Pizza Skulls

This Halloween, creep out your friends and family by serving them these realistic-looking stuffed Pizza Skulls. These skull-shaped pizzas are really easy to make using store-bought pizza dough and your favorite pizza toppings.

Pizza, stuffed inside a pizza crust skull is easier to make than you'd ever imagine as long as you have a skull pan.

Back when I created the original pizza skulls in 2013 for our Zombie Halloween party. I used a Wilton 3-D Mini Skull Pan to make stuffed pizza-shaped skulls filled with pizza sauce, Mozzarella cheese, and mini pepperoni.

You can see a picture of those skulls below.

I loved the look of these skulls and so did all of you. This recipe was an instant hit.

A few years later, after creating a pizza skulls video that went viral on Facebook, the pan sold out and Wilton had already stopped manufacturing them.

Thankfully Nordicware came out with an even more amazing skull-shaped pan.

You can now make skull pizzas that look super realistic.

These skulls make a festive Halloween dinner or appetizer. The have been so popular with our friends and family that we have served them at our Day of the Dead Party, our Dead Man's Diner Party, and our Halloween Carnival party.

I'll show you how to make them in a step-by-step tutorial and video below.

This video was created using the Wilton Skull pan. See how I made the pizza skulls using the Nordicware Pan in the recipe card.

Video

Ingredients

• melted butter or baking spray - You'll need to grease your pan so that the pizzas don't stick.
• pizza dough - I kept this recipe easy and used tubes of Pillsbury Pizza Dough. You can make homemade pizza dough if you prefer.
• pizza sauce - Use your favorite jar of pizza sauce.
• pizza toppings - I originally filled my pizza skulls with mini pepperoni. When I created the second video using the Nordic Ware pan, I also made some pizzas with ham and pineapple (my favorite pizza toppings). You can use your favorite pizza toppings including meats like sausage, hamburger, or chicken and/or veggies like mushrooms, peppers, onions, roasted red peppers, artichokes, and more.
• Mozzarella cheese - I highly recommend using freshly shredded Mozzarella Cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with anti-caking agents like potato starch which affects melting.

Supplies

• pastry brush
• skull pan - You can use either the Wilton Skull Cakelet Pan or the NordicWare 6-cavity Skull Pan.
• kitchen shears (scissors) or a knife

You can find the skull pan on Amazon. I earn a small commission when you use the Affiliate links to make a purchase at no extra cost to you.

Instructions

Grease the pan.

I originally created this tutorial using the Wilton pan. I'll share some pictures using the Nordicware pan too.

• Butter the inside of the 4 faces in your Wilton 3-D Mini Skull Pan or the 6 skull cavities in the Nordicware Skull Pan.

Fill with sauce and cheese.

• Cut pieces of pizza dough (I cut my Pillsbury dough in half) and snuggle them down into the cavities in the pan, making sure you have enough dough to come up over the top all around the opening.
  • NOTE: If using a 6 skull cavity pan you will need to use 3 rolls of pizza dough and more ingredients.
• Fill with your pizza toppings sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. See the recipe below for quantities for each of the pans.

These pizza skulls are filled with a combination of ham and pineapple.

You can add any toppings that you like.

Just be sure you don't overfill them

Fold the dough over.

• You then will need to cut off the excess dough and pinch together the seams using egg wash as glue to hold the seams together.
• Remove any excess dough.
• You can use the scraps of dough to make some small pizzas for a snack.
• I didn't try pressing the scraps together to make more skulls. It might work, but I have a feeling the sauce will seep out between the cracks. Of course, that could look kind of creepy and cool.

Brush with egg wash.

• Brush egg wash over the backside of your skulls to make sure the seams are really well "glued" together.
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake the skulls.

• Bake for 18-20 minutes until the crust looks cooked through and golden brown if using the Wilton Pan. You'll need to bake the larger skulls in the Nordicware pan for up to 30 minutes.
• Just a note, the faces of your skulls have been in contact with the pan and will be much browner, so do not overbake them.

Unmold.

• Carefully turn the mold over allowing the skulls to fall out onto your counter.
• Serve immediately.

These are the skulls that came out of the Nordicware pan. So cool!

Storage

Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Make Ahead

You can refrigerate the pizza skulls for up to 3 days, or freeze them for up to a month and then reheat them in a 300-degree Fahrenheit oven for about 15 minutes until heated through.

Variations

You can use the skull pan to make other delicious Halloween appetizers or meals.

Burrito Skulls

Each of these skulls is made using homemade tortillas and is filled with taco meat, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and cheese.

Enchilada Skulls

These skulls are also made using homemade tortillas but they are filled with chicken, cheese, and enchilada sauce.

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Skulls

I made these stuffed pizza crust skulls using the Wilton pan. They are filled with chicken, cheese, and broccoli.

Cornbread Skulls

It is super easy to make cornbread skulls using a boxed mix or a homemade cornbread recipe.

If you don't have a skull pan, you can cut your pizza dough into a skull and top it with cheese and your favorite pizza toppings. See my vampire pizza post for instructions.

Related Recipes

If you are looking for more skull-shape appetizers and desserts, be sure to check out these other recipes.

Sugar Skull Cheese

Cheesecake Mouse Skulls

Sugar Skulls

Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Print

Pizza Skulls

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

3-D skull-shaped pizzas can be filled with your favorite pizza toppings and make a great appetizer or dinner for Halloween.

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Keyword: halloween appetizer, pizza skulls, skull appetizers

Servings: 6

Calories: 520 kcal

Author: Beth Klosterboer

Ingredients

• 1 ½ tablespoons melted butter, to grease the pan
• 3 rolls Pillsbury Pizza Dough (or 33 ounces of homemade pizza dough)
• 9 tablespoons pizza sauce
• ¾ cup pizza toppings (mini pepperoni, sausage, ham, pineapple, mushrooms, and or veggies)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• egg wash 1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon water

Instructions

1. Cut each dough sheet in half.

2. Drape the pizza dough into a skull cavity in your skull pan.

3. Fill with 2 tablespoons of sauce, 2 tablespoons of pizza toppings, and ⅓ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.

4. Cut off the excess dough, and pinch together the seams.

5. Brush egg wash over the top of the dough.

6. Repeat creating 4 skulls if using the Wilton skull pan and 6 skulls if using the Nordic Ware skull pan. 

7. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

8. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

9. Bake for 18-20 minutes if using the Wilton pan or 28-30 minutes if using the Nordic Ware pan until the crust looks cooked through and golden brown.

10. Remove skulls from pan and serve.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

• If using the Wilton pan you will use fewer ingredients. I used 1 ½ tablespoons of pizza sauce and about 1 ½ tablespoons of pizza toppings. and ¼ cup of shredded cheese. 
• You will have scraps of pizza dough leftover. You can brush the excess pizza crusts with melted butter or olive oil, sprinkle Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese over the top, and bake to enjoy as a snack. 
• These pizza skulls are best served the day they are made but can be made ahead, baked, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. On the day of your party, reheat them in a 300-degree F oven for about 15 minutes until warmed through.  

• Author
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Beth Klosterboer

Hi, I'm Beth Jackson Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com

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