Looking for a last minute vegan friendly Halloween appetizer recipe? Then these spooky witches’ fingers breadsticks are for you! Not only do they make an impressive statement for your Halloween party table, they’re also super easy and fun to make with the kids. Pair them with a red pepper & sun dried tomato dip for that ‘bloody’ mess! Vegan & gluten free.
I know it’s pretty last minute, as Halloween is upon us in just 4 days… Boo! But I though I can’t not share this super easy, fun and spooky Halloween appetizer recipe with you. It’s been highly requested on my Instagram, so here you go.
Why you’ll love this spooky Halloween appetizer
- It’s super easy to make. The only time consuming things is shaping up those knobbly fingers but this bring us on to the next point…
- It’s fun to make! The kids especially love making these knobbly witches fingers, so if you have any, make sure to get them involved. They can compare whose witches’ fingers are the scariest /fattest /skinniest /knobbliest /ugliest. It’s Halloween after all!
- You’ll need just a handful of ingredients to make these bread fingers.
- It’s an impressive spooky Halloween appetizer for your party table.
- It’s vegan and gluten free.
Key ingredients and substitutions
For the witches’ fingers breadsticks we just need 4 ingredients:
- Ready to roll shortcrust pastry (make sure it’s vegan and gluten free, if required). You can also use pizza dough, which makes the breadsticks a little softer. Personally, I prefer shortcrust pastry because it gives the breadsticks a good crunch.
- Whole blanched almonds for the ‘nails’. Almonds with skin on won’t have the same effect. They’ll turn too dark and are likely to burn whilst in the oven.
- Vegan egg wash. You can use a number of things, depending on what’s available in your kitchen: almond, soy or rice milks work well, as well as melted dairy free butter, olive oil or aquafaba (the liquid from the chickpea tin). I used a tiny bit of melted dairy free butter in this recipe.
- Grated vegan Parmesan for a savoury twist (I like using this brand).
The red pepper & sun dried tomato dip only takes 5 minutes to prepare and consists of:
- A jar of roasted red peppers. I use jarred peppers for quickness. If you have time, you can roast red bell peppers in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and salt & pepper.
- Sun dried tomatoes. Make sure to use the dry version of the tomatoes, not a jar.
- Seasoning & spices: salt, pepper and smoked paprika
- Coconut sugar & lemon to counterbalance sweet & sour flavours
- Fresh basil
- Dry red chili flakes (optional), if you like a bit of spice and heat.
How to make witches’ fingers breadsticks. Step by step.
Step 1
Roll a small piece of pastry to the length of a finger, around 8-10cm. Bear in mind that the ‘fingers’ will puff up and expand during baking, so make them thinner to allow for this.
Step 2
Press your thumb into the top of the finger to make an indentation and firmly place an almond for the ‘nail’, making sure it sits tight and secure.
Step 3
Shape up the ‘knuckles’ in the fingers.
Step 4
Using a sharp knife or a toothpick, gently score lines across the ‘knuckles’.
Step 5
Finally, gently brush the fingers with vegan ‘egg wash’, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and they’re ready for the oven.
To watch a recipe video on how to make witches’ fingers breadsticks, play the clip below.
Recipe tips
- Take the shortcrust pastry out of the fridge half an hour before making the recipe to allow it to get to the room temperature. It makes the dough easier to work with.
- Make the fingers a little thinner to allow the pastry to puff up and expand during baking.
- When making a ‘fingernail’, make sure you press the almond firmly into the dough, so it doesn’t come lose once it’s baked.
- Use blanched almonds instead of almonds with skin on.
- Don’t skip the ‘egg wash’, otherwise the witches’ fingers will look really pale.
- If you want to make the fingers even more spooky, use tomato paste to brush around the ‘fingernail’ of the breadstick (before baking) to imitate ‘fake blood’.
How to store
These finger breadsticks will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Whether you’re making these witches’ fingers breadsticks for a Halloween party or as a fun Halloween activity with your kids, I’d love to see your creations! Drop a comment here on the blog, tag me on Instagram @fit.foodie.nutter #fitfoodienutter, Pinterest or Facebook.
Oh and by the way, should you have any witches fingers and red pepper dip left, you can make a spooky Halloween toast, just like I did here:
Looking for more vegan autumn recipes for your Halloween party?
Try some of the readers’ favourite recipes below:
- Mummy chocolate bars – spooky Halloween treat
- Healthier pumpkin & chocolate chip cookies
- Mushroom & avocado brushetta
Happy Halloween my friends.
Healthfully yours,
Tania
WITCHES’ FINGERS BREADSTICKS WITH ‘BLOODY’ RED PEPPER DIP
Ingredients
For the witches’ fingers:
- 300 grams vegan shortcrust pastry block at room temperature
- 20 whole blanched almonds
- 50 grams grated vegan Parmesan cheese
- 10 grams melted dairy-free butter for vegan egg wash substitute
For the dip:
- Jar of roasted red peppers, drained (drained weight 350g)
- 50 grams sun dried tomatoes soaked in boiling hot water for 10 minutes and drained
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoon coconut sugar or to taste
- A bunch of fresh basil leaves
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Optional: 1 teaspoon dry chili flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C /170C Fan / Gas Mark 5 / 375 F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- To make the witches fingers, cut the pastry into 17 equal finger-length pieces. Shape up each piece as a ‘knobbly’ finger (refer to the blog post for instructions). Place an almond on the end of each finger for the ‘nail’. Using a sharp knife, gently score lines across the knuckles. Brush each finger with melted butter, sprinkle with vegan Parmesan and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Once baked, let cool down slightly.
- To make the dip, place all ingredients apart from the lemon juice in a food processor and blitz until smooth, for 3-4 minutes. The vinegar content of jarred red peppers varies greatly, so taste the dip at this stage to see if it needs more sharpness. If it does, add the lemon juice. If the dip is too acidic, use more coconut sugar to counterbalance the acidity.
These look so real! I’m going to make this for my kids on Halloween!
Good luck Beth! I hope the kids will love it as much as my daughter did!
How fun are these?! Perfectly creepy for our Halloween dinner.
These look amazing! Far too realistic so they are perfect for parties – thanks!
Thank you Amanda!
These are the perfect addition for my Halloween buffet table at my party on Sunday!
I’m so glad to hear Kay! Have a great party!
What a creative and spooky idea! Those witches fingers breadsticks with bloody red pepper dip look SO realistic with the almond nails. Great job! I can’t wait to make these for my next halloween party!
Thank you so much for your kind words Anneke!