60 Tempting Thanksgiving Desserts That Go Beyond Pie
Broaden your horizons, and your dessert table, this holiday season.
Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, sweet potato pie... we're all about these classic options, but sometimes we crave something a little more creative for dessert on Thanksgiving. Pies can be a LOT, and what if you’re not a master baker, are short on time, or just, dare we even say it, don’t like pie crust? Don’t fret! Every dessert table benefits from a little variety, and we’re here to tell you that there can be SO much more to Thanksgiving than pie. From cheesecakes to dessert bars, brownies to cookies, there’s something here for everyone. Check out our 60 Thanksgiving desserts for ideas—they might just start a new holiday dessert tradition.
Even though we’re avoiding pie here, we’re still taking inspiration from the OGs. They're classics for a reason, after all. Love apple pie? Try our apple crumble, our apple pie bars, our apple hand pies, or our apple dumplings instead. Pecan pie fan? Check out our pecan pie bars, our pumpkin spice butter pecan sandies, or our pecan pie brownies—they’ve got all that toasty pecan flavor without the pie crust. Is pumpkin pie never quite as incredible as you hope it will be? We can relate. You can still celebrate the peak of pumpkin season with our pumpkin crème brûlée cheesecake bars, our pumpkin pie s’mores, our pumpkin cheesecake roll, or our pumpkin custard. You may never go back to lackluster pie again.
Not a fan of traditional Thanksgiving flavors at all? We’ve got you too. Try our sopapilla cheesecake bars, our maple butter blondies, our Oreo cheesecake bars, or our chocolate Guinness cake. Going super-creative with your dinner and want to tie things back into Thanksgiving with your dessert? Try one of our adorable turkey-inspired treats, like our turkey cake, our Oreo turkeys, our turkey cupcakes, or our pumpkin pie turkeys. They’re almost too cute to eat...almost.
Want more Thanksgiving ideas? Check out our favorite Thanksgiving appetizers and cocktails too.
Sweet Potato Cobbler
Sweet potatoes want to be more than just a marshmallow-topped casserole, and we don't blame them. Boiling them in a mixture of water, sugar, vanilla, and spices infuses them with a ton of flavor, making them just as good as their summer desserts counterparts, like peach or blackberry cobbler.
Get the Sweet Potato Cobbler recipe.
Turkey Cake
Have you ever seen a cake so adorable? Impress your in-laws with this super easy, super cute Thanksgiving dessert! The feathers are made by brushing white chocolate onto parchment paper and then chilled until hardened. Use your favorite cake recipe or use boxed to keep it simple like we did.
Get the Turkey Cake recipe.
Mini Piecakens
Inspired by pastry chef Zac Young’s viral three-layer piecaken, these fun-sized versions feature a tiny cranberry pie baked inside a spiced pumpkin cupcake, crowned with a generous dollop of whipped cream, more cranberry pie filling, and a tiny round of sugary pie crust. 😍
Get the Mini Piecakens recipe.
Pecan Pie Brownies
For the brownie lover, the Thanksgiving dessert table can be... uninspired. No longer! Make these quick-and-easy beauties for the chocolate lover in your life so they're not stuck picking at a slice of pumpkin pie again this year.
Get the Pecan Pie Brownies recipe.
Pumpkin Ice Cream
Skip the pie and serve homemade pumpkin ice cream for your Thanksgiving dessert this year! Pumpkin is the perfect addition to homemade ice cream. It helps naturally thicken ice cream to create a smooth and perfectly scoop-able ice cream. Serve it with crushed gingersnaps or a drizzle of caramel for an extra fall treat.
Get the Pumpkin Ice Cream recipe.
No-Bake Banana Caramel Pecan Pie
When it comes to old-school Thanksgiving desserts, banana cream pie and pecan pie are always at the top of the list. If you’re torn between which dessert should be the centerpiece of your holiday table, why not combine them!? Best part about this pie? It’s completely no-bake, so you won’t be fighting for the oven space.
Apple Hand Pies
Controversial opinion: Hand pies are better than regular pies. Hear us out. Hand pies have the perfect crust-to-filling ratio. They're less work than a classic double-crust pie, for sure. But perhaps the best part? No soggy bottoms!
Get the Apple Hand Pies recipe.
Pumpkin Pie Turkeys
Looking to get a little crafty with your Thanksgiving dessert this year? These pumpkin turkeys are just the thing. Easy to make and extremely adorable, everyone will love them! Plus, you'll get to snack on the scraps before your guests arrive.
Get the Pumpkin Pie Turkeys recipe.
No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
Figuring out how to make all of the pumpkin desserts during Thanksgiving while the turkey is in the oven can be a nightmare. That's why you need this no-bake cheesecake. It's a major time-saver, and while we love our classic pumpkin cheesecake, we go crazy for the no-bake option.
Get the No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe.
Sweet Potato Cookies
Forget sweet potato casserole. Forget pumpkin spice lattes. These sweet potato cookies are our new fall staple. Once you taste their maple glaze, you'll understand why.
Get the Sweet Potato Cookies recipe.
Lemon Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Tart, tangy, and sweet, these cheesecake bars are sandwiched between a pastry crust that just happens to be super-easy to make (thank you, store-bought crescent roll dough!). Plus, we snuck in one of our favorite spice combos to add a cozy touch: pumpkin spice.
Potato Candy
We all know how versatile the humble potato is, but have you ever made candy out of it? This classic candy recipe might seem odd when looking at the ingredients (mashed potatoes and peanut butter??), but trust us—this retro recipe is worth trying (especially if you've got any extra instant or homemade mashed potatoes)
Get the Potato Candy recipe.
Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Tart
The crust here is like a shortbread version of a classic chocolate chip cookie to make it sturdy enough to perfectly hold its shape and the caramel and chocolate layers on top. It’s a sliceable, shareable cookie and a really wonderful option for any holiday gathering.
Chocoflan
Chocoflan’s beautiful contrasting layers of chocolate cake and flan are totally mind-blowing. Here's the science: While baking, the cake batter aerates and takes shape before the flan has set, so it rises to the top of the pan. The craziest thing is the layers don’t mix at all during the transfer—it's like magic!
Get the Chocoflan recipe.
Brown Butter Pumpkin Blondies
Pumpkin adds a lot of moisture to baked goods, which keeps these blondies soft and tender, but still slightly chewy in the center. These are super-quick to make and warmly spiced with pumpkin spice and brown butter. Though special on their own, they would be phenomenal with some added chopped pecans or chocolate chips!
Get the Brown Butter Pumpkin Blondies recipe.
Turtle Cheesecake
Though this OTT cheesecake looks impressive, it's easy to achieve its jaw-dropping finish. All you do is mix some melted chocolate into a portion of the cheesecake base, then layer both into the cake pan. Combine that with a buttery, slightly bitter crust (trust us), sweet caramel sauce, chocolate ganache, and crunchy pecans for a truly irresistible Thanksgiving dessert.
Get the Turtle Cheesecake recipe.
Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Biscotti
Since pumpkin puree adds extra moisture to the cookies, these won’t get quite as dry as traditional biscotti, but are still plenty sturdy. Serve these with a pumpkin spice latte after dinner for a double-dose of fall this Thanksgiving season.
Sweet Potato Pudding
This silky smooth sweet potato pudding is a lighter, simplified cousin of sweet potato casserole without the topping or crust. It's essentially the filling of sweet potato pie with an optional whipped cream or marshmallow fluff topping. No crust or crimping fuss required!
Get the Sweet Potato Pudding recipe.
Fruit Sorbet
A homemade fruit sorbet is the perfect end to a Thanksgiving meal. The best part? You can use any kind of fruit you like! We're thinking cranberry to keep it seasonal. Just remember for the ideal consistency, you'll need 1 cup of fruit puree for every 1/4 cup of sugar.
Get the Fruit Sorbet recipe.
Apple Crumble
We love apple pie, but sometimes we're not so into making crust. Apple crumble is 1,000 times easier to make and, in our opinion, even better.
Get the Apple Crumble recipe.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
