Easy Halloween Dirt Cake (with gummy worms)

Make this easy, no-bake Halloween Dirt Cake with creepy, crawly gummy worms for your next party! Crushed Oreos layered with creamy chocolate pudding and topped with cookie tombstones make the best Halloween dessert.

Anyone can make this no-bake Graveyard Dirt Cake! I love how spooky and yummy my creation turned out. It's truly an easy Halloween dessert, like my Oreo Mummy Pops, that comes together quickly. It’s a crazy, fun recipe to get the kids in the kitchen. 

And guess what? I devised the recipe so you can make it ahead of time and have it ready when your Halloween party is! This is the only way to go!

Dirt cake gets its name from the crushed Oreo crust that looks like dirt, but don't be fooled—it is so delish.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love this Halloween Dessert
• Ingredient Notes
• Fun Variations
• How to make a dirt cake
• Expert Tips
• Storing your dirt cake
• More Halloween Treats
• Printable Recipe

Why You'll Love this Halloween Dessert

• Easy
• Make-Ahead
• Kid-Friendly
• Large Batch

Ingredient Notes

All you need are these simple ingredients to make your easy Halloween cake! In short, it's an Oreo crust topped with a cream cheese pudding mixture and then sprinkled with more Oreos and cookie tombstones for more deliciousness.

• A bag of Oreos - to make the Oreo cookie crumb crust. We like regular Oreos, but you can also use double stuffed.
• A package of cream cheese - make sure to get it to room temperature.
• ½ cup butter - this helps set the creamy pudding mixture. 
• Cup of powdered sugar
• A tub of refrigerated whipped topping - aka Cool Whip.
• 2 boxes of instant chocolate pudding 
• 3 cups milk - to make the pudding
• 8-10 Nutter Butter cookies - you know, those peanut butter sandwich cookies that taste delish!
• White candy melts - about 6 ounces to dip your cookies into.
• A handful of chocolate chips - to write on the tombstones. You can also use black writing icing.
• Gummy worms - these add to the fun factor!

Recipe measurements and directions are in the printable recipe card below.

Fun Variations

• PUDDING: You can use whatever pudding flavor you like for your Halloween graveyard dessert. Vanilla pudding or butterscotch is also good. 
• COOKIES: I think Milano cookies work well as tombstones. 
• CANDY: Add your favorite Halloween candy to your Halloween dirt cake. You can use monster hand candy, candy pumpkins, ghost peeps, or whatever. 

How to make a dirt cake

Grab a 9 x 13 pan, and let’s get this no-bake Halloween dirt cake recipe underway! 

1. MAKE CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE: Blend the cream cheese with a stand mixer or hand mixer until smooth. Next, add the butter and mix until incorporated. Slowly add the powdered sugar and thawed whipped topping and mix at a slow speed until incorporated. 

2. MAKE THE PUDDING & ADD IT TO CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE: Make the pudding with the milk in a large bowl according to the package directions. Fold in the cream cheese mixture with a spatula. Set aside.

3. MAKE OREO CRUMBS: Add Oreo cookies to a food processor and pulse until you have crushed cookies. You may need to do two batches. 

4. MAKE CRUST: Firmly press about half of the Oreo crumbs in the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan. You can use your hands, or the bottom of a measuring cup works well. 

5. ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Top the Oreo crust with an even pudding layer. Then, cover it with the remaining Oreo crumbs. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. 

6. MAKE TOMBSTONE COOKIES: While the cake is firming up in the refrigerator, melt your white candy melts in the microwave, coat each Nutter Butter cookie with white chocolate, and let dry on parchment paper. Then, melt chocolate chips in the microwave, place them in a small plastic bag with the corner cut off, and use it to write RIP on each cookie and allow it to dry. 

7. DECORATE THE CAKE: Once the cake is fully set, press the Nutter Butter cookies into the top of the cake. Add gummy worms and any candy you’d like to finish the decorations. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Expert Tips

• Use instant pudding mix, NOT cook and serve for your no-bake dessert. 
• Soften cream cheese and whipped topping. Leaving your cream cheese and frozen whipped topping at room temperature for about 30 minutes will soften it enough to mix easily. 
• How to crush Oreos. If you don’t have a food processor to crush your cookies, place your Oreo cookies in a large plastic ziplock bag and crush them with a kitchen mallet or rolling pin until you have small, uniform crumbs. 
• Individual Oreo dirt cake cups. To serve your Halloween dirt cake in individual cups, layer the Oreo crumbs and pudding in each cup and top with a cookie tombstone and candy. 

Storing your dirt cake

Store any leftover Halloween Oreo Dirt Cake covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The Nutter Butter cookies may become soft, but they are still delicious!

Because this cake contains milk, it should not be left out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours.

More Halloween Treats

We have tons more treats for Halloween parties. Check them out!

Love this EASY Halloween Dirt Cake recipe? Please leave a 5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below ⬇️ and/or a review in the comment section further down.

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Printable Recipe