About a year ago, I saw squid ink pasta for sale at Trader Joe’s, and I thought to myself, “This would be perfect for Halloween!” I didn’t know what I was going to do with the pasta, but I knew I needed to find a use for it. Finally, it’s making its debut as the perfect accompaniment to meatball eyeballs.
Between a weekly work schedule, trick-or-treating early enough, and the post trick-or-treat candy extravaganza – Halloween night can feel a little chaotic. Having a fun, filling meal ready to go the night of makes getting everyone fed simple and memorable.
This recipe is so easy and spooky, it is perfect to serve on Halloween night. To make it easier on you, if you prefer to use your favorite meatball or spaghetti recipe, that’s perfectly fine!
What Goes into Spaghetti and Meatball Eyeballs?
This recipe breaks down into three components: baked meatballs, eyeball toppings, and a quick homemade garlic tomato sauce tossed with black pasta. Here is what you will need:
The Meatballs
- Ground Beef: I usually use 90/10 ground beef to keep the meatballs leaner. Using 85/15 or 80/20 ground beef would be cheaper and moister but does increase the saturated fat contents.
- Parmesan Cheese & Garlic: Adds flavor to the meat mixture.
- Egg & Breadcrumbs: Binds the meatballs so they hold their shape during baking.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Just half a teaspoon gives the meatballs a gentle background warmth without making them overly spicy for kids. These can easily be omitted if you or your kids are extremely sensitive to a dish’s spice level.
Easy Shortcut: If you are pressed for time on Halloween night, you can swap in your favorite bag of frozen beef meatballs. Simply thaw and warm them before adding the cheese.
The Eyeball Toppings
- Mozzarella Cheese: Slices of standard deli mozzarella form the white base (cornea) of the eyeball.
- Black Olive Slices: Sliced black olives create the appearance of a spooky, black iris.
- Candy Eyeballs: Small candy eyes placed in the center give the meatballs an instant, funny, wide-eyed gaze. I love the way these look, but I would recommend taking them off before you eat the dish. If you want a more edible solution you could use a caper centered in the sliced olive or a sliced green olive with pimento.
The Sauce & Squid Ink Pasta
- Tomato Sauce: I love the flavors of a homemade pasta sauce. I find that it’s better than most store bought sauces. I provided my own pasta sauce recipe, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with using your favorite store-bought sauce to save time. My personal favorite is Rao’s. Just heat and zhuzh it up before adding it to your dish.
- Squid Ink Pasta: Jet-black squid ink spaghetti creates seasonal visual contrast against the red sauce and white mozzarella eyes. I like that this is a natural, spooky, black appearance with a slight seafood flavor. If you can’t find this or the added price is too much for you, you can use regular pasta with or without black food coloring added to the water while cooking it.
Assembling the Meatball Eyeballs
Making the eyeballs look creepy rather than messy comes down to the timing.
- Two-Stage Baking for the Cheese: Bake the meatballs completely first (about 18 to 22 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit). Once they are cooked through, place a cheese slice on top of each meatball and return the pan to the oven for just 2 to 3 minutes, so it drapes over the meatball.
- Let them cool slightly before adding the candy eyes: Candy eyeballs are made of with sugar. If you put them onto the hot meatballs straight out of the oven, the heat could partially melt the candy. Instead, let the meatballs rest on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes, set the olive slice on top, and gently press the candy eyeball into the center right before plating.
How to Prep Ahead of Time
If you are hosting a Halloween party or preparing for a busy evening of trick-or-treating, you can prep almost everything in advance:
- Make the sauce ahead (or buy store-bought): The tomato sauce can be cooked 2 to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Actually, pasta sauce often tastes even better the next day as the herbs meld together.
- Bake the Meatballs in Advance: You can mix, shape, and bake the meatballs up to 2 days before Halloween. Keep them refrigerated in an airtight container. When you are ready to serve, warm them up in the oven before finishing the decorations.
- Freezer-friendly: Baked meatballs freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating and decorating.
How to Serve this Dish
- Halloween Dinner Main Course: Serve the dish as a dinner as described above. I’ll never turn down a chance to promote my favorite Halloween dish – the amputated hand cheeseball – as a potential 1st course appetizer/snack.
- Halloween Party Appetizer: You could always omit the pasta and serve the eyeballs individually on a platter with the pasta sauce underneath or to the side. This would pair well with my Mummy Pizza Bites on the same plate.
As Seen on TV
I made this dish as a segment on Fox59!
Print
Spaghetti and Meatball Eyeballs
- A spooky and simple Halloween dinner featuring tender meatballs topped with melted mozzarella and olive eyeballs, served over black squid ink pasta with homemade tomato pasta sauce.
- Total Time45 minutes
- Yield6 servings, 12 meatballs 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 oz onion, small dice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 56 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
For the meatballs
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 12 slices mozzarella cheese
- 12 olive slices
- 12 candy eyes
Other Ingredients
- 1 lb squid ink pasta (or spaghetti), cooked
Instructions
For the sauce
- Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat and add onion.
- Cook, stirring often, until onion begins to brown slightly, or about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook about 1 minute.
- Add tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, oregano, and black pepper.
- Bring to boil and reduce to simmer, stirring often, until sauce reduces slightly, about 30 minutes.
- Make meatballs while sauce simmers.
For the meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet that has raised edges with aluminum foil and set aside.
- Combine egg, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes in medium-sized bowl.
- Add ground beef to bowl and use hands to mix ingredients.
- Add breadcrumbs to beef mixture and mix until just combined.
- Use hands to form 1 1/2-inch meatballs and place onto baking sheet.
- Bake until cooked through, about 18-22 minutes.
- Remove baking sheet from oven and place cheese slice on top of each meatball.
- Return to oven for 2 to 3 minutes, or until cheese slice is melted.
- Remove from oven and place olive slice on top of each cheese slice.
- Place candy eye in center of each olive slice.
Assemble
- Plate desired amount of pasta with about 1/2 cup sauce and 2 meatballs.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking, Boiling
- Cuisine: American, Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 meatballs with pasta and sauce
- Calories: 650
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 1300 mg
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 80 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg