Have you ever noticed that trifles are almost always made with vanilla pudding and vanilla wafers or shortbread or angel food cake? Where’s the chocolate? I’m here today to change that! This Chocolate Berry Trifle involves creamy chocolate pudding, crunchy Oreo cookies, fresh fruit, and whipped cream. It’s quick and easy to whip up, can be made in individual dishes or one large one (I almost always prefer individual ones), and makes a great dessert for the 4th of July due to the red, white, and blue berries and cream!
Ingredient Notes
- Chocolate Pudding – You’ll need chocolate instant pudding. Regular or sugar free will work.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – Find this on the baking aisle, usually down low near the evaporated milk.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – Heavy whipping cream has some added stabilizers that help the overall texture of the finished mousse. You could use regular whipping cream, you may just find your mousse has a softer texture.
- Cool Whip – Not a fan of Cool Whip? That’s ok! Whip 16 ounces of heavy cream with 1/2 cup powdered sugar to use in its place.
- Cream Cheese – Full fat or low fat will both work here. Avoid fat free.
- Oreos – We all know and love this name brand, but any sandwich cookie will do here. Feel free to switch things up according to your personal taste!
- Berries – Blueberries and strawberries make for a great combo. If you’re going for red and blue, raspberries or blackberries are also great additions.
How to Make Chocolate Berry Trifle
- For the chocolate pudding layer, blend together a package of instant chocolate pudding, some water, and a can of sweetened condensed milk. Then whip some cream and fold it all together into a rich mousse.
- Next, whip together some softened cream cheese and 2 containers of thawed Cool Whip (or whipped cream, if you prefer).
- Lastly, chop up some Oreo cookies, wash and slice a pint of strawberries and wash our blue(ish) berries (blueberries or blackberries work great).
- Finally, layer it all up! You can do this however you please. For these pictures, in individual serving dishes, I did a layer of pudding, followed by Oreos, berries, the whipped cream cheese mixture, and topped with more berries and Oreos. If you’re making this is one large trifle dish, simply repeat the layers until you use up all of your ingredients. I do recommend finishing the top off with a layer of the whipped cream cheese mixture and garnishing with berries and cookie pieces.
Storing and Other Tips
- This dessert is best served fresh. I highly recommend only assembling what you think will be eaten in one sitting. You can store the different components in the fridge and assemble new servings from the leftovers as needed.
- If you do save leftovers already assembled, just expect some squishy cookie pieces! Cover tightly and store in the fridge. Eat within 3 days.
- Yes, this is a recipe for Chocolate Berry Trifle, but this same method works for other flavor combinations. You could switch out the chocolate pudding for vanilla and/or change the berries for a different flavor profile. Banana pudding, Nutter Butters, and bananas would be a yummy combo, especially if you snuck a spoonful of peanut butter into the topping!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these ahead of time?
The best way to prep this Chocolate Berry Trifle ahead of time is to prepare the pudding and whipped cream cheese mixture up to 24 hours in advance and store in airtight containers in the fridge. You can also prep all of your fruit and chop your Oreos. Layer everything together within a couple of hours of serving. You can, of course, put it all together earlier, just remember that the longer it sits, the softer the cookies become.
What if I don’t have a trifle bowl?
Trifle is a beautiful dessert that looks best in a clear bowl. If you don’t have clear dessert dishes, try mason jars or drinking glasses! Don’t own any suitable clear serving dishes? No worries; this trifle is just as delicious when you can’t see the layers.
Chocolate Berry Trifle
Rich chocolate pudding, Oreo cookies, fresh berries, and a whipped cream cheese topping. The perfect easy, no-bake dessert for the 4th of July or Memorial Day thanks to the red and blue berries and white whipped cream cheese topping!
Servings people
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 3.9-ounce package instant chocolate pudding
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 14- ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 8- ounce containers Cool Whip thawed
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened at room temperature
- ⅔ package Oreo cookies roughly chopped
- 1 pint blueberries blackberries, or a combination of both, washed
- 1 pint strawberries washed, hulled, and sliced
Instructions
- To prepare the chocolate layer, whisk together the pudding, cold water, and sweetened condensed milk. Refrigerate. Using an electric mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold into the chocolate pudding mixture until well-combined and then refrigerate until ready to use.
- To prepare the cream cheese layer, use an electric mixer to whip the cream cheese until it’s light and fluffy. Add the thawed Cool Whip and whip until light and fluffy and well-combined.
- Layer the ingredients in trifle dishes. If using individual dishes, it’s easiest to do a layer of pudding, cookies, strawberries, Cool Whip/cream cheese, and end with berries. If using one large trifle dish, repeat the layers until you run out of ingredients (or space).
Notes
- If desired, Cool Whip can be replaced with 16 ounces of heavy cream whipped with 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
- Yes, this is a recipe for Chocolate Berry Trifle, but this same method works for other flavor combinations. You could switch out the chocolate pudding for vanilla and/or change the berries for a different flavor profile. Banana pudding, Nutter Butters, and bananas would be a yummy combo, especially if you snuck a spoonful of peanut butter into the topping!
Nutrition
Calories: 428kcal, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 57mg, Sodium: 224mg, Potassium: 345mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 40g, Vitamin A: 700IU, Vitamin C: 28mg, Calcium: 167mg, Iron: 3mg
Calories: 428kcal
Cost: $15
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Questions & Reviews
I am in charge of dessert for a Memorial Day BBQ…I’m so making this! Looks great! Thanks!
the trifle is so pretty! great idea for 4th of july with the red white and blue and like the cocoa twist!
Yum! Can’t wait to try this one and I have the perfect little trifle bowls too.
If you make this in the individual bowls, how many bowls will it yeild?(I know size of the bowl will matter, but approx? )
Probably 10-12-ish
If only it wasn’t made with Cool Whip… I am trying to phase out anything that can be considered ‘plastic’ food. I totally agree w/ Amy’s sentiments in post #12. Bring on real food, please!
Just substitute real whipped cream for Cool Whip. Easy peasy. You just take 1 cup Heavy/whipping Cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 Tablespoon confectioners/powdered sugar. Whip cream in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks are about to form. Then add in vanilla and confectioners sugar (make sure the peaks are already formed). Be careful not to whip too much or it can turn to butter type mush. Warning real cream doesn’t last like the cool whip and needs to be used up or goes all runny and icky.
Trifle literally means “a bother”. In otherwords they are a bother (worth it though) to make but oh so tasty! I make trifles of all sorts all the time, the commonality being berries and angel food cake, the pudding flavors change depending on what I want and occasionally I make a “tropical” style one, adding in tropical fruits such as pineapple, mango, papya, etc …
Brilliant! Can’t wait to make this!
The only trifle I make is called “Death by Chocolate” and involves devil’s food cake, Kahlua, chocolate mousse, Heath Bars, and Cool Whip. Not a single shortcake/banana/vanilla bland bit in it. Of course, the Kahlua could probably be substituted with a nice strong espresso too. It’s always the first dessert gone at a carry-in. :o)
I love the idea of using berries, tho. Will have to try this. And I love, love, LOVE your individual trifle bowls. Totally needing some of those now!
I’m going to have to stop reading your blog. I used to come here for trusted recipes, but now everything you post is “sponsored by.” Sure, you need to make money to support you family and make this endeavor worth the time you spend away from your kids. BUT, I feel like the recipes you are throwing at us are only intended to make money…so much for tried and trusted. I wouldn’t mind if the sponsored recipes were few and far between, but lately, it seems like every post is being forced on us.
And Cool whip, really? That stuff is nasty anyway and I refuse to cook with it. I like recipes with REAL ingredients that I can feel good about feeding my family. Pudding + Cool Whip…yuck!
Or you could say to yourself, “hmm. I’m not really a fan of cool whip, but the concept looks good. I think I’ll do it with real whipped cream instead.” and then keep your mouth shut.
I just want to echo Ellie’s comment. We have to remember how much time it takes for these girls to come up with recipes, perfect them, photograph them and get posts up 3x a week. Reply to comments, questions, pay for the blog and so on and so forth. It IS a full time job. So while you want everything for free, realize they have to get some income to keep this blog up and running and worth their time too. And I don’t care who sponsors what as long it is their opinion and they are honest. I may not like cool whip, but you better believe I will be using this idea – so cute!
Also, I just want to say that I am glad I am not the only one who believes calories don’t count when things are broken – like cookies – or when I cut the brownie in half, then eat both halfs. Totally doesn’t count 😉
So then stop reading, and keep the sour grapes to yourself. In the last few days, they’ve posted a recipe for a refreshing carribean chicken salad, homemade soft pretzels, and a delicious steak-and-brie sandwich, none of which were sponsored in any way. They all contained real ingredients that are fine to feed a growing family. These ladies are doing their best to produce recipes that appeal to a wide audience while supporting their own growing families, not just appeal to YOU.
You might think Cool Whip and Jello Pudding are nasty but they’ve been around since the 1960s and plenty of folks might like to use them once in a while so why don’t you get off your sassy horse or at least take it somewhere else.
Then stop reading! If you see the title of the post, and you’re not interested, or it’s not up to your “trusted” standards…..don’t keep reading! I had a conversation with my friend the other day about this exact thing. My love for OBB runs deep. She loves the website, just not as much as I do. So, she told me if she isn’t interested in the post for the day, she just moves on. If it’s a recipe that draws her in, she clicks and reads. Easy as pie. I’m just trying to figure out why so many individuals have made it their business to be unkind on these comment boards lately and try to pass it off as being helpful. And I’m with everyone else. If ya don’t like an ingredient, figure something else out.
Keep it coming, Kate and Sara. (I just admire due-any-minute-Kate for posting anything at this point of her pregnancy! Best wishes, Kate!)
“Every post is being forced on us…” Really? I can’t believe you said that. Who is forcing you? I don’t make every recipe I see here, some look wonderful and fit my lifestyle, others look good but I don’t try them. No one is forcing me to love or try every recipe. No one is forcing you either. If you can’t make necessary substitutions or adjustments to a recipe you see here, then it is your fault, not these talented ladies. Thanks Kate and Sara for all you time in efforts and sharing your delicious ideas with all of us.
Amy, have a great day. It sounds like you need a hug.
I don’t want to be nasty but if you don’t have anything nice to say, please don’t say it. Amy, I think that you might want to think about what you posted. I almost cry whenever I see a post like that.
We make it with brownies, chocolate pudding, cool whip, and berries. TO DIE FOR.
I want to try this one too!