We know what it is like to cook a big meal. A three-courser can be challenging at the best of times. You’ve worked hard to make the starter look sublime, slaved over a hot stove to produce a really tasty main. And now it comes time to make your homemade dessert. Feeling exhausted? Yeah, us too! That’s why we’ve decided to give you a helping hand and bring you a list of 34 easy desserts to make at home! They take next to no time and are all minimal prep! Read on to explore our simple dessert recipes!
Easy Desserts To Make At Home
1. Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Cookies
This one might be a little on the fiddly side, but the results are well worth it. If you store it correctly, you can even make it a day in advance. This is thick layers of golden toasted oatmeal which acts as the ‘bread’ to sandwich a rich layer of chocolate chip. Aside from a little baking, this is just a case of assembling your ingredients, and it’s good to go!
2. Homemade Salted Caramel Popcorn
Ok, so it sounds a little upper-class… But let us be real. We are talking about popcorn. The quickest way to make popcorn is in the microwave, but a hot pan will do the trick too! We add a little baking powder to get a simple mix of toasted brown sugar all bubbly, then we use it to coat freshly popped corn. Let it cool and enjoy the crunchiest, sweetest corn around! Easy!
3. McDonald’s Apple Pie
I love to make restaurant recipes, including this McDonald’s copycat recipe and that’s why you’ll find this McDonald’s apple pie making our list. Fast and easy to make delivering an oozy apple filled crisp and crackly sugar pastry that the entire family will enjoy. Give them a try, you’ll be glad you did. The key to making them perfect is to fry the pie, rather than baking it.
4. Peanut Butter Fudge
The trick to making the easiest recipes is two-fold. Limit the ingredients and limit the time. How’s this for a slice of perfection? Butter, peanut butter, and sugar. That’s it! You might need to plan ahead to give our fudge mixture time to settle and set, but after that, you can cut it into thick chunks to enjoy whenever you like. It even stays fresh for ages!
5. Reese’s Peanut Butter Trifle
Trifle isn’t always the easiest to make. So how is this different? Well, we combine a few ‘cheats’ to make it super quick and simple. Using chocolate brownie mix, instant vanilla pudding mix, cool whip, and two packs of Reese’s peanut butter cups completely cuts down on the prep time. Trifle doesn’t need to be neat either, double easy
6. Apple Brown Betty
Who Brown Betty! Apple Jam! This is a super easy apple crumble—no messing around with breadcrumbs. We make a crunchy crust using a few simple ingredients that will take you all of 5 minutes to whip up. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt just do something to layers of tangy sugar-coated apples! You can throw this in the oven at the start of the main and have a tasty dessert in no time.
7. Lemon Icebox Cake
This icebox layer cake is great, but it doesn’t involve any baking at all. The cake element comes from a mix of crumbled graham crackers. This is sandwiched between creamy layers of instant lemon pudding mix before being finished with cream and more crackers. Stick it in the fridge ahead of time. It can’t get simpler than this.
8. Disney Dole Whip
So you’ve not been to Disneyland? No problem, if you can’t visit, at least you can try the food. The best thing is that this is super easy! Blend Ice cream, pineapple chunks, and some pineapple juice, then serve with a spoon. Tropical, creamy, and amazing.
9. Samoa Lasagne
I wasn’t sure whether to include this recipe, but it is so darn tasty I just had to. It looks like a lasagna, but it’s actually a cross between a chocolate cake, a cheesecake, and a crumble. There are a fair few ingredients, and this pushes the limits of ‘easy’ desserts. But provided you have a little spare time, it is well worth it, we promise!
10. Chocolate Dipped Oreos
Ok, listen up. How is this for ‘simple’? Take an oreo, dip it in melted chocolate and then top with a sprinkling of crushed peppermint candy. Job done! Oreos are super tasty on their own, but these create a little bit of a nicer-looking presentation. Don’t pull them apart and lick them at the dinner table. It’s really bad manners!
11. Starbucks Cake Pops
These are little cake pops without the stick! If you really want to, you can use toothpicks. We create a cheats version by using premade cake mix and canned frosting. Sure, you could make all this yourself, but we are trying to save you a bit of time. We use melted candy to coat, but melted chocolate will work just as well!
12. Hershey’s Chocolate Pie
For us, ‘easy’ means absolutely minimal effort. This homemade Hershey’s chocolate pie is about as easy as it gets. Aside from whipping some fresh cream, the rest is already done for you, and the best bit? It is only 4 ingredients. Ready-made pie crust, Hershey bars, and store-bought whipped topping are about all this takes!
13. Easy Macaroons
3 ingredients and the shortest bake time ever? Sounds great to us. Macaroons are traditionally made using a meringue-style mixture. We haven’t got time to be beating eggs with sugar, and neither have you! The prep for these is literally a couple of minutes. From there, it’s a case of a 12-minute bake until the coconut exterior turns all brown and crispy.
14. 2 Ingredient Sorbet
If you love ice cream but are watching your waistline, we might just have the solution here. With only two ingredients, there is absolutely no reason not to make this easy dessert. We mix pineapple chunks with coconut milk and blend until smooth. From there, it’s just a case of freezing the mixture and scooping out when the time comes… Or for a guilt-free movie night treat!
15. Lime and Ginger Cheesecake
Is there anybody in the world who doesn’t love a slice of cheesecake? It’s even better when it is no-bake too! The ginger element comes from crushed-up ginger snap biscuits combined with butter to make a crisp and slightly savory base. From there, we top it with a mix of cream cheese, whipped cream, and just a sprinkle of lime zest and juice before chilling until set. Lime and ginger… pairings don’t get much better.
16. Nutella Brownies
Is there any dessert in the world that isn’t made just a little bit better with a healthy dollop of Nutella? We absolutely love this recipe because of how simple it is to make. The kids will love it! Get it right, and you’ll be rewarded with a delicious treat. Watch your mouth as it will be hot. Hows about a nice ball of cool vanilla ice cream to go alongside? Tart it up with a sprinkling of powder sugar.
17. Chocolate Covered Pretzel
Pretzels themselves mean half of the work is complete. These chocolate covered pretzels are the ultimate combination of salty and sweet. Just make sure you make enough to get some for yourself, they’ll be gone in no time.
18. Apple Dumplings
What could be easier than rolling a few slices of apple in some crescent roll dough? Topping with a little brown sugar and cinnamon and baking in the oven for a few minutes. These are like your own personal apple pies! We then bake the dumplings again in a secret mix… Ok, we’ll tell you, it’s bright green mountain dew! Not the healthiest, but it is really tasty!
19. Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites
Ok, the name might not appeal to you… Let’s tell you what it is. These are actually chocolate and peanut butter banana bites. This recipe involves a minuscule amount of cooking (with a microwave) and a little bit of chilling in the fridge. But we think that’s great as you can get on with other things while you wait.
20. Oreo S’mores
S’mores is a shortened term of ‘some more’, which is exactly what you’ll want after these have been demolished at the dinner table. These are Oreos, filled with a toasted marshmallow and a sweet piece of chocolate. You can toast the marshmallows over an open flame to get a golden bubbly exterior. These are actually pretty rich. We bet that you won’t be able to eat more than three in a row!
Related: French desserts are some of my favorites, also many of them are easy to make. Why not try making some of these yourself.
21. Peanut Butter Pie
Any time we hear the word no-bake cake, we get excited… Actually, maybe it’s just the ‘cake’ part? Anyway, this is super easy and contains six ingredients. We use cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, and some frozen whip topping to make life a little easier. We make the base from crushed-up graham crackers. It’s basically a really low effort cheesecake. Just because it is low effort doesn’t mean that it isn’t utterly delicious!
22. Peanut Brittle
Here’s one to make with the kids (but be careful as it does involve hot sugar). Want to know how long it takes… from start to finish about 7 minutes. Once it is made, it keeps for a good long time too! If you have been caught short for a dessert, this could make the ideal solution as it is made with only six ingredients, All of which can be found in your store cupboard: butter, corn syrup, peanuts, and a little sugar. Don’t forget the baking soda either, as this makes your brittle nice and crispy!
23. Baked Bananas
This is a real lazy dessert. It has three ingredients and takes around a minute to prepare. Simply split a banana lengthways, sprinkle with brown sugar and a squeeze of lime juice and bake for 15-20 minutes until the skin turns brown. What you are left with is a super sweet and gooey banana. It goes so well with ice cream too!
24. Chocolate Fruit Kebabs
Easy, tasty, and maybe a little bit good for you… Hey, it’s fruit, right? Cut strawberries, bananas, and pineapple into large chunks and skewer. Melt a couple of bars of chocolate in a microwave and drizzle over the kebabs. Chill in the fridge, and you’ll get a crisp cool chocolate crust with juicy fruit underneath! This certainly falls into the category of quick and easy desserts to make at home.
25. Buckeye Brownie Recipe
If you haven’t heard of Buckeyes before, don’t worry. It will all become obvious as soon as you see them. These are little chocolate balls with a creamy peanut butter center. They look a little like eyes, hence the name. The best way to think of these is as homemade Reese’s peanut butter cups. They are just shaped slightly differently. Some recipes call for melted chocolate wafers. We prefer to use normal melted chocolate. It gives you a thicker shell.
26. Root Beer Cupcakes
Root beer? What is this the 1060’s? Listen, don’t worry, nobody is going to ask you to drink it! The recipe actually contains a tiny amount, and it’s just enough to give it a really interesting flavor. The fizz of the root beer does help to create a really fluffy cupcake. Provided you have a mixer, this recipe is an absolute breeze. You can use muffin cases to make cupcakes or create one giant sponge using exactly the same recipe!
27. Cookiedilla
Listen, we don’t want you to feel bad. But if you finish these off, you are probably going to feel like a pig. Ah, to hell with it, where do we oink? Cookiedilla is like a grown-up version of homemade Oreos. It is layers of cookies, filled with a creamy marshmallow center and topped with lashings of chocolate sauce. Quick desserts like this are what I live for. When we haven’t got time to bake cookies, we use store-bought cookie dough to make life super easy! Bake, assemble, enjoy!
28. Homemade Fudgesicles
What on earth is a fudgesicle? Er, a delicious popsicle made out of fudge, of course! We really love that you can make these ahead of time. Because they are frozen, they keep pretty much indefinitely. So you’ll have this yummy dessert available any time that you open the freezer door. There’s a fair few sweet ingredients within; cocoa, chocolate, and a fair helping of sugar. Add a pinch of salt and be amazed as the chocolatey goodness really comes out!
29. Slow Cooker Rice Pudding
Listen, we said a list of 34 easy desserts to make, not quick. This takes a little while, but it is entirely effortless. If you have a few store cupboard ingredients to use up, then this is ideal. We use pudding rice, but if you have risotto or sushi rice, this will work just as well. Combine in a slow cooker with butter, milk, and sugar. Add a pinch of nutmeg and leave it to bubble away. The longer you leave it, the smoother and creamier it becomes. Magic!
30. Eton Mess
The word ‘mess’ should give you a clue as to how much effort you put into presenting this super quick dessert. It reminds us of summer days. We cheat a little and use shop-bought meringue. This is crumbled and layered in a glass with freshly chopped strawberries and some heated jam. We finish it off with a drizzle of heavy cream.
31. Cake Mix Cookies
Are you spotting a theme here? Getting any clues? If you are a little short on time, a couple of yellow cake mix boxes can be used in so many different ways! Buy a box, and you’ll be able to make at least 6 of our 34 easy desserts! The prep for this recipe will take you around 5 minutes. And a further 20 minutes to bake. You can use oil in this recipe, but we find butter adds a really nice taste and texture to the cookies. Add chocolate chips or dried fruit as you wish
32. Icebox Cookies
This recipe does involve a little baking, despite the name. Icebox cookies are absolutely sublime if they are cooked correctly. They are all soft and gooey in the middle and toasty and crisp on the outside. They are called icebox cookies, as you can freeze the dough and then whip up a batch at any time. Does that sound easy enough for you?
33. Chocolate Billionaires
I wanna chocolate billionaire so frickin bad! (that reminds us of a song… We can’t remember the name, though). This is part rice crispy cake and part caramel cake pop. We make it in a two-stage process. First, we make caramel and combine it with things like rice crispies and crunchy pecans. Then we dip them in chocolate. It’s only fair to offer a warning. You won’t be able to eat just one, so if you are on a diet, steer well clear!
34. Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Want to know where they get the name? It’s because they wrap the creamy flavors around like a sandwich. They’re certainly not the typical cookie you’re used to. By dropping these cookies onto a baking sheet, you get a nice round cookie with frilly edges that toasts a little as they bake. What makes these cookies really zesty and delicious is the lemon icing containing real lemon juice and zest.
Conclusion
Ok, so some of our 34 easy dessert recipes may take a little longer than others. Still, they all involve minimal prep with maximum results. Whether you’ve held an impromptu dinner party or have had a busy day and want to finish off your own dinner with something tasty, you should find something to fit the bill. Have we left any great ideas off our list? Why not let us know in the comments?