How To Make Potato Skulls
Make these super spooky potato skulls for your next Halloween party.
Soft and fluffy on the inside with a crispy, delicious outside, these potato skulls not only look amazing but they taste great too!
Why carve a pumpkin when you can carve a potato!
Potato skulls are the perfect side dish for Halloween!
These adorable and spooky skulls are the roasted potatoes that will turn your simple dinner into a Halloween treat. You don’t need any fancy tools or ingredients to make these. They are easier to make than they may seem. This simple step by step guide will help you to create realistic looking potato skulls that are guaranteed to wow any guests. Potato skulls are so cute that you will want to serve them with every dish over the spooky season.
Whether you are gathering all of your friends for a Halloween feast or keeping it simple and cozy with a meal at home, these spooky potato skulls are absolutely perfect.
What you will need
Potatoes – Use well washed potatoes, avoid waxy types. You want a roasting or mashing type like Agria. A medium sized potato that is slightly larger than fist sized will work best. When choosing your potatoes go for ones that are subtly oval in shape.
Cooking oil – Just a little oil brushed or sprayed over your potatoes to make them golden and crispy.
Salt and pepper – Simple seasonings to flavor your potatoes. You can use other seasonings if you like but they will tend to make your potato skulls a little bit discolored and you may lose some of your details.
Tools – A good small sharp knife is a must. A metal piping nozzle will help you make perfect circles for the eyes and a potato peeler with an eye remover tool is also helpful. Although all of the carving can be done with a sharp knife if you do not have these.
Carving your potato skulls
These can seem a little bit intimidating to make, but with a few cuts and a couple of tricks these potato skulls will come out really well. I have added a little photo guide for where to cut your potatoes to help.
- Cut your potatoes in half lengthwise, you want a nice oval shape to start with.
- Use the back end of a metal piping tip to mark and cut out your skulls eyes. Make sure you do not cut all of the way through your potato when making the eyes.
- Use a potato eye remover to make deep indents for the nose.
- Trim the sides of the potato to make the jaw shape.
- Now make thin wedge cuts to create the mouth and teeth lines.
Top tips for making potato skulls for Halloween
Par-bake your potatoes in the microwave – This will give them a slightly shrunken appearance and will ensure that they do not disintegrate like they would if you were to boil them instead
Carve slowly and carefully – Especially when cutting the eyes, it can be very easy to misjudge the depth and cut through too far. I recommend keeping your potatoes flat on your chopping board when cutting to avoid any accidents.
Do your carving early – If you are having a big Halloween party, you may want to get the slower prep work done ahead of time. You can definitely do that with these potato skulls. Place your carved potatoes into a large bowl and cover them with water. Add a splash of lemon juice to prevent browning and cook within 24 hours.
Potato Skulls
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Make sure your potatoes are well washed and free of any blemishes before starting.
- Slice each potato in half lengthwise. Place each one cut side down on your chopping board ready to carve out the faces.
- Use the back end of a metal piping bag nozzle to mark the cuts for the eyes. You will want your eyes to be about half way down the potato with a bout a 2cm gap between them. Press to indent the circle in then rock the nozzle forwards and backwards, left and right to create a ball shaped crevice. Use a sharp knife to cut a cross or star in the center of the eye, then use the piping nozzle to scoop out the section that you have loosened. You can use a knife to cut the circles for the eyes if you do not have a metal piping nozzle.
- Next use the potato ear remover section of your potato peeler to make 2 small holes just below the gap between the eyes. You can use a metal straw or knife to do this if you do not have this tool.
- Next you will shape the lower half of the face. Make 2 straight short vertical cuts on either side of the potato a few cm below the outer edge of the eyes. Make a second cut in a triangular shape to remove this section. This will be the jaw of the skull. Now, about half way down your jaw make a horizontal slice that goes across the entire width of the potato. Make another slice at an angle just above the first slice to remove a narrow wedge that will become the skulls mouth. Repeat these narrow wedge cuts in the opposite direction over the mouth 3 times to make your skulls teeth.
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper and preheat your oven to 180 degrees, fan bake.
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees fan bake.
- Place half of your potato skulls cut side down into a large flat, microwave safe bowl or dish,. Make sure you do not overlap them too much. Drizzle over a tablespoon of water and microwave on high for 8 minutes. The potatoes will be tender and a little bit wrinkly looking when they are done. Repeat the microwaving process for the other half of your potato skulls.
- Lightly coat both sides of each potato with a little bit of cooking oil (spray oil or a pastry brush will cork well here). then sprinkle over some salt and pepper.
- Bake your potato skulls in your preheated oven for 25 minutes or until they are golden and baked through.
- Serve warm with your favorite spooky dinner this Halloween.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my potato skulls recipe. I hope you enjoy trying this out for yourself. Please feel free to add any questions or comments below. I am happy to help out wherever possible and I would love to hear how this recipe worked out for you.
