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128 Thanksgiving Desserts That Go Way Beyond Pie

November 20, 2023

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Angled view of cut up apple delight with two slices taken out of the bottom right. — Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Lauren Radel

When it comes to Thanksgiving, desserts like classic apple pie and pumpkin pie are really just the tip of the iceberg. While some recipes are central to maintaining tradition, there’s something sweet about trying new things every year in pursuit of finding a new family classic.

Here are more than 120 impressive Thanksgiving dessert recipes that will keep your crowd — big or small — talking. Who knows? They just might be recurring dishes in the years to come!

Apple Pies

It doesn’t get any more traditional than apple pie on Thanksgiving. If you don’t have a recipe you already love, you’ll find one here.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Ready to go all in with your apple pie this year? Adding homemade salted caramel to the filling makes every bite taste a bit like a candied apple.

Classic Dutch Apple Pie

Dutch apple pie is basically everything you love about apple crisp in pie form, and when topped with vanilla ice cream, you have the ultimate end to a festive meal.

Apple Sage Gouda Pie

This clever pie celebrates the timeless combination of fruit and cheese. Gouda lends salty, nutty flavor to the crust, which offsets the sweetness of the apples.

Double Crust Apple Pie

Although any strong pie plate will certainly do, double crust pies like this one usually turn out better when baked in metal, preferably aluminum.

Mini Apple Pies

Just when you thought apple pie couldn’t get better, these individual miniature apple pies — baked up in muffin tins — came through to change the game.

Mini Apple Rose Pies

If you have been on Pinterest lately, you’ve probably come across the popular apple rose design. Here’s an easy tutorial for making your own.

Pumpkin Pies

I wait all year to dig into a wide slice of pumpkin pie that’s piled with freshly whipped cream. If you agree, these recipes won’t steer you wrong.

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Four steps lead to pumpkin pie bliss. Here’s how to master each to bake the perfect pumpkin pie for your Thanksgiving table.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

This rich and creamy vegan pumpkin pie features an easy homemade coconut oil pie crust and silky-smooth vegan filling.

More Great Pies

Beyond apple and pumpkin, there are so many other pies to love, like sweet potato and buttermilk chess. And for those who think dessert isn’t dessert without chocolate, there are plenty of rich pies to slice from, too.

The Best Pecan Pie

We’ve streamlined the process of making classic pecan pie to create this easier version that’s just as delightful. The filling is rich with brown sugar and a sweet syrup, then topped with a ring of pecans and baked in a flaky, pastry crust.

Cranberry Crumb Pie

‘Tis the season for all things cranberry. A citrus-kissed cranberry filling provides tangy contrast to the sweet, buttery crumble topping in this festive pie.

Custard pie is a classic, and this version treats you to a rich and ultra-creamy, silky-smooth custard filling, spiked with a hint of warm nutmeg baked into a buttery crust.

Blood Orange Chess Pie

Chess pie is perfect for winter months when fresh fruit is slim. The creamy pie is the perfect vehicle to incorporate your favorite citrus, like blood orange.

Sweet Potato Pie

While pumpkin pie gets all the attention, make this Southern classic once and it might just become your new favorite.

Make no mistake — this British classic is a sweet slice, one that will make you fall back in love with toffee flavors and ripe bananas.

Grasshopper Pie

A no-bake pie where mint and chocolate liqueurs are folded into an airy, creamy mousse filling and set in a chocolate cookie crust.

Boston Cream Pie

With three delicious layers of sponge cake, pastry cream, and chocolate ganache, this nostalgic dessert is a stunner.

With its Oreo crust, ice cream, crushed toffee, and whipped cream, frozen mud pie will instantly win you over.

Banana Cream Pie

Making this pie ahead is a key component to getting it right because the chilling time is as much of an ingredient as the bananas or cream.

Mississippi Mud Pie

Chocolate lovers, listen up! You’ll want to dive deep into the layers of Oreo cookie crust, chocolate pudding, chewy fudge brownie, and whipped cream.

Once you’ve nailed down the flaky crust and the sweet yet tangy filling, you can confidently and casually bake one as an anytime dessert.

This shoo-fly pie features a layer of intensely sweet molasses filling on the bottom, followed by a cake-like layer, and topped with sweet buttery crumbs.

Million Dollar Pie

A retro pie that pairs a crunchy graham cracker crust with a rich, creamy filling studded with sweet pineapple, toasted pecans, and coconut.

Gooey and crunchy, the graham cracker crust holds sweet chocolate custard and light-as-air marshmallow cream. Need we say more?

Festive Cakes

No one ever said you have to serve pie on Thanksgiving. If you’re on Team Cake, lean into it and bake up your favorite instead.

Cranberry-Orange Quick Bread

Just imagine starting or ending Thanksgiving day with a warm mug of tea, cider, or mulled wine and slices of an orange-scented quick bread studded with tart cranberries.

Big Mary’s Carrot Cake

Ditch the grater, because this moist, tender carrot cake achieves its plush texture and flavor not from carrots but from jars of soft, carrot baby food.

Buttermilk Pound Cake

This beauty of a pound cake is baked in a Bundt pan for an easy-but-impressive look that requires no adornment beyond a fine sprinkle of powdered sugar.

New England Spider Cake

In this quirky recipe, heavy cream is poured over a sweetened cornbread batter, creating a distinct multi-layered cross-section as it bakes and yielding textures ranging from crisp crust to tender crumb to earthy corn custard, all in one bite.

Pumpkin Dump Cake

This pumpkin dump cake, which bakes up into three distinct, delicious layers, is impressive enough to serve on your holiday table, but easy enough for even the most amateur baker.

Gooey Butter Cake

This recipe for homemade Gooey Butter Cake is complete with its signature crispy-chewy foundation, fantastically sloppy, sweet filling, and snowy blanket of powdered sugar.

Meet the foolproof hot milk cake, a fluffy and not-too-sweet sponge cake. that will be the life of the party.

A bowl of chocolate mousse is a decadent treat, but a double-layered chocolate mousse cake with a cookie crust is next level.

Other Great Desserts

There are so many other desserts that feel right at home at the Thanksgiving table. Take your pick and you won’t be disappointed.

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Pie Bars

Everyone will find something to love in these bars. On the bottom you’ve got a buttery gingersnap crust, topped with a layer of rich and creamy pumpkin cheesecake. Next, you’ve got a tart, tangy layer of apples and cranberries, and the whole thing is finished off with a cinnamon-pecan crumble.

Packed with five creamy layers of spiced apples, cream cheese, fluffy whipped cream and sweet caramel, this no-bake dessert will make everyone forget all about pie.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Whipped together with pumpkin purée and warm baking spices, this no-churn pumpkin ice cream practically screams fall.

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

This luscious, creamy cheesecake with a caramel pecan pie topping will wow any crowd, making it perfect for a holiday dessert spread.

For a grander meal like the one we eat for Thanksgiving, it’s always nice to find pockets of levity wherever we can. These warm tea cakes are the perfect bite when you want dessert but could do without the sugar rush.

Toasted Almond Ice Cream Sundae

This nutty, crunchy, treacly vanilla ice cream sundae comes together in four parts and is a textural masterpiece. You can (and should!) make the candied almonds ahead of time to quicken getting dessert on the table on Thanksgiving day.

Cheesecake-Stuffed Baked Apples

This cozy dessert takes fall baking to a whole new level. Hollowed-out apples are stuffed with graham cracker crumbs and a cheesecake filling, then baked until soft and golden.

Potato Doughnuts

Should you find yourself with a mountain of leftover mashed potatoes this year, we implore to you make these potato doughnuts. The mashed potatoes make them ultra-soft and pumpkin spice coating amps up the flavor.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Sandwiched between layers of buttery crescent rolls and topped with cinnamon sugar, these cheesecake bars are the make-ahead dessert of our dreams.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

The chewy texture you expect from a blondie partnered with the sweet, slightly tangy flavor and cinnamon-sugar coating essential to a good snickerdoodle.

This easy pumpkin mousse has silky whipped canned pumpkin, mascarpone cream cheese, and crunchy graham cracker crumbs.

Pie Crust Cookies

Baked until golden brown and puffed, pie crust cookies are buttery and flaky, and kissed with a shower of cinnamon-sugar that gives each bite the most irresistible crunch.

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