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Table of Contents
- Halloween Eyeballs Ingredients
- How To Make This Spooky Halloween Appetizer
- Mozzarella Eyeballs: Step-By-Step Instructions
- Easy Halloween Eyeballs Hors d’Oeuvres
- Spooky Mozzarella Eyeball Variations
- Make These Halloween Eyeballs Sweet
- FAQs
- Halloween Beverage Pairings
- Show Me Your Edible Eyeballs
- Halloween Mozzarella Eyeballs Recipe
- Shop This Post
Halloween-themed appetizers are one of my favorite things to make! You know I love a theme, and Halloween is hands-down the most fun. Bring this to a Halloween potluck or serve it as part of your Halloween spread, whether it’s a kid-friendly haunted house or an adult-only costume party.
I wanted to make something that looked just as spooktacular as it tasted: these edible eyeballs are made out of creamy mozzarella, buttery prosciutto, and briny olives. For other boo-tiful Halloween recipes, check out my Halloween Witch Fingers, Skeleton Charcuterie, Halloween Veggie Platter, Mummy Baked Brie, and Pumpkin Cheese Ball.
Halloween Eyeballs Ingredients
This recipe makes 12 mozzarella eyeballs, so it will serve 4 to 6 people! I plan about 2 eyeballs per person, so depending on how big your gathering is, you might have to scale up accordingly.
- 12 slices prosciutto
- 12 fresh mozzarella ciliegine
- 6 Spanish Manzanilla Olives, halved cross-wise (I like the ones from Trader Joe’s because they are on the smaller side! I didn’t want the olives to be too big compared to the mozz.)
Make it Vegan
For the prosciutto, there are some good plant-based options, like this vegan prosciutto by Mia, and you can also use thinly sliced roasted red peppers.
That said, I have yet to find a great dairy-free alternative for fresh mozzarella, but you could always use your favorite vegan soft cheese and roll it into balls!
Dairy-Free Cheese Options
- Original Vegan Goat-Style Cashew Cheese
- Boursin Dairy-Free Spread
- Darë Oh My Goat Plant-Based Cheese
- Miyoko’s Cashew Milk Cream Cheese
How To Make This Spooky Halloween Appetizer
This recipe is super easy to assemble, so I like to wait to construct them until just before serving (and no more than an hour before!). Feel free to prepare the ingredients separately beforehand!
- Cut the olives in half cross-wise, then cut the rounded tops off of each half.
- Fold each piece of prosciutto in half lengthwise, then fold it in half again lengthwise.
- Working one at a time, wrap folded prosciutto slices around mozzarella balls. Top each one with an olive half.
- Arrange on a platter and serve.
Pro tip: Lean into the Halloween theme with your servingware: use a pitch-black or blood-red serving platter and some skeleton hand tongs. Plus, up the fright factor by decorating the serving table with plastic spiders, plastic eyeballs (or rubber eyeballs), and/or fake cobwebs! You can even go the extra mile and set up a cauldron with dry ice so it oozes spooky fog (take a look at these dry ice tips!).
Mozzarella Eyeballs: Step-By-Step Instructions
- Fold prosciutto once lengthwise.
- Then fold one more time lengthwise.
- Wrap prosciutto around the mozzarella ball.
- Cut an olive in half, then cut off the rounded ends so it lies flat.
- Place olive half on top of the mozzarella ball.
- Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Easy Halloween Eyeballs Hors d’Oeuvres
Spooky Mozzarella Eyeball Variations
If you want to serve a variety of eyeballs or just want something a little different, try:
- Zombie Eyes: Before topping the mozzarella with the olives, top the mozzarella with a small spoonful of pesto to give it a sickly, green look.
- Bloody Eyes: Serve the eyeballs over bright, blood red marinara sauce, or serve the marinara on the side for drizzling
- Mummy Eyes: Wrap the eyeballs in thin strips of tortilla or more prosciutto
- Vampire Eyes: Drizzle with bloody-red raspberry, fig jam, or balsamic glaze
Pro tip: You could fill these syringes with any of the above suggestions and serve them on the side for an extra dose of Halloween fun.
Make These Halloween Eyeballs Sweet
Prosciutto and melon is a classic Italian combo, so if you want to lean into something a little sweeter, swap the olive for a round piece of cantaloupe! Or use a round slice of melon as the base for each eyeball and swap the olive for a blueberry (sliced in half so it easily sits on top).
If you want to go dairy-free, you could ditch the mozzarella altogether and use a ball of melon instead! Use a round piece of basil or a blueberry for the iris.
FAQs
Ciliegine is basically just a mini mozzarella ball, so you’ll be able to find it in the cheese section wherever the fresh mozzarella is! If you can’t find ciliegine specifically, you could also use bocconcini, which is just slightly larger.
If neither of those is available, you could try getting a regular mozzarella ball and cutting it into pieces, just make sure you are using the rounded edges as the surface of the eyeballs, and wrap the prosciutto tightly around the rest to conceal any non-rounded bits!
– For the mozzarella, I like to use my favorite vegan soft cheese and roll it into a ball!
– For the prosciutto, you can either swap it for a vegan prosciutto or use thinly sliced roasted red peppers.
If you’re not a fan of olives, you could swap in grape tomatoes or purple grapes and slice them the same way. You could also use slices from a small pepper, like jalapeño, mini bell peppers, or calabrian chiles, or cut out small circles from a large bell pepper or other charcuterie meats (like salami or pepperoni).
Don’t prepare them any longer than an hour before! That way, they don’t lose their shape or get soggy during storage or transport. If you want to save a little time, you can prepare the ingredients ahead and keep them separate, but this recipe is super easy and ready in a flash!
Halloween Beverage Pairings
Whether you’re hosting a trick-or-treat pre-game for your kiddos or throwing a 21+ monster mash, here are some spooktacular drink ideas:
Alcoholic
- Spicy Apple Cider Margaritas
- Halloween Sangria
- Witch’s Brew (you’ll need to add alcohol!)
- Zombie Cocktail (this is a classic cocktail!)
- Candy Corn Jell-O Shots
- Poison Apple Punch
- Spiked Mulled Apple Cider (get out your slow cooker!)
Non-Alcoholic
- Apple cider
- Orange soda
- “Bloody” temple (aka Shirley Temple)
- Bubbling Cauldron Punch
- Black cocoa (hot chocolate + black food dye)
- Butterbeer
Show Me Your Edible Eyeballs
I hope this post inspires you to make this Halloween appetizer! Nothing makes me happier than seeing the snacks and apps you create from my tips. If you make something inspired by this post, please tag me at @ainttooproudtomeg so I can see and share!
And, if you liked this recipe, please rate and review.
Halloween Mozzarella Eyeballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 slices prosciutto
- 12 fresh mozzarella ciliegine
- 6 Spanish Manzanilla Olives halved cross-wise
Instructions
- Cut the olives in half cross-wise, then cut the rounded tops off of each half.
- Fold each piece of prosciutto in half lengthwise, then fold it in half again lengthwise.
- Working one at a time, wrap folded prosciutto slices around mozzarella balls. Top each one with an olive half.
- Arrange on a platter and serve.
