• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Sprinkles and Sprouts

Great food with grocery store ingredients

  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact Me
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • By Category
  • Chicken
  • Pasta
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • By Category
    • Chicken
    • Pasta
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
  • ×
    Home > Holidays and Events > Halloween

    Witches Hair Pasta - A Great Halloween Spaghetti

    Updated: Sep 13th 2022 • Published: Oct 4th 2017 • 4 Comments

    Jump to Recipe SaveSaved! Pin Recipe
    split picture showing an overhead of the black pasta on a metal plate and then a close up of the garlic and chilli on the pasta
    This Witches hair pasta is the perfect dinner for Halloween night. Jet black strands of squid ink pasta dressed with a garlic and chilli oil. Delicious, simple and dramatic. And there is plenty of garlic in there to keep the vampires at bay....well it is Halloween!  Recipe from Sprinkles and Sprouts | Delicious food for easy entertaining.
    This Witches hair pasta is the perfect dinner for Halloween night. Jet black strands of squid ink pasta dressed with a garlic and chilli oil. Delicious, simple and dramatic. And there is plenty of garlic in there to keep the vampires at bay....well it is Halloween!  Recipe from Sprinkles and Sprouts | Delicious food for easy entertaining.

    This Witches hair pasta is the perfect dinner for Halloween night. Spooky, dramatic and delicious! Wow your guests or spook out your kids with this great halloween recipe.

    This witches hair pasta is so much fun! Jet black strands of squid ink spaghetti are coated with a garlic and chili oil. Delicious, simple and dramatic.

    Ready in under 20 minutes this is a great quick pasta dinner. And there is plenty of garlic in there to keep the vampires at bay....well it is Halloween!

    overhead showing a metal plate and cobwebs on the table

    Jump Menu

    • Squid Ink Pasta
    • What does squid ink pasta taste like?
    • Where to buy squid ink pasta
    • An easy garlic sauce
    • For more halloween ideas why not try:
    • Witches Hair Pasta (Squid Ink Pasta) - A Great Halloween Dinner

    Squid Ink Pasta

    Squid ink pasta or Spaghetti Nero (black spaghetti) is a dramatic ingredient for sure!

    It is pasta that has been dyed using black squid ink or cuttlefish ink. The most common shape is spaghetti, but you can occasionally find other shapes (like those super pretty multicoloured raviolis that they sell in small Italian delis)

    The jet black color looks sensational on the plate and it is just perfect for a spooky dinner party.

    But I would serve this any night of the year! Although maybe I wouldn't call it Halloween Spaghetti 😉

    What does squid ink pasta taste like?

    If you haven't tried squid ink pasta before then you are in for a treat, it is a deliciously silky, has a very subtle flavour of the sea.

    Think a little briny and salty rather than fishy.

    It is worth a try as it is delicious and fun to eat!

    Where to buy squid ink pasta

    I find that most gourmet food shops will sell black spaghetti, a well as my local Italian grocery store.

    I have seen it in Trader Joe's and of course you can buy it online through amazon.

    head on showing the glistening pasta and flecks of garlic

    An easy garlic sauce

    The method for making the delicious garlic sauce (for warding off vampires!) is so simple.

    It starts with good olive oil and plenty of garlic.

    You start with a cold pan and heat the oil and garlic together gently. This means the garlic will cook slowly, mellowing the flavor, but the gentle heat ensure there is no chance of it burning.

    Once the garlic has softened and mellowed we add the red pepper flakes. Add as many or as little as you like.

    Whilst the pasta is still cooking, we need to take out a cup of the pasta cooking water and add this to the sauce. This helps the oil to truly coat the pasta and gives us a rich sauce without uses excess oil .

    Add the cup of pasta cooking water to the garlic oil and bring to simmer, it will slowly reduce and combine while the pasta finishes cooking.

    This oil and pasta water emulsion creates a sauce that coats the pasta, but that doesn't weigh down the pasta, or diminish the fabulous colour!

    metal plate on a black table with a large pile of black spaghetti

    Enjoy x

    For more halloween ideas why not try:

    • a black bowl willed with red penne and frankfurter fingers
      Severed Finger Pasta - Halloween Pasta
    • close up on the forked end of the frankfurter 'snake tongue'.
      Snakes Tongue Rolls - Halloween Hot Dogs
    • close up on the cut out pastry face on top of the halloween pie
      Halloween Pies - Sausage Party Pies
    • close up on the witches hat cheese ball with a plastic spider crawling onto the plate
      Witches Hat Cheese Ball
    • sq image focusing on a rice krispies brain on an old dirty wooden board with bloody splats
      Rice Krispies Treat Marshmallow Brains
    • SQ image with a close up on one wing showing the deep black colour
      Sweet and Sour 'Bat' Wings


    This Witches hair pasta is the perfect dinner for Halloween night. Jet black strands of squid ink pasta dressed with a garlic and chilli oil. Delicious, simple and dramatic. And there is plenty of garlic in there to keep the vampires at bay....well it is Halloween!  Recipe from Sprinkles and Sprouts | Delicious food for easy entertaining.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 4 votes

    Witches Hair Pasta (Squid Ink Pasta) - A Great Halloween Dinner

    This Witches hair pasta is the perfect dinner for Halloween night. Jet black strands of squid ink pasta dressed with a garlic and chilli oil. Delicious, simple and dramatic. And there is plenty of garlic in there to keep the vampires at bay....well it is Halloween! Recipe from Sprinkles and Sprouts | Delicious food for easy entertaining.
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time10 mins
    Total Time15 mins
    Course: Main
    Cuisine: Italian
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 587kcal
    Author: Claire | Sprinkle and Sprouts
    For more great recipes follow me on PinterestFollow @sprinklessprout
    Need Metric Measurements?Use the options below to toggle between cups and grams (if relevant)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Grams
    • 6 large garlic cloves
    • 1 tablespoon salt
    • 1 lb dried squid ink spaghetti
    • ⅓ cup olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

    Instructions

    • Finely chop the garlic and set aside.
    • Bring a large pan of water to a boil, add the salt and cook the pasta as per the packet instructions.
    • Whilst the pasta is cooking, place the olive oil and chopped garlic into a large pan.
    • Cook over a low heat for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
    • Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more.
    • Take a cup measure and remove ½ cup of the water the pasta is cooking in.
    • Add it carefully to the garlic oil.
    • Let this mixture simmer until you are ready to drain the pasta.
    • Reserve a further cup of the pasta cooking water, before you drain the pasta.
    • Add the cooked pasta to the garlic mixture and stir well to combine, over a high heat
    • Add more cooking water if needed then serve immediately.

    Notes

    Nutritional Information based on 4 servings:
     
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 587kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 280mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 150IU | Vitamin C: 1.4mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1.7mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @sprinklesandsprouts or tag #sprinklesandsprouts

    More Halloween

    • close up on a bowl of pasta with olives and halloween decorations
      Dead Fly Pasta
    • close up on the side of a bliss ball bug showing the pretzel sticks used as legs
      Bliss Ball Bugs - Healthy Halloween Treat
    • yellow punch being poured into small glasses sat on a rusty tray
      Non-alcoholic Eye of Newt Punch
    • 3 jack o lantern oranges sat on a blue plate on a dark table with halloween tinsel behind them
      Jack-o-Lantern Jello Heads

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Stephanie Simmons says

      August 07, 2018 at 7:23 am

      5 stars
      This is such a fun idea for Halloween! So delicious!

      Reply
      • Claire McEwen says

        August 10, 2018 at 5:07 am

        Thank you, it was a hit with the kids and adults 😀

        Reply
    2. Renee Goerger says

      August 07, 2018 at 7:02 am

      5 stars
      This has just the right amount of gross to be a fun, yet delicious, meal for Halloween! I can't wait to surprise my kids with this!

      Reply
      • Claire McEwen says

        August 07, 2018 at 2:24 pm

        I totally agree Renée! Just spooky enough to make an impact but not so gross you are put off eating 😀

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    a lady stood in a white kitchen chopping a tomato

    I'm Claire and I love food!
    I dream about food and I am happiest when I am in the kitchen cooking. Whether that is dinner for my family, snacks for drinks with my girlfriends or testing new recipes for my site, the kitchen is my happy place. Sprinkles and Sprouts is where I share it all and I am so happy you are here.

    Read More →

    As featured in

    Popular

    • close up on a ladle of gravy pouring into a white gravy boat
    • square picture of a cast iron skillet of pasta
    • close up on the coriander and charred top of a sweet naan bread
    • Garlic bacon spaghetti in a large shallow grey bowl
    • Close up on roasted lemon potatoes in a white bowl

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Sprinkles
    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    All content, recipes and photographs are copyrighted to Claire McEwen and are the property of Sprinkles and Sprouts.
    THEY MAY NOT BE REPUBLISHED IN PART OR WHOLE WITHOUT PERMISSION AND PROPER CREDIT.
    Contact me to see republishing and syndication rights.

    Copyright © 2020 Sprinkles and Sprouts

    Copyright © 2023 · Cravings Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

    33168 shares