Mississippi Mud Pie
Layered with rich chocolate, whipped cream, and crunchy pecans, Mississippi Mud Pie is the perfect dessert for a hot summer day!
Ahhh summer desserts. They are hands down the best. I do love a warm apple pie in the fall, but there is something so delicious about a COLD dessert on a hot summer day.
Ice cream, homemade popsicles, Heirloom Chocolate Cream Pie, and my personal favorite – Mississippi Mud Pie. You can’t go wrong with this easy mud pie recipe: boxed instant pudding, cool whip, and cream cheese? It’s a dessert lover’s dream.
MISSISSIPPI MUD PIE
Like this recipe? Pin it to your DESSERT pinboard!
Follow Real Housemoms on Pinterest
Does your family have that ONE dish that is always expected at gatherings? That dish that if it’s not there, it doesn’t even feel like a party worth having?? You know what I’m talking about… the cake that grandma has made for centuries. Or the pasta salad that your uncle makes with his secret recipe that he refuses to share.
For my family, that coveted dish is Mississippi Mud Pie. My mom swears that the recipe has been passed down for generations. No, none of us are actually from Mississippi, so I can’t claim that it is super authentic to the original idea. But, man oh man, does it taste amazing.
I have such vivid memories of my cousins and I at a family picnic sneaking up to the dessert table and grabbing forkfuls of the delicious mud pie while the adults all gabbed on unknowingly. I have to admit that they weren’t THAT surprised when they came up and saw half the pie was missing…
It was almost a rite of passage when my mom taught me how to make this mud pie recipe. I love how each layer is so distinct and flavorful on its own, but when put together it creates the ultimate dessert. From the buttery pecan crust to the white chocolate cream cheese layer, to the rich chocolate pudding, there’s absolutely nothing to NOT love about this incredible treat (especially that it is SO easy to make)!
I promise – if you start bringing this Mississippi Mud Pie to your family gatherings, you’ll have the new favorite recipe that is expected at every family party!
Mississippi Mud Pie Ingredients
- Flour
- Chopped pecans
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Instant white chocolate pudding mix
- Powdered sugar
- Instant chocolate pudding mix
- Cool Whip whipped topping
- Milk
- Milk chocolate candy bar (or milk chocolate chips)
This is absolutely not one of those “Yes, I made it all from scratch” kind of recipes… but that’s one of the things I love most about mud pie! All you need to do is pick up a few boxes of instant pudding, some Cool Whip, and you’re halfway to having a crave-worthy dessert!
How to Make Mud Pie
- Start by making your pecan pie crust – mix the melted butter, flour, and pecans directly into your 9-inch x 13-inch pan and press firmly to cover the bottom of the dish. Place in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- After baking, take the pan out of the oven and let the crust cool completely before adding the cream cheese layer (nobody wants a melty cream cheese mess…)
- While the crust is cooling, mix up the cream cheese layer. Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, white chocolate pudding, and 8 ounces of Cool Whip together in a large bowl.
- Once the crust is completely cool to the touch, spread your cream cheese mixture over the crust evenly. Now lick the bowl clean – that layer is my personal favorite 🙂
- With a mixer (my favorite is linked below), mix the chocolate pudding and 3 cups of milk in a medium bowl. Spread this chocolate mixture on top of your cream cheese layer.
- Now, finish by topping your pudding layer with a thick layer of cool whip (this is to your liking – we use the whole 16oz tub…because, why not?)
- Finish it off by topping with pecans and chocolate bar shavings!
- Chill until ready to serve
From start to finish, this recipe typically takes me about an hour (giving the crust time to get to the perfect temperature). Only one hour of your time and you’ve got the PERFECT dessert to share with your friends and family – or just keep it as a secret stash all for yourself in the hidden back corner of your fridge. You do you.
What is Mississippi Mud Pie?
In one word mud pie is Heaven. But really, what is there not to love about Mississippi Mud Pie? This delectable dessert is made throughout the country in many different ways, but one thing remains consistent – layers of chocolate and whipped cream.
Some people use graham cracker crusts, some use crushed pecans (my personal favorite!). Some people use homemade pudding and ice cream. Others throw in a marshmallow layer. Ambitious bakers even sometimes add in coffee or liquor to give their mud pie a little extra kick!
However you choose to put your own spin on your mud pie, know that you are whipping up what is sure to be one of your most-used dessert recipes!
Want some more yummy summer desserts? Check out these other Real Housemoms ideas!
- No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake Dip
- Homemade Banana Pudding
- Triple Chocolate Icebox Cake
- Easy Coconut Cream Pie
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie
- more DESSERT recipes…
Tools used to make Mississippi Mud Pie
Hand Mixer: while I do love my stand mixer for many big baking projects, I’ve found that for Mississippi Mud Pie, I just grab my trusty hand mixer to whip up the chocolaty layers!
9×13 Glass Pan: this is one of my most used baking dishes. I use it for brownies, I use it for baking chicken, for casseroles, the list goes on and on!
Mississippi Mud Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup pecans chopped
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
Cream Cheese Layer
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3.5 ounces instant white chocolate pudding mix (1 box)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 8 ounces Cool Whip divded
Chocolate Layer
- 7 ounces instant chocolate pudding mix (2 boxes)
- 3 cups milk
Topping
- 16 ounces Cool Whip
- 2 milk chocolate candy bars (I used Hershey's)
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add flour, pecan, and melted butter with a medium mixing bowl and stir until combined and moistened. Pour the crust into a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish and press firmly in an even layer to create the crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before adding pie filling.
Pie
- While crust is cooling, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, white chocolate pudding, and 8 ounces of Cool Whip in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
- Once the crust is completely cooled, spread the cream cheese layer evenly over the crust.
- Add the chocolate instant pudding mix and milk to a medium mixing bowl. Stir together with a whisk for 2 minutes. Pudding with be smooth and thickened. Spread the chocolate pudding over the cream cheese layer so it's covered completely.
- Top your mud pie with 16 ounces of Cool Whip. Spread it out all over the pie so it reached the corners of the pan. Sprinkle extra chopped pecan and chocolate shavings (from your chocolate bars) over the whipped topping. Cover and refirgerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
I love Mississippi Mud Pie but could t remember the recipe. I have never used the white chocolate pudding before but thought I would follow this recipe. I think it made it way too sweet and made the “white” layer over power the rest of the pie. I will still use this recipe but I will just leave out the white chocolate pudding.
Do you make the white chocolate pudding first or just add the pudding powder to cream cheese
I cant find white chocolate pudding here. So i use 2 teaspoons of vanilla in mine. Tastes great and not too sweet as the pudding would be. I also always use unsweetened pudding mix. It doesn’t change the flavor, just makes me feel better to not have so much sugar. JMO