WHAT IS MUD PIE?
Mud Pie can be a lot of things! In the simplest definition, it is a chocolate-based pie with a crumbly cookie crust. As you might glean from the name, this pie was created in Mississippi and I love that it is just about my age – the first printed recipe circulated in 1975. Classic, now traditional recipes don’t have to be handed down from the old country to be worth it! Those southern smarty-pants took the new food options (i.e. instant pudding and Oreos) and made something new and amazing – Mud Pie! Older versions of chocolate pies are around., however, the Mud Pie with cookie crust is a new and proud creation from the south. The Mud Pie, commonly known as “Mississippi Mud Pie” after the dark goopy banks of the Mississippi river is also known as Chocolate Lasagna or Chocolate Delight. It is one of our favorite, most requested, most made desserts over at our house – and soon to be at yours! I first found this epic Mud Pie Recipe years and years ago when Patrick requested a Mississippi Mud Pie for his birthday. I have been making an adapted version ever since and most recently made two pies for Easter because, I knew one pie just wouldn’t be enough. The layer upon layer upon layer of creamy chocolate nestled in a buttery Oreo crust all topped with fluffy whipped topping is ridiculously cravilicious. It’s rich and decadent yet somehow so light and luscious at the same time that I could easily eat half a pie. It’s a dessert that calls to you, nay, screams to you as it chills in the refrigerator, beckoning for its sensational chocolate layers to glide down your throat. It’s a chocolate lover’s dream come true.
Mississippi Mud Recipe ingredients
This Oreo mud pie calls for just eight simple ingredients. Seriously!! Here’s all you need to make this mud pie dessert:
Oreos: You’re going to use the entire Oreo here, not just the chocolate cookie. Butter: Always use unsalted butter when baking. BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate: I prefer using semi-sweet chocolate so this pie is rich without being overly sweet. Sweetened condensed milk: Not to be confused with evaporated milk! Vegetable oil: 1 tablespoon of oil gets mixed into the chocolate layer to prevent it from hardening once cool. Chocolate instant pudding: Make sure to buy instant pudding and not cook and serve! Milk: Any kind will work, just make sure it’s cold. Cool Whip: You may use homemade whipped cream as well. Cool Whip just holds up better over time.
How to Make Mississippi Mud Pie
1. OREO LAYER
This Mud Pie recipe starts with a traditional Oreo base of crushed Oreos and butter that you bake for 8 minutes. A lot of recipes don’t bake their crust, but I find the simple step of baking a few minutes really solidifies the crust and prevents the crust from cracking and crumbling all over when cutting into the pie – thus this pie is almost no bake. We want our crust nice and cool before adding our first chocolate layer, so feel free to make your crust up to a day in advance and cover with foil.
2. FUDGEY CHOCOLATE SAUCE LAYER
For Mud Pie Chocolate Layer 1, we create an easy chocolate sauce by melting chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and vegetable oil together until nice and silky then pour it into the cooled pie crust. This creates a delectably rich, fudgy layer. It’s important that you cool your pie crust completely before adding this Layer or the crust will come up as you try and spread the chocolate. Also, you want your crust nice and cool so you can immediately pour the chocolate into the Crust before it thickens/hardens.
3. PUDDING LAYER
For Mud Pie Chocolate Layer 2, use a hand whisk to beat 2 boxes of pudding mix with some milk. You will use significantly less milk than with traditional pudding so the chocolate pudding will be quite thick, just how we want it. Spread half of this chocolate into the pie.
4. CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM
For Mud Pie Chocolate Layer 3, mix half of a tub of Cool Whip with the remaining thick chocolate pudding to create a light and fluffy layer that you spoon into the crust.
5. COOL WHIP LAYER
For Mud Pie Layer 4, spread the remaining Cool Whip over the pie.
6. GARNISH
Finally, I loooooove to garnish my Mississippi Mud Pie with raspberries, and even serve with extra raspberries so I can devour a sweetly tart refreshing raspberry with rich, decadent chocolate in every bite. Highly recommend it. But above all, I highly recommend you make this Almost No Bake Mud Pie Recipe SOON! It will scream to you.
Can I make Chocolate Mud Pie ahead of time?
Yup! Wrap your Mud Pie tightly and it keeps great in the fridge for several days – that is if you can keep yourself and everyone out of it!
Mud Pie Dessert Variations
There are more variations of Mississippi Mud Pie recipes as there are names – it comes in all shapes and sizes with varying layers and ingredients – some with ice cream, cream cheese or meringue, some with a cake or a brownie base, others with pudding, whipped cream and/or nuts, marshmallows, Oreos, but this version is our favorite. If you want to get creative, here are some fun options to customize your Mud Pie recipe:
Nuts: Add nuts into the pudding or as a garnish. If you like pistachios, chocolate and pistachio are a winning combination. Crushed peanuts and pecans, macadamia nuts, hazlenuts are also delicious. Fruit: As I mentioned earlier, I love the raspberries on my mud pie but you can also add strawberries or cherries as well or even bananas and coconut. Crust: Basic original pie crust works, or a thin layer of cookie dough pressed into a pie shell like in my Million Dollar Cookie Pie. You can also use store bought cookies in any variety such as lady fingers, shortbread, chocolate graham crackers, peanut butter cookies, vanilla wafers or Samoa cookies to create your own cookie crust. Pudding variations: Substitute chocolate pudding for coconut, banana or butterscotch puddings with the chocolate, or use both! Garnish with roasted coconut shavings or sliced bananas. Ice cream: Nix the pudding and add in any flavor of ice cream in its place. Have it thawed a bit, not runny but not frozen solid so it is more malleable. Fun Serving options: If you do not bake the crust, it’s always fun to layer this beautiful pie in a trifle dish. Alternatively, for a shower, birthday or event serving individual dishes in mason jars. Just make the crust crumble and press into the bottom of the serving dish or trifle pan. Then layer in the amazing other goodness!
Tips for the Best Mud Pie Recipe
You can place the crust in the freezer for it to cool more quickly, otherwise, it may take about an hour to cool completely at room temperature. You must have the crust completely cooled or it rubberizes the pudding placed right on top of the crust. You can bake your pie crust up to a day in advance then cover with foil once cooled. Don’t microwave the chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and vegetable oil at full power or it can scorch. You also need to stir in between 30 second intervals so it melts evenly and prevents any chocolate at the bottom from scorching. The fudgy chocolate sauce will be thick and will become increasingly hard to work with, so as soon as its melted and you give it a good stir, pour it into the crust. But above all, I highly recommend you make this Almost No Bake Mud Pie Recipe SOON!
How to store Mississippi Mud Pie
CAN I FREEZE MUD PIE?
Yes you can freeze Mud Pie, but with some caution. You can freeze the crust no problem. If its cooked it will freeze for up to 4 months, a non cooked crust will only last 2 months. As for the Mud Pie you, can freeze it, but I would not freeze it with the cool whip topping as it can become soft and runny once defrosted. The texture of the overall pie is also not quite as creamy. once defrosted but the flavor remains the same.
Looking for more pie recipes?
Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Strawberry Pie Dutch Apple Pie Best Ever Pecan Pie Banana Coconut Pie Pear Pie Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie Mini Caramel Apple Pies Praline Pumpkin Pie
Want to try this Almost No Bake Ultimate Mud Pie Recipe?
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