Are you looking for the ultimate fun, spooky, and unbelievably cheesy meal to kick off your Halloween festivities? A kid-friendly dinner that is so cute and creative, it will have everyone at your party smiling? This incredible Mac-O’-Lantern and Cheese is the perfect festive dish! We’re talking a rich, creamy, and super-cheesy homemade macaroni and cheese, all served up inside a spooky, edible Jack-O’-Lantern bowl made from a sweet orange bell pepper.
This isn’t just a recipe; it’s a guide to your new favorite Halloween tradition. We’ll show you the simple secrets to an impossibly creamy, from-scratch cheese sauce and the easy, foolproof technique for carving the perfect pepper bowls. This is a guaranteed, crowd-pleasing hit that is as fun to make with your little monsters as it is to eat!
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Fun & Spooky Halloween Dinner
What makes these Mac-O’-Lanterns so spectacularly fun is their brilliant, edible design and their classic, crowd-pleasing flavor. This recipe is a masterpiece of festive comfort food. The “bowls” are fresh, orange bell peppers, which are hollowed out, briefly blanched to make them tender-crisp and easy to carve, and then transformed into adorable Jack-O’-Lanterns. The filling is a luscious, from-scratch, stovetop macaroni and cheese. The sauce is a simple but incredibly rich and velvety combination of reduced half-and-half, cream cheese, and sharp cheddar, which creates the creamiest mac and cheese you’ve ever had.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 45 minutes |
| Active Prep Time | 25 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 6 Mac-O’-Lanterns |
The Witch’s Cauldron: The Essential Ingredients & Tools
This iconic party treat uses a handful of high-quality ingredients and one brilliant technique to create its signature spooky look and delicious flavor.
- The Mac & Cheese:
- The Cheeses: The secret to a truly rich and flavorful sauce is using a blend of cheeses. A block of room temperature cream cheese is the key that makes the sauce unbelievably smooth and luscious, while a good, mild or sharp cheddar cheese provides that classic, tangy mac and cheese flavor. For the absolute smoothest, non-greasy result, it is highly recommended to shred your own cheese from a block.
- The Sauce Base: A simple but powerful combination of half-and-half and a little bit of the starchy pasta water. By gently reducing the half-and-half, you are concentrating its flavor and creating a richer, less watery sauce.
- The Jack-O’-Lantern Bowls:
- Orange Bell Peppers: The star of the show! Look for medium-sized, bright orange bell peppers that have a nice, flat bottom so they can stand up straight on their own.
- The Blanching Technique: This is a brilliant, professional trick! By briefly boiling the peppers (blanching) and then immediately plunging them into an ice bath (shocking), you are making them perfectly tender-crisp and much, much easier to carve without the risk of them cracking or breaking.
Step-by-Step to the Best Mac-O’-Lanterns
This fun and festive meal is a joy to prepare.
Part 1: Carve Your Jack-O’-Lantern Bowls
Step 1: Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. While it’s heating up, fill a separate, large bowl with ice and water.
Step 2: Use a small, sharp knife to carefully cut the tops off your 6 orange bell peppers and set the “lids” aside. Remove and discard all the seeds and white membranes from the inside of the peppers.
Step 3 (The Secret to Easy Carving!): Place the hollowed-out peppers and their tops into the boiling water and cook for just 2 to 3 minutes, until they are just slightly tender.
Step 4: Immediately use a pair of tongs to transfer the peppers and their tops into the ice bath. Once they are cool, remove them from the water.
Step 5: Use a small, sharp paring knife to carefully carve a fun or spooky Jack-O’-Lantern face into one side of each pepper.
Part 2: Create the Ultimate Creamy Cheese Sauce and Assemble
Step 1: Return the large pot of water to a boil. Add your 8 ounces of elbow macaroni and cook according to the package directions until it is al dente. Before you drain the pasta, be sure to reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.Step 2: While the pasta is cooking, heat the 1 1/4 cups of half-and-half in a large saucepan over a medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Let it continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, until it has reduced to about 3/4 of a cup.Step 3: Add your 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese to the reduced half-and-half and stir until it has completely melted.Step 4 (The Secret to a Smooth Sauce!): Reduce the heat to low. Whisk in your 4 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese, a little at a time, until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is perfectly smooth and velvety.Step 5: Remove the pan from the heat. Add your cooked macaroni to the saucepan and stir to combine. If the sauce seems too thick, you can stir in a small splash of your reserved pasta water until you reach your desired consistency. Season with salt, if needed.Step 6: Let the mac and cheese sit for about 10 minutes to thicken slightly. Then, divide the mac and cheese among your carved pepper bowls and cap each one with its pepper top.
Mac-O’-Lantern & Cheese Bowls (A Fun Halloween Dinner!)
A fun and festive Halloween-themed meal, this recipe features creamy macaroni and cheese served inside hollowed-out orange bell peppers that have been carved to look like jack-o’-lanterns. The bell pepper ‘bowls’ are first blanched to make them tender. A simple, rich, and from-scratch cheese sauce is made by reducing half-and-half and then melting in cream cheese and cheddar. This creamy sauce is tossed with cooked elbow macaroni and then spooned into the carved pepper bowls.
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 6 medium orange bell peppers
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni
- 1 1/4 cups half-and-half
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 ounces mild Cheddar, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
- Cut the tops off the bell peppers and reserve them. Remove the seeds and membranes from the peppers.
- Using a sharp paring knife, carefully carve a jack-o’-lantern face into one side of each pepper.
- Place the peppers and their tops in the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until just tender. Immediately transfer the peppers to the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once cool, remove them from the water.
- Return the water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook for about 6 minutes, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.
- Make the Sauce: While the pasta cooks, heat the half-and-half in a large saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Continue simmering for about 10 minutes, until it has reduced to about 3/4 cup.
- Add the room-temperature cream cheese and stir until melted. Whisk in the shredded Cheddar until the sauce is smooth.
- Remove the sauce from the heat. Add the cooked macaroni and stir to combine. If the sauce is too thick, stir in some of the reserved pasta water to thin it. Season with salt if needed.
- Let the mac and cheese sit for 10 minutes, then divide it among the carved pepper ‘bowls’. Cap each with its pepper top to serve.
Notes
- This is a creative and kid-friendly way to serve mac and cheese for a Halloween dinner.
- Blanching the peppers and then shocking them in an ice bath is a key step that makes them tender enough to eat but still sturdy enough to hold the filling.
- Reserving the starchy pasta water is an important technique for adjusting the consistency of the cheese sauce.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
These Mac-O’-Lanterns are a perfect make-ahead party food!
- Make-Ahead: For a super-fast and impressive party meal, you can prepare all the components in advance. The peppers can be blanched and carved, and the macaroni and cheese can be fully prepared up to 24 hours in advance. Store everything in separate, airtight containers in the refrigerator. When you are ready to serve, simply reheat the mac and cheese gently on the stovetop and then fill your prepared pepper bowls.
- Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the absolute, number one secret to a super creamy, from-scratch mac and cheese that isn’t grainy or greasy?
There are two main secrets! First, use room temperature cream cheese and freshly shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheeses are coated in starches that can make your sauce grainy. Second, and most importantly, be sure to add your shredded cheddar cheese to the sauce over a very low heat (or even off the heat completely). High heat is the number one culprit that will cause the proteins in the cheese to seize up and become greasy or clumpy.
Q2: How do I carve a bell pepper without it breaking or cracking?
The secret is to blanch it first! By boiling the pepper for just a few minutes, you are softening the flesh just enough to make it pliable and much easier to cut through with a small, sharp knife. The subsequent ice bath stops the cooking process and keeps it from becoming too soft.
Q3: Can I make these ahead of time for a party?
Yes, this is a perfect make-ahead appetizer! You can blanch and carve your peppers and make your entire batch of macaroni and cheese a day in advance. When it’s time for the party, you can gently reheat the mac and cheese and then fill your peppers right before serving.
Q4: Can I bake the peppers after I have filled them with the mac and cheese?
You can, but it will result in a much softer pepper. If you prefer a more roasted pepper texture, you can fill your carved (but un-blanched) peppers with the mac and cheese, top them with some extra cheese, and bake them in a 375°F oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the mac and cheese is hot and bubbly.
Q5: Can I add a protein to this dish?
Of course! To make this a heartier meal, you can stir some cooked and crumbled bacon, some shredded rotisserie chicken, or even some leftover, chopped hot dogs into your finished macaroni and cheese before you fill the peppers.