Little Shop of Horrors Themed Dinner

This week’s themed dinner was inspired by the horror comedy musical – Little Shop of Horrors!

While it’s still very much the summer season, come August, we can’t help but get excited for Halloween. So, to dip our toes in the spooky season while still respecting these sunshiny days, I aspired to create a themed dinner that touched on both seasons. A “Summerween” film, if you’ve jumped on that bandwagon.

And then it hit me – Little Shop of Horrors! The film’s flower shop setting embodies summer, while the terrifying carnivorous plant delivers the creepy component. I don’t know about you, but it makes perfect sense to me!

The catchy musical numbers, great blend of horror and comedy, and memorable characters are just a few reasons why I love this movie. So the idea of creating a Little Shop of Horrors dinner menu had me very excited!

Our themed dinner was inspired by the antagonist of the film, Audrey II, the sentient plant that feeds on human blood.

I also created a 5×7 printable for our Little Shop of Horrors dinner. You can download the free image below!

‘Somewhere That’s Green’ Snack Board

I love kicking movie nights off with a snack board, and incorporating cheeseball art makes them even more fun! So, for our Little Shop of Horrors dinner, I made a pesto cheeseball featuring Audrey II.

To create the image of Audrey II, I made a stencil out of parchment paper and filled in the green areas with parsley, the tongue with paprika, and the flowerpot with poppy seeds.

The stencil didn’t quite work out as I had hoped with the parsley, so I added basil leaves and sliced green onion to create the finer details of Audrey II’s leaves and vines. Lastly, I made the sharp teeth with slices of cheese.

Despite having to pivot plans while creating Audrey II, I thought the end result was still successful. My teenager even said it was her favorite of any cheeseball I’ve done. And that’s a huge compliment, because I have made a lot of cheeseballs for our themed dinners!

‘Don’t Feed the Plants!” Fruit Bowl

A favorite Summerween pastime is carving watermelon jack-o-lanterns, so I decided to use a watermelon to carve our own Audrey II. To my delight, it was much easier than carving a pumpkin!

I simply cut the shape of Audrey II’s mouth and sharp teeth into the watermelon, then scooped out the fruit. To make the teeth appear white, I gently peeled off the green skin to expose the white rind.

My four-year-old said it looked creepy, which is exactly what I was going for. But he was happy to eat it regardless. Surprisingly, he even requested to eat those sharp white teeth!

‘Feed Me!” Pizza

The main entrée for our Little Shop of Horrors dinner was our Audrey II pizza.

Our pizza, admittedly, was just a frozen pizza I picked up from the grocery store. I waited until it was nearly done baking before adding the image of Audrey II.

To create Audrey II, I prepared yet another stencil to help me cut out the various shapes of the plant with thinly sliced mozzarella. After a couple more minutes in the oven, it was ready!

‘Say Ahhhh’ Apple Smiles

Our Apple Smiles were inspired by Dr. Orin Scrivello, the sadistic and abusive dentist who eventually becomes a meal for Audrey II.

I’ve seen this popular treat circling Pinterest around Halloween and I decided they’d be a fitting addition to our Little Shop of Horrors dinner menu.

All you need to create this simple snack is apple slices, peanut butter, and mini marshmallows.

At first, I wasn’t feeling confident my finished product actually looked like smiles. So, I tested them on my four-year-old who excitedly remarked, “The look like mouths!” I call that a success!

Audrey II Cupcakes

To conclude our Little Shop of Horrors dinner, I made a batch of Audrey II Cupcakes.

Our cupcake batter recipe came from Celebrating Sweets. But instead of using a traditional cupcake pan, I baked them in mini terracotta flowerpots. They turned out great!

I frosted our cupcakes with green buttercream, then I used a small round piping tip and leaf piping tip to create the vines and leaves around Audrey II.

Next came the tricky part, decorating Audrey II. I used sliced strawberries for the plant’s head, then added a dab of black frosting in the mouth. Next, I piped teeth with my small round piping tip, and a long pink tongue with my leaf tip.

They looked great – for about 10 minutes! Then, sadly, the juice from the strawberries made the teeth start sliding off. Even worse, parts of the strawberry heads went rolling off the cupcakes, causing even more of a mess! 😭

Luckily, I was able to snap a few photos before the carnage. My tip for avoiding this – decorate, then eat immediately!

My family appreciated my efforts, however, and the cupcakes were tasty regardless. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what’s most important?

Feed Me, Seymour!

I hope you enjoyed our Little Shop of Horrors dinner and didn’t mind the early nod to Halloween! With Halloween season approaching, tell me, what spooky themed dinner should we do next?

Looking for other themed dinner and movie nights? Check out our Wicked Themed Dinner and our Jaws Themed Dinner!