It may only be September 4^th, but I am already looking forward to Halloween and the rest of the holiday season! I really enjoy coming up with new recipes for the holidays, especially when I think of new desserts and appetizers to try. I especially like utilizing veggies in fun ways for the holidays. One of my favorite vegetables is zucchini for the simple reason that it is extremely versatile, which allows you to make many different things. This is a super simple Halloween appetizer that will be a cute addition to your upcoming Halloween party!

Step 1: First Bake

This is a very important step in making zucchini pizza bites because the zucchini needs to be dried out. If you skip this step, the pizza bites will end up being watery and a little mushy. By drying out the zucchini and removing most of the water, you will have a much better appetizer! Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). After rinsing and cutting off the ends of the zucchini, cut it into 1/8-inch slices. This should result in approximately 24-30 slices. Place the zucchini slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until the slices look like they are sufficiently dried.

Step 2: Prepare the Spiders

While the zucchini bakes in the oven, cut your olives to make the spider parts. For the body, take one olive and cut it in half lengthwise. One half of this olive will make up the body of your spider. For the legs, cut one olive in half lengthwise and then cut each half of the olive widthwise into four equal pieces. These will be your eight legs that make up the rest of your spider.

Step 3: Assemble and Bake the Pizza Bites

Take the baking sheet out of the oven, turn the oven up to 400°F (204°C), and spoon ½-1 teaspoon of pesto or marinara sauce onto each of the slices. Next, cover each slice with the shredded cheese and then sprinkle them with dried oregano, granulated garlic with parsley, ground black pepper, and salt. Finally, place one half of an olive in the center of a pizza bite. Arrange the thin olive slices, or the “legs,” so that there are four on each side of the body. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for approximately 15-18 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown around the edges of the pizza bites. Remove the pan from the oven, allow the pizza bites to cool on the sheet tray for a few minutes, and then transfer to a serving tray and enjoy!

Spider Zucchini Pizza Bites

Recipe by Carly PrestonCourse: AppetizersDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini

• 1/4-1/2 cup basil pesto or marinara sauce

• 1 cup shredded cheese

• 1 can large black olives, drained

• dried oregano

• garlic powder with parsley

• ground black pepper (optional)

• salt (optional)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). After rinsing and cutting off the ends of the zucchini, cut it into 1/8-inch slices. This should result in approximately 24-30 slices. Place the zucchini slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until the slices look like they are sufficiently dried.
• While the zucchini cooks, prepare the olives. For the body, take one olive and cut it in half lengthwise. One half of this olive will make up the body of your spider. For the legs, cut one olive in half lengthwise and then cut each half of the olive width-wise into four equal pieces. These will be your eight legs that make up the rest of your spider.
• Take the pan out of the oven, turn the oven up to 400°F (204°C), and spoon ½-1 teaspoon of pesto or marinara sauce onto each of the slices. Next, cover each slice in the shredded cheese and then sprinkle them with dried oregano, garlic powder with parsley, ground black pepper, and salt. Finally, place one half of an olive in the center of a pizza bite. Arrange the thin olive slices, or the “legs,” so that there are four on each side of the body.
• Place in the oven and bake for approximately 15-18 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown around the edges of the pizza bites.
• Remove the pan from the oven, allow the pizza bites to cool on the sheet tray for a few minutes, and then transfer to a serving tray and enjoy!

Thank you so much for checking out this post! I hope that you give these super easy Halloween appetizers a try! Please leave a comment below if you tried them and how you enjoyed them!