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Halloween Focaccia Bread is a festive, kid-friendly Halloween appetizer you decorate with fresh veggies! I’ll show you step-by-step how to make focaccia from frozen dinner rolls that you can decorate and bake. Create pumpkin patches, Jack-O’-Lanterns, little olive spiders, or mushroom skulls for some cute, spooky Halloween party food that’s as delicious as it looks.
Table of Contents
- Focaccia From Frozen Rolls
- Why You’ll Love This Halloween Focaccia
- Halloween Party Focaccia Ingredients
- Variations (Easy Swaps & Add-Ons)
- Step-by-Step: How to Make Halloween Focaccia Bread
- Focaccia Decorating Ideas (Veggie Art)
- Halloween Focaccia Bread Make-Ahead, Storage & Reheating
- More Halloween Food Recipes
- Halloween Focaccia Bread Recipe
- Halloween Focaccia Bread Frequently Asked Questions
Focaccia From Frozen Rolls
A fun and easy bread recipe for your Halloween party appetizer or a family night in.
This shortcut focaccia delivers soft, pillowy bread with a lightly crisp top and tons of herby, garlicky flavor.
This Easy Halloween appetizer goes great with my Spooky Halloween Party Punch recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Halloween Focaccia
- Adorable + edible décor: A super adorable centerpiece that doubles as a Halloween appetizer.
- Shortcut dough: Frozen dinner rolls = no mixing, no kneading.
- Customizable designs: Jack-o’-lanterns, spider webs, graveyards! So many ideas.
- Make-ahead friendly: Proof the dough and prep toppings earlier in the day.
- Crowd-pleaser: Savory, herby, dippable. Perfect with soup, chili, or a Halloween charcuterie board.
Set out bowls of prepped veggies and let everyone design their own Halloween scene right on the dough!
You can get very creative, or keep it as simple as you like.
One of the nice things about decorating focaccia dough with vegetables is that the design stays intact through baking.
Halloween Party Focaccia Ingredients
FOCACCIA BREAD
- Olive Oil
- Frozen Bread Dough Rolls (such as Rhodes)
- Kosher Salt
- Italian Seasoning
- Garlic Powder
VEGGIE ART
- Orange Bell Peppers
- Fresh Parsley
- Mushrooms
- Olives
Variations (Easy Swaps & Add-Ons)
- Cheesy Swirl: Sprinkle grated Parmesan or mozzarella over the dough after oiling and seasoning.
- Herb Boost: Add minced fresh rosemary or thyme to the olive oil before brushing.
- Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free frozen roll dough if available; proofing times vary.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Halloween Focaccia Bread
Prep & Proof Dough
- Generously spray a 9×13-inch baking dish (or similar) with cooking spray and add a drizzle of olive oil.
- Arrange the frozen dough balls in one even layer with slight space between.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot (the oven with just the light on works well, but don’t turn the oven on!) until thawed and about doubled in size (this can take 3-4 hours). Avoid over-proofing or the bread can bake up flat.
Prep Your Design
- While the dough rises, slice and prep your veggie “art.” Pat everything dry with paper towels so it bakes, not steams.
Dimple & Season the Dough
- Heat oven to 375°F (make sure pan of rolls is removed first, if proofing in the oven). Make sure the oven is fully preheated; you’ll go straight from decorating to baking to capture the best puff.
- Remove plastic. With clean fingers in a “claw” shape, press deep dimples all over the dough (it will deflate).
- Brush 1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil over the top.
- Season evenly with Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to taste.
- Then season evenly with kosher salt to taste.
Decorate
- Arrange your Halloween scene on top (ideas below). Press toppings gently so they adhere. Keep veggies dry for best browning.
Bake
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and the top is lightly golden.
- Cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Run a thin metal spatula under the bread to loosen; transfer to a cutting board or serve from the dish.
Serve
- Slice and serve warm or room temperature with marinara sauce, ranch, or garlic butter, for dipping, or with a Halloween charcuterie board. This easy focaccia bread is delicious with Slow Cooker Turkey Chili or Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup!
Cooking Tip: For the best bake in the oven, don’t let the dough rise too long. The rolls only need to double in size. Do a quick poke test: gently press a fingertip into the dough, if it slowly springs back and leaves a small dent, it’s ready to go.
Focaccia Decorating Ideas (Veggie Art)
- Orange Bell Pepper Pumpkins / Jack-O’-Lanterns: Halve from stem to base; remove seeds. Flatten each half and trim into pumpkin shapes. Use a paring knife to carve simple faces. Add parsley or green onion “stems” and “vines.”
- Black Olive Spiders: Use half an olive for the body; slice the other half into thin “legs.”
- White Mushroom Skulls: Halve lengthwise. Scoop shallow “eye sockets” in the cap; score little lines in the stem for a “jaw.”
- Onion Webs: Very thin red onion rings for “webs”; a whole olive in the center.
- Pepper “Candy Corn”: Use strips of orange, yellow, and white (mozzarella) for a candy-corn motif.
- Eyes Everywhere: Sliced green olives with pimiento for silly monster eyes.
Halloween Focaccia Bread Make-Ahead, Storage & Reheating
- Make-Ahead: Proofed dough can be held (covered) in the fridge up to 4 hours before baking; let it sit at room temp 20–30 minutes before dimpling. Veggies can be prepped several hours ahead and kept dry and chilled.
- Storage: Cool completely. Store slices airtight at room temperature up to 1 day, or refrigerate up to 3 days.
- Reheating: Warm at 350°F for 8–10 minutes on a sheet pan. Air fryer: 320°F for 3–5 minutes.
- Freezing: Wrap cooled slices tightly; freeze up to 1 month. Reheat from frozen at 350°F for 12–15 minutes.
More Halloween Food Recipes
Dark Chocolate Halloween Cookies
Spooky Halloween Party Punch
Halloween Jello Brain Recipe
Halloween Witch Hat Cupcakes
White Chocolate Halloween Ghosts
Halloween Hot Dog Mummies
Halloween Eyeball Hot Cocoa Bombs
Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Save this recipe to your Halloween Pinterest board.
I hope you have fun making this Halloween Focaccia Bread from frozen dinner rolls as one of your Halloween Party foods!
Happy Halloween! Let me know how you liked it!
Halloween Focaccia Bread
Equipment
- Cooking Spray
Ingredients
Focaccia
- Olive Oil
- 18 Frozen Dinner Rolls (such as Rhodes®)
- Kosher Salt, to taste
- Italian Seasoning, to taste
- Garlic Powder, to taste
Veggie Art (See Notes)
- 2 Orange Bell Peppers
- Fresh Parsley
- Mushrooms
- Olives
Instructions
Prep and Proof
- Spray the baking dish generously with cooking spray and add a little olive oil.
- Add the frozen bread roll dough pieces to the pan, spaced evenly apart, in one layer.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place dish in a warm area (I put them in the oven with the oven light on, as it gives just enough warmth to make them rise. But I don’t turn on the oven).
- Let the rolls thaw and rise to about double in size. Don’t leave them out too long as they can over proof and your bread will be flat.
Prep Your Design
- While the bread is rising, you can prep your design. I chose a pumpkin patch for mine, as I’m not that talented with this kind of thing (I did put some ideas in the recipe notes below).
Season the Dough
- When the rolls have risen, remove the plastic wrap and use your clean fingers, in a kind of claw position, to poke them all (they will deflate and have dimples).
- Brush on 1 to 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the dough.
- Sprinkle on some kosher salt to taste.
- Sprinkle on Italian seasoning and garlic powder to taste.
- Heat oven to 375°F.
Decorate
- Arrange your design on the seasoned dough. You can’t go wrong here (see notes for ideas). Just make sure your veggies aren’t wet.
Bake
- Bake the focaccia at 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top is just golden.
- Let cool n the pan a while, then transfer to a cutting board, or serve from the dish, if you want.
Serve
- Loosen the bottom of the focaccia bread with a metal spatula as it can stick to the pan a little.
- Serve with some marinara sauce or other dip, or alongside soup or meats and cheeses.
Notes
Recipe Timing
- Proof time can vary 2½–4½ hours depending on room temperature.
- Start preheating oven to 375°F about 15 minutes before the dough is ready.
- Decorate quickly (5–10 minutes) so you can go straight into the oven and capture oven spring.
Decorating Ideas
You can get creative here, and have fun making your Halloween or fall themed scene. The kids can join in and help make the veggie art!- Orange Bell Pepper Pumpkins or Jack-O’-Lanterns – Cut the bell peppers in half from stem to base, clean out the seeds. Flatten each half and use a small knife to shape like a pumpkin. Carve out a face or leave plain. Use some parsley or green onion as the stems and vines for a pumpkin patch look.
- Black Olive Spiders – Makes cute spiders. Use half for the body, and slice the other half for the legs.
- White Mushroom Skulls – Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out tine divots in the cap for skull eye sockets, and cut grooves in the stem as the jaw (2 skulls per mushroom).
- Onion Webs – Very thin red onion rings for “webs”; a whole olive in the center.
- Eyes Everywhere – Sliced green olives with pimiento for silly monster eyes.
- Pepper “Candy Corn” – Use strips of orange, yellow, and white (mozzarella) for a candy-corn motif.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Halloween Focaccia Bread Frequently Asked Questions
You can. Press 1 to 1¼ pounds of pizza dough into the pan, dimple, oil, season, decorate, and bake 20–25 minutes. It will be a bit chewier and slightly less airy than roll-based focaccia.
Yes. A quarter or half sheet pan works well; lightly oil it first. The bread will bake a bit flatter on a large pan, so start checking at 18–20 minutes.
Yes. Arrange rolls in the pan, cover, and refrigerate 8–12 hours. Let sit at room temp 30–60 minutes, then dimple, decorate, and bake 20–25 minutes at 375°F.
Dimple, top, and bake anyway—still tasty! Next time, proof in a slightly cooler spot and check earlier.
Absolutely! Just keep pieces small and not too heavy so the dough can rise around them.
Any frozen roll dough works; proofing time can vary by size, brand and kitchen temperature.
Make sure toppings are dry, brush enough olive oil, and bake on the middle rack. A brief 1–2 minute broil at the end (watch closely) adds color.
