Healthy Last-Minute Halloween Treats

Healthy Last-Minute Halloween Treats

It’s all about pacing yourself, right? Slow down on the candy corn and make some easy chocolate-dried fruit clusters and Asian-spiced pumpkin seeds tonight, following our new videos.

Wicked and wacky eyeball and spider cookies! Ghoulish and gross Halloween-themed snacks! There’s a lot to get wound up about this time of year. Though I love the craziness (and the sugar), sometimes I long for a few options that fall on the whole-foods end of the fall snack spectrum.

Luckily, two new original Yummly Guided Halloween recipes deliver just that. Festive but not-too-sweet clusters are made with tangy dried apricots, nuts, and melted chocolate (it’s an antioxidant, right?). Then we’ve got savory pumpkin seeds seasoned with spices and soy sauce. And both of these healthy treats are super easy to pull off.

What about the easy part?

If you haven’t tried Yummly’s Guided Recipe Videos, they’re really intuitive to use, and a huge help for less-experienced cooks. (Speaking of which, try making these two recipes with kids!) Accessing a recipe from Yummly.com, or from your phone or tablet using Yummly’s mobile app, you can hover over the main recipe image to see an overview. Once you click on the recipe, it will come up with a blue "Make it Now" button. (Click on the recipe title below to see.) When you’re ready to cook, click Make it Now to launch the step-by-step format. You can cook along at your own pace and advance when you’re ready.


No-Bake Halloween Chocolate Clusters

So back to those chocolate clusters. All you do is drizzle melted chocolate (bars melt more smoothly than chocolate chips) over mounds of walnuts, almonds, and apricots to “glue” them together.

Drizzle melted chocolate over mounds of nuts and dried apricots

The recipe calls for semisweet chocolate, but you could go for dark chocolate if you prefer. Add a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and a pinch of flaky salt, and let them stand a few minutes to firm up. That’s it.


Sticky Asian Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

The savory snack goes together just as fast. Start by toasting raw pumpkin seeds in a frying pan. Toasting raw seeds yourself, versus buying them pre-roasted, guarantees they'll be really crunchy and fresh. Then stir in a heady mixture of Chinese five-spice powder, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha, and a squeeze of honey just until coated. Of course, you can customize the seasonings if your friends or family like more or less heat, say.

Add soy sauce, sesame oil, and spices to the pumpkin seeds, and watch them sizzle

What about the healthy part?

Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and a little chocolate. These are ingredients I can feel good about, for a little calm in the wonderful Halloween storm. And by the way, both of these healthy Halloween recipes are vegetarian (vegan if you're okay with honey and choose vegan chocolate), and gluten-free if you sub in gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce.

What’s better, both treats are so delicious and satisfying I’m going to be making them well past October 31.

More ideas for a Halloween party

Planning a Halloween party? Break out the jack-o-lanterns! We have lots more snack ideas on Yummly for how to make Halloween healthy. Here are nine healthy Halloween snacks that you can make at the last-minute.

Yummly Original
Mango, Raspberry, and Coconut Caramel Apples RecipeMango, Raspberry, and Coconut Caramel Apples Recipedried mango, creamy unsalted almond butter, flaked coconut, freeze-dried raspberries and 2 more
Yummly Original
Mexican Chocolate Caramel Apples RecipeMexican Chocolate Caramel Apples Recipebittersweet chocolate, ground cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, unsweetened almond milk and 6 more
Healthy Halloween BooNana Ghost Pops RecipeHealthy Halloween BooNana Ghost Pops Recipevanilla yogurt, mini chocolate chips, bananas
Frankenstein Kiwis – (Another!) Healthy Halloween Treat RecipeFrankenstein Kiwis – (Another!) Healthy Halloween Treat Recipekiwi, blueberries, mini chocolate chips, pretzel stick
Crunchy Pumpkin Pie Energy Balls RecipeCrunchy Pumpkin Pie Energy Balls Recipepumpkin pie spice, granola, pumpkin puree, honey, ground flax seed and 2 more
Almond Joy Energy Balls RecipeAlmond Joy Energy Balls Recipefresh dates, cacao powder, almond milk, shredded coconut, pure vanilla extract and 1 more
Pumpkin Protein Dough Bites RecipePumpkin Protein Dough Bites Recipepumpkin puree, gluten-free rolled oats, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds and 5 more
Pumpkin Pie Yogurt and Granola Parfaits RecipePumpkin Pie Yogurt and Granola Parfaits Recipeground ginger, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, pepitas, greek yogurt and 2 more