12 Spooky Treats At Knott's Berry Farm Halloween 2022
Each and every fall, Knott's Berry Farm goes from standard amusement park to a creepy place full of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins. Bloody zombies and creepy clowns jump out of the fog to give you the fright of your life. Haunted mazes are set up to torture your sense of direction. Rides are transformed into terrifying nightmares, and even the food gets a malevolent makeover.
Starting in September and all the way through Halloween night, visitors rush to the transformed Knott's Scary Farm to experience the haunted park while enjoying a smorgasbord of haunted treats, such as Angry Autumn Salads, Decomposing Cool Ranch Tacos, and Crabby Sushi — and those are just the savory options. There are more sweet treats, as well as a dozen drinkable libations for the youngsters and the merely young at heart.
According to The Funnel Cake Blog, it's "the best food of any theme park ... If you're not into scares, not into Halloween, just come for the food." So, we're taking their advice and breaking down the 12 best spooky food options, both savory and sweet, according to those who have already braved the Knott's Scary Farm.
Chicken and Spicy Sausage Gumbo with a Frog's Leg
Served in a bowl with the frog's legs sticking straight up like the amphibian drowned in the gumbo, this Knott's Scary Farm savory option might be the most intriguing looking dish on the menu this year. Available at Wagon Wheel Pizza, this entrée is served in a bowl of rice with the thick chicken and spicy sausage gumbo ladled over it.
Wilf Seymour, the director of food and beverage for Knott's Berry Farms, tells Laughing Place in a video interview about their love of gumbo: "It's a great autumn food, hearty, tasty, but we need to freak it up a bit." While you usually find shrimp or crawfish in a gumbo recipe, Seymour says the "frog legs go perfect in here."
The Undercover Tourist finds the gumbo impressive for its creepy appearance, and even though the gumbo "was absolutely delicious," they weren't impressed with the flavor of the frog's legs themselves.
Decomposing Cool Ranch Tacos
While a lot of the Knott's Scary Farm options are sit down, fork-and-knife fare, there are some snacky items like this Decomposing Cool Ranch Taco. Director of Food and Beverage Wilf Seymour says to Spectrum News 1 that the theme park team wanted a grab-and-go option you could enjoy while walking around the park. This decomposing taco absolutely fits the bill.
All the ingredients — ground beef, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and tortilla chips — are tossed inside a Cool Ranch Doritos bag for a tasty taco salad. According to Seymour, "People love it ... They can shake it up and eat it from the bag."
Jenn Willey of Balancing the Chaos thought the treat sounded gross but posted it was actually "pretty good after it was all mixed up." While you can walk around the park with this tasty treat, it's not available everywhere. As a matter of fact, this Decomposing Taco can only be found in the Fiesta area at the Cantina.
Spooky Crabby Sushi Roll
Crab sushi is always a fun finger food, especially if you're looking for something that you can easily pop in your mouth. While sushi is not standard amusement park fare, in this case, it's a no brainer. Seymour tells the Laughing Place that if you're looking for something "a little more scary and kind of creepy" this crab sushi is "really delicious."
Unlike some of the other food and drink options scattered throughout the park, this is one tidbit that you don't want to wait to eat, especially on warmer days. Inside the roll is cucumber, avocado, and rice while the outside is covered with spicy crab and shredded nori seaweed which look like spider legs.
A healthy portion at nine or 10 pieces, reviewer Janice Yamanaka recommends "if you don't like spicy food, then ... you might want to try the regular California roll or something." But, even with the spiciness, Yamanaka thought it was pretty good and gave it an "A." But, she suggests getting it early when the crab is at its freshest.
Angry Autumn Salad
While it's pretty common to find hot dogs, hamburgers, and even fresh fruit at theme parks, it's rare that you'll find a salad — especially one this size. Well, Knott's wanted to provide "a healthy choice" for its visitors, according to the Undercover Tourist, so it whipped up this salad full of fresh fall produce.
Made of arugula, butternut squash, beets, pomegranate seeds, and goat cheese tossed in an apple cider vinaigrette, this salad is not only pretty to look at, Jake Sundstrom of Theme Park Insider says it's one of the best salads they've had at a theme park. Chris Glass from Inside Universal thinks the sweet flavors really compliment each other.
Since fall is when all those beautiful gourds and pomegranates start to grace markets and tables, it makes sense that the team behind the Knott's Scary Farm foods would want to showcase some of the seasonal produce.
Perilous Pumpkin Cheesecake Funnel Cake
A theme park wouldn't be a theme park if there weren't funnel cake, and Knott's is no exception. But, the destination doesn't feature just one for this year's Scary Farm. No, there are three styles of funnel cake, and while they all sound delicious in their own right, we couldn't have a Halloween-themed article without at least one pumpkin item on the list. After all, you can't get through fall without at least one pumpkin-flavored treat. Pumpkin spice lattes are all the rage starting in September, and every theme park from Disneyland to Universal Studios has at least one pumpkin item on the menu.
This year, Knott's has taken the classic funnel cake and made it extra by adding whipped cream and a caramel drizzle. But, in case that wasn't enough for your sweet tooth, the Knott's team then topped the whole cake with a large slice of pumpkin cheesecake.
"Two cakes (are) better than one," says Wilf Seymour in an interview with the Laughing Place, "Can't beat that." But, the best thing about this funnel cake is that it's available in two places. You can get it inside the park at Log Ride Funnel or outside the park at Cable Car Kitchen, if you're still craving something sweet on your way out.
Canine Candy Corn Macaron
Certain treats are standard at theme parks, and now, French-style macarons have been added to that list. What makes a macaron so fun and amusement-park-worthy is that it's not just a basic sandwich cookie, but a light and airy almond flour base with some fantastic fruity jelly or cream in the middle. And what makes them especially eye-catching is that the cookies tend to come in a variety of show-stopping colors.
Knott's Scary Farm struck on the colorful aesthetic with its Canine Candy Corn Macaron. After all, you can't have Halloween without some candy corns, right? Bright orange and yellow with a white, creamy center, this Halloween-themed macaron got raves across the board. The Funnel Cake Blog said the macaroon "literally fell apart, like cotton candy, in your mouth."
Ashley from Mouse Vibes loves themed desserts so much, that she doesn't even care if it tastes good. Instead, she says it's all about the theme, and this macaron is definitely on theme, which is why she couldn't wait to bite into it. But, Ashley determined this "sweet AF" treat was to her liking: "If you're a candy corn queen, you're going to like that." While she thought it was great, she only gave it four "vibes" because it was just a little too sweet.
Zombie Brain Mint Brownie-Stuffed Churro
Similar to the funnel cake and macaron, you absolutely cannot enter a theme park without having at least one churro during your visit. Of course, there has to be a special themed churro for each holiday. Disney has its pumpkin spice churro, Universal Studios has a Churro Dog on a Stick, and at Knott's, it's the Zombie Brain Churro.
While the classic churro is available year round, Knott's added a spooky option for Halloween. This time the Knott's Scary Farm food team took its classic churro and stuffed it with a mint brownie, then drizzled a little blood (in the form of strawberry sauce) over it.
Seymour from Knott's tells the Laughing Place that every time the culinary team stuffs a churro with something new, they think that's it. But, each year they seem to come up with something new and even better. He believes this zombie churro "might be the best of all."
Pecan Pie Brownie Bomb
Chocolate and Halloween go together like peanut butter and jelly, so the food team at Knott's decided to create a little bite specifically for all you chocolate lovers out there: the Pecan Pie Brownie Bomb. While a lot of the treats at Scary Farm are super sweet, this bomb is a moist brownie surrounding a pecan-pie filling that's dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with pecans. If that doesn't sound like a rich bite of chocolate heaven, then stay away from the Knott's Brownie Bomb. But, if chocolate is your thing, this is the treat for you. Plus, it's the one spooky season treat that seemed to get the most raves.
The Undercover Tourist calls it "da bomb." Reviewer Janice Yamanaka says it's "really, really, really good" and gives it an "A+." She also thinks the brownie bomb is very chocolatey and dense, and while it looks like something you could pick up and eat with your hands, Yamanaka suggests eating the Pecan Pie Brownie Bomb with a fork (unless you want to end up a chocolate-covered mess).
I Vant Your Blood
Now that we've covered delectable sweet-and-savory options, it's time to move onto the spooky libations. Unlike other theme parks that only serve non-alcoholic drinks to patrons, Knott's serves also serves alcohol for adult visitors. The Scary Farm has classic lemonades and sodas, while also providing cocktails made with every kind of liquor from whiskey to vodka.
For Knott's Scary Farm, Wilf Seymour, Andre Lane, and the rest of the Knott's food team scared up a few fun tipples to make your dining experience even more frightful, starting with the delightful I Vant Your Blood cocktail.
The vodka-infused strawberry lemonade cocktail comes with a plastic syringe filled with strawberry puree. According to Spectrum News 1, the guest squeezes the needle to release the puree into the glass for a complete mixture. Cuisine And Travel calls the drink "both delicious and refreshing" and the addition of the syringe "so clever!".
Redrum
If you're a Stephen King fan, you'll recognize the name of this Knott's Scary Farm cocktail. Seymour tells the Funnel Cake Blog that the Red Rum got its name from his favorite, classic hotel horror movie, "The Shining." Redrum, as in murder spelled backward, is a word that little Danny Torrance repeats over and over again as a warning of the dark things to come at the Overlook Hotel.
Even though rum is in the cocktail's name, there isn't a drop of the spirit in this drink. According to Spectrum News 1, this creepy cocktail instead combines whiskey with grenadine and pineapple juice to get that bright red color. Then to allude to the creepy blood that drips from every crevice of the hotel in "The Shining," the rim of the glass is dipped in chamoy and topped with a small pineapple slice.
Seymour says this is a "murderous drink (that's) really delicious." A drink that Danny's father, Jack, would definitely sip on as he spins further and further into the abyss of craziness.
Spiders Strawberry Milkshake
If you prefer not to imbibe, or have the kiddies with you, there are a couple libations that will satisfy the sober set as well. If you're a milkshake fan, then you're really going to love this non-alcoholic option. While milkshakes at most restaurants are limited to chocolate and vanilla, amusement parks tend to have plenty of over the top flavors. Knott's is no exception, especially when a holiday is involved.
For this year's Scary Farm, chef Andre Lane whipped up a blood-red Spiders Strawberry Milkshake that's full of ice creamy goodness. But, what will really get the kids (and a few adults) excited are the gummy spiders crawling all over the top. "You can't beat gummy spiders," said Seymour, the Knott's food and beverage director. The Funnel Cake Blog says that Semour actually prefers non-alcoholic drinks, and this milkshake is "one of my favorites." Available at Coaster's Diner, this shake will definitely creep up that burger and fries.
Black Widow Lemonade
If milkshakes are too sweet for you, the Knott's Scary Farm Black Widow Lemonade is a great alternative. A simple elixir of desert pear, pomegranate juices, and lemonade, this drink is the perfect way to whet your whistle without any ghoulish effects. While you could absolutely order this drink from the Chow House in a boring plastic cup, why not go full creep and get it in a blood bag? It's true, this drink, like several of the alcoholic choices throughout Knott's, can be purchased in a blood bag instead of a cup at no extra charge.
Although it may not be as easy to drink from the blood bag, you'll look absolutely ghoulish if you take Seymour's advice from The Funnel Cake Blog: hold the bag over your head and drink away while waiting in line for the next terrifying ride. A stunning sipper, the Undercover Tourist thinks this drink is "to die for."