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This delightful Halloween pizza is shaped like a smiling jack-o-lantern, perfect for all of your spooky festivities!
Halloween pizza is a fun way to celebrate Halloween. It’s as tasty as our Pepperoni Pizza and just as festive as our Halloween Flatbread Pizza.
Jack o’ Lantern Pizza
We love to serve festive dishes on holidays, especially Halloween! Whether you are having a Halloween party or just hanging with the family, this Halloween pizza is a tasty option.
While it has the flavors of a regular, delicious pepperoni pizza, it has the look of a cute Jack ‘o Lantern! It’s sure to be a huge hit with the kids.
Make it even easier with store-bought dough (we love getting dough from Trader Joe’s or Winco), but we made our own for this recipe. It’s easy to do, and so tasty! Enjoy!
With Homemade Dough!
This pumpkin shaped pizza is quick, easy, and perfect for celebrating!
DOUGH. In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar and let sit for 5 minutes, or until bubbly.
Add salt and oil, then mix in flour 1 cup at a time with a wooden spoon until combined and the dough is soft and slightly sticky. Knead for about 3 minutes (dough will be sticky and will stick to your hands).
Cover the dough with a tea towel and let rise at room temperature for 30–45 minutes.
PREP. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well.
SAUCE. Prepare sauce by heating all ingredients in a saucepan and bringing it to a simmer, but do not let boil.
BAKE. This dough makes TWO 12-inch pizza crusts. Divide dough into two pieces and roll each out onto a floured surface to about ½ inch thick. Cut a little pumpkin stem on top.
Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peel and, working with one crust at a time, transfer the rolled-out dough to the peel. Brush with olive oil and poke with a fork a few times to eliminate bubbling while baking.
Use the peel to transfer the crust to the preheated pizza stone and blind bake for 6–8 minutes.
TOPPINGS. Remove from the oven, add sauce, cheese, and arrange pepperoni to form a pumpkin face. Bake for 8–10 more minutes.
Pizza Dough Tips
Make the perfect pumpkin-shaped pizza dough for your jack-o-lantern!
- Use kitchen shears or a pizza cutter to cut out the pumpkin stem shape.
- If you don’t have a pizza stone, place a baking sheet in and heat it along with the oven. You can also use a metal pizza pan that has holes for the steam to escape which helps the bottom crust to get crisp.
- Bake the dough on the lowest oven rack to make sure the dough is closest to the heat.
- The dough rises more quickly in a warmer environment. I like to place the dough in a metal bowl and then place that bowl on top of a bowl of hot water. (Make sure the water is not touching the bowl of dough).
- Heat the oven to a super hot temperature of 450°F. The hot air will allow the crust to rise with a crisp yet chewy texture.
Yeast. Rapid rise yeast (aka instant yeast or bread machine yeast) is typically added directly to the flour, but we bloomed it to use in this recipe and the pizza crust had the best texture!
If you wish, you can bloom active dry yeast instead, but you may need to allow a bit longer for it to rise. A packet of yeast is equal to 2¼ teaspoons.
Topping Ideas + Variations
You can use your favorite pizza toppings, adjust the shape of the pizza crust, and make large or mini Halloween pizzas. Here are more Halloween pizza ideas:
- Spider pizza. Use long thin strips of cheese to form a spider web on the pizza. Use whole black olives for the spider bodies, an olive half for the head, and then olive slices for the spider legs.
- Mummy pizza. Shape the pizza crust like an oval or rectangle. Use long slices of mozzarella cheese to create “bandages”.
- Ghost pizza. Shape the pizza dough into a ghost shape and instead of using Marinara Sauce use White Pizza Sauce.
- Halloween mini pizzas. Give each person a smaller portion of the dough to make little pizzas. The kids (and adults) will have fun customizing their own personal spooky Halloween pizzas.
- Purchase extra large pepperoni slices and use small pumpkin, bat, or ghost-shaped cookie cutters to stamp out fun-shaped pepperoni slices.
- Make monster faces using mushrooms, sliced green bell pepper, pineapple chunks, pepperoni, olives, and purple onion.
Make it Easy!
Halloween can be B.U.S.Y. especially when it falls on a school day. Using alternate ingredients or preparing these Halloween themed pizzas ahead of time can provide a festive meal without all the extra fuss.
- Dough. Instead of making your own pizza dough, buy canned pizza dough to shape. You can also use prebaked pizza dough and trim the top and bottom to resemble a pumpkin.
- Sauce. Make the pizza sauce ahead of time. It can be stored in the fridge for 7-10 days or in the freezer for 3 months. Alternatively, just buy your favorite jar of pizza sauce.
- Freezing an unbaked decorated pizza. Blind bake the dough at 350°F for about 8 minutes. Cool and add the toppings. Place the pizza on a baking sheet and freeze. Once it is solid, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and again with foil. To bake, heat the oven to 375°F and bake the frozen pizza for about 25 minutes. (Adjust the baking time if the pizza is mini.)
Storing Info
STORE. Leftover pizza can be kept in an airtight bag or container and stored in the fridge for about 4 days.
To reheat. Some people like to eat leftover pizza cold or you can heat it up a bit. You could reheat it in the microwave, but at my house, a favorite way to reheat a slice of pizza is in a skillet.
- Heat the skillet over medium heat then place 1-2 slices of the cold pizza. Let the bottom crisp up for 3-4 minutes.
- Add a teaspoon of water to the side of the pizza, lower the heat, cover it with a lid, and let it warm up for another 2-3 minutes.
Recipe FAQ
This can be a little bit tricky. Dusting your peel with cornmeal will help keep the dough from sticking as well as helps it slide off. Another way is to roll the dough out on parchment paper and transfer both onto the stone.
I have found that the best way to reheat pizza that is both warm and has a crisp crust is on the stovetop (directions above). If you’re in a hurry or on the go, the microwave works. And there are always some who prefer to eat it cold.
For More Halloween Dishes, Try:
Halloween Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water 110–115°F
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rapid rise yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 ¼ – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal
- olive oil for brushing
- 1 cup Pepperoni
- 1/4 cup olives
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar and let it sit for 5 minutes, or until bubbly.
- Add salt and oil, then mix in flour 1 cup at a time with a wooden spoon until combined and the dough is soft and slightly sticky. Knead for about 3 minutes (dough will be sticky and will stick to your hands).
- Cover the dough with a tea towel and let rise at room temperature for 30–45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well.
- Prepare sauce by heating all ingredients in a saucepan and bringing it to a simmer, but do not let boil.
- This dough makes TWO 12-inch pizza crusts. Divide dough into two pieces and roll each out onto a floured surface to about ½ inch thick. Cut a little pumpkin stem on top.
- Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peel and, working with one crust at a time, transfer the rolled-out dough to the peel. Brush with olive oil and poke with a fork a few times to eliminate bubbling while baking.
- Use the peel to transfer the crust to the preheated pizza stone and blind bake for 6–8 minutes. Remove from the oven, add sauce, cheese, and arrange pepperoni to form a pumpkin face. Bake for 8–10 more minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
