73 Easy Desserts for When You Don’t Want a Project
We love making a weekend project out of an elaborate cake or pastry, but having a few easy dessert recipes ready to fire is crucial for those moments when we get a sudden sugar craving or we want to end dinner on a sweet-and-simple note. For situations like these, we turn to something semi-homemade or otherwise no-fuss: Ice cream made in a resealable plastic bag, one big deliciously gooey chocolate chip cookie baked in a skillet, or pastries that make the most out of our favorite freezer staple (spoiler: It’s frozen puff pastry).
In this collection of easy dessert recipes, we’re asking the important questions. Why fuss over flaky pastry when you can make a press-in cookie crust in a fraction of the time? Why use more than one bowl to mix cake batter? Why churn ice cream from scratch when you could make calm, cool, collected semifreddo? Scroll on for your new favorite quick, easy, and delicious desserts.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua1/73Yogurt-Berry Paletas
If you always keep a carton of yogurt in the fridge, allocate a few scoopfuls to these cooling yogurt-berry paletas. You only need a few hours and a silicone popsicle mold to make this easy dessert recipe.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie2/73Miso White Chocolate–Macadamia Cookies
Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua3/73Easy-Fancy Pear Galette
This easy-fancy pear galette is just as great for brunch as for dessert. Since it relies on canned pears and store-bought puff pastry, you can make it in a pinch.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Summer Moore6/73Chewy Date and Dark Chocolate Cookies
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks7/733-Ingredient Nutella Brownies Are Way Better Than Normal Brownies
Photography by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk8/73Easiest Vanilla Birthday Cake
We call this cake recipe the easiest for a reason. But if you really don’t want to bake a cake from scratch, learn how to jazz up boxed cake mix.
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Kat Boytsova. Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca10/73Classic Bananas Foster
High drama, minimal effort—that’s the allure of this classic, fiery dessert. If you’re not a fan of bananas, you can light just about any fruit on fire.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime.11/73Milky Shaved Ice With Strawberries
Don’t have a shaved ice machine? Pour the milk into a baking pan, freeze, and scrape, repeating the process until it resembles fluffy shaved ice.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca12/73Any-Berry Lemon Ricotta Cake
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh13/73Chocolate-Matcha Butter Mochi Cake
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk14/73Ruffled Milk Pie With Raspberries
If you want an easy recipe that looks incredible, reach for frozen sheets of phyllo dough. Studded with fresh berries and baked in a milky custard, this no-crust-required pie will be the stunner of the spread.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie15/73Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats With Brown Butter
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie16/73Blackberries and Vanilla Cream With Crispy Puff Pastry
Deconstructed desserts are en vogue, right? This low-maintenance riff on French mille-feuille encourages you to get messy.
Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Kat Boystova, prop styling by Allie Wist17/73Classic Banana Pudding
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca18/73Blueberry Muffin Cake
If you love waking up to bakery-style blueberry muffins, we have a feeling you’ll adore this one-bowl blueberry muffin cake. It’s got granola on top, so it qualifies as breakfast.
Photograph by Rana Düzyol, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni19/73Strawberry-Biscoff Cheesecake Tart
Photo by Laura Murray, styling by Judy Mancini20/73Tahini Cookies
Peanut butter cookies are great, but these chewy, sesame-crusted treats might be even better. The addition of honey to the cookie dough lends depth.
Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh21/73Plum–Black Pepper Yogurt Semifreddo
Think of semifreddo like homemade ice cream, only requiring less effort and no churning. Mix sweetened condensed milk with Greek yogurt with whipped cream for a scoopable frozen treat with a light, airy texture.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca22/73Anytime Almond Cake
This simple cake batter starts with a jar of almond paste, beaten alongside butter and sugar, to build a light, springy foundation for a just-sweet-enough snacking cake.
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Kat Boytsova. Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca24/73Mochi-Stuffed Jujubes (Soft Hearts)
These mochi-stuffed dates are often served during the Lunar New Year, but with just four ingredients, they’re too easy not to put on repeat.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Summer Moore25/73Whipped Ricotta Toast With Date and Rhubarb Compote
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Kat Boytsova26/73Don’t Sleep on This TikTok-Famous Phyllo Crinkle Cake
27/73Simple Strawberry Shortcakes
These shortcakes aren’t just the dessert of the summer—since the berries are macerated (a.k.a. combined with lemon juice and sugar to get syrupy and saucy), even subpar supermarket fruits will shine here.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Maya Rossi29/73Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
This peanut butter fudge pie has a little secret—oh, we just gave it away! Well, there’s a layer of chewy chocolate on the bottom. It’s got all the flavor of a Reese’s cup, but in cool, creamy, sliceable form. Looking for an even quicker chocolate and peanut butter situation? These no-bake cookies are ready in 15 minutes flat.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by JoJo Li30/73Brown-Sugar-Braised Pineapple
Picked a subpar pineapple at the grocery store? Bathe it in brown sugar syrup, and no one will be the wiser. The only real effort required in this recipe is cutting that pineapple.
Photographs by Mamadi Doumbouya, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Shannon Maldonado31/73Brown Butter Peach Cobbler
If you thought peach cobbler couldn’t get any better, we have a tip for you: Add brown butter.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh32/73Guava-Grapefruit Possets
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca33/73Cheater’s Berry Crumb Pie
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova35/73Chocolate-Almond Fridge Fudge
A secret ingredient replaces the dairy in this vegan, fudge-like dessert. Just kidding, it’s not a secret: it’s avocado! Bonus: This recipe can be made one week ahead of serving.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Pearl Jones37/73Basically Carrot Loaf Cake
Layered carrot cake is quite a production. Loaf carrot cake? The most casual-cool carrot cake of all time. This is one of our favorite desserts (and afternoon snacks, and sometimes breakfasts).
Photographs by Josephine Schiele. Food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich.38/73Candy Cane Ice Cream in a Bag
Making ice cream without an ice cream machine? If you have a resealable plastic bag and rock salt, you’re in luck.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Pearl Jones39/73Obscenely Chocolatey Chocolate Cookies
Here’s the dark chocolate cookie to bake when you want to impress your friends at the cookie swap, but you’re not about to spend hours cutting out reindeer and piping royal icing.
Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime40/73Rum-Soaked Fruit and Coconut Crisp Sundaes
Gentl & Hyers44/73Chocolate-Avocado Pudding
With a base of avocado for creamines, this chocolate pudding can be eaten for breakfast. Like avocado toast, right?
46/73Brown Butter Wedding Cookies
Are you someone who doesn’t think you can bake cookies? Then this easy dessert recipe is for you: six ingredients, one baking sheet, two hands, and you’re almost there.
Photo by Alex Lau47/73Easy One-Bowl Upside-Down Cake
Because it calls for frozen fruit, one bowl for mixing, and minimum kitchen equipment, this cake recipe is a breeze for bakers of all levels.
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio49/73Chocolate Date-Caramel Cups
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone50/73Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cake
This (gluten-free!) flourless chocolate cake is decadent, rich, and easy to make if you pay attention to a few key steps. The result is an easy homemade dessert that wants nothing more than a dollop of whipped cream.
Photo by Caleb Adams51/73Lemon Pound Cake
Does everyone need to know how to whip up a pie crust from scratch? Absolutely not. But every cook should have at least one easy homemade dessert recipe up their sleeve. Let this classic lemon pound cake be yours.
Alex Lau54/73Chocolate-Tahini Truffles
Black wild rice as a truffle coating? Just trust us (or the author of this recipe, legendary pastry chef Brooks Headley). And trust that this recipe doesn’t require hours of chill time, either.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh55/73Coconut-Mango-Lime Barfi
Photographs by Laura Murray, food styling by Simon Andrews, prop styling by Sophie Strangio56/73Cookies and Black Sesame Cream
Photo by Chelsie Craig, styling by Claire Saffitz57/73Blackout Chocolate Banana Bread
Think of this recipe as a cross between your favorite banana bread and a crowd-pleasing blackout cake. Whole wheat flour lends a nuttiness to the batter, but feel free to replace it with more all-purpose if that’s all you’ve got.
59/73Chocolate Brownie Cookies
This is the kind of dessert we want after a filling lasagna dinner: chewy, fudge-y, brownie-ish, but cookie-size. Rich, but just a few manageable bites.
Vincent Cross60/73Giant Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
The batter for this large-format dreamboat of a cookie is made in one bowl, with no special equipment, and can be baked in a cast-iron skillet.
Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh65/73Dark Chocolate-Espresso Ice Pops
66/73Apple Pandowdy
Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh68/73Root Beer Float Granita
Instead of pouring a can of root beer over ice cream scoops, combine root beer with sweetened condensed milk and freeze. The result is a cool, refreshing granita, complete with a maraschino cherry on top.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Susan Spungen70/73Roasty Toasty Pecan-Caramel Shortbread Cookies
Why is this shortbread one of our favorite easy desserts? It’s a slice-and-bake recipe that uses store-bought dulce de leche. While we love the contrasting look of white nonpareil on the perfect golden rounds, feel free to roll the dough in whatever sprinkles you please.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich73/73Matcha-Dipped Strawberries
Because you start with perfect strawberries, half of the work for this easy dessert recipe is done before you start. (You don’t even have to remove the stems!) Dip the fruit into a mixture of white chocolate and matcha, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and there you have it.