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25+ Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes (That Aren’t Pie)

November 7, 2025 · In: Cake, Fall, Recipes, Seasonal

Don’t get me wrong – I love a pumpkin pie on my Thanksgiving dessert table! But if you’re looking to add variety to your dessert spread, I’ve got you. These are my favorite Thanksgiving cakes, cupcakes, no-bake desserts, and more! Basically all of the classic Thanksgiving and holiday flavors translated into different kinds of desserts that are sure to impress.

25 thanksgiving dessert recipes that arent pie

As a reminder, all of my recipes include make-ahead and storage instructions that you can find at the bottom of each printable recipe.

I hope you find a new favorite dessert to add to your Thanksgiving table this year. Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

25+ Thanksgiving Desserts That Aren’t Pie

easy no bake pumpkin cheesecake recipe

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

The dreamiest mousse-like pumpkin spice cheesecake with buttery Biscoff cookie crust, absolutely no baking necessary!

get the recipe

chocolate caramel pecan pie cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

Chocolate Pecan Pie Cake with Salted Caramel

Layers of decadent chocolate cake, pecan pie filling, and homemade salted caramel, all wrapped up in tasty brown sugar buttercream.

get the recipe

biscoff no bake cheesecake recipe

No-Bake Biscoff Cheesecake

Dreamy mousse-like Biscoff cheesecake filling set on a Biscoff cookie crust and topped with melted Biscoff cookie butter! The spiced caramel flavor of this dessert is incredible.

get the recipe

pumpkin pie layer cake recipe inspired by milk bar

Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake

Pumpkin pie in cake form! Exposed layers of spiced pumpkin cake, pumpkin creme filling, brown sugar buttercream, and crushed pie pieces.

get the recipe

pumpkin cupcakes recipe with cream cheese frosting

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

Extra moist, perfectly spiced pumpkin cupcakes with irresistible spiced cream cheese frosting. The BEST pumpkin cupcakes I’ve ever had!

get the recipe

cranberry orange cake by sugar and sparrow

Cranberry Orange Cake

Layers of light and zesty orange cake with fresh, whole cranberries folded in. Topped with orange flavored buttercream to give it extra zing.

get the recipe

chai bundt cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

Spiced Chai Bundt Cake

My favorite moist, deliciously spiced chai cake recipe, baked bundt cake style and topped with chai spiced glaze.

get the recipe

no bake eggnog cheesecake recipe by sugar and sparrow

No-Bake Eggnog Cheesecake

A deliciously festive eggnog cheesecake made without any baking! Rich and creamy no-bake cheesecake filling infused with spiced eggnog on a beautiful Biscoff cookie crust.

get the recipe

pumpkin sheet cake recipe with cream cheese frosting

Easy Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Extra moist, wonderfully spiced pumpkin cake baked in a 9×13 pan and frosted with tangy cream cheese buttercream. A classic Fall dessert!

get the recipe

spice cake recipe with brown butter cream cheese frosting

Spice Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Tender and moist spice cake made paired with brown butter cream cheese buttercream to take it beyond delicious!

get the recipe

pumpkin chocolate chip cookie bars

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

The BEST moist and chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie bars made with brown butter and warm spices for the ideal fall treat! No dough chilling, quick to make, and perfect for serving a crowd.

get the recipe

carrot cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting

Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

My favorite carrot cake that’s deeply moist, perfectly spiced, and taken to the NEXT LEVEL with brown butter cream cheese frosting. The rich, nutty caramel notes of the brown butter combined with the tang of cream cheese really enhance the cozy spices in this cake!

get the recipe

chai cupcake recipe

Chai Cupcakes

Soft and moist chai cupcakes that are perfectly flavored with chai tea and a homemade chai spice mix, topped with chai buttercream.

get the recipe

pumpkin layer cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

Perfect Pumpkin Layer Cake

A Fall classic. Layers of moist, fluffy Pumpkin cake with just the right amount of spice, filled and frosted with tasty cream cheese buttercream.

get the recipe

apple crisp cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

Apple Crisp Cake

Layers of extra moist spiced apple cake, apple pie filling, baked crumble topping, and cinnamon-vanilla buttercream. Apple crisp in cake form!

get the recipe

pumpkin chai cake recipe

Spiced Pumpkin Chai Cake

Layers of delicious chai tea-infused pumpkin cake and chai flavored buttercream, decorated with pretty piped pumpkins to look extra festive!

get the recipe

apple cupcakes with salted caramel buttercream and salted caramel topping

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Moist and fluffy, perfectly spiced apple cupcakes topped with salted caramel buttercream and drizzled with homemade salted caramel sauce – these are the ideal Fall cupcakes if you ask me!

get the recipe

chocolate orange layer cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

Chocolate Orange Cake

Layers of deliciously moist, citrus-infused chocolate cake and decadent chocolate-orange buttercream. The perfect cozy take on chocolate cake!

get the recipe

gingerbread latte sheet cake for christmas

Gingerbread Latte Sheet Cake

Spiced gingerbread sheet cake that’s extra soft and moist, frosted with coffee buttercream to mimic a gingerbread latte in cake form.

get the recipe

Pumpkin Biscoff Cake Recipe

Spiced Pumpkin Biscoff Cake

Deliciously moist pumpkin cake layered with Biscoff cookie butter frosting and crumbled Biscoff cookies throughout.

get the recipe

apple spice sheet cake thanksgiving dessert recipe

Apple Spice Sheet Cake

My favorite spiced apple cake topped with cinnamon-vanilla buttercream, baked in a 9×13-inch pan to feed a crowd.

get the recipe

pumpkin chocolate chip cake by sugar and sparrow

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake

Deliciously moist pumpkin cake with chocolate chips baked into each layer, paired with spiced cream cheese buttercream and decadent chocolate ganache.

get the recipe

sugared cranberry cupcakes for the holidays

Sugared Cranberry Cupcakes

Delicious vanilla cupcakes with a cranberry swirl baked inside, topped with white chocolate buttercream and sugared cranberries. The perfect festive cupcakes for the holidays!

get the recipe

salted caramel apple cake

Salted Caramel Apple Cake

Moist apple spice cake paired with salted caramel buttercream, topped with a salted caramel, chopped almonds, and a caramel apple.

get the recipe

brown butter chocolate chip cookie bars sliced into squares

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

These cookie bars DISAPPEAR wherever I take them! They’re thick and fudgy, loaded with chocolate chips, have the perfect nutty caramel notes from the brown butter, and are the perfect low-effort (yet big payoff!) Thanksgiving dessert.

get the recipe

sugar and sparrow apple spice cake

Apple Spice Cake

Layers of deliciously moist apple cake with warm spices and cinnamon-vanilla buttercream to amplify all the flavors.

get the recipe

I hope you find the perfect dessert for your Thanksgiving spread! If you make one of these, let me know how it went in the comments and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me a photo. I love to see what you create with my recipes. Happy holidays to you and yours!

By: Whitney · In: Cake, Fall, Recipes, Seasonal · Tagged: thanksgiving, thanksgiving cake recipes, thanksgiving desserts

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Comments

  1. Michael J Robinsmith says

    November 15, 2022 at 12:52 pm

    Followed all the way through everything looking for the Black Velvet cake. Looks amazing. Also that pumpkin spice cake sounds so good

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      November 16, 2022 at 3:08 pm

      Thanks so much, Michael! If you are having a hard time finding the Black Velvet Cake it’s right here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/black-velvet-cake-recipe/

      Reply
  2. Razwana amin says

    December 22, 2021 at 10:46 am

    Hi can I have ur receive for vanilla sponge cake please

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      December 22, 2021 at 11:27 am

      Hi there! My vanilla cake recipe is here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-cake-recipe Enjoy!

      Reply

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HALLOWEEN CANDY BUCKET CAKE 🎃🍫🍬 this jack-o-lanter HALLOWEEN CANDY BUCKET CAKE 🎃🍫🍬 this jack-o-lantern cake is SO fun to make with two bundt cakes frosted with buttercream to look like a pumpkin candy bucket + lots of Halloween candy to fill it with. The perfect Halloween party cake!! 
 
A condensed tutorial is below but you can find the full tutorial link (with recipes I used!) in my bio + on my blog at  https://sugarandsparrow.com/halloween-candy-bucket-cake-tutorial/
 
🎃 Candy Bucket Cake Tutorial: 
 
1.  Bake two bundt cakes. I doubled my one-bowl chocolate cake recipe and divided it between two 9.5-inch bundt cake pans, then baked at 350F for 35 minutes.  
2. Fill and crumb coat the cakes in the shape of a pumpkin. I used my dye-free black buttercream recipe for this, but any flavor will do.  
3. Frost the cake. I used my vanilla buttercream recipe tinted with @americolor Electric Orange for the frosting. A flexible plastic smoother is KEY to shaping the roundness of the pumpkin (I got mine on Amazon) + I made my own little tool for the grooves from a leftover yogurt container. After I chilled the cake I hand-smoothed the finish with a little parchment paper to iron out the imperfections.  
4. Carve the jack-o-lantern. I chilled the frosting until it was firm to the touch, then used an X-acto knife to cut out the eyes and mouth. 
5. Add the handle. I inserted some crafting wire into hollow black licorice to create the candy bucket handle before sticking it into the cake.  
6. Fill with your favorite Halloween candy!  
 
#halloweencake #pumpkincake #partycake #cakedecorating #bundtcake
These are 10 of the Halloween cake and cupcake rec These are 10 of the Halloween cake and cupcake recipes I’d make for a spooky party! 👻

Comment “HALLOWEEN” and I’ll send all of these recipes and cake decorating tutorials + even more from my Halloween baking archives – spooky classics like my dye-free black velvet cake and pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, plus Halloween party cake tutorials and easy Halloween cupcake designs. 

https://sugarandsparrow.com/halloween-cakes-cupcakes-treats/

#halloweencake #halloweencupcakes #cakedecorating #halloweenbaking #halloweenpartyideas
DYE-FREE BLACK VELVET SHEET CAKE 🖤👀 if you’re look DYE-FREE BLACK VELVET SHEET CAKE 🖤👀 if you’re looking for a black cake that won’t stain your teeth, look no further! This sheet cake version of my favorite black velvet cake recipe uses black cocoa powder to create the dark black color for this whole cake without ANY food coloring, and it tastes just like Oreo cookies (but in deliciously moist cake form). Top that black buttercream with googly eyes for the perfect easy Halloween cake 👻

Comment RECIPE and I’ll send it to you or find it linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/black-velvet-sheet-cake/

You can also use the same ingredients and amounts for my black velvet layer cake recipe from a few Reels back! Just lower the oven temp to 325F and bake in a 9x13 pan for 30-35 min 🖤

#blackbuttercream #blackcake #blackvelvetcake #halloweencake #sheetcake
SNICKERS CAKE 🤎🥜 this truly tastes like a sweet an SNICKERS CAKE 🤎🥜 this truly tastes like a sweet and salty Snickers bar, but in cake form: decadent chocolate cake layers filled with soft chocolate peanut butter nougat and thick, gooey peanut caramel, all wrapped up in chocolate buttercream. Make this for the Snickers lover in your life!! 
⁣ 
Comment ‘RECIPE’ and I’ll send it right to you, or find it linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/snickers-cake-recipe/ 
⁣ 
#snickerscake #chocolatecake #caramel #birthdaycake #cakedecorating
BLACK VELVET CAKE 🖤 can you believe that this deli BLACK VELVET CAKE 🖤 can you believe that this deliciously moist all-black cake is made with ZERO FOOD COLORING?! The magic of black cocoa powder creates the perfect black cake + dye-free black buttercream for the ultimate Halloween party cake that won’t turn anyone’s mouth black 👻 plus it tastes like Oreo cookies so I’m obsessed!!

Full recipe (with black buttercream + my fave black cocoa powder) linked in my bio or at https://sugarandsparrow.com/black-velvet-cake-recipe/
 
You’ll also find recipes for a cupcake version, a vegan version, and a small batch version if you search “black velvet” at https://sugarandsparrow.com 
 
BLACK VELVET CAKE  
2 Cups (265g) all purpose flour 
1 2/3 Cups (340g) granulated sugar 
2/3 Cup (80g) black cocoa powder 
2 tsp baking soda 
1 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 Cup (120ml) vegetable oil 
2 large eggs, room temperature 
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 
1 Cup (240ml) full-fat buttermilk, room temp
1 Cup (240ml) hot coffee or hot water 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and line three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and whisk together. Slowly pour in the hot coffee (or hot water) and whisk until combined. 
3. Pour into prepared cake pans and bake for 32-36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool before frosting with black buttercream. Full recipe (with frosting!) linked in my bio✨⁣⁣⁣ 
⁣ 
*If you can’t find buttermilk, mix together 1 Cup (240ml) whole milk + 1 Tbsp white vinegar as a substitute. ⁣ 
⁣⁣⁣ 
#blackcake #blackbuttercream #blackvelvetcake #cakedecorating #halloweencake

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