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PUMPKIN PIE IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Thanksgiving dinner isn’t Thanksgiving dinner without dessert. The best Thanksgiving desserts to order in 2026 include the PieCaken from PieCaken Bakeshop, the Levee High Caramel Pecan Apple Pie from Missouri’s Blue Owl Bakery, and Ina Garten’s Carrot Cake. All of them ship nationwide on Goldbelly in time for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26.
This year’s list covers showstopper desserts, pumpkin desserts, apple and fall spice cakes, Southern classics, and a fun pick for the kids’ table.
The Best Thanksgiving Desserts of 2026 at a Glance
| Dessert | Bakery | Serves | Best for |
| Original PieCaken | PieCaken Bakeshop, New York | 10-12 | The ultimate Thanksgiving showstopper |
| Pumpecapple Piecake | Three Brothers Bakery, Houston | 40-50+ | Huge family gatherings |
| Levee High Caramel Pecan Apple Pie | Blue Owl Bakery, Missouri | 10-12 | Apple pie lovers who want to bake at home |
| Maple Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel | Michele’s Pies, Norwalk, CT | 8 | A classic pumpkin pie with a crunchy top |
| Pumpkin Spice Cake | Duff Goldman, Baltimore | 6-8 | Pumpkin fans who’d rather have cake |
| Pumpkin Cheesecake | The Nuns of New Skete, Cambridge, NY | 8-10 | A small cheesecake for pumpkin pie fans |
| New York Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake | Ferrara Bakery, New York | 10-12 | New York cheesecake with fall flavor |
| Pumpkin Maple Cinnamon Bundt Cake | We Take the Cake, Fort Lauderdale | 8 | An easy make-ahead dessert |
| Tennessee Mountain Apple Stack Cake | The Village Bakery, Knoxville | 10-12 | A slice of Appalachian tradition |
| Ina’s Carrot Cake | Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa, East Hampton, NY | 6-8 | A smaller table that wants something beyond pie |
| Sweet Potato Thang | Nikki J’s Cakes, Rowlett, TX | 12-14 | Sweet potato pie fans |
| Caramel 4-Layer Cake | Brown Sugar Bakery, Chicago | 14-16 | A Southern-style cake for a crowd |
| Thanksgiving Cake Balls | Flour Shop | 12 or 24 cake balls | The kids’ table |
What Desserts Do You Eat on Thanksgiving?
The most traditional Thanksgiving desserts are pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple pie, and, especially in the South, sweet potato pie. Pumpkin cheesecake, spice cakes, and layered pie-cake hybrids like the PieCaken have become modern favorites. For more pie picks, see Must-Try Pies for Thanksgiving.
Read More: America’s Favorite Pie Flavors By Region
Showstopper Thanksgiving Desserts
The best showstopper Thanksgiving desserts stack several classic flavors into one dessert big enough to be the centerpiece.
The PieCaken Shop’s PieCaken
Chef Zac Young’s PieCaken, dubbed “the turducken of desserts,” layers three Thanksgiving classics into one cake at his New York City bakeshop.
- Serves: 10-12
- What it is: a pecan pie base, a pumpkin pie center, and a spice cake top, layered with cinnamon buttercream and finished with apple pie filling
- Arrives: frozen, shipped with dry ice
Read More: What is PieCaken and Where to Buy it?
Three Brothers Bakery’s Pumpecapple Piecake
Houston’s Three Brothers Bakery bakes three whole pies inside three cakes, stacking them into an 11-inch-tall, 23.5-pound dessert.
- Serves: 40-50+
- What it is: pumpkin pie baked in pumpkin spice cake, pecan pie baked in chocolate cake, and apple pie baked in spice cake, with cream cheese frosting between each layer
Blue Owl Bakery’s Levee High Caramel Pecan Apple Pie
Mary Hostetter created the Levee High in 1993 to honor the volunteers who held back the Great Flood, and it later landed on Oprah’s Favorite Things.
- Serves: 10-12
- What it is: 18 hand-peeled Golden Delicious apples piled in a scratch crust, topped with caramel and pecans, weighing about 10 pounds
- Arrives: unbaked, so it bakes fresh in your oven
Pumpkin Thanksgiving Desserts
Pumpkin is the most iconic Thanksgiving dessert flavor, and these go beyond the standard pie. Shop more pumpkin desserts.
Michele’s Pies’ Maple Pumpkin Pie With Pecan Streusel
Every pie at Michele Stuart’s shop in Norwalk, Connecticut, is made by hand, and this one starts with fresh pumpkin purée, never canned.
- Serves: 8
- What it is: a 9″ pumpkin pie made with Vermont maple syrup and cream in an old-fashioned crust, topped with pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon
Maple Pumpkin Pie With Pecan Streusel >
Read More: Best Pumpkin Pies That Ship Nationwide
Duff Goldman’s Pumpkin Spice Cake
From Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes” star Duff Goldman, this four-layer cake is decorated with frosting pumpkins and a pumpkin crumb coating.
- Serves: 6-8
- What it is: a 6″, 5 lb. pumpkin spice cake with vanilla cream cheese filling and frosting, in a decorative box
The Nuns Of New Skete’s Pumpkin Cheesecake
The sisters at this small upstate New York monastery have handmade cheesecakes for nearly four decades, and they’ve been featured in The New York Times.
- Serves: 8-10
- What it is: a 6″ pumpkin cheesecake in a ginger and pumpkin-spiced crumb crust
Read More: The Nuns of New Skete Make Cheesecake
Ferrara Bakery’s New York Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake
Ferrara Bakery, a family-run Little Italy icon for more than a century, puts a fall spin on classic New York cheesecake.
- Serves: 10-12
- What it is: an 8″ New York-style pumpkin pecan cheesecake
We Take the Cake’s Pumpkin Maple Cinnamon Bundt Cake
Fort Lauderdale’s We Take the Cake bakes this moist, dense bundt with pumpkin purée, allspice, and warm cinnamon.
- Serves: 8
- What it is: a 3 lb. bundt cake with a separate container of maple cinnamon cream cheese frosting to drizzle on top, in a branded box
Apple & Fall Spice Cakes
Apple and warm spice cakes are the best Thanksgiving desserts for anyone who wants something other than pie.
The Village Bakery’s Mountain Apple Stack Cake
Apple stack cakes were once Appalachian wedding cakes, with each guest’s family bringing a layer. Knoxville’s Village Bakery still makes them from an old family recipe with Tennessee green apples.
- Serves: 10-12
- What it is: an 8″ stack cake with spiced, hand-cooked apples between many thin layers
Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa’s Carrot Cake
Ina Garten’s carrot cake comes from her Barefoot Contessa kitchen in East Hampton, New York, and the candied ginger on top sets it apart.
- Serves: 6-8
- What it is: a 6″ carrot cake with walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon, layered with mascarpone cream cheese frosting
- Arrives: frozen, shipped with dry ice
Read More: The Best Fall Cakes & Desserts of 2026
Southern Thanksgiving Desserts
Sweet potato pie and caramel cake are two of the South’s most beloved holiday desserts.
Nikki J’s Cakes’ Sweet Potato Thang
Nikki J had never made a sweet potato pie until a customer at her Rowlett, Texas, bakery asked for one in 2003. Her velvety, graham cracker-crust version became the Sweet Potato Thang.
- Serves: 12-14
- What it is: a 9″ × 13″ sweet potato pie with a hint of vanilla in a graham cracker crust
Read More: Sweet Potato Pie vs. Pumpkin Pie
Brown Sugar Bakery’s Caramel 4-Layer Cake
Stephanie Hart has baked Southern-style cakes in Chicago since 2002, and she was a 2019 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef.
- Serves: 14-16
- What it is: a 6 lb., four-layer yellow cake drenched in award-winning caramel
Thanksgiving Desserts for Kids
Flour Shop’s Thanksgiving Cake Balls
Cake artist Amirah Kassem’s Flour Shop decorates these bite-size cake balls for the season, making them a fun pick for the kids’ table.
- Serves: 12 or 24 cake balls
- Flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and cookie dough
Thanksgiving Dessert FAQs
Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple pie, and sweet potato pie are the most traditional Thanksgiving desserts. Pumpkin cheesecake and showstoppers like the PieCaken, which layers pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and spice cake, have become modern favorites.
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. Order 1–2 weeks before for the best selection, since popular Thanksgiving desserts can sell out as the holiday gets closer. Select your delivery date at checkout, and your order will ship to arrive fresh on or before Thanksgiving, depending on the maker’s production schedule.
Most are ready to eat. Some ship frozen with dry ice, like the PieCaken and Ina Garten’s Carrot Cake, so plan time to thaw. Blue Owl Bakery’s Levee High Apple Pie arrives unbaked and bakes fresh in your oven. Each product page has serving instructions.
Three Brothers Bakery’s Pumpecapple Piecake serves 40-50+, Brown Sugar Bakery’s Caramel 4-Layer Cake serves 14-16, and Nikki J’s Sweet Potato Thang serves 12-14. Browse more Thanksgiving cakes and Thanksgiving pies.
Gobble ’til you wobble. America’s best Thanksgiving desserts are shipping straight to your door with Goldbelly.
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