A thanksgiving meal isn’t complete without dessert! Of course, pie is always the popular option, but this collection contains an entire assortment of pies, cakes, bars, and other recipes that work great for Thanksgiving Desserts.
From pies to cheesecakes, we are sharing all of the best Thanksgiving desserts for you! We have so many favorites but pumpkin pie and pumpkin delight top the list! Below you’ll see there are so many great options to choose from!
MORE COLLECTIONS: Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas, Thanksgiving Appetizers, Thanksgiving Side Dishes, Pumpkin Recipes
Tips for easy Thanksgiving desserts
Besides turkey, Thanksgiving is synonymous with Pie. From Pumpkin to Coconut Cream, pie is definitely a perfect desert for this holiday, but it is not the only dessert worthy to finish off a Thanksgiving feast. I’ve collected a few of our favorite dessert recipes that I know your family and friends will love.
Before I share recipes, here are a handful of TIPS that come in handy with Thanksgiving Desserts:
- Make as many desserts ahead of time as possible. Most desserts store well and still taste delicious the next day.
- Plan for people to have 2 desserts. A few guests won’t want to have dessert while others will only want 1 or 2 servings. Some, with a sweet tooth, will desire more. Planning 2 desserts per person will ensure everyone gets their fill.
- Have a separate serving area for desserts. Place small saucers, utensils and napkins next to the dessert display.
- Using tiered trays is a beautiful way to present desserts as well as save space.
- Adding a label to each dessert gives a nice finish to the display. You can even include important allergy information on the labels.
- Leftover desserts can be boxed up and sent home with guests. many desserts can also be stored on the counter or freezer to be enjoyed at a later date. See the individual recipes for storage information.
thanksgiving Pies
Pumpkin may be the fav, but there are so many other great ones that can be made. Here are some of the most popular on the site perfect for you upcoming Turkey day celebrations.
- Pumpkin Pie – The most classic pie you could have on the Thanksgiving dessert table! With a fall spice-filled pumpkin puree mixture, this moist and flavorful pie will be a winner.
- Best Apple Pie – Another crowd favorite, this apple pie recipe is more simple than you think! With tips on picking apples and making homemade pie crust, you’ll be making this masterpiece in your own kitchen.
- Cherry Pie – Homemade pie crust, a mixture made from fresh cherries, and a beautiful lattice crust all contribute to this simple yet elegant pie recipe.
- Chocolate Cream Pie – A smooth and creamy chocolate pudding filling topped off with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
- Pecan Pie – This gooey, buttery delicacy is made from just a small handful of ingredients and doesn’t take long to assemble, but it sure is a favorite this time of year!
- Sweet Potato Pie – Try swapping pumpkin for sweet potato in this surprisingly sweet, silky smooth pie recipe.
- Sugar Cream Pie – You can make this pie using ingredients you already have on hand! It’s simple, sweet, and the custard is actually egg free.
- Chocolate Pecan Pie – It combines two of your favorite pies (chocolate and pecan) into one!
Thanksgiving dessert Bars
We love to also make dessert bars because you can usually feed quite a few people with them. These ones all work well for Thanksgiving
- Pumpkin Bars – These bars are somewhere between a bread and a cake. Filled with pumpkin and fall spice flavors, they taste amazing topped with cream cheese frosting.
- Sugar Cookie Bars – Everyone loves a sugar cookie, especially in bar form! Complete with homemade frosting and sprinkles.
- Millionaire Bars – These millionaire bars have a perfectly crumbly crust, an ooey gooey caramel middle, and a thin layer of delicious semi-sweet chocolate on top.
- Pecan Pie Bars – A buttery shortbread crust, topped with pecan pie filling. They taste just like pecan pie, but easily feed a larger crowd!
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars – With cream cheese baked into it and topped with mini chocolate chips, these bars are a fall fav.
- Pumpkin Brownies – Pumpkin and chocolate are swirled together to make these delicious pumpkin brownies.
Thanksgiving Cake ideas + Cheesecakes
Believe it or not, but our family probably has more pumpkin cakes than pies during the holidays. We just love how simple they are and that they feed a lot, are delicious and can usually be served with homemade whipped cream or ice cream.
- Pumpkin Crunch Cake – A delicious pumpkin cake topped with crunchy pecans and whipped cream.
- Magic Pumpkin Cake – 3 Layers of goodness – a creamy pumpkin puree layer, a layer of yellow cake, and a white chocolate pumpkin spice frosting!
- Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – Moist pumpkin cake filled with brown sugar and spices and topped with cream cheese frosting,
- Pumpkin Roll – Libby’s pumpkin roll is filled with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger all rolled up with a cream cheese filling.
- Pumpkin Dump Cake – It’s called “dump cake” for a reason. It takes just minutes to dump all the ingredients (tasty pumpkin mixture, yellow cake mix, and butter) into a pan and then bake!
- Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake – Oreos and pumpkin have never tasted better together. This dessert is made up of an Oreo crust, two layers of cheesecake (one plain and one pumpkin), whipped cream, and chocolate ganache!
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars – A graham cracker crust, cheesecake layer and pumpkin layer.
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake – Crushed gingersnaps fill the bottom and then it’s layered with pumpkin cheesecake.
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cake – Buttery, cinnamon cake with cinnamon brown sugar and pumpkin puree swirls topped with a sweet pumpkin spice glaze.
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake – A vanilla wafers crust, pecan pie filling, creamy cheesecake layer and buttery, caramel-pecan topping.
- Pumpkin Cobbler – all the flavors of Pumpkin Pie in an easy to make baked dessert!
- Pumpkin Delight Dessert – A buttery pecan crust, a whipped cream cheese layer, light and fluffy pumpkin spice pudding, and more whipped cream topped off with chopped pecans.
Chocolate Thanksgiving Desserts
Not a fan of pumpkin? No worries!! Most love chocolate, so we wanted to share some of our most popular chocolate Thanksgiving desserts.
- Chocolate Sheet Cake – A perfect recipe for feeding a crowd, this moist chocolate cake with a tasty chocolate frosting is easily made in a sheet pan.
- Chocolate Bundt Cake – This chocolate bundt cake is simple and topped with a chocolate ganache glaze.
- German Chocolate Cake – Two layers of chocolate cake topped with a coconut pecan frosting.
- M&M Chocolate Oat Bars – Use holiday M&M’s to make this yummy dessert look festive for Thanksgiving. Layers of a delicious oat crumble, chocolate, more oats, all topped off with M&M’s!
- Chocolate Mousse – A sophisticated, smooth and creamy dessert.
- Sour Cream Chocolate Cake – Moist, fudgy, filled with sour cream and so easy to make!
- Flourless Chocolate Cake – Simple, smooth and fudgy cake made without flour.
Thanksgiving Desserts for Kids
Kids LOVE dessert!! With that in mind, we wanted to compile some great ideas for the kiddos to serve as treats on Thanksgiving. These are all so simple, they can even help make them.
- Oreo Turkeys – The kids especially love these festive Oreos decorated to look like turkeys using candy melts and candy eyes.
- Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes – Moist and delicious pumpkin cupcakes topped with the most delicious cinnamon cream cheese frosting!
- Pumpkin Custard – It’s rich, creamy and full of pumpkin spice with a nutty, crunch topping.
- Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake – Easy gooey butter cake made with pumpkin cake mix.
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins – Soft pumpkin muffins filled with chocolate chips.
- Pumpkin Pudding Parfaits – Gingersnap base, cheesecake layer and pumpkin pudding layer in cups.
- Pumpkin Snack Mix – has popcorn, peanuts, cheerios, Chex, candy corn, and more!
Mini Thanksgiving Desserts
Everything’s cuter when it’s mini!! Sometimes it’s nice to have smaller desserts so you can have more than one. We’ve compiled some of our favorite mini desserts to enjoy on Thanksgiving.
- Mini Cinnamon Rolls – The most delicious, glazed cinnamon rolls that are bite sized.
- Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies – Chocolate Chip cookies that are tiny, addicting, and perfect for kids.
- Mini Pecan Pies – Mini versions of a classic Thanksgiving pie. Bet you can’t eat just one!
- Mini Fruit Tarts – Tarts are great for all get togethers and these mini ones are filled with fruit.
- Mini Pumpkin Pies – Believe it or not, these adorable individual sized pumpkin pies only take 15 minutes to assemble before throwing them in the oven!
- Mini Glazed Donut Muffins – Small, delicious and topped with a delicious glaze these mini pumpkin muffins don’t disappoint.
Easy Thanksgiving cookies + more
Can’t forget some of the other classics like pumpkin roll, cookies and more!! These guys are definitely MUST-HAVEs too!
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies – Soft and fluffy pumpkin cookies filled with chocolate chips.
- Iced Pumpkin Cookies – Soft pumpkin cookies topped with a drizzle of icing.
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies – Oatmeal cookies filled with all the fall flavors of pumpkin everyone loves.
- Carrot Souffle – It’s a sweet and unexpectedly delicious dessert that is great for holiday meals.
- Pumpkin Lasagna – A pumpkin Oreo crust with a cheesecake layer and pumpkin pudding layer topped with white chocolate curls.
- Gooey Butter Pumpkin Cake Cookies – Cake mix cookies made from pumpkin cake mix and tossed in powdered sugar.
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles – Snickerdoodles rolled in pumpkin pie spice and filled with white chocolate chips.
So many great desserts to choose from – which ones are you planning to make?
MORE COLLECTIONS: Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas, Thanksgiving Appetizers, Thanksgiving Side Dishes, Pumpkin Recipes
