Easter Dirt Cake (Easy Dessert)

An easy no-bake Easter dirt cake with Oreos, chocolate pudding, and creamy Cool Whip filling. This make-ahead Easter dessert has layers of flavor with a cute garden bunny decoration perfect for Easter entertaining at home.

dirt cake in white fenced garden container, decorated with chocolate bunny, candy carrots, and chocolate eggs.

Easy Easter Dessert

You’re going to love serving this Easter garden dessert cake so much that you may even make it the centerpiece of your Easter table.

It’s got layers of chocolate pudding, Oreos, and cream cheese filling for a sweet treat that children and adults will love. But the real draw for this dessert is the cute presentation!

Assemble the layers and top with chocolate cookie crumbs so it resembles a garden of dirt. Then use Easter candies and a chocolate bunny to decorate with.

This dessert recipe is perfect for Easter brunch or a family Easter dinner party.

overhead view of garden dirt cake with candy carrots decoration

Why you’ll love this recipe

Technically this is more of a pudding dessert than a cake, but the flavors and display are still delicious and festive!

  • It’s make-ahead for easy entertaining.
  • The ingredients are simple and easy to find.
  • It’s easy to prepare and there’s no-baking or cooking.
  • You can make one large garden or several mini flower pots.
  • You can let the kids help you with the garden decorations.
mini dirt cakes in terra cotta pots with candy carrots for decoration

Serving Suggestions

There are a number of ways you can serve this. I used an adorable planter box with a fence motif, and lined it with disposable food-safe containers. However, you can use any of these options to display your dirt cake in.

  • Make this in a glass trifle dish so you can see the layers.
  • Make it in small flower pots for individual mini desserts.
  • Serve it in a 2-quart bowl for a deep dish dessert.
  • Prepare it in a 2-quart baking dish for a more shallow pudding cake.

PARTY TIP: Use terrarium tools to serve the dirt cake with, and these mini shovel spoons to eat with.

How to make Easter dirt cake

Make this recipe a day ahead so flavors have time to blend. See detailed instructions in recipe card below.

  1. Crush – use a mini food processor or blender to turn half the cookies into dirt crumbs. The other half will be broken into pieces.
  2. Mix – combine pudding and cold milk, and refrigerate for 5 minutes so it can set.
  3. Combine – stir the softened cream cheese and whipped topping together and mix well.
  4. Assemble – layer the ingredients in this order: broken cookies, cream cheese mixture, pudding, peanut butter chips, crushed cookie dirt.
  5. Decorate – top the dirt cake garden with a chocolate bunny, gummy candy carrots, and chocolate eggs or jelly beans. Add sprigs of fresh mint to look like vines.

Keep covered and stored in the refrigerator.

Best Tips & Substitutions

  • Make sure to use a Family Size package of cookies. You’ll need them!
  • Make sure the cream cheese is very soft so it will combine easily with the whipped topping.
  • Use any baking chips you like: peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or toffee bits.
  • Add an additional layer of broken Oreos instead of the peanut butter chips.
  • If you want, you can vary the order of the layers. For instance, add the chips in between the cream cheese and the chocolate layers.
  • Use peanut butter Oreos instead of traditional flavor.
  • Add in a layer of chopped nuts if you like.
close up of Easter dirt cake with chocolate bunny and candy carrots

More Easter Dessert Recipes

If you want to save this Easter dirt cake for the children or a kids party, then you can add one of these desserts for the adults.

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How to Make an Easter Dirt Cake Dessert

How to Make an Easter Dirt Cake Dessert

Yield: 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Additional Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 40 minutes

Easy Easter dessert with a combination of chocolate cookies, pudding, and a cool whip-cream cheese filling. Decorate this dirt cake with Easter themed candies and serve.

Ingredients

  • 2 - 3.9 ounce packages chocolate fudge (or chocolate) instant pudding mix
  • 2 1/2 cups cold milk
  • 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 - 8 ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed
  • 1 Family Size package Oreo cookies
  • 1 cup peanut butter chips (or other baking chips of choice)

Decorations

  • Chocolate Easter bunny
  • Chocolate Easter eggs
  • Gummy candy carrots
  • mint sprigs to garnish

Instructions

  1. Whisk the instant pudding and cold milk together for 2 minutes. Cover and chill for 5 minutes.
  2. Stir softened cream cheese and whipped topping together until smooth.
  3. Divide the package of Oreo cookies in half. Pulse half the cookies in a small processor until fine crumbs resemble dirt. Set aside.
  4. Using remaining cookies, crumble them apart and place in the bottom of the container.
  5. Spread cream cheese mixture over cookies.
  6. Spread pudding mixture over cream layer.
  7. Sprinkle peanut butter chips over chocolate layer.
  8. Spread a layer of cookie dirt on top; cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or up to a day ahead.
  9. Decorate the dirt cake with candy carrots, eggs, and chocolate bunny.
  10. Use mint sprigs to garnish, as "vines."

Notes

Use chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or toffee bits instead of peanut butter chips.

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