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This Oreo Dirt Cake is a nostalgic, no-bake crowd-pleaser with creamy chocolate pudding, fluffy whipped filling, and a thick layer of crushed Oreo “dirt” on top, finished with gummy worms for fun. It’s the perfect make-ahead dessert for birthdays, BBQs, classroom parties, Halloween, Easter, or anytime you want something playful and delicious without turning on the oven.
A Favorite Childhood Dessert
Oreo Dirt Cake is such a fun and easy-to-make dessert that both kids and adults love! I still remember the first time I had it—my mom brought this exact recipe to my 2nd-grade Easter party. She served it in little paper Dixie cups, and each of us got a gummy worm on top (check out our Dirt Cups recipe to see an example). There was something so magical about having a special treat at school. It just made it taste even better!
To this day, I love making Dirt Cake because it’s no-bake, incredibly easy, and perfect for parties like birthdays and Halloween. It’s always a crowd-pleaser!
🩷 Erica
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Oreo cookies – I use one 18-oz Family Size package for generous “dirt.”
- Instant chocolate pudding mix – Two 3.9-oz boxes; vanilla works too.
- Milk – Whole milk or 2% will both work great.
- Butter – Softened to room temperature.
- Cream cheese – Softened. This will make it easier to whip without getting lumps.
- Powdered sugar – This adds sweetness and smoothness to the pudding layer.
- Cool Whip – Thawed in the fridge (about 4 hours).
- Gummy worms – Or holiday gummies/candies for decorating.
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- Pudding flavors: Use all chocolate, all vanilla, or one box of each for a lighter layer.
- Milk: Whole or 2% both work; avoid non-dairy milks that don’t set pudding as well.
- Homemade whipped cream: Use 3 cups lightly sweetened whipped cream in place of Cool Whip (fold gently).
- Oreos: Regular, Double Stuf, or gluten-free Oreos all work. For a “sand” look, try Golden Oreos or Nilla Wafers.
- Mix-ins: Mini chocolate chips, crushed candy bars, or a thin layer of chocolate sauce between layers.
How to Make Oreo Dirt Cake
- Crush the Oreos: Pulse in a food processor or bash in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin (leave some small chunks for texture).
- Make the pudding: Whisk instant pudding with cold milk until thick; chill 5 minutes.
- Whip the cream layer: Beat softened butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy.
- Combine: Mix the pudding into the cream cheese mixture, then gently fold in Cool Whip.
- Layer: Press half the cookie crumbs into a 9×13 dish, spread on all the pudding mixture, then cover with remaining crumbs.
- Decorate & chill: Add gummy worms (and any themed candies), cover, and refrigerate at least 2 hours—overnight is even better.
Fun Serving Ideas and Variations
- Individual dirt cups – for easier serving at parties, you can serve these in fun cups like little flower pots for something cool!
- Trifle dish – Serve in a trifle dish for a different presentation. Make multiple layers that can be seen through the glass, adding gummy worms along the way!
- Halloween version – add candy corn, candy corn pumpkins and tombstones. You can also find candy bones! The gummy worms would also fit right in with this dirt cake.
- Easter version – add jellybeans or edible candy Easter grass, you could use vanilla or pastel colored pudding and Nilla Wafers or vanilla Oreos on top for a lighter colored option.
- Beach version – use Nilla Wafers for “sand”, vanilla pudding, and beach themed gummies. This can be served in a plastic bucket with a plastic shovel for extra novelty.
- Gluten-free options – use GF chocolate Oreos
Recipe Tips
- Soften, then beat: Room-temp butter and cream cheese whip smoother (no lumps!).
- Cool Whip timing: Thaw in the fridge (about 4 hours). Don’t microwave—it melts and gets runny.
- Texture win: A few larger Oreo bits make the “dirt” more fun to eat.
- Make-ahead magic: The cookies soften slightly overnight and the layers meld—so good the next day.
- Pan options: 9×13 is classic; for thicker layers use a deep 9×9 and serve smaller pieces.
- Clean slices: Chill well, then use a hot, dry knife for neat squares.
Frequently Asked Questions
Oreo Dirt Cake is one of my favorite no-bake desserts—creamy chocolate pudding, crushed Oreos, and gummy worms that look like dirt but taste amazing. Some call it Oreo Dirt Dessert. It’s easy, crowd-pleasing, and always takes me back to childhood.
Yes, you can use homemade pudding in dirt cake. It will work the same as instant pudding. Use an equivalent amount of thick, cooled pudding.
Yes! Now that Oreo makes gluten free Oreos it is a very simple substitution to use the gluten free cookies and tastes exactly the same!
You can freeze (wrap well), but the texture is best fresh or refrigerated. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Fold in about 3 cups softly whipped, lightly sweetened cream. Keep it chilled.
Food processor for fine crumbs; zip-top bag + rolling pin for chunkier “dirt.”
Totally! This is a really fun recipe for kids. I like to assign jobs: crusher, whisker, folder, decorator.
Make Ahead and Storage
- Make ahead: Dirt cake can be made ahead of time! It actually tastes best when it has time to sit in the fridge for a little while (8-12 hours), letting the flavors melt together, getting better and better. You can make it up to 2 days ahead of time.
- Store: Dirt Cake can last up to 4 days in the fridge. This also depends on the freshness of your ingredients and how you are storing it. Be sure to cover tightly with plastic wrap or put a secure lid on your dish.
- Travel tip: For parties, assemble in a dish with a tight lid or make dirt cups for grab-and-go.
More Easy No Bake Desserts
This Oreo Dirt Cake delivers all the playful nostalgia of creamy pudding, fluffy filling, and crumbly “dirt” in one easy, no-bake pan. If you try it, I’d love to hear how you served it—classic worms, Halloween tombstones, beach buckets, or Easter grass? Leave a star rating and a comment with your fun twists! 💛🩷💙
Oreo Dirt Cake
Equipment
- 9×13 glass baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 (18 ounce) package Oreo Cookies (regular)
- 2 (3.9 ounce) boxes Jello Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix
- 3 cups milk
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 8 ounces Cool Whip (thawed)
- gummy worms (for decoration)
Instructions
- Crush Oreos into fine crumbs by placing them in a Ziplock bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin, or by processing in batches in a food processor. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the instant pudding and milk until smooth. Refrigerate until set (about 5 minutes).
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth and whipped together.
- Combine chocolate pudding with cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.
- Gently fold in Cool Whip until well combined.
- Press half of the Oreo crumbs into a 9×13 baking dish to form a crust.
- Carefully spoon Jello filling over the crust and smooth over until flat.
- Sprinkle the remaining Oreo crumbs over the top until evenly coasted.
- Decorate with gummy worms and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Serve chilled.
Video
Notes
- Use an 18-oz Family Size Oreos to offset package downsizing.
- Whole or 2% milk set instant pudding best.
- Swap one vanilla pudding for a lighter layer, or use GF Oreos for a gluten-free version.
- For the cleanest slices, chill overnight and cut with a hot, dry knife.
- Individual dirt cups make serving a breeze for parties.
So easy and so fun! Plus taste great. My babies love this recipe.
So glad it was a hit with the kids!
I love dirt cake, so many fun memories from when we were kids!
How did you calculate the nutrition information? In just the package of Oreos alone, 1/12 of it would be 200 calories but for the recipe a 1/12 serving is 180 calories.
The nutrition information is actually auto-formulated and most times it is very accurate. However, sometimes it can misread an ingredient. In this case it read the ingredients as 1 Oreo instead of 1 PACK of Oreos, so I am glad you caught that. I went in and manually corrected it. The calorie information is now correct based on an entire pack of Oreos.