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This easy Dirt Cake is a no-bake dessert made with crushed Oreos and pudding, and it’s made in a cake pan so you can maximize your graveyard toppings! It’s the ultimate Halloween dessert that kids of all ages will love.
Meggan’s notes
I love revisiting classic no-bake treats and looking at them with modern sensibilities. As a classically-trained chef, I can spot whether a recipe will work from the get-go or whether it’s stuffed with extra ingredients and steps.
Halloween Dirt Cake is a great example. Many versions include copious amounts of dairy, added sugar, and unnecessary fillers. There is nothing wrong with any of those ingredients, especially in desserts, but there is also no reason to just stuff them in there if they aren’t needed. Other recipes use too much milk so the pudding doesn’t even set up right, and they compensate by adding a thickening agent.
Put away that stick of butter, the powdered sugar, and the cornstarch! This recipe has the right amount of sweetness and crunch, and the pudding layer sets perfectly every time. Let me show you how to make a simple, straightforward Oreo Dirt Cake recipe with no wasted time or ingredients. And we’ll make it in a 9×13 cake pan so kids can serve themselves!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Oreos: Or substitute Double Stuf.
- Pudding: Or substitute chocolate pudding. I noticed the chocolate pudding was thicker overall compared to vanilla. I was fine with it, but you could add another ½ cup milk if you want to thin it out.
- Whipped topping: Cool Whip is a popular brand of non-dairy whipped topping. Or, substitute 8 ounces whipped cream.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a food processor, or in a large plastic bag with a rolling pin, add Oreo cookies and pulse or crush to make coarse cookie crumbs. You should have about 3 cups of crumbs.
- In a medium bowl, add instant vanilla pudding mix and milk and whisk for at least 2 minutes. The mixture will be thick.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, or with an electric hand mixer, beat cream cheese. On low speed, beat in pudding mixture.
- Fold in the whipped topping by hand.
- In the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish, add 1 ½ cups Oreo crumbs.
- Top with the pudding-cream cheese mixture.
- Then sprinkle with remaining 1 ½ cups Oreo crumbs. Chill until serving time. Decorate with Milano cookies (halved and stuck upright into the “dirt”), gummy worms, and flowers if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe will make one 9×13 Oreo Dirt dessert, enough for at least 16 servings, ½ cup each (more or less depending on how you scoop). The recipe has 3 cups of cooking crumbs and 5 cups of pudding filling.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Dirt pudding cups: This recipe will make about 10 individual servings. For each individual cup, use 2 tablespoons Oreo crumbs on the bottom, then ½ cup of pudding filling, then top with 2 tablespoons Oreo crumbs. Garnish with worms.
- Spring flowers: Add your individual dirt pudding desserts to small flower pots and garnish with fresh or faux flowers. Fun for a springtime birthday party!
- Beach day: Build your pudding cups in a small plastic bucket and serve with tiny shovels instead of spoons. The Oreo crust functions as the “sand.”
- Oreo Brownie Trifle: This layered dessert reminds me of Dirt Cake made in a trifle bowl, but it’s made with Brownies and instant chocolate pudding mix instead.
- Halloween Charcuterie Board: Build a scary, snack-filled board for your next Halloween party. Filled with kid-friendly meats and cheese, snacks, and sweets, this board is fun to build and will thrill kids of all ages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dirt cake has layers of crushed chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos) and layers of sweetened cream cheese and pudding. It could also have brownie pieces or whipped cream.
Like many no-bake desserts, Dirt Cake originated in the American Midwest in the 1980’s.
Decorate your halloween dirt cake to look like a graveyard. I like to use Milano cookies (they have an oval shape that resembles gravestones when inserted into the cake). You can decorate the cookies with colored food gel if desired. Then, add gummy worms, fake or fresh flowers, fake spiders, whatever else you like! You could also serve the cake unadorned with the candy on the side and let guests garnish their own bowl or cup.
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Dirt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 package Oreo cookies (15.5 ounces, see note 1)
- 2 (3.4 oz) boxes French vanilla instant pudding mix (see note 2)
- 2 cups milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces whipped topping thawed (see note 3)
- Milano cookies for decorating, optional
- gummy worms for decorating, optional
- Fresh flowers for decorating, optional
Instructions
- In a food processor, or in a large plastic bag with a rolling pin, add Oreo cookies and pulse or crush to make coarse cookie crumbs. You should have about 3 cups of crumbs.
- In a medium bowl, add pudding mix and milk and whisk for at least 2 minutes. The mixture will be thick. In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, or with an electric hand mixer, beat cream cheese. On low speed, beat in pudding mixture. Fold in the whipped topping by hand.
- In the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish, add 1 ½ cups Oreo crumbs. Top with the pudding mixture, then sprinkle with remaining 1 ½ cups Oreo crumbs. Chill until serving time. Decorate with Milano cookies (halved and stuck upright into the "dirt"), gummy worms, and flowers if desired.
Notes
- Oreos: Or substitute Double Stuf.
- Pudding: Or substitute chocolate pudding. I noticed the chocolate pudding was thicker overall compared to vanilla. I was fine with it, but you could add another ½ cup milk if you want to thin it out.
- Whipped topping: Cool Whip is a popular brand of non-dairy whipped topping. Or, substitute 8 ounces whipped cream.
- Yield: This recipe will make one 9×13 Dirt Cake, enough for at least 16 servings, ½ cup each (more or less depending on how you scoop). The recipe has 3 cups of cooking crumbs and 5 cups of pudding filling.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
This Dirt Cake was so good. The kids loved it. My granddaughter helped make the cake. We enjoyed shopping for the ingredients, working in the kitchen and sharing it. 5 stars!!
I’m so glad, Gloria! That’s wonderful! ๐ Thank you for taking the time to write! – Meggan