41 No-Bake Desserts to Not-Bake Tonight
The outside temperature is creeping up the dial—which means your kitchen temperature is also on the rise. You wouldn’t dare turn on the oven. Time for some no-bake dessert recipes. But let’s paint another scenario: When you don’t have an hour to wait for a layer cake or pecan pie or chocolate chip cookies or some other last-minute dessert to cool? It’s time for a no-bake dessert. Or, when you just can’t deal with a complicated project, but a sweet treat is necessary: It’s time for a no-bake dessert. In essence, combine the phrases no-bake and dessert recipes, and you’ve got sweet, sweet magic.
Below you’ll find our best options for satisfying your sweet tooth, no preheating of any machinery required: That means no baking, no toasting, and no roasting of any food items, so you can keep your cool.
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Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pierce Abernathy, prop styling by Olga Grigorenko1/41Vegan Chocolate Mousse With Sesame Brittle
This ultra-chocolaty mousse, one of our favorite vegan no-bake desserts, is egg-free and dairy-free. Craving something airy to dollop on top? Coconut whipped cream to the rescue.
- Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Kat Boystova, prop styling by Allie Wist2/41
Classic Banana Pudding
Take it from Adrian in Columbus, Georgia: “Probably made this about 5 to 6 times now for various cookouts and summertime events; literally always a hit. I’ll keep making this banana pudding forever and ever.” Amen.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca3/41
Spiced Marshmallow Popcorn Bars
This easy dessert idea takes the Rice Krispie treat—molten marshmallows have the ability to bind ingredients together like nothing else—and replaces the puffed rice with popcorn. Brilliant.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by JoJo Li4/41
Brown-Sugar-Braised Pineapple
A big pinch of salt gives this sauce a butterscotch-like flair. We like the fruit with store-bought vanilla ice cream, but you could pair it with another flavor, like mocha or strawberry—or spoon it over pound cake, plain yogurt, or oatmeal.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling ing by Pearl Jones5/41
A Giant Panna Cotta
This jiggly, wiggly dessert is also bigly. That is: It’s a large-format version of classic panna cotta, which is usually served in individual portions. Your party guests will love it—and so will you because there’s less to clean up.
- Photograph by Bre Furlong, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht6/41
Earl Grey Tea-ramisu
We call this no-bake recipe tea-ramisu because, in this riff on classic tiramisu, the ladyfingers are soaked in floral, citrusy Earl Grey tea instead of punchy espresso.
- Photograph by Shawn Michael Jones, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams, Food Styling by Micah Morton7/41
Glazed Funnel Cake With Fruit Confetti
When you make funnel cake at home, the topping options are endless: Go for melted chocolate and marshmallows for s’mores vibes, or chopped pistachio and honey for a baklava-inspired version.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley, Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin8/41
Chocolate Magic Shell
Once you’ve gotten the hang of classic DIY Magic Shell, try experimenting with other flavors, such as tahini and white chocolate.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua9/41
Yogurt-Berry Paletas
Care for a little experiment? Make two blueberry compotes: one as is and another with a dash of whole coriander seeds. Then swirl each into half the yogurt mixture and freeze. The seeds will look like little sprinkles embedded in the pops—and make them taste more blueberry-y than those without.
- Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh10/41
Ginger-Lime No-Bake Cheesecake Bars
Like most cheesecake recipes, even though this one doesn’t involve baking, it’s fairly time-consuming. Plan accordingly—or cut some corners like reader Jonnidee from Arizona, who skipped the homemade lemon curd and used store-bought instead.
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime.11/41
Lush Vanilla Berry Pudding
Creamy pudding, fluffy whipped cream, crunchy wafers, and juicy summer berries: This no-bake dessert comprises all the best parts of banana pudding, pivoted for the anti-banana brigade.
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime.12/41
Milky Shaved Ice With Strawberries
Call it shave ice, shaved ice, Hawaiian ice, or whatever you want. The point is, when it gets too hot to think, this sweet, creamy, refreshing dessert is how we want to cool down all summer long.
- Photograph by William Crooks13/41
Frozen Cookie Dough Pie
We wouldn’t leave you without a frozen no-bake pie recipe. This one is filled with ganache, vanilla semifreddo, and nuggets of cookie dough.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Spencer Richards, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua14/41
Chocolate Paradis With Almond Praline
This is no ordinary chocolate pudding—this is chocolate paradis (French for “paradise”). A gift from master chef Jacques Pépin, the airy mousse gets a splash of Grand Marnier for a play on the much-loved combination of chocolate and orange.
- Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh15/41
Strawberry-Pretzel Ice Cream Pie
Celebrate strawberry season times three: with a layer of the best store-bought strawberry jam, scoops of your favorite strawberry ice cream, and a tumble of fresh berries.
- Alex Lau16/41
BA’s Best Key Lime Pie
Okay, you do need to turn on the oven, but only for the graham cracker crust—and if you purchase a premade one, we won’t tell. The rest can be done on the stovetop and the countertop. (Same goes for this peanut butter pie.)
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh17/41
Guava-Grapefruit Possets
Think this elegant presentation impossible to achieve? Think again: Pour in the custard and allow it to set before warming the jelly and drizzling it on top, then set again. It’s no-bake and make-ahead and we couldn’t love it more.
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk18/41
Ginger-Raspberry Icebox Cake With Caramel Cream
It’s hard to find a cake recipe that doesn’t involve baking, but not when you consider the category of summer desserts called icebox cakes. Usually made with some combination of cream, fruits, nuts, and wafers and placed in the refrigerator to firm up, this one relies on ginger cookies and fresh raspberries.
- Photograph by Chona Kasinger, prop styling by Callie Meyer19/41
Tibok-Tibok
The eggless pudding Tibok-Tibok (which translates to “heartbeat” in Tagalog) has an extra-rich chocolate flavor because it uses both Dutch-process cocoa powder and melted bittersweet chocolate.
- 20/41
Citrus Caramel Sundaes With Toasted Almonds
Few ingredients can transform like plain old white sugar. Burnt to a deep amber, it becomes a simple sweet-smoky caramel sauce you can spoon over juicy seasonal citrus and serve with a scoop of ice cream.
- Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh21/41
Dark Chocolate-Espresso Ice Pops
This is a grown-up take on classic fudge pops thanks to a pinch of instant espresso powder.
- Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh22/41
Raspberry-Cardamom Yogurt Semifreddo
Wait! Stop scrolling. You don’t need an ice cream maker to whip up this fruity, fancy-feeling frozen dessert—just a pile of berries and a dream.
- Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski23/41
Salted Chocolate Halva
In this no-bake recipe, we say the dried edible flowers (such as cornflowers or roses) are optional. But, when they make the dessert look like a Vogue-worthy, sophisticated version of Funfetti: Are they really?
- Photo by Heidi's Bridge24/41
Frozen Margarita Pie
Are you an orange-liqueur-in or orange-liqueur-out kind of margarita drinker? This creamy lime pie skips it, but a splash won’t hurt if you go the other way.
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh25/41
Coconut-Mango-Lime Barfi
One bowl, no-bake, and make-ahead-friendly? This South Asian dessert is all of those things—and it’s also chewy, tangy (thanks, mango purée), and fruity too.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Beth Pakradooni26/41
Tiramisù-y Icebox Cake
“What’s the difference between an icebox cake and an ice cream cake?” you ask. The former comprises layers of whipped cream, cookies or cake, and other elements that meld into a sliceable dessert. The latter...well, it has ice cream.
- Photograph by Peden + Munk27/41
Yogurt Granita with Melon and Raspberries
Think of the cantaloupe as a two-for-one: It acts as a vessel while also being a bonus treat after you finish the honey-sweetened Greek yogurt granita.
- Photo by Peden + Munk28/41
Bittersweet-Chocolate Truffles
This is a fun chocolate dessert for a dinner party. Set a bowl of chocolate ganache on the table with some spoons so guests can play a little game: Drag the spoons across the chocolate to make curls, toss the curls in cocoa, and then toss the cocoa-dusted curls into an open mouth.
- Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova29/41
Chocolate-Almond Fridge Fudge
They may look like no-bake chocolate brownies, but these delectable little fudge squares are made with an ingredient that replaces dairy to create a no-bake vegan dessert. (Pssst…it’s avocado.)
- Photo by Rick Martinez30/41
Caramelized Plantain Parfait
When pan-fried, the outside of plátanos manzanos caramelizes and forms a hard shell while the inside becomes soft and custardy, almost like crème brûlée.
- Photo by Alex Lau31/41
Caramelized Banana and Almond Nice Cream
This banana-based “ice cream” (click through to find out why we put it in quotes) gets depth of flavor from caramelized bananas, which are puréed until smooth. The toppings possibilities? Endless.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams32/41
Raspberry Jell-O Salad
Important: To avoid a lumpy whipped topping, the cream cheese must be at room temperature. (Too cold and it won’t be smooth; too warm and the cream won’t whip.)
- Photograph by Chelsea Kyle33/41
Double Dark Chocolate No-Churn Ice Cream
This fuss-free ice cream doubles down on the chocolate flavor with a rich dark cocoa base and a glossy fudge ripple—no fancy machinery or churning required.
- Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh34/41
Root Beer Float Granita
Here the classic diner pairing of vanilla ice cream and root beer gets the granita treatment. By freezing the mixture in a baking dish and scraping it periodically with a fork, you’ll yield a refreshingly icy treat with a melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by D'mytrek Brown35/41
Peach Sorbet With Crushed Blackberries
The splash of vodka we add to this fruity sorbet is the key to its smoothness. The alcohol helps prevent big ice crystals from forming, making the sorbet easier to scoop out of the loaf pan.
- Photographs by Laura Murray, food styling by Simon Andrews, prop styling by Sophie Strangio36/41
Cookies and Black Sesame Cream
It takes only five ingredients to make this ice cream, and while we chose chocolate wafers as our cookies for the mixture, you could also use Oreos or any chocolate cookie your heart desires.
- Alex Lau37/41
Lime Custards with Lychees
As the title says, there are no eggs in this custard; you just have to simmer heavy cream, sugar, and lime zest for five minutes, strain it, and chill it.
- Juco38/41
Sorbet in Grapefruit Cups
You don’t even have to make the sorbet. Buy it along with some grapefruits (or oranges), and you’re halfway to making these trompe l’oeil treats.
- Photo by Heidi's Bridge, styling by Molly Baz39/41
Chocolate Nutella Pudding
It’s hard to beat Nutella, but if you’re not down with palm oil, jam brand Bonne Maman released a chocolate-hazelnut spread that uses sunflower and rapeseed oils instead and works just as well here.
- Alex Lau40/41
Pretzel and Banana Truffles
A little bit salty and a little bit sweet, these “truffles” are a little bit like those chocolate-peanut butter no-bake cookies everyone loves. They are guaranteed to become your new favorite no-bake dessert.
- Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott41/41
Salted Black Licorice Caramels
A good no-bake dessert can save the day when you realize you forgot to get so-and-so a host gift. Case-in-point: homemade candies. Prefer classic sea salt caramels? We’ve got you.
