Halloween is just around the corner, which means now is the perfect time for you to make your restaurant ghoul-friendly. As a restaurant owner, you need to let your customers know that you’ve embraced the Halloween spirit by revamping your menu and joining in the festivities.
Everyone loves Halloween, which is why Halloween-themed food items are always a hit. This year, get in on the action by creating a limited edition Halloween menu, or by updating your current menu to include some new mouth-watering food options.
If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry. We’re here to help. This little guide has all the information you need to introduce new Halloween food items and upgrade your menu. We’ve compiled a list of the spookiest Halloween treats, and provided a complete guide to creating your own Halloween menu easily and in a cost-effective way.
Let’s dive in!
4 witchin’ treats for your Halloween menu
1. Pumpkin spice chocolate chip blondies
Pumpkin spice is America’s favorite flavor, and around Halloween, it becomes especially popular. A tasty pumpkin spice dessert will draw in dozens, possibly hundreds of new customers, and help your restaurant become more popular with avid dessert lovers.
And don’t worry, you won’t be needing special dessert chefs to make these blondies for you. The recipe is incredibly simple. All you’ll need are the following ingredients:
- 2 cups regular white flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup coconut palm sugar
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
You can get the full recipe here.
2. Mummy chicken fries
Who doesn’t love a good Halloween costume? With this exciting little food item, you get the chance to show off your restaurant’s creativity with something that everyone loves – chicken fries. Not to mention the fact that mummy fries are an incredible Instagrammable food item, so you’ll be able to use this to get tons of traction on social media.
You can also accompany these chicken fries with coleslaw or a tasty dip to make it a fun, Halloween meal. Here’s what you’ll need to make this dish:
- 1 bag of crescent dough
- 1 batch of frozen chicken fries (if you’re making your chicken fries from scratch, you can get the recipe here)
- A dollop of mustard
- 1 bag of candy eyes
Check out the full process of mummifying your chicken fries here.
3. Creamy pumpkin apple quesadillas
This creamy, buttery quesadilla is sure to be a hit with your customers this Halloween season. Pumpkin and apple go incredibly well together so you get to stay on theme while introducing a truly mouth-watering dish to your menu. Not to mention the fact that this would be a great addition to any fall-themed menu too.
The process to make these quesadillas is incredibly simple. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 tsp butter
- 2 tbsp pumpkin vodka sauce
- ⅓ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced
- 1-8 inch flour tortilla
You can get the full recipe here.
4. Freaky Halloween salad
Add a healthy Halloween option for your more health-conscious customers. The great thing about this salad is that not only does it taste great, but it also looks incredibly freaky. With salad dressing syringes, spooky shapes, and fun colors, this salad will certainly steal the show.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this:
For the salad:
- Purple/orange cauliflower
- White cauliflower
- Romanesco
- Edamame
- Spiralized carrots
For the dressing:
- Mayonnaise
- Buttermilk
- Sour cream
- Garlic
- Italian parsley
- Chives
- Tarragon vinegar
- Tabasco sauce
- Salt and pepper
The great thing about this salad is that your chefs can substitute any of the vegetables for other ingredients that your clientele prefers. They can also experiment with ingredient quantities in the salad dressing to create something that’s unique to your restaurant.
Get the full process of making this freaky salad here.
How to create a bone-chilling Halloween menu
Now that you’ve introduced a bunch of delicious Halloween treats at your restaurant, it’s time to create a custom menu for them so that you can begin advertising. PosterMyWall has a ton of Halloween themed dinner menu templates that you choose from. Simply pick the one you like, customize it, add your details, and voila! You’re done in minutes.
As a restaurant owner, there are a couple of things you should keep in mind during the design process to ensure your menu stands out.
1. Add some spooky stickers to the menu
A few Halloween-themed stickers on your menu will really help you sell your ghostly vibe. However, make sure to not go overboard with the stickers. You don’t want them to be the only thing visible on your menu.
Place a few on the corners of your menu and next to headings. Make sure their sizes are small enough to be visible without overwhelming the menu.
2. Divide your menu into sections and add themed headings
Separate your food items – make a section for Halloween snacks, another for drinks, another for main courses, and finally, one for dessert. Now, of course, your sections will depend on what food items you introduce. However, regardless of what you have on your menu, make sure that it’s categorized so that it’s easier to read.
Add little Halloween puns to your headings to make them more fun. For instance, your appetizer section can be called “insect grub”, while your desserts section can be titled “treats for tricksters”, or something similar.
3. Add clear and readable typography
You may be inclined to choose the freakiest font for your Halloween menu, but it’s easy to go overboard with font choice. Use your words and stickers in moderation to sell the Halloween side of things. For your font, readability is what you’re looking for.
If people can’t read your menu, there really is no way for them to experience what you have to offer. Here are some classic fonts that work best on menus:
- Baskerville
- Helvetica
- Lavenda
- Brandon Grotesque
- Chambord
4. Use some eek-tastic colors
Make your menu as ghastly as possible by using dark background colors. Anything from purple, blue, and black to orange, yellow and dark pink will add to your Halloween aesthetic.
If you’re using more than one color, make sure that the colors go together. For instance, orange and pink will hardly be a good mix. Instead, go for a dark and light combination, like purple and yellow.
Remember that if you’re adding words on a dark background, your font color must be light. For instance, white font would go well with a darker background.
Bone appetit!
Now that you know what you have to do to get into the Halloween spirit, it’s time to sharpen those knives and experiment with the treats mentioned in this blog post. Perfect your food items, add them to a custom spooky Halloween menu, and wow your customers.
New to PosterMyWall? Start creating your fa-boo-lous menus using our easy-to-use design tools.
Content creator at PosterMyWall.
