Halloween Taco Cups (Easy Appetizer)
These easy Halloween Taco Cups are the perfect spooky-season appetizer — fun to make, easy to serve, and guaranteed to vanish fast! Each cup is stacked with flavorful layers of Spanish rice, black beans, salsa, sour cream, crisp lettuce, and cheddar cheese, then finished with a cute tombstone cracker on top. They’re endlessly customizable, great for making ahead, and a total hit for Halloween parties. Mix and match your favorite toppings or layers and watch everyone dig in!
Servings: 10 -12 taco cups
Equipment
- 10-12 3 oz plastic cups
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz package 90-second Spanish rice
- 1 cup black beans optional: add 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/8 tsp of salt for more flavor
- 1/2 cup salsa of choice
- 1 cup finely chopped lettuce
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese choose a dairy-free version if vegan (I like Follow Your Heart or Violife)
- 1/2 cup sour cream choose a dairy-free version if vegan (like Tofutti)
- 10-12 Club or Town House crackers or another oval or rectangular cracker
- black edible food marker optional - to write "RIP" on the cracker
Optional toppings
- sliced black olives
- guacamole
- jalopeño slices
- So many more! See below more more ideas
Instructions
Gather all your ingredients
- I find it easiest to put all the ingredients in small bowls for easy assembly.Microwave spanish rice: I recommend microwaving for part of the time, not the full 90 seconds, but just enough to soften the rice to make it scoopable. Hot rice in a plastic cup will create condensation (so you won't be able to see the rice very clearly in the cup) and also could potentially melt the plastic (not yummy!)Black beans: Can be warmed slightly, but it really is unnecessary if they are from a can and are pre-cooked.
Assemble
- Start by pressing down spanish rice in the bottom 1/3.
- Then press black beans in the next 1/3.
- Top with a thin layer of salsa.
- Follow with some sour cream, spreading it evenly with a spoon.
- Top with the shredded lettuce.
- Sprinkle on some cheese.
- Optional step: Add some black olives for garnish.
- Write "RIP" with edible marker on your cracker. Place it in the cup near the back.
Serve
- Once fully assembled (including cracker) they are best enjoyed right away.
- If you want to prep these for a party, complete all the steps EXCEPT the cracker. When you are ready to serve, pop the crackers in and they are ready to go!
Notes
Tips
- The ingredients measurements are estimations to make 10-12 cups. This may vary based on how much filling you add to each cup. You could easily double this recipe for a big party.
- If you warm the rice and beans, condensation will build on the bottom of the cup - and it tends to make it harder to see what's in the cup (and doesn't look as "pretty" in my opinion.) I recommend adding room temperature ingredients when assembling.
- These can be served chilled or room temp. It's hard to serve warm because you cannot reheat in a plastic cup. They are delicious even when not warm!