are a traditional Halloween decoration and can be great fun to prepare! And who doesn’t enjoy a warming pumpkin soup on a chilly autumn evening? But did you know that carving pumpkins and cooking pumpkins are usually different varieties? The flesh of carving pumpkins is much less dense and flavourful so we don’t tend to eat them. But you can toast pumpkin seeds regardless of the variety! Toasted pumpkin seeds make a quick, tasty, healthy snack and you’ll also be throwing less away - which is great.
Follow our quick and simple recipe below, then enjoy your tasty snack in front of a scary movie while your pumpkin soup is bubbling away.
Toasting Your Pumpkin Seeds
- Take a hold of your pumpkin and slice the top of its head off
- Reach inside your pumpkin and pull its stringy insides out
- With your pumpkin’s innards sitting in a large bowl and separate them from the seeds
- Rince any grisly residue from the seeds and dry them well
- Mix the seeds with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of salt
- Lay your seeds on a covered baking tray and bake them in a preheated oven (180 C) for 15 to 30 minutes or until golden brown
- Remove and enjoy them as they are or with a sprinkling of spices, such as:
- a spoonful or two of curry powder
- lemon zest and a little cayenne pepper
- grated garlic and some minced chives
Halloween Recipe Ideas
Looking for some fiendishly tasty kitchen inspiration for Halloween this year?
