5 ingredient Crazy Caprese Eyes is a fun and delicious appetizer to serve your Halloween party guests. The combination of basil, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and olives are to die for.
I swear a serve a Caprese appetizer every time I have a party. Crazy Caprese eyes are tasty enough to impress your guests but silly enough to add to your Halloween decor.
The recipe is a little time consuming but it’s an inexpensive way to add some fun and sophistication to your Halloween food spread. Your guests will appreciate you going the extra mile to ensure they have an amazing time at your party. Speaking of parties…
To throw an amazing Halloween party you need:
- Kick ass Halloween decor.
- To serve delicious food and drinks.
- To have a killer playlist.
I plan my Halloween party playlist months in advance. I love making playlists. If I’m throwing a party, I make a playlist. If friends are coming over for a game night, I make a playlist. It’s Saturday and I’m bored, I make a playlist. You could say I’m fanatical about it. A great playlist transforms a party from ordinary to extraordinary.
I systematically pick music to ensure people have a safe and amazing time. The last Halloween party I threw was in Chicago at Kieran’s apartment. The apartment was long and narrow with a big open space perfect for dancing. The apartment would be jammed packed with people shortly after the party began. It didn’t take long for the temperature to skyrocket inside from all the dancing, sweaty people. After 5-6 dance songs, I would slow the tempo and turn down the volume a little so people stopped dancing. The music was still fun and Halloween-y, but it didn’t make you want to dance. The crowd would dissipate to the kitchen for a drink or outside for fresh air. Anyone who stayed in the open space could conversate normally but most importantly, catch their breath.
While everyone was catching their breath, the apartment had the chance to cool off. After a couple slower tempo songs the playlist would ramp back up. People would flock back inside to dance after getting their second wind. Allowing people time to cool off helps their stamina and prevents them for overheating. Especially for those people wearing heavy or hot Halloween costumes!
I mentioned in a previous post my Halloween parties resemble a haunted Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. The slower (but fun) music I play pairs perfectly with my decor. I play a lot of Danny Elfman’s music at my Halloween parties. He composed Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. He’s also composed a ton of movies you know like Beetlejuice, Gremlins, and A Nightmare Before Christmas. I love playing songs from the Ghostbusters soundtrack and the theme song from the Inspector Gadget cartoon. The theme songs from these movies work extremely well at Halloween parties. Comment below if you’re struggling to put a Halloween playlist together, I’ll be happy to suggest some songs!
Crazy Caprese Eyes is an easy recipe to put together but it’s a bit time-consuming to cut and stuff the green and black olives together. Rest assured you can do a few steps a day or two in advance to save time. For example, I cut and stuff the olives and cut the mozzarella balls in half the day before. I simply store them in an airtight container in the fridge. The day of the party, I cut the tomatoes then assemble the appetizer. The day of a party I’m usually scrambling to pull everything together, so I always prep as much food as I can in advance.
To save additional time you can use green olives with pimento instead of black olives. When you cut the green olives into rings, the red pimento is already stuffed inside. They can be red monster eyes instead! Whether you make your Crazy Caprese Eyes with red or black pupils, they are sure to be a hit with your guests.
A word of warning, this appetizer will be devoured quickly. No one can resist the combination of mozzarella cheese, tomato, and basil! It’s near impossible to eat just one. If you want to be extra fancy you can drizzle olive oil over the eyes. The olives will probably lend enough salt to the recipe, but you can always sprinkle a pinch of salt too. If you want to be extra fancy schmancy, drizzle the appetizers with balsamic vinegar! Yum, yum, give me some!
Halloween is a week away! If you are throwing a party, whip up some Crazy Caprese Eyes. Your guests will absolutely love them! They are a fun and tasty way to make your food spread a ghoulish delight!
Thanks for stopping by,
Christina
Eyeball Caprese Bites
Ingredients
- Green olives
- Black olives
- 1 package of pearl mozzarella balls
- 1 package grape tomatoes
- basil leaves
- Optional: Drizzle of olive oil. Pinch of salt and pepper.
Instructions
- Slice the green olives into rings.
- Cut the black olives in half. Cut each olive half into 6-8 pieces.
- Stuff the inside of the green olive ring with a black olive piece. If the black olive is too big to stuff inside the green olive ring, cut it to size.
- Cut the pearl mozzarella balls in half.
- Cut the grape tomatoes in half.
Assemble
- Lay a small- medium-sized basil leaf on a serving platter. Top each basil leaf with a tomato half. Top the tomato with mozzarella then top the mozzarella with the stuffed green olive. Repeat until you make as many Crazy Caprese Eyes as you want.
- Optional: drizzle each Crazy Caprese Eyes with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Notes
Cut the mozzarella balls in half and store them in the fridge the day before.
Slice the green olives into rings. Cut the black olives in half. Cut each half into 6-8 little pieces. Stuff the inside of the green olive ring with a black olive piece. Store cut olives in the fridge the day before.