This Sex in a Pan has a crazy name for a dessert, but it’s one of the best desserts you’ll ever have, it’s mostly a pudding dessert with a crunchy pecan bottom crust.

Over 5 years ago I shared this amazing dessert with you and you guys loved it! It’s one of my most popular recipes on Jo Cooks and there’s a reason for that. It’s incredible, it’s decadent and luscious.
I thought it’s the perfect time to share this with you again with some updated pictures and a video. With Valentine’s day only a couple days away, I think this dessert will be spot on for that special day with a name like sex in a pan.
Why Is It Called Sex In A Pan?
The name itself is hilarious for a dessert, and hundreds of you have commented on here telling me all the other names that this pudding dessert goes by. I think it’s called sex in a pan because it’s six layers and from six layers in a pan it got to sex in a pan.
A long time ago, before I was married, my friend came over on a weekend and made this dessert for me. I had no idea what it was, but she promised me I was going to love it so we made it.
We did not come up with the name, that is the name that it was known to her and her mom had been making it for her for as long as she could remember. I think this dessert has really been around for decades but it’s still popular, not because of its name but because it really is incredible.
That first day we made this dessert I fell in love with it. I had never had anything like it before. It was so easy to make and so good.
What Is Sex In A Pan?
Sex in a pan is a layered dessert. The bottom layer is the crust made with pecans, flour and butter. The next layer is a layer of cream cheese sweetened with powdered sugar and made fluffier with whipped cream. Then you have a layer of chocolate pudding, then another layer of vanilla pudding and top it off with whipping cream and then lastly you sprinkle it with chocolate. Does that not sound good?
And don’t worry about it looking perfect with perfect layers, this dessert is not about that. It will look sloppy with all the pudding and whipped cream layers. Nobody will care about how it looks like once they take a bite. It really is love at first bite.
I just had to share this wonderful dessert with you again because every single time I make it people fall in love with it and so many of them tell me it’s the best dessert they’ve ever had. Trust me, that’s the best compliment you can get for such a simple dessert. Have you guys had this before? Isn’t it to die for?
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Sex in a Pan
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Cream cheese layer
- 8 ounce cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar also known as icing sugar or confectioner's sugar, use 1/2 cup for less sweetness
- 1 cup cool whip or whipped cream
Vanilla pudding
- 5.1 ounce instant vanilla pudding
- 2 cups milk
Chocolate Pudding
- 5.1 ounce instant chocolate pudding
- 2 cups milk
Toppings
- 2 cups cool whip or whipped cream
- shaved chocolate optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a mixer mix all the crust ingredients together and press the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake it for about 20 minutes.
- Prepare the vanilla pudding as per the instructions on the package. As noted I used 2 cups of milk instead of the 3 cups on the package instructions to get a firmer pudding.
- Prepare the chocolate pudding as per the instructions on the package. As noted I used 2 cups of milk instead of the 3 cups on the package instructions to get a firmer pudding.
- In a mixer add the cream cheese, powdered sugar and the cup of whipped cream. Mix until light and fluffy.
- Let the crust cool. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crust evenly. Spread the vanilla pudding over the cream cheese layer, then the chocolate pudding. Spread the whipped cream as the last layer then top with shaved chocolate if preferred.
- Refrigerate for a couple hours until it sets before serving.
Video
Recipe Notes
- I used 2 cups of milk for my pudding, because I wanted a firmer pudding for the layers here, but feel free to use 3 cups of milk just as the instructions say.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I added some Marshmello fluff to the cream cheese layer and it’s too die for for sure. Love it. Ty ☺️😃😃 😋🤤
Have you ever used other pudding flavors instead of the vanilla – like coconut cream?
Yes, you can use whatever flavors you like!
I would love to make your Sex in a Pan dessert for my nephew but he is allergic to nuts. Could I make the crust with no nuts just by making half again the amount?
You can or you can make a oreo cookie crust, simply smash some oreo cookies with the filling and all with a bit of butter.
Thank you for getting back to me. I think that solution will work.
Every single time I make this dessert for a dinner party everybody leaves with the recipe because they all fall in love!!
I meant to give it a 5 star review
Are the pecans supposed to be finely chopped? I just used a regular bag of chopped pecans from walmart and the chunks seemed to be too big, I’m not sure if my crust came out right. Other than that it came out perfect.
Yeah, you can put them in a food processor to grind them, like you see in the video. If you don’t have a food processor, just run a knife through them until they’re fine crumbs.
Are the pecans roasted, raw, salted, or unsalted?
Anyway you like them, mine was just regular pecans you buy from costco.
My mom has been making this same recipe for years. We’ve always known it as Mississippi Mud Pie.
Can u use a Graham cracker crust instead
Absolutely!
This recipe is amazing! I was wondering if I can make ahead and freeze a week before we eat it? Thank you!
Yes, you can!! I have frozen it before and it’s fine, just thaw it in the fridge overnight.
Hi!
Love the recipe but my friend is allergic to cocoa.. Is there something else I can substitute for the chocolate pudding? Or is it also possible to remove the whole chocolate pudding layer?
Either or, you can use any other kind of pudding flavor instead.
I used a 9X13 pan, and found that the amounts for the crust was definitely very thin when pressed into the bottom of my pan. I ended up doubling the crust portion of the recipe. Everything else seemed to be a good layer of each. Haven’t tasted this one as a whole, but I can imagine this will be orgas…. delicious..
My first time making this dessert and I say ..
YES!!!!!! Yes!!!!!!! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We call this one Mother-in-law Mudslide. Not sure why! Thanks for sharing your recipe
i love sex in a pan so much, its my best thing ever. me and my whole family now have sex in a pan, its a life changer. Thanks xxx – Joe
That’s great, Joe! So glad you all enjoy this recipe!
Omg this is the funniest comment I have ever seen on a recipe
I haven’t made this yet but just based in the ingredients there’s no way it will taste anything other than fan-freaking-tastic! I’m goin with a cinnamon graham cracker crumb/pecan ~50:50 crust due to an unforeseen pecan shortage in my home. Thanks for providing such a concise, easily to follow recipe!
So glad you enjoyed making this recipe!