Spooky Halloween Dirt Cups recipe are the perfect easy dessert made with jello pudding and tasty crushed Oreo. Make a pumpkin patch or graveyard for the best Halloween treat your kids will love!
Make these spooky dirt cups for any halloween get together and party. They make the perfect classroom party treat! A kids halloween party is not complete without these adorable desserts.
We first saw these made by the pioneer woman herself and just knew we had to make our own version. They are always requested by our kids when we start getting out the festive decorations.
Make this spooktacular dessert with our Halloween cookies, Halloween rice krispies, and Halloween strawberries for the best Halloween party spread. You can even pair it with our Halloween Charcuterie Board and our Halloween Bark. Your kids will love the addition.
Don't forget to try our original Dirt Cups.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Easy- These cups are so easy to make! They take less than 20 minutes to put together and you can make the cutest halloween scene.
- Great for parties- Whether you need a classroom halloween party treat, or a kids halloween party idea, these ghostly goodies hit the spot. They are cute and delicious.
- Festive- Who doesn't love a tasty and adorable festive dessert? Add magic to the fall season with these show stopping pudding cups.
- Kid Friendly- Kids love eating these but they also love making them. They are the perfect treat to have little hands to help with.
- Allergy friendly- You can easily adapt the ingredients to fit a gluten free, or dairy free diet. They make a great allergy friendly Halloween dessert.
Ingredients
Depending on what scene you want to make will determine which ingredients you get. Have monster fun with these eerie pudding cups to make for a fun treat.
- Pudding- For this recipe we used chocolate fudge instant pudding mix. It gives a great dirt look but tastes amazing. Feel free to use your favorite type of pudding if you want a different flavor.
- Milk- Cold milk is needed to mix with the pudding powder.
- Whipped topping- Cool whip works great for this recipe. You will want to make sure it's thawed before using.
- Chocolate cookies- Our favorite cookie to use is Oreos. They are easy to work with and taste delicious.
- Gummies- Have fun with this part. We found fun gummy body parts, and used milano cookies for gravestones. Use Brach's pumpkins for a pumpkin patch.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Use these step by step process photos to get a better idea of what each step is supposed to look like. Use the photos as a guide for texture and presentation.
- In a large bowl combine the pudding powder and the milk. Stir until a pudding forms.
2. Fold in the thawed whipped cream with the pudding mixture. Mix until smooth.
3. Crush chocolate sandwich cookies and set aside. Add pudding mixture to the bottom of a see through cup. Add a layer of crushed cookies. Repeat for 2 layers.
4. Add the body part gummies, or the pumpkins and Milanos to make a graveyard or pumpkin patch scene.
Hint: If you are making a monster dirt cup. Use vanilla pudding and add food dye to make purple and green. Add crushed Oreo on top for hair. Use a sharpie on the cups to make cute monster faces.
Substitutions and Variations
- Dairy Free- To make this a dairy free dessert use dairy free pudding and a milk alternative. You still get that smooth tasty texture and flavor with a dairy free substitute. Use coconut whipped cream to mix in.
- Gluten Free- Making this gluten free is simple! All you need is gluten free chocolate cookies. They make gluten free Oreos that work great for this recipe.
- Sugar Free- Making this 100% sugar free is a little tricky. Use a sugar free pudding and a sugar free whipped topping for the base. Use low sugar or sugar free cookies and candies to go on top.
- Vanilla Pudding- If you aren't a chocolate fan or want to make different colors, use vanilla. Add food dye to make fun halloween colors for the base.
- Chocolate Sandwich Cookies- You can use any brand of cookie. You can even use tan cookies to get a sand look. Graham crackers work great for this.
Helpful Hints
Make monster cups instead of the pumpkin patch and graveyard. Use vanilla pudding and use food dye to turn it purple or green.Draw faces on the cup. The crushed Oreo will act as the hair. Make a Dracula or Frankenstein.
For a spooky Graveyard scene make these cups with scary eyes and creepy body part gummies. Use a Milano cookie to make a gravestone.
Pumpkin Patch dirt cups are so cute. They make a really fun festive scene without being too spooky. Use candy corn pumpkins for the pumpkin patch.
How To Serve
Serve for any Halloween party. Both kids and adults will love these ghoulish desserts. Make it a fun spread by serving it with other fun Halloween Treats like our Halloween cookies, Halloween rice krispies, and Halloween strawberries. You may also love making this fun Black Cat Cookies.
Equipment
For this simple recipe you will need a Mixing Bowl, Whisk, rubber spatula. To assemble you will need clear disposable Plastic Cups.
Storage
Store assembled cups for 1-2 days. The cookie topping and gummies don't do well in the refrigerator for extended periods of time and may begin to look weird. If making ahead of time store in the refrigerator. Cover gently with plastic if possible to help with freshness.
This recipe does not freeze well.
Top tip
Make sure to get all the clumps out when mixing the pudding powder and the milk. You want the base mixture to be as smooth as possible.
FAQ
Learn how to make dirt cups for Halloween with this simple recipe. Use a dirt cup recipe by adding chocolate pudding mixed with whipped cream in a clear cup. Add crushed chocolate cookies to the top. Add spooky Halloween gummies like missing body parts or pumpkins to make it Halloween themed.
Discover an easy Halloween treat idea: create spooky dirt cups using a straightforward recipe. Start by crafting your dirt cup base with a combination of chocolate pudding and whipped cream, layered in a transparent cup. To give it that hauntingly festive touch, sprinkle crushed chocolate cookies on top for an earthy texture. Elevate the Halloween vibes by garnishing your creation with eerie gummies, like body parts or pumpkins, to make it perfectly suited for the spookiest holiday of the year.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Halloween Dirt Cups:
Recipe
Halloween Dirt Cups
Ingredients
- 3.9 oz chocolate fudge pudding mix or your favorite chocolate flavor
- 2 cups milk cold
- 8 oz frozen whipped topping thawed, such as Cool Whip
- 12 chocolate cookies such as OREOs
- gummy body parts, milano cookies, etc for decorations. see notes for ideas
Instructions
- Pour milk into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle pudding mixture on top and whisk to combine. Make sure to mix well to get rid of all lumps! Add in the Cool Whip using a folding motion and stop mixing as soon as well combined. Crush OREOs in a food processor to desired consistency (we like a rough chop for dirt cups).
- Fill cup ⅓ full of pudding mixture then top with a layer of OREOs. You want the OREO layer to be thick enough to show up on the outside of the cup. See photos above. Top with another layer of pudding, then OREOS. Decorate with missing body part gummies or see our notes for other fun ideas like graveyard or monsters.
Notes
- To make Monster dirt cups, use vanilla pudding. Dye ⅓ green, ⅓ purple and ⅓ orange. Fill cups ¾ full of pudding, then top with OREOs. Draw a corresponding face on each cup, Frankenstein, Dracula and a pumpkin (see photos above). For Dracula, when filling the cup, at the top, have it come to a V on on side of the cup for his widows peak (see picture above) and fill it in with OREOs.
- To Make graveyard dirt cups: Make as directed above, then: Get Pepperidge Farm milano cookies and cake writing gel. Write RIP on the cookies and stick them in the "dirt". Use candy pumpkins and skeletons to decorate. You may also use Peep ghosts.
- To make Pumpkin Patch dirt cups: Make as directed above, then decorate with candy pumpkins, and green tart and tinies for grass. OR: use coconut flakes dyed green. Include gummy worms, if desired and leaf sprinkles.
Andrea
Wow these spooky Halloween dirt cups were so easy to make and are so adorable. I made the pumpkin patch scene but totally doing the graveyard next time.
Janae
Such a cute idea! My kiddos desperately want to start all the fall activities and now that our family carpet cleaning business is slowing down, and we finally have the time. Saving this because I have no doubt it will be amazing!! <3