Made with Oreo cookies, creamy pudding, and festive toppings, this Halloween dirt cake comes to life as a spooky-cute graveyard cake. Perfect for kids and a guaranteed hit at your next Halloween gathering!

Overhead view of Halloween dirt cake decorated with Oreo “dirt,” cookie tombstones, and candy pumpkins arranged like a graveyard.

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Jamielyn Nye

Why I Love This Halloween Oreo Dirt Cake

Whenever Halloween rolls around, this is one dessert I have to make. It takes classic Oreo pudding dirt cake and gives it a spooky twist that’s perfect for a party. I love how the crushed Oreos turn into edible “graveyard dirt,” Milano cookies stand in for tombstones, and candy pumpkins make it so festive.

It’s not just cute, it’s irresistibly good. Kids get such a kick out of the decorations, but honestly, the adults go back for seconds too. Best of all, it’s easy to whip together with simple ingredients like Oreos, vanilla pudding, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and Cool Whip.

Along with this graveyard dirt cake, we love these other festive treats including Halloween rice krispie treats, monster cookies and Halloween Oreo balls.

Close-up of a Milano cookie tombstone with “RIP” written in black icing, set in crushed Oreo “dirt” with candy pumpkins.

Ingredient Notes

  • Oreo cookies: Use regular Oreos (cream filling and all) crushed into fine crumbs for the “dirt.”
  • Salted butter: A little melted butter helps bind the Oreo crust; softened butter goes into the creamy filling.
  • Cream cheese: Softened to blend smoothly into the filling.
  • Powdered sugar: Sweetens the cream cheese layer without making it grainy.
  • Vanilla extract: Adds warmth and flavor to the creamy filling.
  • Cool Whip: Thawed; you can also use homemade Cool Whip if you prefer.
  • Instant vanilla pudding mix: Quick and easy; chocolate pudding works too if you want a richer flavor.
  • Whole milk: For whisking with the pudding mix until thick and creamy. 2% will work as well.
  • Milano cookies: The perfect shape for decorating like tombstones.
  • Candy pumpkins: Add color and a festive pop to your graveyard scene.
  • Black food writer: To write “RIP” on the tombstones (optional but so fun).

How to Make Halloween Dirt Cake

First make your Oreo crust layer by crushing Oreos in food processor or blender.

Reserve 1/2 cup for topping then combine remaining with melted butter and press into a 9×13 pan.

Mixing bowl of fluffy cream cheese and Cool Whip filling with an electric hand mixer.

Make the graveyard pudding by whipping the softened cream cheese and butter until fluffy with a stand mixer or electric hand mixer. Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla then fold in the Cool Whip.

In a separate bowl, mix Instant pudding and milk. Once thickened, fold pudding into the cream cheese mixture.

Glass baking dish with an Oreo cookie crumb crust pressed evenly across the bottom

Spread the pudding mixture evenly over the Oreo crust and smooth into an even layer.

Sprinkle the reserved 1/2 cup Oreo crumbs over the top then cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill 4 hours.

Graveyard-themed Halloween dirt cake in a glass baking dish, topped with Oreo crumbs, Milano tombstone cookies, and candy pumpkins.

Before serving, decorate your Halloween dirt cake by writing RIP on Milano cookies with a black icing writer. Place tombstones all over the cake and add candy pumpkins!

A single slice of Halloween dirt cake on a white plate, layered with Oreo crust, creamy pudding, Oreo crumbs, and decorated with a tombstone cookie and candy pumpkin.

Recipe Tips

  • Make ahead. While you can serve Halloween Oreo dirt cake recipe right away, I think it tastes best after chilling 4 hours up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
  • Halloween dirt cake pudding cups: Instead of one big Halloween dirt cake recipe, layer it in clear plastic cups! You could layer it one big trifle dish, too.
  • Pudding type. Use only instant pudding not the cook and serve kind and do not follow the box directions.
  • Add some color. A few drops of orange food coloring to the pudding adds to the fun and can allows you to adapt it for Christmas, birthdays or an Easter dirt cake recipe!

Try these other Halloween recipes Halloween candy popcorn, Halloween pizzas recipe, Halloween puking pumpkin and Halloween gingerbread house!

More Halloween Recipes

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Halloween dirt cake in a glass dish with pumpkins on top.

Halloween Dirt Cake

5 from 6 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chill Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 15
Made with Oreo cookies, creamy pudding, and festive toppings, this Halloween dirt cake comes to life as a spooky-cute graveyard cake. Perfect for kids and Halloween parties!
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Ingredients 

Oreo Crust

  • 36 regular Oreos
  • 3 Tablespoons salted butter , melted

Layer 1

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese , softened
  • 5 Tablespoons salted butter , softened
  • ⅔ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces Cool Whip , thawed
  • 2 (3.9-ounce) boxes instant vanilla pudding
  • 2 ½ cups whole milk
  • 8-12 milano cookies
  • 8-12 pumpkin candies
  • black writer

Instructions

Oreo Crust

  • In a food processor or blender, blend 36 Oreos (whole cookies) into fine crumbs. Reserve 1/2 cup for topping and then mix in 3 Tablespoons melted butter until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish and place in the freezer or the refrigerator for 5 minutes.

Filling

  • In a medium-sized bowl, whip 8 ounces softened cream cheese and 5 Tablespoons butter until fluffy with an electric mixer. Mix in 2/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Fold in 8 ounces Cool Whip.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk 2-3.9 ounce boxes of pudding and 2 1/2 cups milk together until thick. Let sit a few minutes to thicken. Then fold the pudding into the cream cheese mixture.
  • Spread the filling evenly over the Oreo crust until smooth.
  • Sprinkle the reserved 1/2 cup Oreo crumbs over the top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill 4 hours. Right before serving write 'RIP' on the milano cookies with a black writer. Then add pumpkins on top.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Oreo’s: Keep the cream in the center. You want to crush the whole cookie pretty fine, so I find using a blender or food processor is easiest. 
Cool whip: If you prefer a homemade cool whip, it is fairly easy to make.
Make dirt cake Halloween cups by layering it in clear plastic cups.

Nutrition

Calories: 134kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 88mg, Potassium: 98mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 293IU, Calcium: 79mg, Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.

Recipe Variations

  • Pudding flavor: For chocolate dessert lovers, use instant chocolate pudding mix or white chocolate pudding instead of vanilla!
  • Oreos: Use your favorite flavor of chocolate sandwich cookies.
  • Tombstones: Instead of Milano cookies, dip Nutter Butter cookies in melted white chocolate, like my mummy cookies!
  • More fun decorations: Use Ghost Peeps, candy eyeballs, gummy bears, gummy worms, festive sprinkles or other Halloween candy if desired.
  • Same concept, different cake: Easily transform my chocolate poke cake into a graveyard dirt cake by decorating it the same way.

Storage

While this festive Halloween dirt cake tastes best right after making, you can store leftovers. Store in the refrigerator tightly covered with plastic wrap up to 3 days.

You may want to remove the candy pumpkins before storing and keep in mind that the cookies will soften the longer it is stored.