Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Dirt Cake will make you feel like a kid again! No dairy nor gluten needed to make this irresistible summer treat.
If you grew up in the Midwest, chances are you dug into a cup of Dirt Cake every summer from the time you could hold a spoon to, well — none of us have ever stopped, right?!
Especially now that I’ve adapted the classic summertime treat to be gluten and dairy free. Honestly Gluten Free Dairy Free Dirt Cake might be even better than the original!
Watch How to Make It!
Food Allergy-Friendly Dirt Cake
I know this recipe is very specific, so if you don’t have a gluten or dairy-free dessert-loving person in your life, I still highly recommend the original Dirt Cake recipe for a summer get together, birthday treat, or even as a fun, Halloween-themed dessert.
That said, if you or someone you know has Celiac Disease and/or a dairy/gluten intolerance/allergy, than you know it’s hard to find safe desserts that don’t taste like they’ve been modified to be allergy-friendly.
This recipe, however, is even better than the original. It’s all about the homemade 5 minute pudding recipe!
Also, just throwing this out there, this is definitely not a healthy version of Dirt Cake. Simply a creamy, velvety, and chocolatey version that will blow the socks off the gluten/dairy-free person in your life.
You have to let me know if you give it a try.
Step 1: Make the vanilla pudding.
Start by making an easy, 5 minute, almond milk-based vanilla pudding for the cream layer. I have not tested this recipe with cow’s, soy, or coconut milk so I can’t say for certain if the ratios would be the same.
In a medium-sized saucepan, stir together 1/3 cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons gluten-free corn starch, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Drizzle in 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk then whisk vigorously until smooth. Add 3 egg yolks then whisk until smooth, then add another 1 cup almond milk and whisk until smooth.
Place the saucepan over a burner then turn the heat to medium. Whisk until the pudding starts to bubble and thicken then turn the heat down to low and stir with a spatula until the pudding has thickened, 4-5 minutes. You will know your pudding is done when you drag your spatula across the bottom of the pan and the pudding stays separated for a split second.
Remove the pudding from the heat then stir in 3 Tablespoons vegan butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla until smooth.
Pour the pudding through a fine mesh sieve to catch any lumps of cornstarch that didn’t get smoothed out, or cooked egg, then place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pudding to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until completely chilled and set, about 2 hours.
- Tip: you can make the pudding up to 3 days ahead of time.
Step 2: Crush the chocolate sandwich cookies.
Meanwhile, add an 8oz package gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate sandwich cookies to a food processor then process until fine crumbs.
I like this K-Toos brand, though gluten free Oreos are also fantastic.
My Mom has been making the original Dirt Cake recipe since us kids were young, so I had to ask her what she did back before she owned a food processor: Ziplock bag + rolling pin, of course!
So, just know that’s an option if you don’t have a food processor.
Step 3: Make the cream layer.
Once the vanilla pudding has completely chilled, finish the cream layer. First whisk 4oz vegan cream cheese that’s been softened to room temperature in a large bowl until completely smooth.
I’m recommending you do this by hand or with an electric hand mixer, vs in a stand mixer, because vegan cream cheese needs a little elbow grease to get super, super smooth.
Next add a 9oz tub coconut cool whip to the bowl then whisk again until very smooth.
Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons vegan butter softened to room temperature, and 1 teaspoon vanilla then whisk until smooth. Finally add the pudding recipe (about 2 cups in case you’re using a different recipe,) then whisk until smooth.
Step 4: Layer.
In a 1-1/2 – 2 quart glass bowl add the following layers:
- 1/4 cup cookie crumbs
- 2 cups cream filling
- 3/4 cup cookie crumbs
- Remaining pudding filling
- Remaining cookie crumbs
Cover then refrigerate overnight, and then top with gummy worms and/or fake flowers for that real “Dirt Cake” effect before serving.
I hope you love every single drop — enjoy!
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Pudding (makes 2 cups):
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons gluten free cornstarch, Argo recommended
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/4 cups almond milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 Tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Dirt Cake:
- 4 oz vegan cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 9 oz coconut cool whip, So Delicious CocoWhip recommended
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 oz package GF/DF chocolate sandwich cookies
- Gummy worms, for decoration
Directions
For the vanilla pudding:
- Place a fine mesh strainer over a large glass bowl then set aside. Add sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a medium-sized saucepan then whisk to combine. Add 1/4 cup almond milk then whisk vigorously until smooth. Add egg yolks then whisk until smooth. Add remaining 1 cup milk then whisk until smooth.
- Place saucepan over medium heat then cook, whisking often, until pudding begins to thicken and bubble (this will happen all of the sudden.) Turn heat down to low then switch to a spatula and cook until pudding has thickened, 4-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat then stir in vegan butter and vanilla, and then pour pudding through fine mesh sieve to strain.
- Place a piece of saran wrap directly over the pudding to prevent a skin from forming on top then refrigerate until set, 2 hours.
For the Dirt Cake:
- Whisk vegan cream cheese in a large bowl to ensure it's entirely smooth. Add coconut cool whip then whisk until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vegan butter, and vanilla then whisk until smooth. Add homemade pudding then whisk until smooth.
- Add chocolate sandwich cookies to a food processor then process until smooth. Alternatively you could add them to a large Ziplock bag then roll with a rolling pin until smooth.
- Layer ingredients in a 1-1/2 - 2 quart sized glass bowl: 1/4 cup cookie crumbs, 2 cups pudding filling, 3/4 cup cookie crumbs, remaining pudding filling, and remaining cookie crumbs. Refrigerate overnight then top with gummy worms and serve.
Notes
- Make sure and save the worms for just before serving - if you chill them they will be too hard to eat.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I don’t need gluten free food but I do like a lot of your recipes
I’m so glad to hear that, Teri! I strive to make gluten free recipes that anyone would be happy to eat! :)
…This was WONDERFUL! Now: I made it with Truwhip because I couldn’t chance that my coconut-averse 6YO would taste it; I used sweetened homemade almond milk (because that’s what I had); and I used Kite Hill “cream cheese” (has an almond base, not soy). With those swaps and your smart ratios…it was a massive hit. Thank you for all you do to share your thoughtful content!
I’m so glad to hear it, Jen! I’ll be making this recipe in just a few weeks for my son’s 5th birthday (his request) – I cannot WAIT!
I wanted to tell you thank you so very much for sharing your recipe. This was amazing. And I am so thankful.
Oh I’m so glad you loved it, Lisa! Thanks for your feedback and recipe review!
I love this recipe, but eggs aren’t vegan…do you have any work arounds on this?
Hi Laura! This isn’t a vegan recipe – just gluten-free/dairy free. I would just swap in your favorite vegan pudding recipe. I hope that helps!
I used coconut milk to make this since one of my daughter’s guests had an allergy to almonds and doubled it! It was amazing. It took about 10 minutes to thicken in the pan over med-high heat. Thank you for a delicious allergy friendly!
So glad you loved it, Deborah!
I made this today for a first day of school treat for my son. It was a huge hit! Thanks for the great recipe.
Oh I’m so, so glad to hear that, Jessica! Thanks so much for letting me know – hope your little man’s first day went well!
Thanks for the inspiration! We have a gluten-free friend coming for a party (no need to be dairy free or vegan) so I think it will be easy enough to make a from-scratch pudding and top with gluten-free Oreos. Are gummi worms typically gluten free? (I will certainly read labels, just wondering…)
USUALLY they are, but yeah I’d just double check packaging. Black Forest is gluten-free if you can find those. Your friend will be so thrilled!
My mom always made it in a flower pot, put in fake flowers & gummy worms and served it with a spade. (Obviously, all of those things were new and thoroughly cleaned.) But when she would gift it to people, they went from confused to amazed in 2.2 seconds. Thanks for the reworked version!
Yes – I love that presentation! Moms are the best. :)
Healthy schmelthy! Thumbs up! :-) He is getting so big!
I KNOW ?
Thank you for these recipes! We deal with food allergies, heart issues and plain old healthy living in our house. So this and other recipes you post are fantastic resources! We also have a child with type one diabetes so to get carb counts for some recipes, it’s one big story problem. Have you thought of adding that info to your recipes? If it’s already on your site and my mobile view is passing it by, let me know!
I totally understand where you’re coming from and can’t imagine how difficult that must be! Right now I just don’t have the resources to manually add nutrition information to my recipes (and don’t fully trust the plugins that automatically calculate them – who knows how far off the can be, which could be a big problem for people in situations like yours.) That said, I recommend Livestrong’s recipe calculator tool if you’d like to manually enter in the ingredients! http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/create/
Looks amazing!
What did y’all do in Vail? We are taking our 3 year old next week!! So excited for mountain air and cool temps!
I have a full recap going up tomorrow (Monday) – you guys are going to LOVE it!! So many little micro parks and splash pads for little ones. Definitely bring your swimsuits!
I work as a cooking instructor at a summer camp, and my kids have every allergy under the sun- nuts, dairy, gluten, soy, sesame, etc! So I am always grateful for new allergy-friendly recipe ideas. We made s’more pudding cups this week, and for the pudding I used European Gourmet Bakery Pudding Mix, and substituted regular milk for rice milk. It didn’t turn out quite as thick as regular pudding, but it was delicious and very allergy friendly! Perhaps an option for this recipe for those who are also nut-free.
Thanks for another wonderful recipe- I’ve been following for years and your blog remains one of my favorites!
Totally – thank you for the tip, and feedback! As a mother of a child with food allergies, that is so, so cool that you guys are acknowledging and addressing food allergies at summer camp!