How to Dye Pasta Different Colors (Halloween Recipe)

This post was originally published on DIY Network’s blog Made + Remade in September 2015.

Looking for Halloween-themed recipes to make the season more fun for your kids?

Here’s one that my family loved: Black and Orange Macaroni + Cheese! Or, rotini and cheese, you get the point. Adding food coloring to cooking pasta is an easy way to twist a classic dish.

Turn your ordinary pasta black for a fun Halloween twist.

And of course, if your kids love pasta for any other occasion (birthday spaghetti, Fourth of July salad, or on any ordinary Tuesday), remember that you can follow this same tutorial with different colored food coloring to change the color of the food.

The beauty of using Velveeta® with this recipe is that its creamy formula makes for a smooth and consistent cheese coating, with a classic american cheese flavor that gives the dish a great, orange splash of color.

1. Boil Water. Add Pasta.

Boil water and add pasta.

2. Add Food Coloring

Immediately after pouring in the pasta, pour a tablespoon of black food coloring into the boiling water. The water should tint completely black when you stir it with a spoon.

I find that black dye is very concentrated, and doesn’t have a tendency to dilute into a lighter shade of gray.

If you are using this tutorial as a guide for making, say, red pasta, you may need to adjust the amount of food coloring to avoid the red diluting into pink. You may also have more success dying red pasta if you begin with a base of orange-colored noodles.

Pour in one tablespoon of black food coloring. The pasta will cook in dyed water.

Step 3: Finish Cooking the Pasta

Once the pasta has cooked, notice that it has absorbed the color of the food coloring.

Black dyed noodles ready to be drained.

4. Drain Pasta

Drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.

Drain the water from the pasta.

5. Add Cheese and Milk

Add in 12 oz. of cubed Velveeta® cheese, and 1/3 cup of milk. Or, better yet, Velveeta® cheese sauce!

Cubes of Velveeta and milk are used to make this macaroni and cheese recipe.

6. Stir Pasta on Low Heat 

Turn the range burner to low heat. Melt the creamy cheese into the pasta and stir it for 2-3 minutes to achieve even coverage. Consistent stirring will help you avoid burning the cheese to the bottom of the pot.

Black noodles mixed with melting Velveeta cheese.

7. Top With Extra Cheese and Serve

Transfer the pasta to a serving dish, and top with the remaining 2 oz. of Velveeta if you’d like. Then, enjoy your dish at a Halloween party or with tonight’s dinner!

Black noodles mixed with Velveeta.