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    Home » Recipes » Halloween

    Naturally Green Halloween Cupcakes

    Published: Sep 6, 2018 · Modified: Sep 4, 2020 by Kate Hackworthy · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Jump to Recipe
    Spooky Halloween Cupcakes! The bright green cupcakes are coloured with hidden vegetable: spinach. You can't taste the leafy greens but they make it a vibrant colour. Decorate for Halloween.

    Looking for halloween party recipes? Try these ghoulish halloween cupcakes. They're a little healthier and the scary green colour comes from... spinach! You can't taste the spinach in these hidden vegetable cupcakes.

    Cupcakes decorated with candy eyes on a wooden table.

    Let me just put it out there: I LOVE Halloween. When I was a little girl growing up in Canada, my parents always threw us huge halloween parties.

    Mostly because they didn't want us out trick or treating, but also because it was such a fun thing to do.

    Our house would be decorated to the hilt with floating ghosts, cobwebs, spiders and witches.

    Then there was the food... my parents would bake halloween cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more. It was always a massive spread for all of our friends.

    A plate with a bright green halloween cupcake decorated with candy eyes and icing mouth.

    Halloween Cupcakes

    These bright green Halloween Cupcakes have a secret.... that green colour isn't from food colouring - it's from pureed spinach!

    Trust me though, you can't taste the spinach. It does, however, bulk leave a little of their goodness behind.

    They taste just like vanilla cupcakes!

    These cupcakes have a bit less sugar, and instead of thick swirls of sugary frosting, I've just added candy eyes and a little writing icing for the mouths.

    Since there's always so much candy around at Halloween, these slightly healthier cupcakes are fun and ghoulish - but a little bit better for kids.

    Plus, these tasty cupcakes only have 162 calories!

    Why you'll love this recipe

    Naturally green halloween cupcakes (coloured with spinach, but you can't taste the leafy greens!)

    Easy recipe.

    Hidden vegetable cupcakes.

    You can't taste the spinach.

    Fun to decorate like monsters.

    Lower sugar cupcakes.

    Kitchen Tools

    To make these cupcakes you'll need:

    Pot
    An immersion blender (hand held stick blender) or standard blender
    Muffin tray
    Cupcake cases
    Mixing bowl

    Ingredients

    Spinach - fresh

    Milk

    Butter - room temperature. If you haven't left it out to soften, my trick is to grate it with a cheese grater then leave it for ten minutes to soften quickly.

    Sugar - white, granulate or superfine all work.

    Eggs - I always use large free-range eggs.

    Vanilla extract - My recipes usually have extra vanilla so you can use a bit less sugar.

    Flour - just your usual all-purpose or plain flour.

    Baking powder - to make the cupcakes rise!

    To decorate:

    Black and red writing icing (the kind in the tubes).
    Candy eyes - Available in many major grocery stores or online. I like to use the large size, but any will work well.

    A plate of halloween cupcakes. Decorated with candy eyes and writing icing mouths.

    Storage and Freezing

    • These cupcakes freezable: you can freeze the un-decorated cupcakes for up to 1 month. Wrap them well and freeze them. Then let them defrost and decorate.
    • The frosted cupcakes are best stored on the kitchen counter, wrapped or in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.

    Halloween Food Ideas

    I love getting creative with halloween party food, usually with a slightly healthy twist.

    I've made spooky green witch finger cookies with hidden spinach to give them a wicked witch colour (you can't taste the spinach) or I like to make pumpkin soup for a savory recipe before the onslaught of sugar!

    A fun way to get kids involved in Halloween food is with these easy mummy hand pies. They're really simple and look so good! You can also use store bought ingredients and just assemble them for ease.

    Be sure to also try Pumpkin Cookies decorated like Halloween Mummy's.

    For a quick treat, try Halloween Bark - white chocolate shards with candy.

    If you're looking for other naturally green vegetable cake recipes for your Halloween party, try my kale and apple cake, vanilla pea cake or lemon cucumber cake.

    Lots of halloween cupcakes on a white background.
    Made this recipe banner

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    Veggie Desserts Cookbook by Kate Hackworthy

    Check out the Veggie Desserts + Cakes cookbook on Amazon

    Cupcake on a plate.

    Halloween Cupcakes

    Kate Hackworthy | Veggie Desserts
    These tasty Halloween cupcakes are perfect for a party. The vibrant green cakes are naturally coloured - with spinach! You can't taste the leafy greens, but they add a bit of goodness in these lower-sugar cupcakes. 
    5 from 11 votes
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    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American, Western
    Servings 15
    Calories 162 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    • 7 oz (200g) fresh spinach
    • 4 tablespoon milk
    • 1 ¼ sticks (150g) butter (at room temperature)
    • 1 cup (125g) sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 ¾ cups (175g) all purpose flour (plain flour)
    • 2 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt

    To decorate

    • Candy eyes
    • Black and red writing icing

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 340F / 170C and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper cases.
    • Boil a kettle of water. Put the spinach into a strainer over the sink and pour the boiling water over it to wilt. Refresh by running the spinach under cold water to cool, then drain, squeeze out any excess moisture and chop up finely.
    • Add the spinach and milk to a tall container, then puree until smooth with a hand blender.
    • In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the vanilla and pureed spinach.
    • Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir gently to combine.
    • Fill the muffin cups ¾ full with the batter and bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
    • Once cooled decorate with candy eyes and writing icing as desired.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 162kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 247mgPotassium: 169mgSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1540IUVitamin C: 3.7mgCalcium: 54mgIron: 1.1mg

    The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @kateveggiedesserts or tag #veggiedesserts! I love seeing your recreations.

    More Halloween Recipes

    • Halloween Oreo Brain Cookies
    • Strawberry Halloween Monsters
    • Ghost Halloween Smoothie
    • Halloween Brownie Bite Eyeballs
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. shelly Rathore

      October 03, 2018 at 6:58 am

      Halloween Cupcakes recipe... good job
      looks yummy

      Reply
    2. Jillian

      September 28, 2018 at 11:26 am

      5 stars
      Not only did my kids love making these cupcakes, but they loved eating them, too!

      Reply
    3. bryanna skye

      September 10, 2018 at 5:18 pm

      I will admit I've not even thought about Halloween yet this year! but these are super cute I love them!

      Reply
    4. Zena's Suitcase

      September 10, 2018 at 10:51 am

      I love these cupcakes and it's fab that you've managed to sneak some spinach in their. These will be making an appearance at our Halloween party

      Reply
    5. Kaz | Ickle Pickles Life and Travels

      September 09, 2018 at 8:35 pm

      5 stars
      These are just perfect for Halloween - I love their colour and faces! Kaz

      Reply
    6. Laura

      September 08, 2018 at 11:53 am

      Thanks for sharing these, I'm deffo going to make some as I love sneaking veggies into our muffins and these ones look ace and perfect for Halloween!!

      Laura x

      Reply
    7. Nicola

      September 08, 2018 at 11:42 am

      5 stars
      Fortunately my kids love veg so I don't need to hide them in food, but I still think they'd probably enjoy these.

      Reply
    8. Hannah

      September 07, 2018 at 11:46 am

      I really wanna make these as they look so good and spooky

      Reply
    9. The London Mum

      September 06, 2018 at 3:28 pm

      How amazing that you can get such a great colour from he spinach ut it doesn't really affect the taste..! The cupcakes look amazing. x

      Reply
    10. MELANIE EDJOURIAN

      September 06, 2018 at 1:41 pm

      5 stars
      These are super cute and sound easy enough for me to manage too which is a relief. Thanks for the recipe xxx

      Reply
    11. Rebecca Hubbell

      September 06, 2018 at 1:09 pm

      5 stars
      These cupcakes are so fun and perfect for Halloween parties!

      Reply
    12. Alex Gladwin

      September 06, 2018 at 12:42 pm

      5 stars
      These are amazing! They've got me excited for Halloween! x

      Reply
    13. Shanika

      September 06, 2018 at 12:22 pm

      5 stars
      These cupcakes looks so perfect for halloween! I love it! Pinned!

      Reply
    14. Kelly Anthony

      September 06, 2018 at 12:21 pm

      5 stars
      I love how you put spinach in them to make them green. My kids will be getting some extra veggies in with this cupcake while thinking they are eating a monster. Genius!

      Reply
    15. David @ Cooking Chat

      September 06, 2018 at 12:11 pm

      5 stars
      These look so fun for kids! And spinach instead of food coloring is great. Definitely want to cut back on the food coloring & dyes in our son's diet, homemade dessert like this is a good way to go.

      Reply
    16. Danielle Wolter

      September 06, 2018 at 11:55 am

      5 stars
      OMG these are so cute for Halloween! I love the idea of hiding veggies in desserts - I'm sure it makes it a lot easier to get the kids to eat them!

      Reply
    17. Alina | Cooking Journey Blog

      September 06, 2018 at 10:06 am

      5 stars
      Just how easy and cute are these! I love that you have this beautiful natural color from spinach, not using any food coloring!

      Reply

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    Kate Hackworthy in the kitchen

    Hi, I'm Kate, a journalist, author and multi-award-winning food blogger. I hope you enjoy my vegetarian and vegan recipes. About Me

    Collage of press logos.

    Popular recipes

    • The BEST Easy Red Lentil Dahl
    • Easy Naan Bread Recipe (yeast-free)
    • Mini Baked Potatoes
    • Easy Lentil Soup

    Healthy Recipes

    • Butternut Squash Salad
    • Easy Healthy Cabbage Soup
    • Easy Vegan Ramen (15 minutes)
    • Rajma Masala (Kidney Bean Curry)

    My cookbook

    Veggie Desserts and Cakes Cookbook cover.

    Check out my Veggie Desserts Cookbook, full of tasty desserts with vegetables!

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