This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Looking for a quick and easy Halloween lunch idea that’s both festive and delicious? These Spooky Grilled Cheese sandwiches are a Halloween twist on a kid-friendly classic. Kids love the gooey cheddar and crisp buttery bread, and you’ll love how simple they are to make!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Fun and festive: A creative Halloween twist on the classic grilled cheese sandwich and a fun one to get kids involved.
- Quick and easy: Ready in about 10 minutes from start to finish. Serve with Roasted Tomato Soup for a cozy and complete Halloween themed lunch.
- Perfect for lunchboxes: This grilled cheese recipe (along with my other Halloween recipes for kids) are great for school lunches or Halloween parties.
- Customizable: Use your favorite cheese or bread and any Halloween cookie cutter shapes you like!
The Ingredients
- Pumpernickel or dark rye bread: The deep color of these breads gives a spooky Halloween vibe, but any bread will work.
- Cheddar cheese: Bright orange cheddar pops against the dark bread for that perfect Halloween contrast.
- Butter: To give the bread that golden, crispy crust.
How to Make a Spooky Grilled Cheese
- Using a Halloween themed cookie cutter, take four slices of the bread and cut out the centers.
- Heat butter in a griddle or skillet over medium heat.
- Cook both the cut-out pieces of bread and the whole slices for about 3 minutes until lightly golden.
- Flip the whole pieces of bread, cover with 1-2 slices of cheese and top with the cut-out pieces of bread.
- Cook an additional 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and serve.
- Note: You can cook these just like a regular grilled cheese, but some cheese may melt out of the cut-out center. Another option, toast the bread open-face in a toaster oven until the cheese is melted, then sandwich the pieces together or pop the sandwich in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes.
Tips and Tricks
- School lunch: My kids don’t mind a room-temperature grilled cheese in their lunchbox, but if yours prefer it warm, pack it in a thermos container to keep it toasty until lunchtime.
- Have fun with shapes: This cut-out grilled cheese method works with any cookie cutter! Try hearts for Valentine’s Day, shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, or stars for Christmas. It’s a fun twist year-round!
- Add some extras: A slice of ham or turkey or avocado (like this Grilled Cheese Avocado Sandwich) turns these into Halloween-themed melts.
FAQs
Cheddar cheese is classic and gives that bright orange Halloween color, but you can also use Colby, American, or mozzarella depending on what your kids like best.
After cooking, let the sandwich cool for a minute or two, then place it inside an insulated thermos container. It’ll stay warm and melty until lunch.
More Fun Halloween Lunch Ideas
These Spooky Grilled Cheese sandwiches are such a fun way to make lunch feel festive without a ton of extra effort. They come together in minutes, kids love them, and they add just the right touch of Halloween magic to any day in October! Let me know what you think — leave a comment and rating below!
Want more Weelicious? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for all the newest recipes!
Spooky Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- butter
- 8 slices pumpernickel or dark rye bread
- 4-8 slices cheddar cheese (depending on how large your bread slices are)
Instructions
- Using a Halloween themed cookie cutter (bats, ghosts, pumpkins, etc), cut out the centers of 4 slices of bread.
- Heat butter in a griddle or skillet over medium heat.
- Cook both the cut-out pieces of bread and the whole slices for about 3 minutes until lightly golden.
- Flip the whole pieces of bread, cover with 1-2 slices of cheese and top with the cut-out pieces of bread.
- Cook an additional 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve.
Amazing easy food
Super cool idea and looks so good
Signing up.
I made a hybrid between the Grilled Avocado and Cheese sammie and this one by cutting out bats from two peices of bread, then making the Grilled Avocado and Cheese sammie with that rather than dealing with oozing cheese. Plus,the 2 year old was able to help prep the sammies this way!
My kiddo requests grilled cheese almost every day. Love this creative add to his fave lunch.
I made a version of these tonight..but used ham, egg and cheese for the filling and a few different halloween cutters we have. I put pea soup in frankenstein bowls to accompany it. Thanks for the inspiration it was a huge HIT! Sometimes the simplest ideas make the biggest splash.
GREAT idea! I’m going to try this and hope the cheese doesn’t ooze into the coils.