Halloween party food should be gross — and it does not have to cost a fortune to pull off. Most of these ideas use box mixes, Jello, crescent rolls and candy from Dollar Tree. Scare your guests and keep your wallet happy at the same time!
How to Make Gross Halloween Food for Almost Nothing
The secret to cheap Halloween party food is Dollar Tree and box mixes. A box of brownie mix, a bag of gummy worms and some creativity goes a long way.
Most of these recipes cost under $5 total to make and feed a whole crowd. Here are the best cheap and disgusting Halloween food ideas!
Cheap Gross Halloween Appetizers and Snacks
Puking Pumpkin Chips and Salsa Platter
Carve a small pumpkin to look like it is throwing up and fill the opening with salsa — surround with chips. Costs almost nothing, looks absolutely disgusting and gets a reaction from every single person who sees it. Get the instructions here.
Halloween Icky Intestines — Stuffed Crescent Rolls
A tube of crescent roll dough stuffed and shaped into intestines — cheap easy and insanely gross looking. Costs about $3 for the whole platter and tastes incredible. One of the best cheap Halloween party foods on this list. Get the recipe here.
Halloween Deviled Eggs
Regular deviled eggs decorated to look spooky — olives for eyeballs, food coloring for creepy effects. Eggs are one of the cheapest party foods you can make and these look like you spent hours on them. Get the recipe here.
Spooky Spaghetti and Cheese Stuffed Meatballs
Spaghetti with cheese stuffed eyeball meatballs — a cheap Halloween dinner that doubles as party food. Kids go absolutely wild for this one. Get the recipe here.
Spooky Halloween Skull Potatoes
Potatoes carved into skull shapes and seasoned — a cheap creepy side dish that pairs with any Halloween dinner. Potatoes cost almost nothing and the result is genuinely impressive. Get the recipe here.
Cheap Gross Halloween Desserts
Ghost Poop — Mini Marshmallow Snack Bags
Put mini marshmallows in a bag and print a free Ghost Poop label — that is literally it. Costs pennies per bag and kids think it is the funniest thing they have ever seen. Perfect for classroom treat bags! Get the free printable here.
Dirty Earwax Q-Tip Treats
White chocolate pretzel sticks dipped in yellow candy melts to look like dirty Q-tips. Genuinely disgusting looking and genuinely delicious. One of the cheapest and most memorable Halloween treats you can make. Get the recipe here.
Jello Worms
Make Jello in drinking straws and push them out — perfect little worms that cost almost nothing. A box of Jello is under $2 and makes enough worms for a whole party. Get the recipe here.
Jello Brain
Jello and whipped cream in a brain mold — one of the most iconic cheap Halloween party desserts ever. Brain molds run about $5 and the Jello costs under $2. Reuse the mold every year! Get the recipe here.
Dirt Balls
Marshmallow popcorn balls coated in crushed Oreos with gummy worms sticking out. Cheap, easy, disgusting looking and completely delicious. Kids absolutely love making these. Get the recipe here.
Petri Dish Treats
Gelatin bites made in petri dishes — the perfect gross Halloween science snack. Dollar Tree sells petri dishes around Halloween and Jello is under $2. One of the most creative cheap Halloween ideas on this list. Get the recipe here.
Red Velvet Raw Meat Rice Krispie Treats
Red velvet Rice Krispie treats shaped and decorated to look exactly like raw meat. Warning — these are deeply disturbing looking. Also delicious. Get the recipe here.
Cheap Gross Halloween Cupcakes
Brain Cupcakes
Box mix cupcakes and a piping bag — that is all you need for these zombie brain cupcakes. A box of cake mix costs $2 and makes 24 cupcakes. Pink frosting piped into brain swirls — genuinely gross looking and genuinely easy. Get the recipe here.
Bloody Broken Glass Cupcakes
Black cocoa cupcakes with clear sugar glass shards and red candy blood. Looks like a Halloween movie prop — costs about $5 total using a box mix and hard candy for the glass. Get the recipe here.
Halloween Cinnamon Roll Brains
A tube of cinnamon rolls arranged into a brain shape and baked together. One of the cheapest and most impressive gross Halloween foods — a tube of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls costs about $4. Get the recipe here.
Cheap Gross Halloween Drinks
Halloween Vampire Punch
Blood red fruit punch that looks like it came straight out of a horror movie — made with fruit juice so it costs almost nothing. Add a plastic hand frozen in ice for extra effect. Adults can add their beverage of choice! Get the recipe here.
Looking for more free Halloween ideas? Check out my 50 Free Kids Party Games and my Freebies for Kids page for more Halloween fun that won’t break the bank!
