Creamy yet crunchy Oreo dirt cake recipe is super easy to make for a birthday party! And any gluten free chocolate sandwich cookie will work. Just crush and mash and have fun with this ice cream cake! A yummy dirt dessert recipe, and with gummy worms on top it is a Halloween party favorite too.
For more party desserts, try my gluten-free chocolate cupcakes, s'mores cake and a scoop of double chocolate vegan ice cream.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 1 hour (plus freezing)
- 🌡️ Cook Time: No baking, it freezes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour
- 🍽️ Serving: 16 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 699kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Cookies and cream: crunchy chocolate cookie crumbs and creamy vanilla ice cream
- ✋ Difficulty: Only 2 ingredients, crush, blend, pack, freeze. Set it out next to a party snack platter.
Quick Answer
Crush one pack of gluten free Oreo cookies in a blender or food processor and set aside. Crush the second pack, add a gallon of vanilla ice cream and blend until mixed. Scoop the cookie ice cream mixture into a deep dish or a plastic flower pot lined with a sandwich bag, add a few gummy worms, pack the reserved crushed cookies on top so it looks like dirt, add worms for decoration and freeze until ready to serve.
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Last month we had another Pam and Steve hosted party! If you are not familiar yet with a "Pam Party" you can check out our previous beach theme party here. Pam always throws together these thoughtful simple parties that make guests feel so welcome and special.
The celebration cake was a dirt cake made with Trader Joe's Gluten Free Joe-Joe's or you can use Oreo Cookies. They now offer gluten free (no this is not sponsored:-). Such a fun cake to make for the kiddos! Only 2 ingredients needed: 2 packages of gluten free Oreo cookies, Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's, or any chocolate gluten free sandwich cookies and ice-cream. If you want you can also add chocolate pudding into the mix for dirt pudding. The fun part is then dressing up the cake with silly gummy worms and edible bugs. Sorry, we ate it too fast to grab a picture of it without the worms:-( !
Seeing an Oreo dirt cake made me think of a specific memory as a child. My brother, sister and I were always playing in the mud and using the hose to make "delicious" mud pies. We'd take our large wooden spoons and slowly stir our puddles of mud adding leaves and insects until the thickness was just right. Then we'd use a pie pan to scoop it in to serve and pretend eat. But there was this one time... at band camp... lol, just kidding! No really there was this one time... we decided to throw those pies at each other then dirt balls direct to the face! My brother, Dennis, nailed one right into my mouth! I ran in the house crying my eyes out as my mom is telling me I'm going to get worms from eating dirt. Luckily that child hood memory did not hinder my dirt cake eating abilities... only when its made out of cookies and creamy ice cream! Really, dirt dessert is the best!
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Two ingredients do everything. Crushed chocolate sandwich cookies are the dirt and vanilla ice cream is the creamy binder, so there is nothing to bake.
- Half the cookies go in, half go on top. One pack blends into the ice cream for cookies-and-cream flavor; the other pack is packed on top so it looks like real dirt.
- The freezer sets it. The ice cream mixture firms up in the pot so it slices and scoops like a cake.
- A sandwich bag liner makes flower pots work. Plastic sandwich bags placed inside each pot keep the cake from melting out of the hole at the bottom of the planter when dessert is served.
- Gluten free by cookie choice. Gluten free Oreos, Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's or any chocolate gluten free sandwich cookie works.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Super easy to make for a birthday party and such a fun cake to make for the kiddos!
- Creamy yet crunchy. Cookie crumbs and ice cream in every bite.
- Any gluten free chocolate sandwich cookie will work.
- Doubles as a party activity. Kids decorate their own terracotta pots, then take them home.
- Halloween ready. Gummy worms and edible bugs on top, next to my mandarin pumpkins and ghostly chocolate marshmallow treats.
Key Ingredients
- 2 packs of chocolate gluten free Oreo cookies or Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's, crushed - or any chocolate gluten free sandwich cookies.
- 1 gallon vanilla ice cream - for a dairy-free version use my coconut milk ice cream or dairy-free chocolate coconut ice cream.
- Gummy worms, optional - plus edible bugs for dressing up the cake.
Full recipe ingredients are in the recipe card below.
Variations
- Dirt pudding - if you want you can also add chocolate pudding into the mix. My avocado chocolate pudding is the dairy-free way to do it.
- Individual dirt cups - freeze the mixture in small decorated terracotta pots (lined with a sandwich bag) so every kid gets their own.
- Halloween dirt cake - pile on extra gummy worms and edible bugs and serve it with party punch.
- Dairy-free - swap the vanilla ice cream for vegan banana ice cream.
- Cookie swap - any chocolate gluten free sandwich cookie works, or crumble in gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
How to Make Oreo Dirt Cake
1Crush one pack of Oreo cookies by adding cookies to a blender or food processor. Set aside.
2Crush the other pack of Oreo cookies by adding cookies to a blender or food processor. Blend to crush then add vanilla ice cream. Blend until mixed.
3Scoop the cookie ice cream mixture to a deep dish or plastic flower pot. If using terracotta pots, place a plastic sandwich bag inside each pot first so it doesn't melt out of the hole at the bottom. Add a few gummy worms if you'd like.
4Add the other crushed Oreo cookies on top and pack it tight so it looks like dirt on top. Add worms on top for decoration.
5Freeze until ready to serve.
As always, be sure to check out the full recipe details in the recipe card below.
Expert Tips
- Line the pots. Plastic sandwich bags are placed inside each pot before the Oreo dirt cake. This is so it doesn't melt out of the hole at the bottom of the planter when dessert is served.
- Freeze it in something fun. It can be made in any bowl but I just love how my amazing sister-in-law, Tara, froze the Oreo dirt cake in a green plastic pot. It just felt so real!
- Decorate the pots first. Terracotta planters were set out for the kids to decorate them with markers, and the kids get to take home their decorated pots at the end of the party!
- Keep it frozen until serving. Take the photo before the worms go on, we ate it too fast to grab one without them.
- Make the cookies from scratch. Chocolate covered gluten-free cookies crumble into great dirt too.
- Round out the dessert table with chocolate truffles and no-bake peanut butter marshmallow treats.
Serving Ideas and Party Inspiration
I love sharing the visual details of parties to give you ideas for your next celebration! I hope they help grow your creativity.
Here's how our Oreo dirt cake birthday party played out:
Our evening started out visiting with wine and appetizers. The focal decorations were large family photos (printed from Costco) and hanging from the ceiling to personalize the birthday boy, Shane. He's my nephew and just turned 11! Giant letters from Michael's Arts and Crafts spelled out SHANE as centerpieces for the table. The theme was baseball and surfs up!
Terracotta planters were set out for the kids to decorate them with markers. After they are decorated, plastic sandwich bags are placed inside each pot before the Oreo dirt cake. The kids get to take home their decorated pots at the end of the party!
Our entire California family is obsessed with the beach and surfing. Well, I'll admit my husband and I don't surf. We've both tried it, that counts right? But I am obsessed at getting to the beach almost daily. It's calming and fills the soul with an essence of peace, beauty and being grounded.
I hope you get a chance to make this. Serve it with a healthy snacks party platter for the kids, party punch for the grown-ups, and if you are planning the whole party my dinosaur birthday party and cookie party posts have the decorations covered.
Oreo Dirt Cake FAQs
Only 2 ingredients: 2 packages of gluten free Oreo cookies, Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's, or any chocolate gluten free sandwich cookies, and vanilla ice cream. Gummy worms and edible bugs on top are optional.
Yes, you can add chocolate pudding into the mix for dirt pudding, or use pudding in place of the ice cream for a version that sets in the refrigerator instead of the freezer.
It is when you use gluten free Oreo cookies, Trader Joe's Gluten Free Joe-Joe's, or any chocolate gluten free sandwich cookie.
Place a plastic sandwich bag inside the pot before adding the dirt cake so it doesn't melt out of the hole at the bottom of the planter, then pack the crushed cookies on top and freeze until ready to serve.
Make it the day before and keep it in the freezer until ready to serve. Add the gummy worms right before serving so they stay soft.
Yes, swap the vanilla ice cream for a coconut milk ice cream or vegan banana ice cream and use dairy-free chocolate sandwich cookies.
Oreo Dirt Cake Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 packs of Chocolate Gluten Free Oreo Cookies or Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's crushed
- 1 gallon vanilla ice cream
- gummy worms optional
Instructions
- Crush one pack of Oreo cookies by adding cookies to a blender or food processor. Set aside. Crush the other pack of Oreo cookies by adding cookies to a blender or food processor. Blend to crush then add vanilla ice cream. Blend until mixed. Scoop the cookie ice cream mixture to a deep dish or plastic flower pot. Add a few gummy worms if you'd like. Add the other crushed Oreo cookies on top and pack it tight so it looks like dirt on top. Add worms on top for decoration. Freeze until ready to serve.
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