Halloween Lush Dessert

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Halloween Lush Dessert is ultra creamy, rich and delicious, with layers of smooth chocolate pudding, sweet orange gelatin, and plenty of crushed cookies. If you need an easy and completely fun Halloween dessert, you can’t go wrong with this lush recipe!

lush dessert.


 

Lush Dessert recipes are super simple to prepare in big, shareable batches. I love taking them to potlucks and holiday parties.

This one has orange and black colors that are perfect for Halloween!!

oreo lush ingredients.

Halloween Lush Dessert

Who doesn’t love pudding, Oreos, whipped cream, and sweet, smooth Jello? Nobody that I know, that’s for sure!

Layer them up in some fun Halloween colors, garnish with candies, and you’ll have a simply scrumptious treat – no tricks!

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays, so I have a big collection of fun recipe ideas for you to try.

Everyone loves these adorable snickers stuffed mummies, meringue ghosts, and candy corn lovers go crazy for candy corn rice krispies and creeper pops!

oreo crust in baking dish.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

  • Oreo Cookies – Crushed for a tasty crust! Just toss them in a zip top bag and roll over it with a rolling pin.

    Don’t use Double Stuf cookies for this lush – just regular Oreos.
  • Salted Butter – This holds the crumbs together for the crust of the lush dessert. If all you have is unsalted, just add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the melted butter.
  • Orange Instant Jello Mix – Any brand is fine! But don’t get the prepared stuff – we want the powdered mix.

    For extra color, you can add a bit of orange food coloring to the filling to make it stand out even more.
  • Whole Milk – Keep it nice and cold in the fridge so the pudding sets up as quickly as possible. Plant-based and dairy-free alternatives work too.
  • Cool Whip – You definitely want a tub of whipped topping rather than the spray kind.

    Of course, you could always use my homemade whipped cream recipe instead — just be sure to check the notes in the recipe card, because you need a stabilized version.
  • Halloween Candies – The cherry on top for our Halloween dessert! There are so many fun options out there.

    Monster eyes and hands, candy bats and pumpkins, vampire fangs… See what you can find and be creative!
lush recipe pudding layer in baking dish

Lush Recipe Tips

  1. Be sure the pudding is partially set before using. The pudding needs to be at least partially set before layering.

    Otherwise, it won’t set completely in the fridge, and your lush dessert will turn into a mush dessert.
  2. Want to brighten the color? Add a small amount of orange food coloring to make the color really pop!

    Oh, and you can swap out the gelatin and food coloring to suit any other holiday. Red  and strawberry for Christmas or Valentines, for example!
  3. Freeze between each layer.  Give the dessert a quick nap in the freezer between layers, maybe 15-20 minutes.

    It will be easier to smooth the Cool Whip over the pudding layer, plus they will stay separated. It makes for a much cleaner presentation!
whipped cream layer of oreo lush recipe.

Storing and Freezing Leftover Oreo Lush

Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. This lush dessert also freezes very well! It should keep for up to 3 months if stored properly. 

If freezing, I recommend holding off on the cookie and candy topping. Save it for serving to keep it nice and crunchy!

Just allow the frozen dessert to thaw in the fridge overnight, or at room temperature for an hour or so, before serving.

Lush Dessert FAQ

What is a lush dessert?

It’s a sweet assembly of textures and flavors! It generally consists of a graham cracker crust (or cookie crust!) followed by layers of gelatin, pudding, no-bake cheesecake, whipped cream, or something else similarly light and smooth.

Can you use premade pudding in a lush recipe?

Absolutely! A cup of your favorite vanilla pudding, or your own homemade recipe, will work just fine. 

What is the texture of a lush dessert?

It’s very smooth and creamy – aside from the sweet and buttery Oreo crust! The vanilla pudding is very smooth and topped with a nice fluffy layer of Cool Whip. It’s topped off with a bit more crushed Oreo and some Halloween candies for some added texture. 

oreo lush on fork.

Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours. 

Don’t miss a thing! Follow us on
Facebook | Twitter Pinterest | Instagram 


lush recipe closeup.

Oreo lush closeup.

Halloween Lush Dessert

Donna Elick
Halloween Lush Dessert is creamy and delicious, with layers of chocolate pudding, orange gelatin, and Oreos. You’ll love this lush recipe!
5 stars from 1 review
Tried this recipe?Please comment and review!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chill time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Method Oven
Servings 15

Ingredients
 

For the Crust

  • 3 cups crushed Oreo cookies
  • 1/2 cup melted salted butter, See Notes

For the Filling

  • 6.8 ounces vanilla pudding mix, (two 3.4 oz boxes)
  • 4 cups whole milk, very cold
  • 3 tablespoons orange instant gelatin mix
  • orange food coloring, optional

Cool Whip Layer

  • 2 cups Cool Whip, thawed

Topping

  • 2 1/2 cups crushed Oreo cookies
  • Halloween candies

Instructions
 

Crust

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
  • To a large mixing bowl, add 3 cups crushed cookies and melted butter. Stir until the cookie crumbs are coated evenly with butter.
  • Use your fingers to press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Filling

  • To another large mixing bowl, add dry pudding mix and milk. Whisk until the pudding is soft set, about 2 minutes. *See Notes. Add in the orange gelatin and optional food coloring, and whisk again to combine.

Assembly:

  • Spoon the pudding mixture over the top of the cooled cookie crust; use an offset spatula to spread in an even layer.
  • Spoon cool whip over the pudding mixture, then sprinkle crushed Oreos over the top of the cool whip, covering it completely. Garnish with halloween candies.
  • Cover the dish with a layer of plastic wrap and place into the fridge to chill for 8 hours before serving.
  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Donna’s Notes

Salted butter – Unsalted butter may be used, but you will need to add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the crust mixture.
When mixing the filling, be sure to whisk until the pudding is partially set. If the pudding isn’t set well enough before you layer it into the dessert, it won’t set completely in the fridge, and your lush dessert will be runny.
Orange food coloring may be used if you wish for the pudding layer to be a more vibrant orange. Just simply add a few drops at a time while mixing, until the desired color is reached.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 434cal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 396mg | Sugar: 40g | Fiber: 2g | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 7mg

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Halloween dessert.

Originally published September 2022

Disclosure: Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link your price will remain the same and The Slow Roasted Italian will automatically receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting us, it helps us keep creating new recipes.

The Simple Kitchen cookbook affiliate linked banner

3 Comments

  1. It would be really nice if you would join many other websites and insert a “jump to recipe” when we are looking for something on the fly.

    1. Agree with you Shirley! I would try to lower the carbs and calories with sugar free Jello, sugar free pudding and lite cool whip.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating