10 Spooktacular Vegan Recipes For Halloween

I haven't had a chance to do that much cooking or baking this Halloween season, so I thought it would be fun to revisit some of my Halloween recipes from the past ten years (wow, I can't believe it's been 10 years since I started this blog!!). I am by no means a pro at baking or cooking, but I always love putting a spooky spin on recipes - it is so much more fun to eat Halloweenized food, am I right?!

Below you'll find some of my fave past recipes, from eerie appetizers to creepy cookies! All recipes are vegan and contain no animal ingredients, because no one wants that trick for Halloween.

10 Spooktacular Halloween Recipes to make this Halloween season:

Los Angeles Vegan Street Fair 2016 Report

The second Vegan Street Fair was held this past Sunday in North Hollywood, California! This year promised to be bigger than last year (read about last year's event HERE!), with more space, more ticket options, and (most importantly) MORE FOOD!

It was held just a few streets over from last year's event, but on a wider street with much more space, and it grew from about 40 vendors to over 90! The vendors were mostly restaurants and food vendors, but there were also clothing companies, vegan lifestyle magazines, animal rescue and sanctuary booths, and many more! Some of the food vendors this year included Blue Window, SunCafe, Casa Coqui, Vegan Pizza, The Ridiculous Baking Co., and soooooo many more!

Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Bagels

In keeping with the Goosebumps theme, I was inspired by R.L. Stein's The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb to make these creepy cute bagels! I made these with the last of my Violife stash (sadly, this Greek-made vegan cheese is only available in Europe - I wish we had it in the U.S., though the makers of this cheese also make the Field Roast Chao and Follow Your Heart sliced cheeses)! Anyway, these mummy bagels are so easy to make and so cute!

The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight Bean Dip

Do you remember R.L. Stine's Goosebumps book The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight? And, later, the episode from the TV show? I was obsessed with that story as a kid, and still think it was one of the best Goosebumps stories! Anyhow, that is how I came up with the name for this fun and easy dip!

Creepy Crawly Bug Bite Appetizers

Bug Bites plus Spiderweb Dipping Sauce

These plump little critters are perfect for your next Halloween get-together! They are so easy to make, require few ingredients, and even the kiddos (and kids-at-heart) find them fun to assemble!

I found the recipe in the Betty Crocker Halloween Cookbook, though it obviously wasn't vegan-friendly. Well, a few quick swaps of ingredients and it was easily veganized! You can find the cruelty-free, dairy-free, veganized recipe below:

Top Five New Vegan Products from Trader Joe's

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

Trader Joe's has been rolling out some fantastic new vegan products lately! It seems that every time I make a trip to one of their stores I end up scoring some new vegan food item to try. Lately, I've discovered some exceptional new snacks from TJ's, which I wanted to share here with you. From drinks to cookies to popcorn to breakfast breads to dessert hybrids, there are lots of great new vegan snacks I've been drooling over lately.

What I Ate: June Junk Food Edition

I meant to post this at the beginning of July, but this month has just flown by! Is it just me or is this summer going by super-fast?! Not that I'm complaining, mind you; summer can suck it and autumn can't come soon enough! Anyways, I can't let these vegan junk food pics go to waste (though you will recognize some if you follow me on Instagram), so I'm sharing the yummy noms I ate in June below:

 This is Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza topped with avocado slices and sriracha.

I already love the pizza on its own, but the addition of the avocado and sriracha 

just sky-rocketed its flavor!

Top 10 Vegan Products at Natural Products Expo West 2015

This past weekend I attended the Natural Products Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center to scope out all the new vegan goodies coming out this year! I attended last year (check out my report!), but this year was even bigger and better, and I was ecstatic to see so many vegan or vegan-friendly companies rolling out exciting new vegan products!

Over the few days at Expo West, I got to try oodles of vegan food, beauty/health products, drinks, and got to visit with some of my favorite vegan companies as well as discovering new ones! It was a blast, and I already can't wait until next year!

There were SO MANY awesome products launching, so it was really tough to narrow it down to my top 10 favorites. I finally did, sorta, and below you will find my top 10 favorite products from the Expo, plus some honorable mentions. Not all of these are available in stores or available in the US, yet, but most should either be coming soon or already in some stores.

Los Angeles' Vegan Street Fair 2015 Report

This past weekend saw the first ever Vegan Street Fair in Los Angeles! I, like most other SoCal vegans, was super stoked to witness the awesomeness of another vegan event! With over 40 restaurants and food vendors participating, plus some rad t-shirt companies and other vendors that were attending, how could I NOT be excited?! Plus, entrance was free and I loved the idea of eating small bites from a bunch of different food vendors instead of paying $10 for a large plate of food from just one restaurant that would fill me up. The lineup of restaurants/bakeries/clothing companies/etc. was pretty sweet - Mud Hen Tavern, Doomie's, Life is Sweet Bakeshop, Organix, Bramble Bakeshop, and Herbivore Clothing were just a few I was excited about!

Food Review: Gardein Pocket Meals

Gardein Pocket Meals in Italian Meatless Sausage

 with Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach

The Gardein Pocket Meals debuted recently, and I picked some up at Whole Foods in early February. They are shaped like little buns (or dinner rolls, as described on the package) and stuffed full of delicious vegan ingredients. The varieties I picked up were the Italian Meatless Sausage with Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach and the BBQ Pulled Porkless Shreds. These are convenience meals, so don't expect them to be too healthy, however they pack between 6 to 10 grams of protein, and do not contain genetically modified soy, wheat, or canola.

Baked Vegan Almond Feta Cheese

I was over at a friend's house a few months ago, and she made the most mouth-watering vegan feta cheese that I have been dying to have again! Unlike some vegan cheeses, this one was super-simple to make, and when I was over at her house I think it was done in less than an hour. It also uses easy-to-find ingredients, doesn't have any crazy cultures, and there is no long prep, so you could enjoy it tonight if you wanted! I was really stunned how easy it was to make, so I vowed to make it myself!

31 Days of Halloween: Chocolate Pumpkin Mini Cakes

I am pretty obsessed with the Marbled Banana Bread from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's cookbook Isa Does It, cuz who wouldn't be in love with that banana and chocolate combo?!

Out of curiosity and for my love of all things pumpkin, I did a search on Isa's Post-Punk Kitchen site to see if she might have a similar recipe with pumpkin-y, autumn flavors. I ended up hitting the jackpot and found her recipe for a Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf, which I transformed into jack-o-lantern mini cakes!

31 Days of Halloween: Cheesy Pumpkin Fondue

Jenelle York of York and Spoon

I have a few favorite vegan vloggers that I consistently watch - The Vegan Zombie, Vegan Black Metal Chef, and today's featured personality, York and Spoon, otherwise known as Jenelle York, Your Vegan Punk Pinup, whose Cheesy Pumpkin Fondue recipe I will be sharing!

Not only is Jenelle as sweet as can be, her video series are always informative and fun, plus she is a licensed nutritionist and knows her stuff! It seems like I always learn something new with her videos, and her easy-to-follow instructions are a godsend to people who are kitchen-clumsy like me! She thoroughly explains all the steps to her recipes, and she makes it so easy to follow along.

Food Review: Treeline Herb-Garlic French Style Soft Cheese

I recently had the pleasure of enjoying Parmela’s treenut cheese (review), so I thought I would expand my vegan cheese repertoire and try Treeline’s French-style soft cheese. Treeline was one of the first, if not THE first, vegan companies to offer fancy vegan soft cheese, and I've hear so many friends rave about their cheese, so I thought it was high time I tried some! Treeline is produced by The Gardener Cheese Company in Kingston, New York and is available at most Whole Foods and select natural food stores.

Food Review: Trader Joe's Uttapam with Coconut Chutney

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

It always seems like I am finding new vegan items to try at Trader Joe's, and I recently discovered this Uttapam with Coconut Chutney in the frozen food aisle! I had never seen it before, so I had to try it. As luck would have it, I was feeling particularly lazy the other night, so I decided I would try this easy-to-make uttapam. By the way, before I picked this up I had no clue what uttapam was (I really need to eat more Indian food), but from the box I learned that the rounds pictured on the front are rice breads topped with onions and cilantro. It sounded like quite a tasty, light meal, especially with the coconut chutney!

Food Review: Parmela Creamery's Creamy Treenut Cheeses

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

There are tons of new artisinal vegan cheeses popping up, much to my delight (and to the delight of other vegans)! These vary from Daiya’s delicious and economical cheese spreads to the pricier Kite Hill, Treeline or Punk Rawk Lab cheeses. I hadn't really had the opportunity to try many of the artisinal cheeses, either due to high price or not being able to find them, but recently I discovered Parmela Creamery’s cashew-based cheeses! I found them at Whole Foods, and since they were only around $6 a tub, decided to splurge a little and have my own cheese and crackers party!

Restaurant Review: SunCafe in Studio City, CA

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

Last month Mister Spooky and I were having a fun morning at Universal Studios (read all about it and their vegan options), hanging with the Universal Monsters, Beetlejuice and Norman Bates, but we finished up around lunch time and were looking for a nearby vegan place to eat. Lo and behold, just down the street (or down the hill) was a small restaurant called SunCafe, which is a mostly-raw vegan restaurant serving up organic and healthy food. We decided to check it out since it was so close.

The street parking is metered, and they don't have their own parking lot as far as I could tell. We had to park a ways down the street and walk back up, which was no biggie, but I can see parking being an issue, especially on busier days or weekends. When I walked in, the place was pretty packed (it was Friday at lunchtime, so it wasn't surprising), but we were seated quickly and the service was attentive.

We had actually eaten previously at Universal Studios, so we decided to go easy and just order appetizers and drinks. I could not resist ordering their Orange Cremesicle Shake, which is a raw drink containing just fresh orange, pineapple and agave, topped with coconut shreds and goji berries. It was delicious and tasted just like an Orange Julius (confession: I used to get those all the time at the mall as a teen in my pre-vegan days!)! This Orange Cremesicle was dreamy and definitely hit the spot!

SunCafe's Orange Cremesicle Shake

Restaurant Review: Au Lac in Fountain Valley, CA

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

I apologize for the long absence, readers! I've been busy with the day job and have just been so exhausted lately...so exhausted, in fact, that I actually came down with a nasty flu bug, which is why I actually have some time to write now! However, I do plan to make more time to write because I have lots and lots of posts to share with you!

First off, I wanted to share with you the lovely birthday dinner I had at Au Lac restaurant in Fountain Valley, California (way back at the beginning of January...that is how far behind I am, yikes!) with my Mister Spooky. Au Lac is a vegan and living foods restaurant that focuses on Asian food. All of their items are vegan and they have a separate menu for their "living foods" or raw foods. They also carry many teas and health elixirs as well as a variety of desserts. It is considered a higher-end vegan restaurant, and their Chef Ito is world-renowned.

It was my first time at Au Lac, and while it is in the middle of a weird little strip mall that doesn't really make you think "vegan haute cuisine", the inside was pretty cool. The dark red walls, red lighting and Asian decor made it feel opulent. We had reservations and were seated quickly. I felt like there was some confusion as to who our waiter was initially, but that was soon cleared up as we had a very helpful and friendly waitress.

Wild Orange Blossom Tea

Restaurant Review: Bodhi Tree Vegan Cafe in Huntington Beach, CA

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

For one reason or another, I had never been to Bodhi Tree Vegan Cafe in Huntington Beach, though it is on the busy Main Street and I must have walked by it a dozen times! It is tucked into a row of storefronts slightly up from the hustle and bustle of the Main Street and offers a welcome respite from the crowds and traffic. Mister Spooky and I went on a Sunday around lunch, and we were the only ones there.

We were greeted by a friendly hostess and seated. I was surprised how large it was on the inside with lots of tables, plus outside seating as well. This would be a perfect place for large groups and/or meet ups! The ambiance was warm and inviting, even peaceful (despite the Christmas music still playing). Maybe it was just that we had the whole place to ourselves or that our hostess/server was so welcoming, but I felt totally relaxed there.

Restaurant Review: Seabirds Kitchen in Costa Mesa, CA

Seabirds Kitchen at The Lab is now open!

I have been a long-time fan of Seabirds and their vegan food truck as year after year they have continued to impress me with their quality vegan food in Orange County! From delicious staples like their beer-battered avocado tacos to their other seasonal options and specials, I have always felt so lucky to have them in my community offering such amazing vegan food!