What’s the best part about Thanksgiving dinner? It’s not the turkey – it’s the dessert! To make your holiday dinner unforgettable, I have 25+ mouthwatering Thanksgiving dessert ideas that will impress your guests.
25+ Mouthwatering Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas to WOW Your Guests
1. Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler
The ultimate fall dessert. This cobbler has a cake on top and an amazing hot caramel sauce on the bottom. The best part? This dessert is so easy to make. You’ll need some basic baking supplies, pumpkin puree and pecans. Layer in a baking pan, cook for 40 minutes, and you’ll have the perfect Thanksgiving dessert.
2. Turtle Pumpkin Cheesecake
You can never go wrong with cheesecake for dessert, and this turtle pumpkin cheesecake is just as gorgeous as it is delicious. The gingersnap crust complements the pumpkin cheesecake perfectly. Top with a chocolatey caramel sauce that is to die for.
3. Pumpkin Creme Brulee
This recipe is one of my favorite Thanksgiving dessert ideas. How adorable are these little pumpkins? Each one is filled with a pumpkin puree mix that’s essentially pumpkin pie filling. You will need a kitchen blowtorch to finish this dish.
4. Pumpkin Lush
This dish has multiple layers of deliciousness, from the homemade graham cracker crust to the cheesecake layer and pumpkin pie filling. The whole thing is topped with Cool Whip for a truly decadent dessert everyone will love.
5. Otherworldly Pie
This pie really is otherworldly and adapted by this talented cook from a recipe in Bon Appetit. The cocoa-rich crust is the perfect complement to the pumpkin filling, which is sweet, a little spicy and a little smokey. If you’re looking for something unique to make this year that will really wow your guests, this pie is it.
6. Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie
Put a bourbon twist on the classic sweet potato pie. This recipe uses premade pie crust to save time and is filled with a decadent sweet potato filling. The marshmallow meringue on top is the star of this dish and is the perfect way to top this pie.
7. Pumpkin Rum Cake
A delicious pumpkin bundt cake topped with an amazing butter rum sauce. Pecans, pumpkin puree, spices, a good rum and basic baking ingredients are all you need to make this flavorful dessert. Bake in a 12-cup bundt pan.
Related: 20 Mouthwatering Thanksgiving Appetizer Ideas To Make This Year
8. Pumpkin Salted Caramel Layer Cake
How fancy does this cake look? It’s surprisingly easy to make this cake. The presentation is all about technique. Three layers give this cake height, but applying the frosting in a haphazard way gives it this rich color. Plus, they’ve added plenty of extra caramel sauce to the top. The delicious frosting is a mix of caramel sauce, cream cheese and powdered sugar.
9. Salted Honey Pie
Here’s a unique recipe for Thanksgiving – honey pie. The egg-yolk-based filling is creamy and loaded with honey (1/2 cup!). A dash of sea salt makes this pie’s flavor unforgettable. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, and watch this pie quickly disappear.
10. Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding
I adore this bread pudding recipe, which is perfect for Thanksgiving (or any time of year, really). I prefer challah bread for this dish, but you can use any day-old bread that you want. The spiced creamy pumpkin puree adds tons of fall flavor. The praline sauce really makes this dish so luxurious and over the top.
11. Cranberry Orange Pecan Crisp
I love Thanksgiving dessert ideas like this one because they steer away from the usual fall dishes. The fresh cranberries add a tart sweetness to this crisp. Fall spices, orange zest and pecans complete this dish for a colorful dessert that everyone will enjoy.
12. Pumpkin Crunch Cake
This multi-layer cake is absolutely delicious and will look beautiful on your Thanksgiving table. The cake batter adds Greek yogurt for extra creaminess, and the crunch topping pairs walnuts with vanilla wafers, brown sugar and butter. You’ll need four 9-inch cake pans for this dessert, and you’ll alternate layers of cake, crunch topping and frosting.
13. Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
Caramel and apples are the perfect pair in this dessert, which features a cinnamon-spiced cake and a delicious buttery caramel topping. Apple, butter and brown sugar bake together to create a caramel flavor. The cake itself is easy to make, so you can impress your guests without having to spend the entire day in the kitchen.
14. Sticky Toffee Apple Cake
Apple cake is one of my favorite fall desserts, and it’s a great choice for Thanksgiving dessert. This cinnamon-spiced cake is topped with a rich toffee sauce that is just as decadent as it is delicious.
15. Bourbon Apple Cider Cake
No list of Thanksgiving dessert ideas is complete without a bourbon apple cake. This recipe adds apple cider for an extra kick of fall flavor. The icing adds a splash of bourbon for a dessert that packs a punch and will look beautiful on your Thanksgiving table.
16. German Apple Pie
Germans make delish apple pies, and you can copy their techniques with this German variation of a classic. You’ll follow a pie crust recipe before making the filling out of lemon juice, tart green apples, sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, cloves, heavy cream and vanilla extract.
Related: 21+ Delicious Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas on a Budget
17. Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Pumpkin streusel is always welcome on the table at my house. Making this cake is simple, with the streusel requiring you to mix flour, brown and granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon and a sprig of pumpkin pie spice.
For the cake, I recommend a stand mixer that you’ll use to whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
18. Maple Glazed Apple Blondies
Blondies bring back memories, and these ones are just as tasty as I remember them. Sweet and served in “bars,” not pieces, you’ll make the blondie portion with flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon.
Next, you’ll make an apple filling followed by a maple glaze that you’ll drizzle on top.
For the maple glaze, I recommend splurging on a high-quality maple syrup that is much more flavorful than the cheaper brands.
19. Apple Slab Pie
Apple pie with a crumb topping is even better with a scoop of ice cream on top, but this recipe is simply for the pie. Cooking Classy shares this recipe, which has you make the pie topping, filling and glaze (or ice cream).
You’ll buy a refrigerated pie crust but can also make your own if you like.
One thing you might need to buy is a 15” x 10” by 1” jelly roll pan, which is slightly different than a baking sheet.
Related: Top 25+ Thanksgiving Finger Food Ideas We’re Crushing On
20. Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
Salted caramel is so sweet but perfect at the end of a Thanksgiving meal. You’ll love this mouthwatering recipe that uses a caramel sauce for the top of the sheet cake and tons of apples.
Green apples are recommended, but you can choose any tart apple that you prefer.
21. Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake
Loaf cakes like this one are perfect for fall. You’ll make an apple bread that tastes much like apple cider donuts. If you haven’t tried these types of donuts before, you need to – they’re divine.
You’ll need a lot of ingredients, including a high-quality apple cider, sour cream and others. Prep time is 20 minutes and total cook time is about one hour and fifteen minutes.
22. Maple Vanilla Pear Pie
I didn’t think pears would make it on this Thanksgiving dessert ideas list, but they sure did. The recipe calls for Bosc pears, and I’m not 100% sure what other pear types would work with this recipe.
You’ll buy a frozen pie crust and make your filling out of pears, cinnamon, flour, vanilla extract, sugar and maple syrup.
For the topping, you’ll add flour, cinnamon, butter, sugar and chopped walnuts to add a nice crumble-like texture to the top of the pie.
23. Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Pumpkin coffee cake needs to become a “thing” because it’s so good. If you’re a fan of pumpkin spice, this recipe will walk you through each step of making a buttery streusel and an icing made with melted butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.
It’s fluffy, sweet, and surprisingly, coffee is not added at any time in the recipe, so I made a cup to enjoy it with.
24. Apple Pie Enchiladas
I wasn’t 100% sure how I would feel about apple pie enchiladas, but I’m addicted to these little apple pie delights. Prep time is about 20 minutes, and you’ll learn how to make a homemade apple pie filling that is filled with flavor.
There is an option for using canned apple pie, but it’s never as good as homemade.
If you’re wondering about the tortillas, they’re basic flour tortillas, and you’ll need brown and white sugar, butter, water and cinnamon for the recipe.
25. Sweet Potato Crunch Casserole
Fifty minutes is all it takes to make this sweet, crunchy casserole. You’ll need two mixing bowls, a measuring cup, measuring spoons, a baking pan and a stir spoon. As for ingredients, you’ll need:
- Sweet potatoes
- Milk
- Eggs
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Vanilla
- Pecans and walnuts
26. No Bake Pumpkin Tiramisu
Are you a big fan of tiramisu? If so, this pumpkin tiramisu is perfect for Thanksgiving and you don’t even need to bake anything. But, you will need to let it settle for a while, so this isn’t a last-minute dessert recipe by any means.
You’ll skip the eggs and, instead, make this tiramisu with just eight key ingredients: mascarpone cheese, whipping cream, canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, ladyfinger cookies, powdered sugar, instant coffee and vanilla extract.
