Easter Bunny Dirt Cake

What Makes This Easter Dirt Cake So Great

• No baking. This is the easiest Easter cake ever! All it takes is 15 minutes to prep and a short chilling time in the fridge. It’s great to make ahead, when the oven is otherwise occupied by carrot cake.
• Creamy filling. The filling of this cake is a mousse-like, whipped cheesecake made from simple ingredients. I love the creamy contrast to the crunchy crushed cookies.
• Make it for any holiday. Decorate this dirt cake for all occasions, not just Easter! Use different flavors of Oreo cookies and get creative with toppings.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full, printable instructions and recipe amounts.

• Oreo Cookies – I recommend using regular Oreos and not Double Stuf, which has too much creme filling. Change up the flavor of this cake with Golden Oreos or another type of cookie if you’d like.
• Cream Cheese – Brought to room temperature. This makes it easier to mix and avoids a lumpy filling.
• Butter – Also at room temperature. I use salted butter, but you can also use unsalted butter if you prefer. 
• Powdered Sugar – This sweetens the cheesecake filling without making it grainy, thanks to the fine texture.
• Cool Whip – Or your choice of stabilized or frozen whipped topping. Make sure you thaw it first. The best way to thaw Cool Whip is in the refrigerator for a few hours.
• Instant Pudding Mix – I like to use white chocolate-flavored pudding, but you can use readily available instant vanilla pudding mix, too.
• Milk – 2%, whole milk, or even skim milk will work in this recipe. Whichever milk you have on hand.

How To Make an Easter Dirt Cake

Just like my traditional no-bake cheesecake, this Easter cake recipe is super easy, perfect for beginners. I love letting my kids get involved in making and decorating this dirt cake, too!

1. Create the base. Crush up the Oreo cookies using a food processor or a rolling pin. Spread ⅔ of the crushed cookies into the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan. Set this aside. 
2. Make the filling. Next, whip together the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until it’s smooth. Then fold in the Cool Whip. In another bowl, whisk together the instant pudding and the milk until it’s thickened. Fold the pudding mixture into the cream cheese mixture until it’s combined.
3. Assemble the cake. Spread the creamy filling on top of the crushed cookies in the pan. Lastly, top the whole thing with the remaining crushed cookies.
4. Chill. Place the assembled dirt cake into the fridge and let it chill in there for at least 3 hours, or overnight (this is a great dessert to make ahead).
5. Decorate. Once it’s chilled, decorate your dirt cake with chocolate bunny rabbits, colorful Cadbury eggs for Easter, or try any of the fun variations below!

Decorating Tip: How To Make Edible Grass

You can buy edible green “grass” decorations for cakes and baked goods at craft stores, Walmart, and Target, especially around Easter. But if you want to put your crafting hat on and do it yourself, edible grass is easy to make with sweetened shredded coconut and green food dye:

• Combine. To color shredded coconut, place the coconut in a resealable plastic bag. Add a few drops of liquid green food coloring.
• Shake! Secure the bag closed, and shake until the coconut is evenly colored. It’s ready to use!

 Alternatively, you can use green sprinkles or jimmies to replicate grass on top of the cake.

Recipe Tips and Variations

• Use room-temperature ingredients. Softened cream cheese and butter will blend much more easily with the other filling ingredients.
• Make sure to use instant pudding. This recipe won’t work with other kinds. The flavor you choose won’t impact the cake, but make sure you’re buying instant pudding!
• Add sprinkles. Decorate the top of this dirt cake with colorful sprinkles and nonpareils. Use pastel colors for Easter, red and green for Christmas, etc. You can even mix them into the filling (in this case, I’d suggest using rainbow jimmies as nonpareils tend to bleed color).
• Flavor the filling. Add a few drops of peppermint extract, lemon extract, or another flavoring extract to the cheesecake filling.
• Different pudding. Another way to flavor the cheesecake filling is by swapping the instant pudding. Chocolate pudding, pistachio, lemon, French vanilla… the possibilities are endless!

More Ways to Serve Dirt Cake

• Single servings. You can make this to serve 12 individual servings by dividing the portions into 12 clear plastic cups for an easy party dessert.
• Mini flower pots (so cute!). This is an extra cute idea that’s perfect for Easter brunch or a garden party. Use miniature terracotta pots for the dirt pudding cups. If you serve them in the pots, it’s super cute to place an artificial flower on top as decoration. You could even serve the pots with a mini shovel!
• In a trifle dish. Assemble this Easter dirt cake like a trifle with multiple layers of crushed cookies and pudding.

How to Store

• Refrigerate. Keep this Easter dirt cake covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. The cookies will soften more with time.
• Freeze. You can freeze the cake for up to 2 months. Double-wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap before freezing. Thaw the cake in the fridge, and serve.

More No-Bake Desserts You’ll Love

• Millionaire Pie
• Cheesecake Dip
• Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
• Peanut Butter Balls
• Butterfinger Pie