These Comforting Fall Dessert Casseroles Are Worth the Indulgence

Updated September 10, 2020
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Can you smell that cinnamon? What about those apples baking away? If you’re looking for all the fall flavor packed into one delicious dessert casserole, you’ve come to the right place. Every single one of these fall dessert casseroles are made for indulging. From cinnamon rolls to cobbler to dumplings, we’ve found plenty of ways to serve up the best autumnal ingredients in casserole form, all with a sweet-tooth-inspired spin.

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Enjoy the Sweet Comfort of These Dessert Casseroles

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Winter Blackberry Cobbler

Credit: Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Winter Blackberry Cobbler

Picture it: Outside, there is an intense chill in the air, a hazy sky hangs overhead, and you’ve just come in from the cold. You unwrap your scarf and shed your coat. Your nose still tingles from the fall wind, and you’re welcomed into the kitchen by the aroma of warm blackberry cobbler. This is a fantastic treat to delight your taste buds and warm you from the inside out. Take advantage of the abundance of packaged frozen blackberries in the colder months—they make this recipe so easy to prepare—and whip up this special treat for your family this season.

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Apple Bread Pudding

Credit: Helen Norman

Recipe: Apple Bread Pudding

Sure to please even the pickiest of dessert eaters, this apple bread pudding couldn’t be a better addition to an autumn meal. You can serve this dessert family-style from a baking dish, or you can divide the pudding into individual servings with a 3-inch round cutter for an elegant, restaurant-worthy presentation. We recommend topping it all off with delicious, savory and sweet Sautéed Apples and a drizzle of Apple Brandy Crème Anglaise for a spectacular, memorable finish. It truly is a restaurant-worthy dessert, and we know that your family will be astonished to find out that it was whipped up in no time in the kitchen.

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Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Credit: Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Listen, we know cinnamon rolls are technically breakfast fodder, but let us make a case for serving up a batch for dessert—with a cup of decaf to cut the sweetness, of course.

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Slow-Cooker Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Let our Slow-Cooker Cinnamon Roll Casserole cook away while the amazing fragrance wafts from the kitchen, filling every square inch of the house. Wait until the neighbors catch a whiff. They’ll be lining up in droves.

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Apple Butter Cobbler with Drop Biscuits

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Apple Butter Cobbler with Drop Biscuits

Our biscuit-topped cobbler is best made in a cast-iron skillet. Serve this decadent, fall-flavored casserole with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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Apple-Cherry Cobbler with Pinwheel Biscuits

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Apple-Cherry Cobbler with Pinwheel Biscuits

We call for frozen, pitted cherries so you can make this cobbler year-round, though the cinnamon and apples certainly make it an autumnal winner.

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Pecan Pie Cobbler

Credit: Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Pecan Pie Cobbler

This cake-like cobbler features pecan-pie flavor, but with a light and fluffy finish that will have everyone coming back for seconds.

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Classic Apple Cobbler

Credit: Photo: Stephen DeVries; Prop Styling: Kaye E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Classic Apple Cobbler

You can bake this decadent apple cobbler in a square, 2-quart baking dish or individually in eight, 8-oz. ramekins.

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Easy Apple Dumplings

Credit: Sheri Castle

Recipe: Easy Apple Dumplings

Remember those apple dumplings that Grandma used to make? Consider this recipe the next best thing.

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Hot Buttered Rum Bread Pudding

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Hot Buttered Rum Bread Pudding

You can swap the alcohol for ¼ cup maple syrup—and, trust us, you won’t miss a hint of fall flavor.

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Praline Bread Pudding

Credit: Hector Sanchez Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Recipe: Praline Bread Pudding 

Finish each serving with decadent praline sauce, whipped cream, and a hot cup of coffee. It’s utter perfection.

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Banana Bread Cobbler

Credit: Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Banana Bread Cobbler

Let’s not leave all the fall cobbler fun to the apples. This recipe combines two of our favorite Southern desserts: banana bread and delicious, warm cobbler. A lovely streusel topping finishes off the recipe, which is formed from a combination of sweet bread and sliced bananas, a winning combination in our book. Like most warm cobblers, it's best served à la mode, with a scoop of cold ice cream melting into the warm, gooey interior of the cobbler. It’s a versatile dessert, and can be the best of comfort foods or the most dazzling of celebratory dinner desserts. There’s an uplifting brightness to it, plus a cozy warmth of temperature and texture.

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Upside-Down Caramelized Apple Cake

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Upside-Down Caramelized Apple Cake

The upside-down cake has a long and storied history with many variations and star combinations. Every Southerner has their go-to upside-down cake recipe, but we’re going to recommend trying this one—it may become your new go-to. This has to be one of our favorite cake recipes for autumn. The brown sugar, apple, and pecan mixture is incredible. It is cooked in the skillet and then topped with a spiced cake batter to become the ultimate fall treat—a gooey, rich topping for the cake when it’s inverted—the quintessential upside-down indicated by the title—and served to expectant guests.

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Pumpkin-Honey-Beer Bread Pudding with Apple Brandy-Caramel Sauce

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell

Recipe: Pumpkin-Honey-Beer Bread Pudding with Apple Brandy-Caramel Sauce

Our recipe starts with a loaf of Pumpkin-Honey-Beer Bread, but don’t worry, you’ll have one leftover for snacking on.

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Spiced Caramel-Apple Bread Pudding

Credit: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Recipe: Spiced Caramel-Apple Bread Pudding

Apples, bread, cinnamon, cider, vanilla, and the most delicious Toasted Pecan-Caramel Sauce combine to create one out-of-this-world fall dessert casserole, also known as our Spiced Caramel-Apple Bread Pudding.

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Hot Fudge Brownie Cake

Credit: Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey

Recipe: Hot Fudge Brownie Cake

Is there anything quite as classic as a brownie? They show up at dinners, bake sales, and showers, always appropriate, not too showy, and certain to please. Truly, nothing beats a warm brownie fresh from the pan, so we created a brownie cake recipe that takes the best of the brownie and spins it into cake form, with the addition of irresistible hot fudge flavors. Plus, you can top this ooey-gooey dessert with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for an indulgent treat the whole family will enjoy. In this form, ubiquitous brownie will still win everyone over, but you will take it a step further, dazzling guests with a cake that is anything but ordinary.

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