Get ready to dig into the best no bake Dirt Pie recipe, complete with Oreo cookie crust, creamy chocolate pudding filling, edible Oreo dirt, and gummy worm garnish. Always approved by kids and a classic family favorite.
What kid doesn’t love playing in the dirt? And let’s be honest, some may enjoy eating it too. We created a way to eat dirt, but in a delicious, not disgusting way!
Our Oreo Dirt Pie recipe is the perfect no-bake pudding dessert when you’re craving kid-friendly fun! Easy to make, with a thick mousse-like mixture spread inside a crunchy Oreo crust. It’s covered with a dusting of dirt and topped with worms that aren’t disgusting!
A worms in dirt recipe is the perfect make-ahead dessert that provides a great conversation piece at parties. Filled with cool, creamy, crunchy components, it’s a great way to turn a non-traditional pie into a piece of Oreo dirt pudding.
Dirt Pie Ingredients
- Oreo sandwich cookies: You can substitute generic chocolate sandwich cookies for the Oreo brand. Crushed Oreos will be used for the crust, filling, and topping.
- Salted butter: I recommend using salted butter for the Oreo cookie crust, as it helps to balance the sweetness; however, unsalted butter can also help bind the cookie crust. If you use unsalted butter, add a dash of salt.
- Cream cheese: Ensure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature before starting. Softened cream cheese is easier to mix with powdered sugar and will give you a smooth filling.
- Powdered sugar: Sweetens and stabilizes the cream cheese mixture.
- Milk: Cold whole milk works best for this recipe for the richest, creamiest results. Although a higher fat milk helps the pudding thicken and set, you can use 2% instead.
- Chocolate instant pudding mix: You can substitute instant vanilla pudding or even Oreo flavored pudding for the instant chocolate pudding mix. Make sure to use instant pudding and not the cook-and-serve kind.
- Whipped topping: I personally like prepared whipped topping like Cool Whip because it’s more stable and keeps well in the fridge. However, you can use homemade whipped cream like my Homemade Whipped Cream (Stabilized Recipe)!
- Gummy worms: You can garnish your pie with other types of gummy insects.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Dirt Pie
- Create The Crust: Combine the crushed Oreos with melted butter and stir coat. Press the buttered crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a standard pie plate. Chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
- Make The Cream Cheese Mixture: Mix the cream cheese until smooth, add in the powdered sugar, and continue mixing until smooth.
- Prepare The Pudding: Sprinkle the pudding mix over the milk and mix until thickened. Add in crushed cookie crumbs and stir to distribute.
- Form The Filling: Fold the whipped topping into the pudding mixture. Next, fold the cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture into the pudding.
- Cover The Crust: Spread the pudding filling into the chilled Oreo pie crust. Sprinkle the crushed Oreo crumbs over the top, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- Slice And Serve: Cut the pie into 8 slices and top with gummy worms. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Chocolate dirt dessert recipes come in various shapes, flavors and sizes. Instead of a round pie plate, you can make an Oreo dirt cake in a rectangular pan, or you can prepare them smaller in portable plastic cups, like my dirt cake cups, Oreo dessert cups, and chocolate peanut butter dessert cups.
Get creative and display your dirt dessert with worms in a bucket or a flower pot, add some artificial flowers and bugs for a fun flair, and serve your snack with a small shovel. Then, devour your dirt worm pudding with a spoon.
A glass trifle dish will also make a pretty presentation for a party or potluck.
Tips & Variations
- Crush the Cookies: If you want your Oreo cookies to have a fine crumb consistency, you can crush them in a blender or food processor, or you can place them in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Make sure you crush the entire cookie and do not remove the filling!
- Press With Wax Paper: I used a sheet of waxed paper and a measuring cup to press the crumbs into the pie pan. This way, the buttered crumbs will only stick to the pie plate and not your hands or measuring cup.
- Fold The Filling: Folding the whipped topping into the pudding should help keep the filling from being too dense.
- Use Other Oreos: Choose your favorite flavor or type of Oreo cookies. Chocolate creme Oreos, birthday cake Oreos, and red velvet Oreos pair perfectly with the chocolate pudding mixture. You can even substitute gluten-free Oreo cookies for regular Oreo cookies.
- Skip A Step: Want to make this recipe even easier? You can prepare your pie with a store bought Oreo crust or pre-made graham cracker crust for convenience.
How To Soften Cream Cheese
To soften, simply remove the package cream cheese from the foil and place it on a microwave-safe plate. Heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds or until softened. You can also leave it on the kitchen counter for 1 to 2 hours to soften to room temperature. Don’t leave cream cheese at room temperature for longer than 2 hours, or it could start to grow bacteria that could lead to food-borne illness.
Proper Storage
- To Store: Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To Freeze: Unfortunately, Dirt Pie does not freeze well.
More Fun Recipes for Kids
- Rainbow Sherbet Punch
- Sour Patch Grapes
- Jello Cookies
- Dairy Queen Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
- Cookie Dough Pretzel Bites
If you tried this Dirt Pie Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!
Dirt Pie
Ingredients
Oreo Crust
- 40 Oreo sandwich cookies crushed with cream center (divide 2 cups for crust, 1 cup for filling, 1 cup for topping)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter melted and cooled
Filling
- 8 ounces (or 226g) cream cheese softened
- ¾ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1½ cups cold whole milk
- 3.9 ouncs (or 110g) instant chocolate pudding mix
- 8 ounces (or 226g) whipped topping thawed
- 24 gummy worms
Instructions
- Add 2 cups of the crushed Oreo cookies to a small (3-4 cups) mixing bowl. Pour the melted and cooled butter over the crushed cookies. Stir to completely coat the cookie crumbs.
- Press the buttered Oreo crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a standard 9 inch pie plate. (I used a sheet of waxed paper and a ½ cup measuring to press the crumbs. This way the buttered crumbs will only stick to the pie plate and not your hands or measuring cup) Place the crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
- Add the softened cream cheese to a medium (2-3 quarts) mixing bowl. (It’s very important that the cream cheese is softened, to reduce any lumps) Use a handheld mixer on medium speed to mix the cream cheese until smooth, about 1 ½ – 2 minutes.
- Add the sifted powdered sugar and continue mixing for another 2 minutes, or until the cream cheese and powdered sugar are smooth.
- In a separate medium sized mixing bowl, add the cold milk. Sprinkle the pudding mix over the milk. Use a handheld mixer on low speed, or a handheld whisk to mix the milk and pudding until thickened.
- Add in 1 cup of the crushed cookie crumbs to the pudding and stir until evenly distributed.
- Use a silicone spatula to gently fold the thawed whipped topping into the pudding and cookie crumb mixture. (Folding the whipped topping into the pudding should help keep the filling from being too dense)
- Next, gently fold the cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture in the pudding.
- Evenly spread the pudding filling into the chilled Oreo pie crust. Use either a silicone spatula or an offset spatula to smooth the filling.
- Evenly sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of crushed Oreo crumbs over the top of the pie. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Just before serving, cut the pie into 8 slices. Arrange the gummy worms (2-3 per slice) on top of the cookie crumb dirt. Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Unfortunately, Dirt Pie does not freeze well.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- You can crush your Oreo cookies in a blender or food processor if you want them to have a fine crumb consistency or you can place the cookies in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Make sure you crush the entire cookie and do not remove the filling!
- I used a sheet of waxed paper and a measuring cup to press the crumbs into the pie pan. This way the buttered crumbs will only stick to the pie plate and not your hands or measuring cup.
- Folding the whipped topping into the pudding should help keep the filling from being too dense.
- Choose your favorite flavor or type of Oreo cookies. Chocolate creme Oreos, birthday cake Oreos, and red velvet Oreos pair perfectly with the chocolate pudding mixture. You can even substitute gluten free Oreo cookies for regular Oreo cookies.
- Want to make this recipe even easier? You can prepare your pie with a store bought Oreo crust or pre-made graham cracker crust for convenience.
