This fun Halloween Pasta Salad is going to be a hit at your party! And the spooky mushroom skulls make it over-the-top festive. Combining foods that are Halloween colors naturally means lots of seasonal produce, fun and spooky pasta, and delicious fall flavors.
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How fun is this? We're using black squid ink pasta for this dish, and mixing in some orange bell peppers and carrots, purple cabbage, and green edamame for all the colors of the holiday, tossed with an easy fall flavored dressing. The photos below show to how to easily carve the spooky skulls from a mushroom, so your dish is sure to impress!
You might also like to bring Healthy Chex Mix, Brownie Batter Dip, or Salt and Vinegar Zucchini Chips! So many great party options.
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Heart Health Benefits of Halloween Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is not generally a very healthy dish. Yes, it has a few veggies in it, but that's often where it stops. Refined pasta, tons of cheese and preserved meats, and high sodium seasonings and dressings make for a delicious, but not-so-heart-healthy side dish.
We make some changes to traditional pasta salads and use some fun additions. The first thing we did was up the veggie count! Using a variety of colorful vegetables helps increase the antioxidant content, as well as improving fiber, vitamin, and mineral amounts.
Carrots and orange peppers are good sources of vitamin A, and the peppers also pack a vitamin C punch - important as we head into cold and flu season!
Cabbage is widely known for its anticancer properties. And the same phytochemical responsible for that anticancer effect, sulforaphane, is an overall potent antioxidant. Red cabbage contains more antioxidants than green, in the form of anthocyanins - just like blueberries, grapes, and other red to purple fruits and vegetables. A higher anthocyanin intake is associated with a lower risk of myocardial infarction (1), and an 8-10% lower hypertension risk (2, 3).
The high fiber, low fat quality of mushrooms make them great at fighting high cholesterol (4). They also boast antimicrobial, anticancer, liver protective, and immune boosting benefits.
The edamame adds a lovely green color and protein to the dish. Soy foods, like edamame, have many heart health benefits, including lowering LDL cholesterol, lowering triglycerides, raising HDL cholesterol, and modestly lowering blood pressure (5, 6, 7, 8, 9).
For the pasta, we chose a black squid ink pasta. This is not a whole grain product, so it is lower fiber. Squid ink may have antioxidant and anticancer properties, and while you're unlikely to be consuming enough of it to matter much in pasta, it is a nice complement to the high antioxidant content of the veggies!
Bottom line
Overall, this Halloween pasta salad is high in antioxidants, vitamin C, and monounsaturated fats. It's also a good source of fiber, protein, vitamin K, and iron. It's low sodium, low in saturated fat, and naturally cholesterol free as well. A great way to celebrate spooky season without scary ingredients!
Ingredients
For this healthy Halloween pasta salad, we made sure to choose ingredients based on their natural color and their healthfulness, since we wanted our finished dish to be both festive and healthy. Here's what you'll need:
- Squid ink pasta (or black bean pasta)
- Orange bell pepper
- Carrots
- Purple cabbage
- Edamame
- Mushrooms
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- 100% Pure maple syrup
- Dried thyme
- Salt (optional - not pictured)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Other than carving skulls into the mushrooms, this is a straight forward pasta salad recipe. See the step by step pictures below for the entire process, including making the skulls!
- Step 1: Boil a large pot of water, and cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Step 2: Meanwhile, shred the cabbage finely.
- Step 3: Dice or small-chop the bell pepper, and slice the carrots.
- Step 4: Drain the pasta, and rinse under cold running water until the pasta is no longer hot. Pour it in a large mixing bowl, and add the peppers, carrots, cabbage, and edamame to the bowl.
- Step 5: Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together.
- Step 6: Pour the dressing into the mixing bowl.
- Step 7: Toss to mix. Transfer to a large container with a lid and refrigerate.
- Step 8: Make the mushroom skulls by cutting the mushroom in half first.
- Step 9: Use a straw to poke two eye sockets in the mushroom cap, being careful not to split the cap.
- Step 10: Use a paring knife to slice two small slits at the bottom of the mushroom cap for a nose.
- Step 11: Finally, press a fork gently into the stem, and pull it down vertically a few times to create the teeth.
- Step 12: Repeat with the rest of the mushrooms.
- Step 13: Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium-high, and add the mushroom skulls.
- Step 14: Sauté the mushroom skulls, stirring frequently and very gently until the mushrooms are done to your liking. For me, it is about 10 minutes. Cool the mushrooms completely before placing on the top of the pasta salad.
Hint: You may need to trim the bottom of the mushroom stems to create a straight bottom to your skulls.
Substitutions
Pasta salad can be so versatile, and lends itself well to substitutions. Try some of these:
- Edamame - try another green vegetable, like small chopped broccoli, green peppers, or celery
- Carrots or peppers - use roasted sweet potatoes or butternut squash, or try chopped tomatoes
- Cabbage - green cabbage can be used, or purple carrots or purple sweet potatoes if you can find them
- Pasta - use black bean pasta to maintain the color. Otherwise, any other pasta can also be used, including gluten free pasta
Equipment
You'll need a few unexpected things for this spooky pasta salad, but that's for the mushroom skulls. Nothing unusual otherwise! A large pot with a lid, strainer, cutting board and knife, spoon, and large mixing bowl will do, along with the typical measuring cups and spoons. A mandolin will make quick work of that cabbage, but if you're good with a knife, you can cut it that way.
To make the skulls you'll want a small paring knife, a drinking straw, a fork, and a wooden skewer. The skewer is to push the mushroom pieces out of the straw!
Storage
Store the Halloween pasta salad in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Do not freeze.
Pro tip
It makes for the best presentation if you place the mushroom skulls on top of the pasta salad after mixing the dressing in, and before serving.
FAQ
No. You can use them raw if you prefer, but they will be a little more fragile.
Pasta with squid ink tastes very similar to regular pasta, with with a slightly briny flavor that reminds you of the sea. That's why it is often paired with seafood!
Squid ink may have antioxidant and anticancer properties, however you're unlikely to be consuming enough of it to matter much in pasta. On the other hand, squid ink pasta is rarely whole grain, so you should eat it less frequently than other, whole, grains.
I have seen squid ink pasta at Whole Foods, and seasonally at Trader Joe's. You may find it at other stores too, alongside the other pasta. If you're not near a Whole Foods store, you might do better to buy squid ink pasta on Amazon (affiliate link).
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
More cabbage!
What do you do with the rest of that head of cabbage? Here are some ideas:
📖 Recipe
Halloween Pasta Salad with Spooky Mushroom Skulls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 oz Black Squid Ink Pasta or Black Bean Pasta
- 2 cups Finely Shredded Purple Cabbage
- 1 large Orange Bell Pepper chopped
- 2 large Carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 cups Edamame thawed if frozen
- 10 oz White Button Mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- Pinch Salt
Dressing
- ½ cup Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 tablespoon Water
- 2 tablespoon 100% Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 tablespoon Dried Thyme
- optional ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, finely shred the cabbage, chop the pepper, and peel and slice the carrots.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain it, and run the pasta under cold water until it is no longer hot.
- Transfer the pasta to a large mixing bowl, and add the cabbage, peppers, carrots, and edamame.
- Whisk together ½ cup olive oil, the vinegar, 3 tablespoons water, maple syrup, thyme, and optional salt, and pour into the pasta bowl.
- Toss to mix well. Cover and refrigerate.
Make the mushroom skulls (see photo tutorial above if needed)
- Make the mushroom skulls by cutting each mushroom in half.
- Slice off the bottom of the stems if needed, to create a straight bottom.
- Use a straw to cut 2 eye socket holes in the cap of each mushroom, being careful not to split the mushroom cap.
- Now use a paring knife to slice 2 small slits in the bottom of the cap, between the eye sockets, to create nostril holes.
- Finally, using a fork, create teeth by gently pulling the tines of the fork down the entire length of the stem a few times.
- Now heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add the mushroom skulls.
- Saute, stirring frequently and gently, until desired doneness is reached (about 10 minutes for me).
- Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and cool completely, before placing them on the top of the pasta salad.
Notes
Nutrition
*Nutrition information is an estimate, and will change based on the brand and individual ingredients and amounts you use. This is provided for your convenience only.
Food safety
Safety is our top priority in the kitchen! Always keep these tips in mind.
- Wash hands before touching food, and after touching raw meat, your hair, face, pets, etc.
- Thoroughly wash all produce before cutting and using in this recipe
- Use cutting boards and knives that are thoroughly washed and sanitized, especially if they have been used for raw meat before
- Keep this Halloween pasta salad cold at all times, and discard if out of refrigeration longer than 2 hours (or 1 hour in hot weather)
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