Graveyard Pudding Cups Halloween Dessert

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With so many fun things to do, Halloween is one of my family’s favorite holidays. If your family loves Halloween as much as we do, you’re going to need some great ideas to celebrate the holiday! Whether I’m throwing a Halloween party or just need a fun snack for my kids during the fall season, this simple Halloween dessert is perfect. It’s a no-bake treat made with pudding and cookies. What kid wouldn’t love that?

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I love finding quick and easy desserts for the holidays. And when it comes to quick and easy, it doesn’t get much better than pudding! It’s a simple, no-bake snack that I can easily decorate, so it’s my go-to treat for last-minute parties or a fun after-dinner treat on Halloween..

On top of being so cute, these fun Halloween pudding cups couldn’t be simpler for me to make! All I need are a few simple ingredients and a few minutes of prep time to create this fun (and kid-friendly) graveyard scene.

Cute Halloween Dessert for Kids

To make these fun Halloween pudding desserts, I always start with instant chocolate pudding. Once the pudding is set up, I add some fun decorations, like a cookie tombstone and gummy worms, to give classic dirt and worms a spooky twist.

Here’s what I used to make this easy Halloween pudding graveyard.

• Chocolate pudding. To make this dessert quick and easy, I suggest using instant chocolate pudding. This helps me speed up the prep time and makes this treat so much easier to put together.
• Milk. Since I’m using instant pudding, I also need milk to prepare the dessert. I just follow the instructions on the package to prepare my chocolate pudding, using the measurements provided on the box.
• Cool Whip. I add some extra flavor and creaminess to my pudding cups with the help of Cool Whip (although sometimes I just grab the generic brand of whipped topping).
• Oreos. To turn my plain pudding into dirt cups, I also use crushed Oreos. To prepare my Oreos for the pudding cups, I usally place them in a zip-top bag and roll over the bag with a rolling pin. This is a quick and easy way to crush the chocolate sandwich cookies.
• Milano cookies. These long, rounded cookies make great tombstones for my pudding graveyards. But any cookie of this shape would work for your own dessert. You could even make your own, if you want!
• Black icing. I used a small bottle of black gel decorating icing to decorate my cookies to look like tombstones. But any black icing would work well for this step of the preparation process.
• Gummy worms. With the help of a few gummy worms, I add a spooky finishing touch to the Halloween dirt cups.

How to Make This Halloween Dessert

This layered dessert is quick and easy to make. Just follow my instructions for creating the different layers in your pudding cups to prepare this simple no-bake treat in a matter of minutes.

The first step I take when creating this easy Halloween dessert is to prepare the pudding. I simply follow the instructions on the package of pudding to get it ready to be added to the cups. I used instant chocolate pudding in my dessert, which required two cups of milk. Just add the milk to the pudding and whisk until it’s well combined.

I give my instant pudding around five minutes to rest, which gives it time to thicken up. While the pudding is thickening, I take those minutes to get my Oreos ready. The easiest way to crush the cookies I have found is placing all the cookies in a large zip-top bag and sealing the bag. I then use a rolling pin to roll over the top of the bag, crushing the cookies. For this recipe, the cookies don’t need to be fully crushed, just crumbly.

After crushing my cookies, I sprinkle a thin layer along the bottom of each plastic cup. Then, I spoon half the pudding over the top of the crushed cookies in each cup.

Next, I add the whipped topping to the remaining pudding in the bowl and stir to combine. After that, I top the chocolate pudding in each cup with a second layer of Oreo cookie crumbs, making sure to spread the crumbs in an even layer over the top of the pudding.

Then I spread the pudding and whipped topping mixture over the cookie crumb layer, distributing the mixture evenly over the five cups. I use the back of my spoon to smooth the top of the pudding mixture on each cup. Then I sprinkle the remaining Oreo cookie crumbs on the top of the dessert.

How to Decorate Halloween Desserts

Now that I have my dirt cup desserts prepared, it’s time to have some fun decorating my treats! Here’s how I turn plain Oreo dirt cups into graveyards for Halloween.

To make my cookie tombstones, I use black decorating gel to carefully write RIP on each cookie. Or when I want to be a little more creative, I come up with some other fun words or phrases to use on the cookies.

When all my cookie gravestones are decorated, I place each one into the top of a pudding cup. Then I place a gummy worm along the side to decorate the dessert.

But tombstones and gummy worms aren’t the only fun ways I add a spooky touch to these pudding snacks! Try adding these other decorations to give your own Halloween desserts even more scary toppings:

• Candy eyes
• Peeps ghosts
• Candy pumpkins
• Plastic spiders
• Sour worms
• Halloween sprinkles

Halloween Dessert Ideas

There are so many fun ways to serve Halloween desserts to party guests! And that means I always have my pick of fun sweet treats to make for my own parties. Check out these easy dessert ideas I’ve used at my own celebrations:

These Halloween dirt cups are so simple to make, which means I know I can easily change up the recipe to make something new every time I serve them! Try these Halloween dessert ideas to create a cute and delicious treat for the kids at your party.

• Make gluten free dirt cups. When I want to enjoy these desserts, I substitute traditional Oreo cookies for gluten free Oreos when making my pudding cups. To create the gravestones, you could make your own gluten free Milano cookies or use these gluten free Speculoos, which have a similar shape!
• Add some ghosts. When I have some extra time, I like to make this Halloween dessert a little spookier with the help of some ghosts. I add meringue ghosts to the top of the pudding to decorate each dessert.
• Use pudding cups. You don’t need to make your own pudding to create these easy treats! When I’m in a rush, I just remove the top from a pudding cup and stick the Milano cookie gravestone into the pudding. Top with some Oreo cookie crumbs and a gummy worm, and I’m able to instantly create an adorable Halloween treat.

How Far in Advance Can I Make Halloween Dirt Cups?

I’ve found that these Halloween desserts can be made up to one day in advance, making them perfect for a party! To get my dirt cups ready ahead of time, I start by layering the pudding and cookie crumbles in the cup.

Once I have my dirt cups layered, I store them in the refrigerator until I’m ready to serve them.

While I often prepare the pudding cups ahead of time, I would suggest waiting to decorate the tombstone cookies until you’re ready to serve your desserts. The black gel icing may run and the cookies will get soggy if you add them to the pudding cups too far in advance.

More Fun Halloween Recipe Ideas:

25 Spooky Halloween Appetizer Recipes

Adorable Halloween Monster Marshmallows

Cheese Stuffed Mummy Breadsticks

Fast and Easy Halloween Pretzels