✔ Updated · 56 easy desserts: no-bake, cookies, fruit + frozen
These easy dessert recipes are the ones to reach for when you want something sweet without a project: short ingredient lists, simple methods and plenty that need no oven at all.
The easiest desserts to make at home use three to five ingredients and little or no baking: microwave peanut butter fudge, chocolate-dipped Oreos, chocolate-covered pretzels, 2-ingredient pineapple sorbet, baked bananas, Eton mess with store-bought meringue and no-bake icebox cake. For something baked, cake mix cookies and Nutella brownies need only a bowl and about 30 minutes.
- Under 15 minutes: chocolate-dipped Oreos, Eton mess, chocolate fruit kebabs, Oreo s'mores.
- No oven needed: peanut butter fudge, lemon icebox cake, peanut butter pie, Dole Whip, fudgesicles.
- Best make-ahead: icebox cake, fudge, buckeyes, fudgesicles and icebox cookie dough.
The 56 desserts below are grouped by type, from 5-minute no-bake treats and fudge to cookies, fruit desserts, simple pies and cakes, and make-ahead frozen treats, so you can pick by the time and equipment you have. Each one has a quick description of what goes into it, and many link to a full recipe with exact amounts.
No-Bake and 5-Minute Desserts
These need no oven at all. Most are assembled in minutes and simply chill or set while you get on with dinner. Peanut butter fudge is my emergency dessert.
Chocolate Dipped Oreos
Oreos dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy or sprinkles, then left to set on parchment.
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Salty pretzel twists dipped in melted chocolate for the easiest sweet-and-salty snack; add sprinkles or a white chocolate drizzle.
Get the recipe →
Oreo S'mores
Oreo halves sandwiched with a toasted marshmallow and a square of chocolate, warmed until gooey under the broiler or over a flame.
Get the recipe →Eton Mess
Crushed store-bought meringue layered in glasses with chopped strawberries, whipped cream and a spoonful of warm strawberry jam.
Lemon Icebox Cake
Graham crackers layered with lemon pudding and whipped cream, chilled overnight until the crackers soften into a sliceable cake.
Lime and Ginger Cheesecake
A no-bake cheesecake with a crushed gingersnap and butter base and a whipped cream cheese filling bright with lime zest and juice.
Peanut Butter Pie
A graham cracker crust filled with peanut butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and whipped topping, chilled until firm.
Samoa Lasagna
A layered no-bake dessert of cookie crust, sweet cream cheese, chocolate pudding and whipped topping, finished with toasted coconut and caramel.
Reese's Peanut Butter Trifle
Cubes of baked brownie layered with vanilla pudding, whipped topping and chopped peanut butter cups in a glass bowl; no neat layers needed.
Lemon Posset
Just cream, sugar and lemon juice: boil the cream with sugar, stir in lemon and chill in glasses until softly set.
Get the recipe →
Watergate Salad
Pistachio pudding mix folded with whipped topping, crushed pineapple, mini marshmallows and pecans, then chilled. A retro dump-and-stir potluck dessert.
Get the recipe →Rice Krispie Treats
Marshmallows melted with butter, stirred into crisp rice cereal and pressed into a pan to set; ready to cut in about 30 minutes.
Easy Fudge, Candy and Treats
Short ingredient lists and make-ahead friendly. Take care with hot sugar, especially when kids are helping.
Peanut Butter Fudge
Just butter, peanut butter and powdered sugar, melted in the microwave, stirred and chilled until firm enough to cut into squares.
Get the recipe →Buckeyes
Creamy peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate with a round of peanut butter left showing, so they look like buckeye nuts.
Peanut Brittle
Sugar, corn syrup and peanuts cooked in the microwave, then stirred with butter, vanilla and baking soda and spread thin to snap.
Salted Caramel Popcorn
Freshly popped corn tossed in a bubbling brown sugar and butter caramel, baked briefly for crunch and finished with flaky salt.
Get the recipe →Chocolate Billionaires
Clusters of soft caramel, crisp rice cereal and toasted pecans, chilled and dipped in melted chocolate.
Starbucks Cake Pops
Baked cake crumbled with frosting, rolled into balls, chilled and dipped in melted candy coating, with or without sticks.
Get the recipe →Easy Cookies and Brownies
One bowl, one baking sheet or pan, and most are out of the oven in under 30 minutes. For a fun decorating project, try our Baby Yoda cookies.
Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Soft, chewy cookies made with ripe banana, oats and chocolate chips; a good way to use up spotty bananas.
Get the recipe →Cake Mix Cookies
A box of cake mix stirred with eggs and oil, scooped and baked for soft, puffy cookies with almost no measuring.
Icebox Cookies
Slice-and-bake butter cookies: shape the dough into a log, chill or freeze it, then slice and bake a fresh batch whenever you like.
Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Crisp-edged lemon cookies sandwiched with a zesty lemon cream filling.
Nutella Brownies
Fudgy brownies made with a jar of Nutella, eggs and a little flour; great warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Get the recipe →Cookiedilla
A dessert quesadilla: a flour tortilla filled with crumbled cookies, marshmallow and chocolate, toasted in a skillet until melty.
Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies
A no-bake cookie: cornflakes stirred into a warm peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup mixture, scooped and left to set.
Get the recipe →
Bisquick Brownies
Soft, chocolatey brownies that use baking mix in place of flour and leavening, so there is less to measure.
Get the recipe →
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Buttery, chewy drop cookies loaded with white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts, mixed in one bowl.
Get the recipe →Easy Fruit Desserts
Fruit does most of the work here, whether it is baked until jammy, blended into a frozen treat or simply dipped in chocolate. Baked bananas are on repeat in my kitchen.
Baked Bananas
Bananas split lengthwise, sprinkled with brown sugar and a squeeze of lime, then baked for 15 to 20 minutes until soft and gooey.
Chocolate Fruit Kebabs
Strawberries, banana and pineapple threaded onto skewers, drizzled with melted chocolate and chilled until the chocolate sets.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites
Banana slices sandwiched with peanut butter, dipped in melted chocolate and frozen or chilled until firm.
Apple Brown Betty
Sliced apples tossed with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, layered with buttery crumbs and baked until bubbling and crisp on top.
Apple Dumplings
Apple wedges rolled in crescent dough, covered with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and a splash of citrus soda, then baked until golden.
Disney Dole Whip
Frozen pineapple blended with pineapple juice and vanilla ice cream into a soft-serve-style frozen treat.
Get the recipe →
Bisquick Peach Cobbler
Sweetened peaches baked under a quick baking-mix batter that puffs up golden around the fruit. Canned or fresh peaches both work.
Get the recipe →
Apple Crisp Without Oats
Cinnamon-spiced apples baked under a buttery flour, sugar and butter crumble topping; no oats needed.
Get the recipe →
Ambrosia Fruit Salad
Mandarin oranges, pineapple, coconut and mini marshmallows folded into a creamy dressing and chilled. A classic no-cook potluck dessert.
Get the recipe →Simple Pies, Cakes and Puddings
A few shortcuts, such as ready-made crusts, cake mix or a slow cooker, keep these firmly in the easy category.
McDonald's Apple Pie
Hand pies with a cinnamon apple filling in crisp, sugar-dusted pastry, baked or fried until golden.
Get the recipe →Hershey's Chocolate Pie
Melted milk chocolate folded into whipped topping and spread into a ready-made graham crust, then chilled until set.
Root Beer Cupcakes
Fluffy cupcakes with a splash of root beer in the batter and a root beer-flavored frosting for an old-fashioned soda-fountain flavor.
Slow Cooker Rice Pudding
Pudding rice, milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon left to cook low and slow until thick and creamy, with no stirring at the stove.
Easy Coconut Macaroons
Sweetened shredded coconut bound with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, scooped and baked about 12 minutes until golden.
Impossible Coconut Pie
One pourable batter that separates as it bakes into its own crust, custard filling and toasted coconut top. No pastry to roll.
Get the recipe →
Bisquick Strawberry Shortcake
Tender drop biscuits from baking mix, split and piled with sugared strawberries and whipped cream.
Get the recipe →
Hawaiian Butter Mochi
A one-bowl cake of sweet rice flour (mochiko), coconut milk, butter and eggs, baked into chewy, golden-edged squares.
Get the recipe →Easy Frozen Desserts
Make these up to a few weeks ahead and you will always have dessert in the freezer. I always keep a batch of fudgesicles going.
Homemade Fudgesicles
Rich chocolate pudding pops made from cocoa, chocolate, milk and sugar, cooked briefly, poured into molds and frozen.
Get the recipe →2-Ingredient Pineapple Sorbet
Frozen pineapple chunks blended with coconut milk until smooth, then frozen until scoopable. Dairy-free.
Affogato
A scoop of vanilla ice cream or gelato with a hot shot of espresso poured over it. Two ingredients, two minutes.
More Easy Desserts From Our Kitchen
Still looking? These recipes are just as approachable.
Easy Sugar Cookies
Soft, simple sugar cookies that hold their shape for decorating or taste great plain.
Get the recipe →
Snickerdoodle Cookies
Soft, chewy cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar, with the classic tang from cream of tartar.
Get the recipe →
No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake
A creamy cookies-and-cream cheesecake on an Oreo crust that sets in the fridge.
Get the recipe →
Rhubarb Dump Cake
Rhubarb, sugar and cake mix layered in a pan and baked into a bubbly, crisp-topped dessert.
Get the recipe →
Mary Berry Apple Crumble
Tender spiced apples under a buttery, golden crumble topping, best with custard or ice cream.
Get the recipe →
Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding
Layers of vanilla pudding, whipped cream, sliced bananas and vanilla wafers, chilled until soft and creamy.
Get the recipe →
Cinnamon Roll in a Mug
A single cinnamon roll cooked in the microwave in about a minute, topped with a quick glaze.
Get the recipe →
Caramel Apple Dip
A creamy caramel dip for apple slices that comes together in minutes.
Get the recipe →
Buckeye Brownie Cookies
Chocolate brownie cookies paired with a creamy peanut butter layer, inspired by classic buckeye candy.
Get the recipe →Tips for Making Easy Desserts
- Read the setting time first. Many no-bake desserts are quick to make but need 2 to 4 hours, or overnight, to chill. Plan them for the morning or the day before.
- Lean on good shortcuts. Ready-made pie crusts, store-bought meringue, cake mix and instant pudding cut the work without hurting the result.
- Melt chocolate gently. Microwave it in 20 to 30 second bursts, stirring each time, so it doesn't scorch or seize.
- Don't eat raw cake mix or flour. Raw flour and cake mix can carry bacteria. Bake them, or heat-treat flour to 165°F before using it in a no-bake dessert.
- Be careful with hot sugar. Caramel and brittle get far hotter than boiling water, so keep children back while it cooks and use oven mitts.
- Store smart. Keep cream-based desserts in the fridge and eat them within 3 to 4 days; fudge and brittle keep 1 to 2 weeks airtight.
More Dessert Roundups
Browse our other collections: banana desserts, Instant Pot desserts, Bisquick desserts, French desserts and Mexican desserts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest dessert to make at home?
Three-ingredient microwave peanut butter fudge is one of the easiest: melt butter and peanut butter, stir in powdered sugar and chill. Chocolate-dipped Oreos, baked bananas and Eton mess with store-bought meringue are just as simple and need no special equipment or baking skills.
What desserts can I make with ingredients I already have?
With flour, sugar, butter and eggs you can make icebox cookies or a simple crumble. With bananas you can make baked bananas or banana oatmeal cookies. Peanut butter, powdered sugar and butter make fudge or buckeyes, and a box of cake mix with eggs and oil makes cake mix cookies.
What are some easy no-bake desserts?
Good no-bake choices are peanut butter fudge, lemon icebox cake, no-bake peanut butter pie, lime and ginger cheesecake, Eton mess, chocolate-covered pretzels, Dole Whip and homemade fudgesicles. Most need a few hours in the fridge or freezer to set, so make them in the morning or the day before.
What dessert can I make in 10 minutes?
Eton mess, chocolate-dipped Oreos, chocolate fruit kebabs, Oreo s'mores and pineapple Dole Whip all come together in about 10 minutes of hands-on time. Microwave peanut brittle takes a few minutes longer but is ready once it cools and snaps.
Which easy desserts can be made ahead?
Fudge, buckeyes and peanut brittle keep for 1 to 2 weeks in an airtight container. Icebox cake, peanut butter pie and no-bake cheesecake are better made the day before. Fudgesicles and sorbet keep for about 1 month in the freezer, and icebox cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
