Mummy Pizza Bites & Easy Halloween Appetizers

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which means more parties, more trick-or-treaters and more hungry little monsters at the door. If you need Halloween appetizers that are quick, fun and actually delicious, these mummy pizza bites are the answer. Toasted English muffins are topped with pizza sauce, wrapped in strips of melty mozzarella like tiny mummy bandages and given two googly olive eyes. Kids love helping to make them, and adults always sneak one or two.

They take just 20 minutes from start to finish and use ingredients you can find in any grocery store. In this post I will show you how to make the mummies look their best, and I will share a full spooky menu of easy party food ideas, from spider deviled eggs to a pumpkin-shaped cheese ball, plus a make-ahead plan so you can enjoy the party too. The printable recipe card is at the bottom of the post.

Why You Will Love These Mummy Pizza Bites

• Fast and easy. Ten minutes of prep and about ten minutes in the oven.
• Kid friendly. Children can spread the sauce and lay the cheese strips themselves.
• Customizable. Add pepperoni, vegetables or different eyes for mummies with personality.
• Budget friendly. A dozen bites cost only a few dollars to make.
• Actually tasty. Crispy muffin edges, tangy sauce and melted cheese make a perfect mini pizza.

They are also a savory balance to all the candy that appears in October. Serving a few hearty Halloween appetizers before trick-or-treating means kids head out with something in their stomachs, and you will have fewer sugar crashes at the end of the night.

Making them together is half the fun. Set up an assembly station with bowls of sauce, cheese strips and olive eyes, give every child a muffin half, and let them design their own mummy. Some will be neat, some will be wonderfully wild, and all of them will be eaten.

Ingredients for Mummy Pizza Bites

The exact quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here is what you need and some easy alternatives.

• English muffins: split in half. Mini bagels, naan rounds or refrigerated biscuit dough pressed flat also work.
• Pizza sauce: a thick sauce is best, so it does not soak the base.
• Mozzarella string cheese: peeled into thin strips to make the mummy wrappings. Sliced mozzarella cut into strips works too.
• Black olives: sliced into rounds for eyes. Small rounds of pepperoni or halved cherry tomatoes make fun alternatives.
• Mini pepperoni: optional, hidden under the bandages as a surprise.
• Italian seasoning and olive oil: for flavor and golden, crispy edges.

How to Make Mummy Pizza Bites

1. Heat the oven. Preheat to 400°F (200°C) and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Toast the muffins. Arrange the English muffin halves cut side up, brush lightly with olive oil and bake for 4 minutes until just crisp. This prevents soggy bottoms.
3. Add sauce. Spread about 1 tablespoon of pizza sauce over each muffin half, leaving a small border. Add a few mini pepperoni if using.
4. Wrap the mummies. Peel the string cheese into thin strips and lay them across the sauce in a crisscross pattern, leaving a small gap near the top for the eyes.
5. Bake. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and bake for 6 to 8 minutes until the cheese is melted but still white. If it starts to brown, take them out.
6. Add the eyes. Place two olive slices in the gap on each mummy. For pupils, add a tiny dot of ketchup or a small piece of olive. Serve warm.

For the neatest bandages, use cold string cheese and pull it into strips about 1/4 inch wide. A few overlapping and slightly messy strips give the most realistic mummy look, so there is no need to be perfect.

More Easy Halloween Appetizers

A great Halloween spread mixes a few savory bites, something fresh and a little bit of sweetness. Here are the recipes I set out alongside the mummy pizzas every year:

Spider Deviled Eggs

Make your favorite deviled eggs, then halve black olives lengthwise. Place one half on the filling as the spider body and slice the other half into thin strips for legs. They look creepy and taste wonderful.

Pumpkin Cheese Ball

Mix 8 ounces cream cheese with 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar, a little garlic powder and smoked paprika. Shape into a ball, roll in finely shredded orange cheddar and press lines into the sides with a knife to look like a pumpkin. Top with a bell pepper stem and serve with crackers.

Mummy Hot Dogs

Wrap hot dogs in thin strips of crescent roll dough, leaving a gap for the face, and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 12 to 15 minutes. Add mustard dots for eyes.

Graveyard Taco Dip

Layer refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, salsa and cheese in a dish, then stand up tortilla chip tombstones and write RIP with sour cream.

Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers

Carve small faces into orange bell peppers and fill them with a savory rice or pasta filling for a colorful main dish.

For something sweet, decorate round sugar cookies as jack-o-lanterns and mummies with orange and white icing, or serve a tray of frosted pumpkin spice bars. For grown-up guests, a pot of maple-spiced pumpkin soup served in small cups is always a hit.

A Simple Halloween Party Menu Plan

If you are hosting for the first time, it helps to think of the menu in categories rather than a long list of recipes. For a party of 12 to 15 people, I plan on two or three savory appetizers, one dip, one fresh option, one warm dish and two sweets. That is enough variety to feel generous without spending the whole week in the kitchen.

Set up drinks at the opposite end of the room from the food so guests spread out, and put the kid-friendly snacks on a low table where little hands can reach them. A big bowl of popcorn tossed with candy corn and pretzels is the easiest last-minute addition of all, and it fills any gaps on the table in a festive way.

Finally, do not forget the trick-or-treaters. Keep your candy bowl by the door, away from the party food, so you can answer the doorbell without guests reaching over the appetizers. With a little planning, you will spend the evening enjoying the costumes instead of standing at the stove.

Tips for a Stress-Free Halloween Party

• Mix make-ahead and last-minute food. Cheese balls, dips and deviled eggs can be made the day before, so you only need to bake the pizzas.
• Keep it bite-size. Guests in costumes, especially kids, find small, handheld food easier to eat.
• Label the food. Spooky name cards such as Mummy Pizzas or Spider Eggs add to the fun and help guests with allergies.
• Plan for dietary needs. Offer at least one vegetarian and one gluten-free option.
• Set the scene. Pumpkins, battery candles and a black tablecloth make simple food look spectacular.

Planning a bigger menu? Our cheesy buffalo chicken party dip is perfect for a grown-up Halloween party, and you will find more ideas in our holiday recipe collection.

Fun Variations for Mummy Pizzas

• Mummy French bread pizza: use a halved baguette for one giant mummy to slice at the table.
• Veggie mummies: hide chopped bell peppers, mushrooms or spinach under the cheese.
• Gluten-free: use gluten-free English muffins or thick slices of roasted sweet potato as the base.
• Monster pizzas: tint pesto green for Frankenstein faces with olive hair and cheese eyes.
• Mummy pizza pockets: wrap pizza filling in puff pastry strips and bake until golden.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Make Ahead and Storage

Make ahead: toast the muffins and prepare the cheese strips up to a day ahead. Store the muffins in an airtight container and the cheese in the fridge, then assemble and bake just before the party.

Serving: keep baked mummies warm on a sheet pan in a 200°F (95°C) oven for up to 30 minutes. Perishable party food should not sit out for more than 2 hours, in line with the USDA food safety guidance.

Leftovers: refrigerate for up to 3 days and reheat in an air fryer or oven at 350°F (175°C) for 4 to 5 minutes to keep them crisp. They make a fun after-school snack in the days following Halloween.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready for the party? Here is the full printable mummy pizza bites recipe with exact amounts and estimated nutrition.

Mummy Pizza Bites

Fun, cheesy Halloween pizza bites made with English muffins, pizza sauce and strips of mozzarella, with olive eyes. Ready in 20 minutes.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 22 minutes mins

Servings: 12 bites

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: American, Italian

Calories: 140

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 6 English muffins split in half
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 cup pizza sauce thick (180 ml)
• 24 mini pepperoni optional
• 6 sticks mozzarella string cheese peeled into thin strips
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 12 black olives sliced into 24 rounds
• 1 teaspoon ketchup or pizza sauce for pupils, optional

Method

 

1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Arrange the muffin halves cut side up, brush with olive oil and bake 4 minutes until lightly crisp.
3. Spread about 1 tablespoon of sauce on each half and add pepperoni if using.
4. Lay the cheese strips across in a crisscross pattern, leaving a gap near the top for the eyes. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
5. Bake 6 to 8 minutes until the cheese is melted but not browned.
6. Add two olive slices as eyes and dots of ketchup for pupils. Serve warm.

Notes

Make ahead: toast muffins and cut cheese a day ahead; assemble before baking.

Nutrition is an estimate per bite with pepperoni.

I hope these mummy pizza bites and the rest of these Halloween appetizers make your party deliciously spooky. If you make them, leave a comment and a star rating below and tell me which treat disappeared first!