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This deliciously addicting dirt cake recipe preps in minutes for a cool, creamy, family-favorite treat perfect for Oreo lovers!
Long Time Family Favorite
Oreos are one of my favorite ingredients to add to desserts. They make everything so yummy!! That is probably why this dirt cake recipe has been one of my all-time favorite cakes since childhood.
Our mom has been making it since we were little, and it’s one of those TOP 10 recipes all the grandkids all request now. In fact, it’s become a must-have dessert for almost every family and holiday get-together because it’s so creamy and cool, beyond delicious and loved by EVERYONE!
Why we love it:
- Quick + easy. From start to finish, this easy dessert recipe for kids only takes about 10 minutes to prep.
- Good all year long. It’s cool and creamy and especially great for summer but great to enjoy all year long and for any holiday.
- Easy to change up. Switch the pudding mix or the type of Oreos to make it the flavor you need for the event/holiday.
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
CHILL TIME: 3 hours
- 1 (14.3-ounce) package Oreo cookies – Change this up with your favorite Oreos
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese softened – If the cream cheese is too rich for you or it’s just not your favorite, simply leave it out! My family loves the richness that the cream cheese adds, but this dessert is delicious with or without.
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 (16-ounce) tub whipped topping (or 4 cups whipped cream)
- 2 (3.4-ounce) boxes instant white chocolate – You can also use instant vanilla pudding or instant chocolate pudding (or any flavor of choice).
- 3 cups milk – we prefer to use 2% or higher
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Make it Look More like dirt
- Add some candy bugs and gummy worms.
- Serve it out of a bucket or flower pot.
- Divide the dirt cake mixture into plastic cups, place the plastic cups in mini terra cotta flower pots, and stick a mini shovel in each one to use as a spoon.
How to Make Dirt Cake
- OREO. Crush 1 (14.3-ounce) package of Oreos (the entire Oreo) in a large resealable plastic bag with a rolling pin (for small and chunky pieces) or in the food processor (for super fine crumbs) until they are crumbs.
- Press two-thirds of the crushed cookies into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside. Reserve the remaining cookie crumbs.
- CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE. In a large bowl, beat 8 ounces of cream cheese and ½ cup butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Mix in 1 cup powdered sugar. Fold in 16-ounce whipped topping until well combined and set aside.
- PUDDING MIXTURE. In a separate bowl, mix 2 (3.4-ounce) boxes of instant white chocolate pudding powder, 3 cups of milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Let sit until thickened.
- COMBINE. Fold this mixture into the cream cheese mixture.
- LAYER + CHILL. Carefully pour the pudding/cream cheese mixture over the crumb crust in the pan. Sprinkle with the reserved Oreo crumbs. Refrigerate for 3–4 hours before serving.
Keep it Chilled!
We don’t recommend keeping this dirt cake at room temperature for more than an hour or so before putting it back in the fridge. Plus, this dessert tastes best when nice and chilled!
More Like This
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Easter Dirt Cake
2 hrs 15 mins
Halloween Dirt Cake
3 hrs 10 mins
Dirt Cake Parfaits
10 mins
Dirt Cake With Worms
10 mins
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Oreo Ice Cream Cake
5 hrs 10 mins
Oreo Pudding Pie
1 hr 15 mins
Oreo Pudding Poke Cake
1 hr 30 mins
Oreo Brownies
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Dirt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (14.3-ounce) package Oreos
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 (16-ounce) tub whipped topping, (or 4 cups whipped cream)
- 2 (3.4-ounce) boxes instant white chocolate or vanilla pudding
- 3 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Crush all the Oreos in a large resealable plastic bag or in the food processor until they are crumbs. Press two-thirds of the crushed cookies into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside. Reserve the remaining crushed Oreos.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar. Fold in whipped topping until well combined and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix pudding, milk, and vanilla. Let sit until thickened. Fold this mixture into the cream cheese mixture.
- Carefully pour the pudding/cream cheese mixture over the crumb crust in the pan.
- Sprinkle with the reserved crushed Oreos. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
– Make sure to use INSTANT pudding. Whisk the pudding and milk until it takes on a creamy pudding consistency. To be extra cautious, refrigerate it for 5-10 minutes before combining it with the other ingredients.
– Use chilled metal bowls to mix and fold the ingredients in.
– Use whole milk for the creamiest texture.
– FOLD do not mix: Fold gently when adding the Cool Whip to the cream cheese mix and then again when adding the pudding.
– Use softened butter and cream cheese, but not too soft and definitely not melted.
– Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
We almost always make this Oreo dirt cake recipe ahead of time. We typically make this the morning of, but it can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Place the crushed Oreos on top right before serving – those can get a little soft with the moisture of the cake.
I do not recommend freezing this ahead of time to serve on another day, it will not thaw well. However, leftovers can be divided and frozen to eat more like ice cream.
Yummy and easy what more could anyone want? Thank you.
That is a good question! When it come to dirt cake, I’d say Nothing! :o) I’m glad you love the recipe so much!
When I taught kindergarten, we made a version of this in class. The kids
liked the worms the best
LOL- What’s a bit of dirt without a worm!
I have your Dirt Cake for my family the past 2yrs.on holidays and everyone positively loves loves loves it!!
I’m so glad one of our family favorites has become one of yours!
I’m just just leaving
I
I have made this multiple times!
Turns out perfect every time
It is now my sons “must have” for birthday and all the holidays.
You don’t need to put any butter in the Oreo crust? I feel like it would not stay together when taken out of the pan.
We don’t use butter in this crust and it turns out well! But if you prefer a more firm crust, you could use add some butter or use our oreo crust recipe: https://lilluna.com/oreo-pie-crust/
Im using heavy cream instead of cool whip
How many servings per recipe
Help!! What am I doing wrong?? Mine does not cut and lift out of the pan, I have to spoon it out. I would love to be able to get it out in nice clean pieces so I can serve it at our weekly game day gathering. Please help!!! It is so delicious!!!
This is the cake my son asks for every year for his birthday! He loves it!
This is such a must-try! It is incredibly delicious, decadent and irresistibly good!
I made this for my son’s birthday and everyone loved it! I am making it again this weekend for our Mother’s Day party!
I always use this recipe and it’s always delicious! This is the most straightforward recipe you’ll find for dirt cake.
So so good 😊
We have not made it but looks so so good 😊
Looks very delicious and is my favorite dessert
Really curious how you got it to cut and stand firm? I’ve made this twice and both times it’s been spooned out. I want to make it more firm.
I’ve made this recipe the last 4 years for Easter and it’s always a hit and turns out perfect every time. The toppings vary each year depending on ingredient availability.
It’s not cake at all it’s pudding how did it get its name
It is definitely more of a pudding, but got it’s name because it is chilled in a cake pan and cut into slices like you would a cake. 🙂
I don’t have a hand mixer can I do this by hand?
Ne’er knew this, appreciate it for letting me know.
Can I use regular whipped cream instead of whippd topping?
I always use whipped topping for this recipe… if you try regular whipped cream, I’d suggest not the kind from the can that you spray out. It won’t hold it’s texture. Possibly if you made homemade or something. If you do use regular whipped cream, you’ll have to let us know how it turns out!
I recently made a dirt cake using homemade whipped cream, using instant pudding to stabilize, and it worked. Instant pudding is a great whipped cream stabilizer cause it has modified cornstarch; for every cup of heavy whipping cream, set aside 1 tablespoon of instant pudding to add to the cream before whipping.
This one is so easy to make gluten free. A couple of years ago the gluten-free Oreos changed my daughter’s lives! Haha swapping out the cookies is the only thing you need to do to make this one gluten-free. Another bonus, they don’t get soggy nearly as quick. Thanks for all your great recipes.
That is so good to know!! Thank you for sharing! So glad she can still enjoy the dessert. 🙂
so good
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I’ve been making this particular recipe for YEARS! And I keep coming back to it. This is truly a crowd pleaser that never misses. If you haven’t tried it, what are you waiting on?!?
Oh thank you so much for your kind words! This is one of our favorites too!
My family loves this cake it’s a regular around my house
My family loves this cake it’s a regular around my house
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that!
What size pkg of cookies?
Just your basic/regular size of Oreos … I believe it’s about 14 oz. It’s not the family size package.
I make this all the time and eliminate the butter and powdered sugar.
A great success at my Grand daughters 9th Birthday party. I laid gummy worms & gummy bugs on top. What a hit ! They loved it & adults too.
Oh yay! These would be so fun to serve at a birthday party. Glad to hear they were a hit for all!
This recipe inspired me. I’m going to make a Christmas dirt cake, using chocolate pudding and grasshopper thin mint cookies instead. It would look great with some little edible pine trees on top 😉
Perfect!! Glad I could inspire 🙂 Thank you!
Kids would love this
Getting ready to make this cake but don’t understand why you would put butter in the cream cheese and powder sugar? Nor Vanila
That’s just how I make this specific recipe 🙂 I promise it comes out delicious!
This was simply amazing! It did not last long with a house full of teenagers! Definitely making again soon!
I like more of a cream cheese taste, so I added an etra 4 more 0z of cream cheese into the mixture, with a tad more butter. I mixed in only half of the 16oz cool Whip. After spreading, I tOpped IT off with the rest of the cool whip. Its makes it heavier, but the taste of the creaM cheEse mixture is fabulous! Oh, hands done white CHOCOLATE pudding!
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing that!
cool
so how i do a dirt pudding
My kids are so excited about this recipe!! DElicious- This is on the menu for this week! For our super bowl party we have so many of your amazing recipes! Thanks for sharing
When it comes to desserts, this is by far my favorite!
This is one of my famiLies favorite reciPes. I usually choose this when im asked to bring a dessert to a family/friend gathEring and its always a hit.
We have so many favorite desserts! If I had to pick one this would be the one! Its creamy,cool and has oreos in it. WHat a combination! Totally a top dessert in our family.
This cake is so fun, delicious, and easy! Love making it with my kids – its our new go-to!
You had me at cake!!! then to see white chocolate jello pudding… hello!!!
This is such a classic – so good!
So easy and so YUm!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
This is the best ever! I could eat the whole thing my self!
This is my favorite!! The combination of the oreos, pudding, & cream cheese is so good!! My family requests this all the time!
Just a tip for crushing the cookies. put them in a sealed baggie and then crush them to how you want them. no mess and clean hands. be sure to push the air out of the bag before crushing. i do this with a lot of things that need crushed. Hope this helpful.
That’s what I do 🙂 Thank you!
Butter…. soften or melted?????
Softened 🙂 Enjoy!!
Can this be made the night before serving?
Yes, it sure can 🙂 Hope you like it! It’s one of our favorites!
This mixture was really soupy……
I’m sorry it was soupy. It shouldn’t be, so I’m not sure what happened. Did you make the pudding, then added more milk? That might be the only thing what would make it soupy.
The Recipe was soupy, but it’s delicious. the only problem wiTh the recipe it just was not firm enOugh.
It shouldn’t be soupy. Did you make the pudding according to the box, then add ingredients? Some have done that, which would definitely make it soupy.
My husband and I made this back to back. His was soupy, mine was fluffy and great. The only DIFFERENce was I only used the electric mixer on the butter, cream cheese, cool whip and powdered sugar. then hand mixed the pudding mix,milk and vanilla (WHere he used the electric). Then hand mixed the TWO together ( he again electric mixed). I have noticed the same thing happens with cookies. Hope this helps
Glad yours was fluffy!! Thank you for sharing!
How many servings does this recipe yield??
It can feed quite a few, depending on how much you give. I bring it to family functions & we can get all of us 25-30 a scoop. Hope that helps!
I made this and it turned out to be a watery mess! Have any idea what I did wrong?
Not sure what you did, but you just add the pudding mix with 3 cups total of milk, and the vanilla. I know some have made the pudding according to directions and added the 3 c milk, which would make it runny. Hope that helps!!
these sound great
It’s one of our favorite!!! We use this recipe a lot and it’s always a hit! Thank you!!
I lived in kansas city all my life and never heard of kansas city dirt cake and i never been to any restaurant with it on the menu
Will make this tomorrow have several Oreo lovers in my home, will let u know the results.
Yes, please let me know how it goes. It’s a FAVORITE!! 😀
This recipe looks so good! I am going to make this for a BBQ tomorrow. I wanted to know if you use the large or small boxes of instant pudding?
I usually use 2 small boxes, since I’ve never seen white chocolate pudding in the large boxes. Would love to know how it goes! 😉
Did you use large or small boxes of instant pudding?
Now with this dirt cake do you mix the pudding an cook it first or just pour the powder in with the mix. Let me know
It’s the Instant Pudding so no cooking involved, but you add the pudding mix to the milk and vanilla as noted in Step 3. 😉
This cake looks dangerously good and simple to make!
This is amazing!!!!!!!!!
It’s a dessert we love and make ALL THE TIME!! So glad you like it. 🙂
Sorry, but is the instant pudding prepared AS pudding, or you just add the “powder”?
You mix the dry mix with the 3 cups of milk and vanilla so it starts to thicken up like regular pudding. Then you add this to the cream cheese mixture and mix well. 😉
Do you crumble just the cookie or the cream also?
Crumble the whole cookie. 😉
Yummy I love it. I make oreo truffles by taking one 8oz. Package of crram cheesr one package of any flavvor oreos. A12oz bag of chocolate chips (or any flavor chips you like). Crush oreos to crumbs mix with the cream cheese set in refridgarator for 30 minutes. After mixture is chilled take a tsp.full roll into a ball set on cookie sheet lined with wax paper after rolling all the mixture set pan in fridge. Melt chips in double boiler. Take out the balls insert toothpicks into the balls dip into melted chocalate put back on tray refrigaratr until set. Enjoy.
Oh man – that sounds delicious. Will have to give it a try!
I’ve been making the dirt cake by an old printed recipe that I have that’s labeled “Oreo Delight”. Guess someone renamed it somewhere along its travels through the ether.
One of my co-workers (in Kansas City) brought this layered in a new, clean, lined with plastic wrap clay flowerpot and had “buried” gummy worms in the “dirt”. Sprinkled more gummy worms on top. It was a fun treat.
Do you use the 3.4 oz or the 5.1 oz boxes of pudding?
Two boxes of the 3.5 oz.
hello!
I’m on my way to purchase ingredients for the cake…but a question: the kansas city dirt cake recipe states white chocolate or vanilla pudding, is the pudding instant?
Yes. I will make sure to edit the recipe so it says that. 🙂
Yes. I will make sure to edit the recipe so it says that. 🙂
Is a large cool the16 ounce size or a reg. 8 oz size
I use the LARGE size. 🙂
Getting ready to make this recipe for my sons birthday tomorrow, does it matter if the cool whip is frozen or sofTened?
Sorry to have not gotten back to you sooner. It is usually softened. Hope everyone likes it!
if ypu freeze almost like homemade icecream
Yum! My husband would appreciate this post 😀
Looks fabulous! Unfortunately I just started a healthy diet and exercise routine this week, so I’ll have to file this away for the someday-when-I’m-skinny-and-oreos-are-calorie-free file… that day will come, right???
And I have to ask what’s probably a totally dumb question… as a Kansas Citian, I can’t figure out what on Earth makes this a “Kansas City” dirt cake… I was looking for BBQ sauce, or a side of beef, maybe something jazzy… but alas, I couldn’t find any Kansas City in the cake… so where’s the name from??? 🙂 🙂 🙂
~Jess
Good question!! I have NO idea!! Our fam got the recipe so long ago and when we did it was called this, so we’ve kept the name. I’m thinking maybe someone from Kansas City made it up. ??
Nom, nom, this looks amazing!!! I love the name too, it’s always fun to have a fun name for something we love to make (and eat!)
xoxo, Tanya
Looks so yummy! For the halloween version, you using the candy corn oreos? 😉
DROOOOOOOOOOOOL ——- DROOOOOOOOOOOOL ——— DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
MY HIPS THANK YOU
Oh, it just depends on how big your servings are. I take this to family functions & it can feed anywhere from 12+ We usually do small scoops, so we could get more, because everyone wants it. It’s a family favorite 🙂 Hope that helps! (I could get almost 20 small scoops for all the grandkids)
I am sorry if the recipe got messed up, because of that. For this recipe, you just mix the pudding mix with the milk & vanilla. That will make the pudding 🙂