Candy will always take the top spot when it comes to Halloween eats. But beyond the trick-or-treating, the holiday is also a time to party with your best ghoul-friends and break out some monster munchies. You might even be craving something healthy after a sugar rush. And it gets extra points if it sticks to the spine-chilling theme. Enter this black bean dip with veggie crudités that is as wholesome as it is haunting.
Putting it together isn’t as harrowing at it might seem. Simply pulse the dip ingredients in a food processor, put it in a serving dish, then top with some cut-out designs, and serve with crudités. It’s super straightforward, and it’ll get ooohs and aaahs instead of boos. Halloween has never been cuter (or tastier).
See it in action in the video below, then follow the recipe below and get the ingredients on FreshDirect.
Halloween Haunted house black Bean Dip Recipe
For the dip
3 (15 oz) cans low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1¼ cups jarred salsa verde
¼ cup packed cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
For assembly
2 slices provolone cheese
3 shredded wheat crackers, such as Triscuit, plus more for dipping
¼ yellow bell pepper
3 pitted black olives
1 large (10-inch) spinach or whole wheat wrap
2 tbsp light sour cream
For dipping
Celery, cut into sticks
Bell peppers, sliced
Any other veggies, like carrot sticks, cucumber wedges, lettuce leaves
What To Do:
To prepare the dip: In a food processor, purée the black beans, salsa, cilantro, lime juice, and cumin until smooth. Season with salt to taste. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
To make the haunted house platter: Using a small ghost-shaped cutter (or with a knife), cut ghost shapes out of the cheese slices. With a skewer or chopstick, poke holes for eyes and mouth. Break the crackers into narrow sticks. From the yellow bell pepper, cut out crescent moon shape and small stars. Halve 1 black olive lengthwise. Cut 16 thin slivers from remaining olives.
When ready to serve, spread the black bean dip in smooth layer in a rectangular dish. From the spinach wrap, with kitchen shears and/or the tip of paring knife, cut the outline of a house. Cut out 4 windows. Arrange the “house” on top of the bean dip. Arrange cracker sticks over windows. Arrange ghosts, moon, and stars above house on top of bean dip.
To make the spiderwebs, place the sour cream in a small resealable plastic bag and snip a very small hole in the corner. On the sides of house, pipe bull’s-eye patterns. Drag a toothpick from the center to the outer edge to create a web pattern. Arrange the olives near spiderwebs to form spiders. Serve the dip with additional vegetables and crackers for dipping.
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