Easy Thanksgiving Desserts

With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, here are som easy thanksgiving desserts to add to your menu.

This collection of desserts are simple, and stick with the theme of rich, warm desserts that pair perfectly with your traditional pumpkin pie, and pecan pie.

Most of these recipes also have gluten-free option so our friends with allergies can enjoy desserts this Thanksgiving as well.

These are recipes that my family personally enjoys (although not all of them in one Thanksgiving day!), and tend to have on a rotation.

Pumpkin roll

Starting with what is probably the most complicated recipe on this list. Does it look intimidating? Yes. But is it actually very easy? Also yes. I see these all the time when I walk into the grocery store, but let me tell you, those cake rolls in plastic packaging don’t hold a candle to the homemade version.

In reality, all you’re doing is making a spongy pumpkin cake, full of cinnamon-spice goodness, spreading it with cream cheese frosting and rolling it up, so you end up with essentially cake layers with cream cheese between them.

It’s so incredibly rich and delicious, and looks impressive to boot. One of my favorite treats to serve guests.

Chocolate pecan pie bars

This is a really nice substitute for pecan pies if you’re not a fan of rolling out pie crust. Instead, this recipe uses a shortbread crust, pressed into the pan.

The filling is a simple pecan pie-like mix, with the inclusion of chocolate for a rich, but simple dessert to add to your table.

Pumpkin dump cake

This is a truly simple dessert, and it’s oh, so good! I love to serve it hot with ice cream, but it’s good at any temperature, served with or without a topping.

All you need for this one is to mix up a bit of pumpkin filling right in the baking dish, and top with some cake mix and butter.

Pro-tip: make it a day ahead, so the flavors in the filling really amalgamate. to serve hot, you can reheat in the oven before serving.

Apple butter pie

This one may be new to you, but I love it so much, and I think you will too. If you love apples, cinnamon, and a silky custard texture, this one is for you.

I like to make and freeze homemade pie crust to pull out of the freezer for making this quick pie.

Sweet potato pie

This pie is a tradition in southern states. Functionally similar to pumpkin pie, with a rich, sweet potato flavor.

Like pumpkin pie, it’s perfect topped with whipped cream.

When I was growing up, sweet potato and pumpkin pie wasn’t just for Thanksgiving. My mom used to sweeten them with sorghum during the winter months, and serve them or breakfast.

Zucchini cake recipe

This recipe is technically more of a summer dessert, because zucchini grows best in the summer. But it fits in the Thanksgiving theme too, because it has that cinnamon, and spice warmth.

I love zucchini cake for its flavor and moistness, as well as the cream cheese icing on top.

Cranberry apple crisp

A Thanksgiving-worthy twist on a classic dessert. This one incorporates cranberry sauce for a nice tang that compliments the sweetness of the apples, and warmth of cinnamon well.

Pear crisp

Pears are an often overlooked fall fruit, but their mild sweetness takes on the flavor of spices so well, and pair nicely with the crisp topping.

The addition of pecans in the topping adds a rich nuttiness that makes this dessert a delight. I like to serve it with vanilla bean ice cream.

Buttermilk lemon pie

This custard-type pie is perhaps, one of the less common Thanksgiving traditions. It hearkens back to old fashioned farms where eggs and buttermilk were abundant, and many other dessert ingredients harder to reach, because a quick drive to town for shopping didn’t exist.

I love the sweet tanginess of this pie, and it’s a nice alternative for those who don’t care for pumpkin flavored desserts.

Pumpkin bars

This could quite possibly make the lineup for your favorite dessert ever, I know it does mine.

These bars are moist, and soft, and fairly dense, similar to a blondie. Let’s be real: the draw to pumpkin desserts is the way pumpkin holds moisture in your cakes and bars, and the flavor of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger, and these bars have all of those things in spades.

Top it with some cream cheese icing, and pecans, and you will probably never feel the need to make anything else ever in your life.

Pumpkin cookies

This is a favorite, especially with my tween daughter and her cousin to make on Thanksgiving week. These cookies are a handheld dessert after the fashion of Crumble cookies.

A firm, dense cookie, full of pumpkin spice goodness, topped with, you guessed it, cream cheese frosting, and chocolate nibs.

Cranberry Kuchen

This sweet tart cake pleases the cranberry lovers in life, that’s for sure! The dense, moist cake sprinkled with fresh cranberries, that burst and turn slightly juicy during baking, is perfect served with coffee and hot chocolate.

Shoofly pie

This is a traditional Amish dessert that is something unique to put on your Thanksgiving dessert table. Its stems from its originators needing to make something nice with very few ingredients. There’s definitely water in this pie! And yet, it’s a delicious dessert with a delightful crumb topping.

Definitely give it a try if you haven’t before. I often use my gluten-free press-in pie crust to make this recipe.

Chocolate chip pumpkin bread

This recipe makes a great addition to your pre-dinner appetizer tray.

I have been taking this pumpkin bread to the farmers market this fall, and it gets rave reviews for its nice, pumpkin spice flavor, and moistness every time. I like to use milk chocolate chips in this bread, because I think the sweetness compliments it the best. 

Pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies

These simple snickerdoodles make a such a good, indulgent snack on the days around thanksgiving. They have a little extra chewiness, and a little bit of pumpkin spice added to the traditional cinnamon. Kids love to help make these, because they get to roll them in sugar.

Old fashioned molasses cookies

One of my personal favorites! Molasses cookies are addictive. They’re just a little bit chewy, and that mix of molasses flavor with cinnamon is almost to die for. This is another cookie you roll in sugar, and I’m tempted to make them every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Crustless pumpkin pie bites

These are a nice addition to the dessert table, because there’s always that person at thanksgiving who loves pumpkin pie, but not the crust. Being crustless also makes them easy to make, and being mini means they don’t take long to bake, and also makes them easy to serve.

French butter cake

This cake is a family favorite. Dense, cakey bottom layer, topped with a gooey cream cheese layer. I like to serve it with berries, and perhaps for Thanksgiving, a sprinkle of cinnamon would be appropriate.

Dutch apple pie

This is like an upgraded apple pie. Instead of a top crust, you have a crumble on top. The filling is also easy to make, as you simply combine it all, and dump into the pan, rather than cooking it separately before pouring it into a pie shell.

This is an easy favorite if you like apple pie. We love it with whipped cream or ice cream, and it’s a nice alternative traditional flavor for those who don’t love pumpkin desserts.

There are endless options when it comes to easy Thanksgiving desserts, but let me stop here with these as our top eighteen.

Save your favorites to Pinterest, for print for your recipe binger, and you will never be bored with your Thanksgiving dessert table!