Halloween Dirt Cups
Turn quick and easy Dirt Cups into a fun Halloween treat for your Halloween parties! Instant Chocolate pudding, crushed Oreo “dirt” layered in a glass and topped with spooky candy eyes, chocolate pumpkins, ghost and skulls make these Halloween Dirt Cups cute and delicious!
If you love dirt pie, you will love these individual dirt pudding cups! They’re so easy to make and perfect for the Halloween season.
Easy Halloween Dirt Dessert
Pudding dirt cups are such an easy Halloween dessert! They’re super fun to make with the kids – they’ll love adding all the creepy-fun decorations on top.
I love this recipe because it’s a no-bake dessert that’s perfect for sharing at parties, enjoying after trick-or-treating, or just as a fun treat as Halloween gets closer.
For these dirt cups, I use the same googly-eyes from my monster rice krispie treats and gummy worms from my witches brew hot chocolate! With just a few other ingredients, you’ll have these layered pudding cups ready in no time.
Plus, you can make them ahead to make life even easier for party prep. I can’t wait to show you how to make them!
Ingredients
- Instant chocolate pudding mix – Make sure it’s the instant no-cook kind of mix!
- Milk – We like to use 2% milk or whole milk.
- Cool Whip – You can also use homemade whipped cream.
- Crushed Oreos – Use a food processor or crush them in a bag so they look like crumbly dirt.
- Halloween candy – Assorted candy eyes, gummy worms, and chocolate Halloween candy for decorating
Variations for Dirt Cups
If you want to change the them of the pudding cups, just switch up the decorations! Here are some ideas you can try:
- Gummy worm dirt cups: Just use a few gummy worms!
- Pumpkin patch dirt cups: Look for small candy pumpkins and use them to make a cute pumpkin patch on top.
- Graveyard dirt cups: Use cookies for the headstones and add candy ghosts and Halloween sprinkles for a spooky dirt cup.
Helpful Tools
How to Make Dirt Cups for Halloween
Make the Pudding: Combine the pudding mix and milk in a large bow. Mix at low speed and, once combined, increase the speed to medium. Mix until the pudding is thickened.
Make the Chocolate Whipped Topping: Combine one cup of chocolate pudding with one cup of Cool Whip. Mix until well combined.
Assemble the Dirt Cups: Fill each cup with one tablespoon of crushed Oreos. Top with the chocolate pudding and then add another layer of cookie dirt. Add the whipped topping, and sprinkle more crushed Oreos over the top.
Decorate! Add your decorations on top of each cup.
Chill: Place the dirt cups in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving them.
Tips for the Best Dirt Cups
Oreos: Be sure to finely crush the Oreos. It will be easier to spoon into the cups if there aren’t a lot of uneven chunks. Also, it will look more like dirt!
Layering: This dessert is all about the different layers! So, keep these tips in mind when you are assembling the cups:
- To make distinctive layers, carefully add each layer to the cups. Keep the sides of the cups clean so you can see the different layers once they’re assembled.
- If you make a mistake and smear pudding on the side, just use a paper towel to wipe it away before adding the next layer.
- It also helps to rap the bottom of the cup on the counter to even out each layer before adding the next layer.
Whipped Topping: You can use homemade whipped cream instead of Cool Whip. I prefer whipped topping because it’s more stable than homemade and keeps better in the fridge once the dirt cups are made.
Decorations: Want to up-level the decorations? Look for silicone chocolate molds in fun Halloween shapes and fill them with melted candy melts. Let them set, pop them out, and use them to decorate the tops of the dirt cups.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
Make Ahead: You can make the pudding a day ahead and crush the cookies and keep them in an airtight container. The next day, just assemble the cups!
Storage Tips: Halloween dirt cups are best the day they’re made because the crushed Oreos and gummy worms will get soggy if they sit too long in the refrigerator. If you have leftovers, they will keep for up to three days but the candy and cookies will be softer.
The combination of cool and creamy pudding, whipped topping, and crunchy cookie dirt are so good in these Halloween pudding dirt cups! If you’re looking for a fun no-bake dessert for this year, this recipe needs to be on your list. Have fun making them!
More Fun Halloween Activities
- Print of some Halloween Activity Pages to keep the kiddos occupied before it’s time to trick or treat!
- Monster Halloween Cookies are another easy recipe that will get everyone in the spooky spirit!
- Make some Mummy Hot Dogs for a fun lunch or dinner!
If you take a picture and share these Instagram make sure to #kidsactivityzone or tag us @kidsactivityzoneblog so we can see them!
Halloween Dirt Cups
Ingredients
- 2 packages of instant chocolate pudding mix 3.9 oz or 113g packages
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup cool whip thawed
- 15 Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies
- 8 plastic 8 oz cups
- Assorted candy eyes gummy worms, and chocolates for garnish.
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl add the 2 packages of chocolate instant pudding and 4 cups of milk. Mix with an electric mixer starting on low speed and switching to medium speed until it becomes a thick pudding consistency and thoroughly combined (about 2-3minutes).
- In a different medium bowl, add 1 cup of thawed cool whip and 1 cup of the chocolate pudding from step 1. Mix on medium speed until combined about 2 minutes.
- Place pudding and whipped topping mixture in the refrigerator while you prepare the “dirt”.
- Place Oreos in the base of a food processor and pulse until medium fine crumbs are created. If you do not have a food processor, you can crush the Oreos by placing them in a zip top bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin until completely crushed into crumbs.
- Remove the pudding and whipped topping mixture from the refrigerator and lay out the plastic cups.
- Start filling the cups by layering 1 tablespoon of the Oreo dirt in the bottom of the cup.
- Next layer with ½ cup of chocolate pudding. Tap the cup on the counter to level the pudding for the next layer. Add another tablespoon of crushed Oreos over the chocolate pudding.
- Next add a heaping ¼ cup of the whipped topping mixture over the dirt. Tap the cup on the counter to level out the layer.
- Finish with a last tablespoon of crushed Oreo dirt and garnish with gummy worms and candy of your choice! Allow the dirt cups to chill for at least 30 minutes before serving and enjoy!
Notes
- Be careful when adding the pudding and whipped topping mixture to the cup. Be sure that you are keeping the sides of your cup clean so you can see the layers. If you make a mistake and pudding or whipped topping smudges on the cup, take a wet paper towel and clean it before proceeding to the next step.
- This recipe makes 8 large servings. You use smaller cups and divide the ingredients to make smaller servings or cut the recipe in half to just make 4.
- If you prefer not to use cool whip you can skip it and just layer the pudding and dirt.
- You can make chocolate toppings using candy melts or melted white chocolate using silicone molds for really unique decorating or simply stick to candy eyeballs and gummy worms.
- It’s fun to make these with kids at a Halloween party. Have them add the dirt layers and decorate with candy at the end!
- The pudding can be made ahead for these dirt cups and then everything can be layered before serving.
- Oreos and gummies become soggy in the refrigerator so these cups are best served the day they are made but can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days if there are leftovers.
