25 Thanksgiving Desserts Worth Saving Room For

While Thanksgiving dinner is definitely about the turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, but let’s be honest — the meal isn’t truly complete without a great dessert spread. So even if you’ve gone back for seconds (or thirds), make sure to save a little room. From classic pecan pie to pumpkin cheesecake and plenty more, there’s something here for everyone at the table.

1. Perfect Pumpkin Pie

The most classic of the Thanksgiving desserts, pumpkin pie may seem like a simple dessert, but oftentimes the easiest recipes are the hardest to get right. This foolproof recipe begins with my tender, flaky, and buttery homemade pie crust. The rich pumpkin filling is gently spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper (trust me) — and, unlike many pumpkin pies, the filling won’t crack as it cools. Get the recipe for pumpkin pie.

2. Pecan Pie

Is it pee-can or pick-kahn? However you say it, one thing’s for sure: pecan pie is a holiday classic. Rich, gooey, and irresistibly nutty, it’s one of the easiest pies in the line-up—and this version truly delivers! Get the recipe for pecan pie.

3. Apple Crisp

This apple crisp with a crisp oat and pecan streusel is a lovely Thanksgiving dessert, and the best part is that it’s super easy to make. Don’t forget the vanilla ice cream! Get the recipe for apple crisp.

4. Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust and Caramel Sauce

Want to upgrade the traditional pumpkin pie? This decadent pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust and homemade caramel sauce is the ticket! It is my all-time favorite Thanksgiving dessert, and I promise no one will miss the pie. Get the recipe for pumpkin cheesecake.

5. Pecan Pie Bars

If you love pecan pie but want to make something a little easier, or if you’re looking for a dessert for a holiday potluck, try these rich pecan squares. A press-in buttery shortbread crust and salted caramel pecan topping make them over-the-top delicious. Get the recipe for pecan pie bars.

6. Apple Cranberry Oat Crumble

This rustic apple and cranberry crumble with a crunchy streusel comes from Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson. The cranberries add a nice tartness and red festive color. The recipe makes a lot, but you’ll be glad to have leftovers to enjoy with your morning coffee. Get the recipe for apple cranberry oat crumble.

7. Sticky Toffee Banana Cake

This Thanksgiving dessert is a twist on sticky toffee pudding, a warm date cake covered in toffee sauce. The cake itself is basically banana bread baked in a cake pan, and the sauce is made from cream, butter, and brown sugar. It’s a winner. Get the recipe for sticky toffee banana cake.

8. Sweet Potato Pie

This fluffy, autumn-spiced sweet potato pie recipe comes from Mable Smith, a family friend for over 30 years. Born and raised in South Carolina, Mable is famous for her Southern-style pies, which she bakes by the dozen to give away over the holiday season. Since the flavor of this sweet potato pie gets better over time, feel free to make it a day or two ahead. Get the recipe for sweet potato pie.

9. Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Torte

Another fabulous (and easy!) alternative to traditional pumpkin pie, this torte with a cake-like pecan crust, pumpkin pie filling, and streusel topping comes from Linda Grimes, one of my readers and a Lake Tahoe restaurateur. It’s your cake, pie, and crisp all in one amazing dessert. Get the recipe for pumpkin pecan streusel torte.

10. Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves, carrot cake fits right in with all the classic Thanksgiving desserts. While most carrot cakes are quite dense, this one has a light and fine texture. Get the recipe for carrot cake.

11. Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

If you have children coming to your Thanksgiving feast, or if you prefer cake to pie, may I suggest this easy pumpkin cake topped with rich cream cheese icing? It is the dessert version of my grandmother’s beloved pumpkin bread, and it’s loved by kids and adults alike. Get the recipe for pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting.

12. Apple Pie

If you’ve ever baked an apple pie, you know the common apple pit pitfalls: a soggy pie crust and soupy filling. In this foolproof recipe, I blind-bake the crust to ensure it stays perfectly crisp, and I boil down and thicken the juices, which not only intensifies the apple flavor but also ensures the juices don’t pour out of the pie once cut. Get the recipe for apple pie.

13. Peanut Butter Pie

Love the classic peanut butter and chocolate combo? This peanut butter pie with a creamy filling, decadent chocolate layer, and crunchy Oreo crust is sure to hit the spot! Get the recipe for peanut butter pie.

14. Rustic French Apple Tart

Whether you call it a tart, galette or crostada, this rustic apple dessert is basically a free-form apple pie without the pan. It is made with a layer of spiced apples enveloped in a buttery pie crust sprinkled with coarse sugar. Bonus: the tart dough is blissfully easy to both make and work with. Get the recipe for French apple tart.

15. Bourbon Pecan Pie

This recipe comes from my longtime reader Jeff Winett, an avid baker. Made with brown butter, or butter cooked until it is golden brown with a nutty aroma, and a shot of bourbon, Jeff’s pie has a rich and complex praline flavor. Browning the butter takes just five minutes, and the payoff in flavor is more than worth it! Get the recipe for bourbon pecan pie.

16. New York Cheesecake

This is the ultimate New York-style cheesecake, and the recipe is easy enough even for beginners. The key is to bake the cheesecake at a low temperature in a water bath, or bain marie. The water bath regulates the oven temperature, ensuring the cheesecake bakes at an even, gentle heat, and also creates steam in the oven, which protects the cheesecake from drying out or cracking. Get the recipe for cheesecake.

17. Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake

This is one of the easiest and most delicious cakes I know. Ricotta cheese gives the cake a super moist texture and rich flavor, and all those chocolate chips make it a favorite among kids and adults alike. Get the recipe for chocolate chip ricotta cake.

18. Apple Cobbler

A cozy Thanksgiving dessert, apple cobbler is super simple to make: slice the apples, mix them with sugar and spice, and top them with big spoonfuls of buttermilk biscuit batter. After baking, you’ve got a comforting dessert of warm apples beneath a golden, sweet biscuit crust that looks like a “cobbled” pathway. Get the recipe for apple cobbler.

19. Marble Cake

With swirls of vanilla and rich chocolate cake, this marble looks impressive but tastes like old-fashioned comfort food. Happily, you don’t need to make two separate cake batters to make a marble cake. Instead, you take part of the vanilla batter and combine it with it with cocoa powder and melted chocolate, and that’s your chocolate batter. Get the recipe for marble cake.

20. Chess Pie

This beloved Southern pie is known for its rich custard filling—a blend of eggs, sugar, butter, cornmeal, and a lemon—baked into a flaky and buttery crust. The flavor is reminiscent of lemon bars. Get the recipe for chess pie.

21. Nantucket Cranberry Pie

This dessert is not actually a pie but rather a cross between a pie, a cobbler, and a cake. It’s the simplest dessert you can imagine—and, yet, remarkably delicious. It practically screams “holidays.” Get the recipe for Nantucket cranberry pie.

22. French Apple Cake

This simple cake with chunks of tart apples nestled in a buttery rum cake is a longtime favorite of mine—and one of the most popular recipes on the blog, too. Bonus: it’s a breeze to make! Get the recipe for apple cake.

23. Brownie Pie

A marriage of a fudgy brownie and a classic pie, this easy brownie pie is a guaranteed crowdpleaser. Get the recipe for chocolate brownie pie.

24. Sticky Toffee Pudding

It may look humble in the pan, but once it’s soaked in buttery toffee sauce, this sticky toffee pudding is irresistibly delicious. One bite and you’ll see why it’s a British classic. Get the recipe for sticky toffee pudding.

25. Canadian Butter Tarts

Similar to American pecan pie, Canadian butter tarts are mini pies that put that gooey buttery goodness front and center—perfect for Thanksgiving or any day! Get the recipe for Canadian butter tarts.