Why not surprise the family this Halloween and serve them a dish of cheese-stuffed meatballs (eyeballs) on a bed of spaghetti (worms) in a tasty tomato-based sauce. This recipe for Halloween worms and eyeballs is sure to cause plenty of amusement when you bring it to the table.
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A traditional Halloween meal
Worms and eyeballs (spaghetti and meatballs) for supper is a longstanding Halloween tradition in our family. It's the perfect meal that always had my bloodthirsty offspring clamouring for more.
Now, while this dish is called worms and eyeballs, that is purely an entertainment value for the kiddies. For the adults (whose taste is less gruesome) these meatballs are an absolute treat!
I've added a few surprises of my own to the mixture!
- Instead of using breadcrumbs to bind the meatballs I've used a packet of crushed potato crisps (or chips for my US readers). For this recipe I used cheese and onion flavour - but you could vary the meatballs by using whatever flavour you prefer.
- The crisps soften and absorb the flavours of the meatballs while adding their own unique flavour back into the meat, and they do a fantastic job of stopping the meatballs from falling to pieces.
- I've also added a piece of hidden cheese in the centre of each meatball which oozes satisfying out of the meatball when you cut into it.
The tomato sauce that is mixed with the worms (or spaghetti if you are an adult), is packed with onions and mushrooms.
The result is a surprisingly tasty dish which makes the perfect Halloween supper.
How did this dish come about?
When I was growing up in England (quite a long time ago now), one of our traditions was to put a candle into a jam jar, with a string handle, and go and play outside in the dark on Halloween. Now, this wasn't quite as dangerous as it sounds. England observes daylight saving so on 31st October the clocks would have already gone back an by hour and it was dark at 5 o'clock in the evening.
But to a young 8 or 9-year-old, being allowed out in the dark, with other friends who lived in the same street, was the height of daring.
Fast-forward 20 years when I had my own young family, living in South Africa, and times had changed. There was no question of letting youngsters out alone after dark.
So I devised a new tradition - worms and eyeballs for supper! And we've been eating it on Halloween ever since.
What you will need
Equipment
The meatballs are baked in the oven, so you will need a baking sheet. I like to line my baking sheet with tinfoil to make washing up easier. If one of the meatballs should burst during baking it will leak cheese all over your baking tray, so lining the tray with tinfoil catches all the unwanted mess.
You will also need a frying pan or a saucepan for making the sauce.
Other items you will find useful would be a sharp knife and a chopping board for cutting up the onions and mushrooms. If you have a rolling pin you can use this for crushing the crisps, otherwise, just use the flat of your hand to press them into crumbs.
Ingredients
This recipe makes 12 meatballs and will feed a family of 4.
**You can find the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making these Halloween worms and eyeballs on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Meatballs
Pork or beef mince - what you use here is entirely up to you. Choose either pork or beef mince, or a mixture of the two. I would advise getting mince with a low-fat content so you don't end up with a baking tray filled with cooked-out fat. I used pork with a 5% fat content.
Crisps (or chips) - my choice was cheese and onion to complement the cheese that was stuffed into the meatballs. I know in South Africa you can get tomato sauce or chutney-flavoured crisps which I think would work well. If you are looking for something with a stronger taste, why not try roast beef flavour?
Egg - this is used to help bind the meatballs.
Salt and pepper - for seasoning and to your own taste. Crisps are quite salty, so you might want to go easy on the salt.
Cheese - this should be cut into small blocks (about half an inch in size). The meatball mixture will be formed around the cheese. If you can get a block of firm mozzarella (or other stretchy cheese) this would be ideal. I couldn't find any so I used cheddar. It's not as stretchy as mozzarella, but it melts well.
Soft mozzarella - this is just a ball of soft mozzarella which is cut into rounds to form the whites of the eyeball. You won't need an entire ball of mozzarella.
Pimento stuffed olives - you will only need a few. These are sliced and used to form the eye.
Edible eyes - you don't really need these, but they are fun for the kiddies. You can find them in the baking aisle in most large supermarkets. You may prefer to use these instead of the mozzarella/olive combination.
Pasta and sauce
Spaghetti - you should allow 60 grams or 2 ounces of dried spaghetti per person. I always eyeball the amount of spaghetti I'm cooking and end up with far too much which normally gets thrown away. You can substitute spaghetti with linguine - as long as it sort of resembles worms you'll be fine!
Passata - I can't tell you the amount of passata I get through. This year I've made my own passata and stored it in bags in the freezer. I keep a box of store-bought passata in the cupboard, especially for the photos 🙂
Mushrooms - use white or chestnut mushrooms, it doesn't really matter. They should be chopped into approximately half-inch pieces.
Onions - once again, it doesn't really matter whether you use white or red onions. They should also be chopped into approximately half-inch pieces.
Mixed herbs - you may also know them as Italian herbs.
Salt - for seasoning. Leave it out if you don't cook with salt.
Olive oil - just a small amount for frying the onions.
What to do
Make the meatballs
Meatballs - step 1
Place the crisps into a plastic bag (don't seal it or the bag will pop when you try to crush the crisps) and crush the crisps into crumbs using a rolling pin or the flat of your hand.
Meatballs - step 2
Place the mince, egg, crushed crisps and salt and pepper into a mixing bowl.
Meatballs - step 3
Get your hands in and mix until all the ingredients are well combined. Leave to stand for 5 minutes to give the crisps time to soften.
Meatballs - step 4
Divide the meatball mixture into 12 pieces. Take one of the pieces and add a piece of cheese to the centre.
Meatballs - step 5
Form the meat around the piece of cheese to enclose it completely. Repeat with the remaining cheese and mince until you have 12 meatballs.
Meatballs - step 6
Place the meatballs onto a baking tray lined with tinfoil.
Meatballs - step 7
Bake the meatballs in a preheated oven (200C/400F) for 10 - 12 minutes until they are browned.
Meatballs - step 8
Remove the meatballs from the oven, add a small circle of mozzarella and a slice of olive and return them to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese is starting to melt.
Sauce
You can make the sauce while the meatballs are in the oven.
Sauce- step 1
Heat olive oil in a pan and stir-fry the chopped onions for 5 - 6 minutes until they are starting to turn translucent.
Sauce - step 2
Add the chopped mushrooms and continue to fry until the mushrooms have released their moisture. Stir occasionally.
Sauce- step 3
Add the passata, mixed herb and salt to the mushrooms and onions and bring to a boil.
Sauce - step 4
Cover the pan with a lid, turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for a further 6 to 7 minutes until the onions are soft and fully cooked. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
Pasta
While the sauce is simmering, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook for the time indicated on the packet. Then drain the pasta and keep warm.
Combine the sauce with the pasta and transfer it to a serving dish. Arrange the meatballs on top and optionally decorate with edible eyes.
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Worms and eyeballs FAQ
You can freeze the meatballs either raw or cooked.
Arrange the meatballs untouching in a single layer on a baking sheet and open-freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen meatballs to a freezer bag. Freeze raw meatballs for up to 3 months. Freeze the cooked meatballs for up to 4 months.
To use raw meatballs - bake from frozen for the temperature given in the recipe but add an extra 5 minutes to the cooking time.
To use cooked meatballs - allow them to defrost in the refrigerator and then reheat them on a baking tray in a hot oven for approximately 5 minutes.
The tomato sauce can be frozen (before it has been mixed with the spaghetti) in a freezer bag for up to 4 months. To use, defrost and then reheat in a saucepan on the stove.
Absolutely. Heat one or two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs over a moderate heat for 7 to 8 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to help you turn the meatballs occasionally until they are browned on all sides. If you are using mozzarella cheese and sliced olives to form the eyes, add this once the meatballs are cooked and cover the pan with a lid for a minute to allow the cheese to melt.
No, you can leave the cheese out if you prefer.
You can thicken the sauce in one of two ways:
1. Combine 1 tablespoon of cornflour (or cornstarch) with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Drizzle the mixture slowly into the pan over a moderate heat, stirring until the desired thickness is reached. You may not need to use all the cornflour/water mixture.
2. Stir in 125 grams (4 ounces) of cream cheese.
Save for later
If you would like to make these Halloween worms and eyeballs yourself, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Other recipes
If you enjoyed this Halloween-themed meatball recipe, perhaps you'd like to take a look at some of my other meatball recipes:
- Curried meatballs in onion gravy - oven-baked curry-flavoured meatballs in a tasty curry and onion gravy.
- Morroccan lamb meatballs with homemade tomato sauce - succulent lamb meatballs packed with Middle Eastern spices in a tangy tomato sauce.
- Creamy meatball stroganoff with mushrooms - tasty meatballs in a creamy mushroom stroganoff sauce.
- Meatball soup with vegetables and tomatoes - use whatever vegetables you happen to have in your fridge to make this tasty soup.
📋The recipe
Halloween worms and eyeballs (meatballs and spaghetti)
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Frying Pan or
- Rolling Pin optional
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound / 450 grams low fat pork mince
- 3½ ounces / 100 grams cheese and onion crisps or use your flavour of choice
- 1 large egg
- 3 ounces / 85 grams cheddar (cut into 12 blocks)
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Eyes
- 1 ounce / 30 grams soft mozzarella cheese
- 3 - 4 pimento-stuffed olived
- 12 edible eyes optional (suggested for a fun idea)
Pasta and sauce
- 8 ounces / 225 grams dried spaghetti or linguine
- 2 cups / 500 ml passata
- 4 ounces / 120 grams mushrooms chopped to half an inch
- 1 large onion chopped to half an inch
- 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs or Italian herbs
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Meatballs
- Place the crisps into a plastic bag (don't seal it or the bag will pop when you try to crush the crisps) and crush the crisps into crumbs using a rolling pin or the flat of your hand.3½ ounces / 100 grams cheese and onion crisps
- Place the mince, egg, crushed crisps and salt and pepper into a mixing bowl.1 pound / 450 grams low fat pork mince, 1 large egg, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Get your hands in and mix until all the ingredients are well combined. Leave to stand for 5 minutes to give the crisps time to soften.
- Divide the meatball mixture into 12 pieces. Take one of the pieces and add a piece of cheese to the centre.3 ounces / 85 grams cheddar (cut into 12 blocks)
- Form the meat around the piece of cheese to enclose it completely. Repeat with the remaining cheese and mince until you have 12 meatballs.
- Place the meatballs onto a baking tray lined with tinfoil.
- Bake the meatballs in a preheated oven (200C/400F) for 10 - 12 minutes until they are browned.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven, add a small circle of mozzarella and a slice of olive and return them to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese is starting to melt.1 ounce / 30 grams soft mozzarella cheese, 3 - 4 pimento-stuffed olived
Sauce
- Heat olive oil in a pan and stir-fry the chopped onions for 5 - 6 minutes until they are starting to turn translucent.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 large onion
- Add the chopped mushrooms and continue to fry until the mushrooms have released their moisture (about 5 minutes). Stir occasionally.4 ounces / 120 grams mushrooms
- Add the passata, mixed herbs, and salt to the mushrooms and onions and bring to a boil.2 cups / 500 ml passata, 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs, ½ teaspoon salt
- Cover the pan with a lid, turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for a further 6 to 7 minutes until the onions are soft and fully cooked. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
Pasta
- While the sauce is simmering, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook for the time indicated on the packet. Then drain the pasta and keep warm.8 ounces / 225 grams dried spaghetti
- Combine the sauce with the pasta and transfer it to a serving dish. Arrange the meatballs on top and optionally decorate with edible eyes.12 edible eyes
Notes
To use cooked meatballs - allow them to defrost in the refrigerator and then reheat them on a baking tray in a hot oven for approximately 5 minutes. The tomato sauce can be frozen (before it has been mixed with the spaghetti) in a freezer bag for up to 4 months. To use, defrost and then reheat in a saucepan on the stove.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!