25 Thanksgiving Dessert Recipe Ideas

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year. Dessert for Thanksgiving is especially exciting. We crowd into our tiny kitchen and take turns fighting for space around the stove. Everything is savory…turkey…casserole…more casserole.

Dessert is the first thing I plan for Thanksgiving. That way when it’s time to scramble to get everything else on track I’ll already have that part covered. This collection of Thanksgiving Dessert recipes are ones we love to make year after year. There are classics and there are new additions that have become classics in our family.

Pumpkin Roll

Roll cakes look so professional, like something you’d see coming out of a bakery. But all it takes is timing. As long as you roll up the sponge cake while it’s hot it will hold its shape. Then it gets unrolled, gets slathered with cream cheese filling, and is rolled back up. This version has a pumpkin spice flavoring, and when sliced, the pinwheels look fabulous on a dessert table.

Apple Pie Bars

Apple pie, but easier. Who wouldn’t want that? Skip all of the crust drama, trust us, shortbread made with butter is far superior anyway, and bake this apple pie recipe into easy-to-serve bars. Lay the shortbread down, build a layer of spiced cinnamon apples on top, cover with crumble and pop into the oven. Take them out when they’re beautifully browned, slice into squares so everyone gets the perfect ratio of crust-to-apples, and dig in. No more struggling with neat, triangle slices.

Bonus: you can even take them with you to parties since these apple pie bars travel well.

Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie

Best of all, it’s basically the same as the sweet potato casserole with marshmallows that we (thankfully) only get to enjoy during Thanksgiving. Except better. Not even boozy. The bourbon loses its edge during cooking, adding a lovely, subtle, almost caramelly depth. Serve this one just barely chilled, though warm is fine, so that it holds together better for neater slices. It’s a must-have on the dessert table.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

This pumpkin sheet cake can be baked and frosted in a 9×13 pan. Making it one of the easiest desserts on our list. It’s filled with flavor and perfectly balanced. The spices are warm but not overpowering, the pumpkin provides enough moisture that this cake will stay delicious for days and the cream cheese frosting is the perfect amount of tangy to offset the sweetness of the cake. Get the Recipe Here

Classic New York Cheesecake

New York cheesecake is tall and dense. It’s the perfect alternative when everything else on the dessert table is pumpkin or apple. Follow directions carefully regarding the graham crust and water bath and it won’t crack on top, a reward for following directions. It’s very rich so a small, thin piece is plenty. It cuts much neater cold. Make it two days ahead and leave room in the oven for something else. Get the Recipe Here

No Bake Pumpkin Tiramisu

Basically a tiramisu concept applied to autumn flavors, this no-bake dessert involves combining pumpkin puree with spices and mascarpone cream then layering them with ladyfingers. It takes around twenty minutes to assemble and benefits from sitting in the fridge overnight, meaning it’s the ideal make ahead dessert to prepare the night before Thanksgiving Day.

Bonus points because it’s also a no-bake dessert and there’s nothing more precious than oven space on Thanksgiving.

Apple Pie

Apple pie is a dish that everyone loves. Use an equal proportion of pastry to fruit so that each bite will include some of each. This will be easier to prepare than working with a huge mound of apples. Mix sweet and tart varieties for best results. Serve the pie warm with vanilla ice cream; no one will argue with that. Add a little lemon juice for brightness, which gets muted during cooking.

Cranberry Walnut Shortbread Cookies

These cookies stay fresh for a week, making them perfect for post-holiday snacking. Cranberries deserve more credit as cookie stars, not just as ingredients in holiday sauces. These tart cookies provide a nice change of pace to a table groaning with pies.

Shortbread cookies are make-ahead heaven because the log-shaped dough can be sliced and baked according to demand. Each buttery shortbread studded with a few chopped walnuts and a splash of tartness from the fresh cranberry is just right.

Banana Bread Pudding

Bread pudding typically calls for brioche or challah. Banana bread, which is naturally sweet, is a surprising addition. The density of banana bread soaks up all of that delicious custard without turning to mush and each bite is infused with banana. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream. Great way to use banana bread a day or two past its prime. Get the Recipe Here

Salted Honey Pie

While it may look like pumpkin pie at first, this dessert will surprise all who try it. Salt and brown sugar temper the honey for a more complex, almost caramel, flavor. In the oven the pie gets a lovely, lightly burnished top. Once baked, this honey custard is silky-smooth and will be a surprise hit on any dessert table, and it is great because the bar is so low.

Bourbon Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Bundt cakes are always fun to make and bring out, and this recipe is no exception. They are easier to cut into nice slices to serve a crowd. The design of the pan does the decorating for you. The maple glaze is simply drizzled on top of the cake and seeps down the sides. As it dries it forms a nice thin shell. Sour cream keeps this bundt cake moist and the bourbon adds a nice warm flavor which is perfect for the season. Get the Recipe Here

Mini Brownie Turkeys

Flat topped brownie cupcakes make adorable turkeys with a fan of candy corn (tail feathers), candy eyes and a beak affixed with icing. Brownies can be made the day before. All of the pieces can be laid out in bowls for the kids to decorate them while sitting at the table. Guaranteed to keep them busy and give you an hour of peace while the turkey rests.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Caramel apple cheesecake will be even better when you make it ahead of time and allow it to sit overnight. Cheesecake is a versatile dessert that is ready to accommodate pretty much any flavoring imaginable, but caramel apple is the perfect concoction to grace your table this fall. This dessert features the flavors of caramel and apple in the crust and the filling and even the topping. Topped with pretty, cinnamon-coated apple slices, it’s a showstopper that requires minimal effort. The pretty, elaborate-appearing topping only takes about five minutes to assemble.

Pecan Pie Bars

Nothing better than biting into one of these squares of heavenly shortbread and caramelized pecan goodness standing in the kitchen. Pecan pie has always been my number one favorite pie/dessert choice, however, it’s not always the easiest to get a slice on your plate intact. Enter pecan pie bars. They have all of the great parts of pecan pie like the custardy center and crumbly shortbread crust, but slice perfectly into squares and are perfect for enjoying by hand.

Chai Spice Pumpkin Pie

All this pie needs is a dollop of whipped cream and it’ll knock your socks off. It’s incredibly rich thanks in part to the addition of sweetened condensed milk, which also helps it set up nicely, but chai has all of the same spices you’d traditionally use in a pumpkin pie and the union tastes incredibly logical when you take your first bite. Except the cardamom elevates the pie and the black pepper gives a slight buzz. The whole filling comes together in one bowl. Try it, you’ll be hooked.

Snickerdoodle Layer Cake

The ultimate showstopper, guaranteed to leave everyone in the room speechless. Imagine a cake with all the flavors of a snickerdoodle, the cake itself tastes like a snickerdoodle, the filling is crushed snickerdoodles mixed into a cookie butter and the cake is covered in a luscious cinnamon buttercream. It has cinnamon in every layer but it’s not too cinnamon-y. Make the cakes up to a day ahead, wrap them tightly and assembling it on Thanksgiving morning only takes about 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

If you’re looking for a pumpkin dessert that’s not pie, look no further than this spiced pumpkin cheesecake. Make it one day ahead and refrigerate overnight before serving. Run your knife under hot water between slices for clean-cut pieces. The puree makes a softer, mousse-like cheesecake; brown sugar adds a depth of flavor; and spices in the graham cracker crust add an autumnal element. It’s a pumpkin pie in cheesecake form, trust us.

Pear Pie

I love fall baking… apples are king but pears are definitely the most under-appreciated fall fruit with a more floral sweet and delicate flavor. This Dutch-style pie with a flaky bottom crust and a crumbly streusel on top is wonderful. So, picture this… you’re at Thanksgiving and everyone’s brought apple pie, and yeah, we’ve seen it all before, but you’ve brought this beautiful, perfect, oh-so-tasty pear pie and trust me, all other desserts will be forgotten; use Bartlett or Anjou pears as they hold their shape really well in pies; they don’t turn to mush.

Apple Crisp

Crisps are hands-down the easiest fall desserts to make. Picture tender cinnamon-spiced apples beneath a buttery oat crumble that’s toasty in places and deeply golden at the edges. There’s no crust to make, roll-out or chill. You’ll bake the crisp in a cast iron skillet and serve it from there. Simply pop it in the oven as you’re starting dinner and it’ll be perfectly hot and ready when it’s dessert time. Get the Recipe Here

Jewish Apple Cake

Beautiful ribbons of fruit throughout a moist, pound-cake-y crumb, this dessert is a Philadelphia classic. Thinly slice your apples and coat them in cinnamon sugar. Fold them into an orange juice laden batter and bake it all up in a tube pan. It needs nothing but a dusting of powdered sugar, serves perfectly at brunch and is even better the second day. If you’re looking for the ultimate not-an-apple-pie apple dessert, it’s this cake. Make it. Get the Recipe Here

Peanut Butter Pie

If pumpkin and apple desserts are getting stale after that first (second, third, fourth) slice, consider this: Chocolate and peanut butter are worthy competitors for Thanksgiving desserts too. This pie features an Oreo crust and a cream cheese/peanut butter filling whipped to mousse-y perfection and covered in an outrageous blanket of chopped Reese’s cups. And of course, the pie’s greatest justification for existence: It’s no-bake, setting in the fridge.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Although pies and cakes steal the show, people will be drawn to pumpkin cinnamon-sugar cookies as they pass by your Thanksgiving dessert table. For a treat that’s part snickerdoodle, part soft pumpkin cookie, pumpkin puree and cornstarch combine to give these cookies their soft, thick, and chewy texture. These are also easily the simplest recipe to tackle with your kids – just have them help you roll the balls of cookie dough in cinnamon sugar.

Pecan Pie

Every single year this pecan pie is the first to disappear in our family. If you like pecan pie, toasted pecans nestled into a rich brown sugar custard with a perfectly crispy top and a still-gooey middle, try this recipe. It’s vegan-friendly but tastes more decadent than apologetic. Serve barely warm and spooned over with unsweetened whipped cream. Trust me, you’ll prefer this recipe to the one you’ve been making for the last 20 years.

Pumpkin Spice Butter Board

If you’ve never had a butter board before, basically, it’s softened butter on a wooden board, then you can add whatever toppings you’d like. The pumpkin spice version is made with maple and cinnamon and toasted nuts so it’s on the sweeter side. It takes ten minutes to make and dessert tables aren’t just for baked goods. It’s a fun alternative to pie. Have some warm rolls, apples, or even gingersnaps for grazing. Get the Directions Here

Pumpkin Bread

Alongside slices of pie, consider making a pumpkin spice butter board to go with the dessert table. Serve alongside warm rolls, apple slices, or gingersnaps. Butter boards are pretty much just softened butter spread out onto a wooden board and then covered with toppings. Ten minutes later you’ll be looking at a maple and cinnamon-scented board of pumpkin-spiced butter, toasted nuts and more. Let them graze.

Pair these Thanksgiving desserts with a matching Thanksgiving cocktail and enjoy your meal!

Many of these desserts are perfect for the full holiday season, but you can also check out our favorite Christmas desserts to make as well.