Spooky Eyeball Meatball Spaghetti

Get ready for a spooky Halloween dinner with Eyeball Meatball Spaghetti! You can make these eerie meatballs in half the time in the Air fryer or bake them. This eerie dish will have everyone doing a double-take before they dig in. Imagine tender pork meatballs transformed into creepy eyeballs resting on a bed of bloody black spaghetti—both fun and delicious! Perfect for your Halloween feast, this dish adds just the right amount of frightful fun to the night while still being family-friendly.

Meatballs

These simple pork meatballs are made with just a handful of ingredients—minced pork, garlic, breadcrumbs, and onions—but they pack a ton of flavour! The juicy pork is seasoned with the sweetness of caramelized onions and the savoury punch of garlic, while breadcrumbs give them a light, tender texture. I don’t use eggs in my meatballs because I do not believe it is beneficial; they lose their shape when used in small quantities of meat. Plus, they are made in the Air Fryer in no time! No Air fryer? No worries. Bake them in the oven (both instructions in the recipe card below).

Black Spaghetti

Black spaghetti is often made with squid ink, which is visually striking and offers a mild, slightly briny and umami flavour, which is not “fishy” at all. The rich black colour comes from the natural ink of squid or cuttlefish, traditionally used in Mediterranean cuisine. In Catalonia, Spain, they have this traditional dish called Albondigas con sepia, which is squid meatballs, so if you plan this dish for more adventurous palates, here is a recipe for those Surf N Turf meatballs (in Spanish) that would ideally suit this meal.

As some recipes on the web suggest, I do not recommend adding black colourant to the pasta; this will make it grey. You can try dried black bean pasta instead if you want an alternative to squid ink pasta.

The Tomato Sauce

Again, the tomato sauce is effortless—nothing fancy, just a simple one with extra onions, garlic, and thyme to give it a bit of aroma. We love the simplicity here, which lets the meatballs shine! You can use your favourite tomato sauce.

Plating

To highlight the striking look of this Halloween Pasta Recipe (or creepy, depending on how you see it), I tossed them in a light olive oil for shine and to prevent sticking. Serve the sauce beneath the pasta, drizzle over the meatballs, or mix them. As for the “eyeballs,” slice mini mozzarella balls in half and top with black olive slices. And just like that, you’ve got eerie eyes staring back at you! While it’s usually unsettling to have food watching you, it’s just part of the fun on Halloween!