This no-bake, make-ahead homemade dirt pudding recipe is as fun to make as it is to serve and eat. With its layers of creamy homemade chocolate pudding, crushed Oreo cookies, and buried gummy worms, this whimsical dessert brings out the inner child in everyone. Eating dirt and worms has never been so delicious (or encouraged)!
One reader, Allie, commented: โIโve never made chocolate pudding from scratch before, and after making this recipe, I will never go back to boxed pudding mixes ever again! Oh my, this pudding is an absolute dream. So simple and easy to make, too! โ โ โ โ โ โ
Go on, I dare even the grumpiest grownup to resist a smile when theyโre handed a cup of dirt and worms to eat with a spoon. Even the worms are smiling like theyโre in on the joke. ๐
Why Would I Eat Dirt?
Fair question. Hereโs why you will love this homemade dirt pudding dessert:
- Smooth, creamy milk chocolate pudding is surprisingly easy to make from scratch!
- Layers of Oreo cookie crumbs provide a wonderful texture contrast.
- This is a no-bake, make-ahead dessert.
- You can decorate the top to suit your party or holiday theme (ideas below)!
- Makes a great treat for kidsโ parties, spring or summertime, or Halloween.
- You can layer it in cups for individually portioned desserts, or all in 1 large baking dish or bowl.
- Fun to make, fun to eat! Both kids and kids-at-heart love digging into this dessert.
Ingredients You Need for Homemade Dirt Pudding
This is from-scratch stovetop chocolate pudding, and the best way I know how to make it. You donโt have to serve it as dirt and worms! Itโs incredible plain, as a trifle, or in a baked pie crust. Hereโs what you need:
- Sugar: For sweetening the pudding.
- Cocoa Powder: I use unsweetened natural cocoa powder, which, when combined with the sugar and milk, makes a nice milk chocolate pudding (a kid favorite!). If you prefer the bittersweet flavor of dark chocolate, you can use Dutch-process cocoa powder or Hersheyโs Special Dark cocoa powder instead.
- Cornstarch: This is the thickening agent for the pudding, just like we need for banana cream pie, coconut cream pie, and banana pudding.
- Salt: A little salt balances the sweet.
- Whole Milk: Use whole milk in this recipe. If you want to substitute in lower fat or nondairy milk, increase the cornstarch. I tested it, and almond milk worked nicely but the consistency was much thinner even with 1 extra Tablespoon of cornstarch. So, keep that in mind.
- Butter: Just 3 Tablespoons stirred in at the end of cooking gives the pudding a richer flavor, helps it continue to thicken, and smooths it out. (It does the same in homemade hot fudge, too.)
- Vanilla Extract: Flavor enhancer.
- Oreos: Crush classic or peanut butter Oreos for the โdirtโ layers, or crush Golden Oreos for โsandโ if youโd prefer a beach theme! (See below for some more theme inspiration and ideas.) If you want to include this recipe in your lineup of gluten free dessert recipes, be sure to use gluten free Oreos.
- Gummy Worms: Always the kidsโ favorite part of this treat!
Have you ever tried my butterscotch pudding before? The chocolate pudding is similar, but thereโs no need for egg yolks. The cornstarch obviously helps thicken, but the cocoa powder does too.
Make the Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Making homemade chocolate pudding is so much easier than youโd think, and the full printable recipe is below. These brief notes and step-by-step photos will help you understand the process before you begin. First, youโll combine most of the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. (Youโll stir the butter and vanilla in after cooking.)
If youโve ever made coconut cream pie, mocha chocolate pudding pie, butterscotch pie, or pastry cream, this process will seem a bit familiar. Youโre cooking the mixture on the stove.
I removed the saucepan from heat just to show you this picture. Hereโs the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt, and milk combined. Itโs pretty thin before it begins cooking:
Making homemade pudding is all about whisking. I always like to say: if you know how to whisk, you know how to make pudding.
Whisking occasionally, cook the mixture until it begins boiling. You want big bubbles erupting and popping in the very center of the pan. When that happens, let it boil for 1 minute, and then whisk in the butter and vanilla extract off heat.
Look how wonderfully thick! Pour the hot pudding into a heatproof bowl, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then place plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a rubbery โskinโ from forming on top.
Let the pudding thicken in the refrigerator for an hour, and then assemble the dirt cups. After that, refrigerate the assembled dirt cups for 3 hours, or up to 48 hours. Great make-ahead dessert!
Layer the Dirt Dessert Cups
This recipe makes about 4 cups of pudding, so thatโs enough for eight 1/2-cup servings of pudding. Layer a couple spoonfuls of crumbs into the bottom of each glass, followed by a layer of pudding (about 1/4 cup), and repeat with another layer of crumbs, a second 1/4-cup layer of pudding, and a final topping of crumbs. Donโt forget the worms!
Success Tip: Taking these to go? Use glass jars with lids or plastic cups with lids to make transporting easy!
You can also make this as a larger dessert, rather than individual cups, in a 9-inch-square glass baking dish or glass trifle bowl.
Other Ideas for Decorating Dirt Pudding
Here are a few more ideas to inspire youโget creative and have fun with it!
- Flower Pot: Flower pot, gummy worms, shovel spoons, flower lollipop
- Halloween: Candy pumpkins, candy eyeballs, Halloween sprinkles
- Beach: Mini pails, Golden Oreos for the โsand,โ shovel spoons, cocktail umbrellas, gummy flip-flops. You could even use vanilla pudding, butterscotch pudding, or banana pudding for a lighter color.
- Pirate Buried Treasure: Treasure box, Golden Oreos for the โsand,โ chocolate coins
- Easter: Green-tinted sweetened shredded coconut โgrassโ on top, candy eggs, mini chocolate bunny
- Terrarium: Clear glass tumbler for visible layers, chocolate candy succulents, chocolate pebbles, meringue mushrooms
No matter how you decorate or serve these dirt pudding cups, kids and kids-at-heart cannot get enough. Hereโs to a silly, happy dessert!
Homemade Dirt Pudding Recipe
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 50 minutes (includes refrigeration)
- Yield: 8 1/2 cup pudding servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This homemade chocolate pudding comes together in about 10 minutes on the stove. Youโll want to make and assemble these pudding cups ahead of time so the chocolate pudding has time to thicken in the refrigerator. Crushed Oreo cookies and gummy worms turn the smooth and creamy from-scratch pudding into โdirtโ!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cups (267g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (42g) unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup (40g) cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 and 1/2 cups (1,080ml) whole milk*
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 24โ30 Oreo cookies (or about 1 standard package)
- 24 gummy worms
Instructions
- Make the pudding: Whisk sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan and place the saucepan over medium heat. While whisking, slowly pour in the milk and whisk until combined.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes and do not try to rush it by turning up the heat, as the pudding will not thicken properly. The mixture will begin to bubble around the edges, and then in the center. Once bubbling in the center, whisk constantly and allow to boil for 1 minute. The pudding should be thickened, and youโll know itโs thickened enough if it coats the back of a spoon or spatula without dripping off.
- Remove from heat, and then whisk in the butter and vanilla.
- Pour into a heatproof bowl, let sit for 5 minutes, and then place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming on top. Refrigerate for 1 hour. The pudding will not be fully thickened at this point, as you still want it a little thin to assemble the pudding cups in step 6.
- Place the Oreos in a food processor or blender and pulse into crumbs.
- Assemble the dirt dessert: Itโs helpful to know that this recipe makes 4 cups of chocolate pudding, and you can make individual cups, a trifle, or assemble/serve in a 9-inch baking pan. The amount of pudding/Oreo crumbs in each cup really depends on the size of the cup (or other vessel) you are using. Youโll want to layer Oreo crumbs on the bottom, then pudding, Oreo crumbs in the middle, more pudding, and more Oreo crumbs on top. Start with a couple Tablespoons of Oreo crumbs in the bottom of each cup. Spoon 1/4 cup of pudding on top of the Oreo layer, then repeat with another couple of spoonfuls of Oreo crumbs, another 1/4 cup of pudding, and a final layer of Oreo crumbs. Place a few gummy worms in the top layer of Oreo crumbs.
- Refrigerate uncovered for 3 more hours and up to 48 hours.
- Cover and store leftover cups in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: This is a make ahead dessert because the pudding cups need to set and thicken. You can assemble the pudding cups up to 48 hours in advance. See step 7.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Whisk | Food Processor or Blender/Chopper | Glass Cups (pictured are something like this), or try Glass Jars With Lids, Plastic Cups with Lids, or Trifle Bowl
- Milk: Whole milk is the best choice for this pudding. If youโd like to try a lower-fat milk or nondairy milk, add 1 more Tablespoon of cornstarch. But keep in mind that the pudding will still not thicken quite as much as the whole milk version. If you have heavy cream, you could use 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream and 3 and 1/2 cups (840ml) lower-fat or nondairy milk. No need to add an extra Tbsp of cornstarch if doing that.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Both kids and adults loved these. Thank you Sally for providing wonderful recipes. I donโt particularly like to bake, but you make the job easier and fun!
First time making pudding from scratch and boy it was a hit! Such a fun treat for Halloween I like using Milano cookies as grave stones.
Hi Sally! Iโm making this for my sonโs party on Sunday (today is Friday), do you recommend just making the pudding today in advance and keeping in fridge? Or should I assemble the cups with the Oreos. I just donโt want the Oreos to become soggy.
Hi Rachel, Youโll want the pudding to be a little bit on the thinner side to easily assemble the cups (after about an hour in the refrigerator). We found they stay fresh assembled for up to 48 hours. If you want to make your pudding a day or two before assembling that should be fine, just keep in mind may be a bit more difficult to layer cleanly once the pudding has fully thickened up.
Am I supposed to take off the frosting in the Oreo before putting it in the food processor? Also can I use homemade Oreos?
Hi Felicity! Leave the filling in the Oreos. Homemade Oreos wonโt be the right texture.
Great recipe! I did this in an 8ร8 square pan and it fit well. I added 2 teaspoons of espresso powder to add a kick to the pudding, and I used peanut butter OREOS. Everyone on Halloween loved it!
Pudding is delicious!!
Can I mix it with whipping cream to lighten it up .. Iโm making mini dessert cups..?
Hi Becky, we havenโt tested it, but we imagine that should work. Or, hereโs our homemade chocolate mousse recipe if youโre interested.
Recipe is soooo good! I was wondering if I can leave it covered overnight? If Iโm not planning on assembling it. Or do I have to keep it uncovered?
Hi Bee, if youโre just making the pudding, we still recommend placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming on top. You can keep it on overnight.
Made this recipe vegan using oat milk and oat butter, and used date sugar. Came out soooo soooooo delicious. Looking forward to using your other desserts.
Hi Bee, weโre so glad it worked out and you enjoyed the dirt pudding!
This was a hit last night! The kids loved it and even the adults had to have some
May I leave a rating if I only made the pudding? What a simple and delicious egg-free chocolate pudding!
Best chocolate pudding Iโve ever tasted, let alone made. This simple nostalgic dessert was a huge hit at a scorching hot July 4th bbq (served in individual cups).
On my goodness was the pudding yummy! Made this for a family get together for the kids and it was a big hit.
So glad you enjoyed!
Hello, I have a question, could you possibly tell me how much one person gets per serving
Thank you
Hi James, this recipe yields eight 1/2 cup servings.
Could I substitute arrowroot for cornstarch?
Hi Kelly, We havenโt tested it ourselves but arrowroot is usually a good substitute for cornstarch. Let us know if you give it a try.
I made it last night with arrowroot and it did thicken up and made a beautiful, silky pudding. Yum! This will be our go to recipe from now on when we are craving chocolate pudding. Thank you for all your hard work- I have made several of your recipes and have always been so impressed.
Will this fit a sheet cake pan?
This fits in a 9-inch square pan.
Thanks for taking the time to share this recipe. For anyone who is wondering โ you can triple this recipe as it is and it totally works great. I made 26 cups and had a bit of pudding left (1.5 cups probably). My daughters grade 6 class tomorrow is going to be so excited for their treat! Thanks again ๐ Iโve never made pudding from scratch before, it never even occurred to me to do it haha. Now that I know how easy it is Iโll be exploring different flavours for sure!
I needed this exact info for the exact same reason (different grade), so thank you!
Hi Sally! I was wondering if you had a homemade vanilla pudding recipe also so I could make โdirtโ and โsandโ for my sonโs construction themed birthday party. Thanks for your help!
Hi Jessica, the vanilla pudding recipe from this Caramelized Banana Pudding recipe should be perfect! What a sweet idea ๐
This was fun to make!
Iโve never made chocolate pudding from scratch before and after making this recipe, I will never go back to boxes pudding mixes EVER again! Oh my this pudding is an absolute dream! So simple and easy to make too! I am almost mad at myself for ever using the boxes pudding because this was so simple and out of this world delicious.
I would like to make a dirt layer cake, chocolate cake layer, filled with chocolate pudding and a Oreo frosting. Would it be possible to use this pudding recipe as a filling for a layer cake?
Hi Syd, it should be sturdy enough if it has chilled long enough. Or you can try the mousse layer from this dark chocolate mousse cake.
I made this for Fatherโs Day as chocolate pudding is my husbandโs all time favourite dessert. He topped his pudding with coconut but the kids and I had the full Dirt And Worms experience. My kids were really confused as to why I was feeding them dirt and worms โ it made for a fun joke. My five year old said, โThis is actually real dirt. And it tastes so GOOD!โ Lol. And just in case you were wondering, the leftovers tonight were just as scrumptious today!!! Sally, you never disappoint. Iโve never seen a cook or baker who nails a dish as consistently as you.
This recipe looks great! Could it be cut in half for a small batch?
Hi Cassie! Halving the recipe should be just fine. Bringing the pudding mixture to a boil will take a little less time.
Not entirely sure how Sally read my mind and published this recipe days after thinking about dirt cups, but here we are! I made the pudding cups tonight and the recipe was super easy to follow and make. I found that my pudding didnโt bubble aggressively and probably kept it on the stove beyond when it needed to. I recommend keeping an eye on it until itโs thickened and then using the spoon test mentioned to see when itโs done. After about 3 hours my pudding was chilled enough to assemble the cups, but was not so cold that it was difficult to manage
I made this for our church groundskeeping committtee, aka plant and soil lovers. It was a hit!
This recipe looks amazing. One question, do you crush the whole Oreo cookie without scaping the icing off?
Yes, thatโs correct. The whole Oreo, including the filling.
This recipe was awesome Sally (like everything you make). Thank you so much (canโt wait for your next recipe)-Jane
I make it today lovely n yummy . Love it!
Thank you so much
Your recipes are the ones I use all the time because the outcome is as you say- I just follow your instructions and whala! Itโs super delicious and anyone that eats it is impressed
This tastes great! However, when I finished cooking it it was nice and thick, but when I put it in the fridge overnight, the next morning it was soupy! What did I do wrong? Could I try cooking it again or do I need to start over?
Hi Heather, Iโm so glad you tried this! I wonder if you cooked the pudding long enough on the stove. I know you said it was nice and thick, but another 1-2 minutes could help. Did you use whole milk, or a lower fat or nondairy milk?
Your recipes are always a hit in our house! My almost 2 year old has a birthday soon, and โdirtโ is his favorite thing, so we were planning to make dirt cake โ your timing could not be more perfect!
Amazing!! Perfect for birthdays!
I have some heavy cream Iโm looking for a use for โ would you recommend subbing the whole milk for heavy cream? Or, 2 1/4c each heavy cream and 2% milk?
Hi Alex, you could use half heavy cream and milk for a nice thick pudding. The consistency would be best a little thinner, such as using 3 and 1/2 cups 2% and the rest heavy cream.