These Halloween mini pizzas are easy to make and fun to decorate. Start with pizza dough and sauce, then add cheese and toppings to create spooky designs like ghosts, spiders, skulls, and jack o’ lanterns. In this recipe, I will show you exactly how to make each design step-by-step. You can use homemade or store-bought dough, make them mini or full-size, and get creative with the decorations. Great for parties, Halloween dinner, or letting kids help in the kitchen.
A Halloween Pizza Tradition!
Growing up, my mom always made mini pizzas for parties. It didn’t matter if it was a birthday, New Year’s Eve, or just a weekend with cousins coming over. There was always a tray of little pizzas coming out of the oven. She let us top our own, and it was fun, messy, and something I always looked forward to.
Now I do the same, especially for Halloween. We roll out the dough, set out all the toppings, and let the kids turn their pizzas into spooky little creations. Mozzarella ghosts, olive spiders, pepperoni jack o’ lanterns. Anything goes. It’s chaotic in the best way, and somehow the pizzas always vanish faster than I can bake them.
Ingredient Notes
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Pizza dough: Use homemade pizza dough or store-bought if desired. If you have a bread machine, make my bread machine pizza dough, it’s a dump-and-start job!
- Pizza sauce: The best sauce is my 5-minute pizza sauce recipe. But any smooth tomato sauce or marinara work well here.
- Shredded mozzarella: For topping the pizzas that have spider or mushroom skull designs.
- Sliced mozzarella: For cutting out ghost shapes. Keep cold or frozen before and after cutting to help them hold their shape.
- Sliced orange cheddar: For cutting out jack o’ lantern shapes. Keep cold or frozen before and after cutting. The one that I’m using in the images has roasted red pepper in it, but any orange colored cheddar works well here.
- Pitted black olives: Use whole and sliced to make spiders and ghost eyes. Green olives can also be used, but won’t give the same contrast
- Button mushrooms: For carving skulls. Small mushrooms work best for this!
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Keep cheese cold: Slice mozzarella and cheddar ahead of time and keep them in the fridge or freezer. Cold cheese holds its shape better when added to hot pizza, especially for ghosts and pumpkins.
- Use the right tools: Small cookie cutters work best for clean shapes. A paring knife also works well, especially for simple details. A cold cutting board can help prevent cheese from softening as you work.
- Choose simple designs: Avoid overly detailed shapes. Designs with too many tiny cuts often melt into blobs in the oven. Stick to clear, bold outlines that stay recognizable after baking.
- Add details after baking: Small features like ghost eyes or jack o’ lantern faces should go on after the pizzas come out of the oven. This keeps them from spreading or disappearing during baking.
- Make a large version: You can use this idea on a full-size pizza. Decorate different sections with different designs if you’re serving a crowd or want a fun centerpiece.
- Try other toppings: Bell pepper strips, sliced salami, pepperoni, or herbs can also be used to create fun shapes. Use firm ingredients that hold up well when baked.
- Add some heat: For a spicy version, sprinkle crushed red pepper or add fresh jalapeño slices before baking.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Halloween Mini Pizzas
Equipment
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment paper or semolina (for dusting)
- Small knife or paring knife
- Chopstick (for carving mushroom skulls)
- Cookie cutters (for cheese shapes)
- cutting board
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds pizza dough homemade or store-bought
- ½ cup pizza sauce or more as needed
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella for topping the base
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese for ghost shapes, keep cold or frozen before and after cutting
- 4 slices orange cheddar for jack o’ lantern shapes, keep cold or frozen before and after cutting
- 10 black olives whole and sliced for spiders and ghost eyes, green olives can be used but have less contrast
- 5 to 6 small button mushrooms for carving skulls
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or sprinkle with semolina or cornmeal.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal portions (about 68 grams each) and shape into mini rounds. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets.
- Spread a spoonful of pizza sauce on each round and top with shredded mozzarella.
- Add toppings that go on before baking.
- Spiders: Top with shredded mozzarella. For each spider, use half of a black olive sliced lengthwise for the body, and half of an olive sliced crosswise for the head. Slice additional olives into thin strips to make the legs, then arrange everything on top of the cheese.
- Mushroom skulls: Use a paring knife and a chopstick to carve skull faces into small mushrooms. Place on top of pizzas over the cheese.
- Bake for 7 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
- Ghosts: While the pizzas are still warm but not hot, cut ghost shapes from cold mozzarella slices and place them on top. Add small olive pieces for eyes.
- Jack o’ lanterns: Cut pumpkin shapes and faces from orange cheddar slices and gently press onto warm pizzas so they soften without melting.
- Serve right away, or let cool and store in the fridge. Reheat in the oven or air fryer if needed.
Notes:
- This pizza dough recipe makes 10 mini pizzas (about 68 grams of dough each). You can also use the same amount of dough to make 4 personal-size pizzas or 2 medium pizzas instead.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Leave a Review!