Halloween recipes · Simple seasonal food
Mini ghost pizzas make a cheerful savory addition to a Halloween table. English muffin halves provide ready-made bases, while mozzarella cutouts become little white ghosts over bright tomato sauce. A few pieces of black olive create the eyes and mouths without adding sweet decorations to a savory snack.
Before you start
Briefly toasting the muffins before adding sauce helps protect their cut surfaces from excess moisture. Low-moisture mozzarella holds a recognizable outline better than fresh mozzarella, which releases more water as it heats. Keep the cheese shapes slightly smaller than the bases so their edges have room to soften.
Mini Ghost Pizzas Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 English muffins, split into 8 halves
- ½ cup (120 g) thick pizza sauce
- 8 slices low-moisture mozzarella, about 5–6 ounces / 140–170 g total
- 6 pitted black olives, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a conventional oven to 400°F / 200°C. Place the muffin halves cut side up on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil. Toast for 3 minutes, until the surfaces feel dry but are not deeply browned.
- Use a small ghost cookie cutter or a clean paring knife to cut one ghost from each mozzarella slice. Keep the offcuts for another meal. Make rounded heads, short arms and a wider lower edge for a shape that survives melting.
- Spread each toasted muffin with 1 tablespoon thick pizza sauce, leaving a narrow bare rim. Sprinkle the oregano evenly over the sauce, then place one cheese ghost in the center of each pizza.
- Bake for 6–9 minutes, checking early. Remove when the muffin edges are crisp and the cheese has just melted. Avoid prolonged baking, which can brown the ghosts and blur their outlines.
- Let stand for 2 minutes. Add two tiny olive pieces for eyes and a third for a mouth. Serve warm, allowing the cheese to cool enough for comfortable eating.
Tips for mini ghost pizzas
Choose thick sauce rather than a watery pasta sauce. If the ghost cutter is wider than your muffins, trim the arms slightly instead of folding them underneath. Place any additional toppings beneath the cheese so the white ghost remains visible. A small offset spatula makes moving the cheese shapes easier.
Storage and make-ahead
These pizzas are best freshly baked. Keep leftover pizzas in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, refrigerating within 2 hours. Reheat at 350°F / 175°C until hot. Prepare the cheese shapes a day ahead and refrigerate between pieces of parchment; assemble the pizzas shortly before baking.
