23 Cookout Desserts for Backyard Tables and Potluck Plates

After the grill cools down, dessert still has to earn a spot beside paper plates and half-empty lemonade cups. You can pick a pie, cake, or frozen bowl depending on what sounds right after burgers, sides, and a long afternoon outside. Set one out after the main food, or bring it along for a potluck plate.

Strawberry Cupcakes

Fresh berry pieces run through Strawberry Cupcakes while strawberry puree gives the buttercream its pink color and fruit flavor. Flour, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and chopped strawberries make 12 cupcakes. The recipe takes 50 minutes, including 20 minutes of baking, before the cakes cool completely for frosting. Arrange the individual portions on a covered tray for a cookout or potluck where guests can pick up dessert without cutting a larger cake.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Cupcakes

Blueberry Pie

A bubbling fruit center and woven top crust make Blueberry Pie a familiar centerpiece for a backyard dessert table. Five cups of fresh blueberries are cooked with sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt between two prepared nine-inch crusts. The recipe makes 8 servings in 1 hour 25 minutes. Let the pie cool before transporting or slicing so the filling can set and each piece holds together on a potluck plate.
Get the Recipe: Blueberry Pie

Lemon Cheesecake

Fresh juice and zest give Lemon Cheesecake enough citrus to balance its cream cheese filling and buttery graham cracker base. Three blocks of cream cheese, heavy cream, five eggs, vanilla, sugar, and lemon make 12 servings. The recipe takes 5 hours 45 minutes, including 4 hours of chilling. Keep it cold until dessert is served, then cut the firm cake into slices for a cookout table that needs a make-ahead option.
Get the Recipe: Lemon Cheesecake

Peach Cobbler

Soft summer fruit sits beneath a simple batter in Peach Cobbler, creating a scoopable dessert for casual outdoor meals. Eight peaches are tossed with sugar and cinnamon before eggs, butter, milk, flour, baking powder, and salt form the topping. The recipe makes 6 servings in 1 hour. Carry it in the baking dish and serve it warm or at room temperature, with ice cream available when freezer space and weather allow.
Get the Recipe: Peach Cobbler

Strawberry Poke Cake

Strawberry gelatin runs through Strawberry Poke Cake beneath whipped topping and fresh berry slices. A boxed white cake uses the package ingredients, and then boiling water and gelatin fill the holes across the baked layer. The recipe makes 16 servings in 4 hours 55 minutes, including 4 hours of cooling. Chill the covered pan before the event and cut it into squares when a larger potluck crowd needs an easy-to-portion dessert.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Poke Cake

Ninja Creami Watermelon Sorbet

Ripe watermelon keeps Ninja Creami Watermelon Sorbet light after burgers, grilled meat, and heavier cookout sides. Four cups of seedless fruit blend with lime juice and honey before freezing in the machine container. The recipe makes 4 servings in 1 day, 10 minutes, with nearly all that time spent frozen. Prepare it the day before and keep it solid until serving so the sorbet can reach the table in cold scoops.
Get the Recipe: Ninja Creami Watermelon Sorbet

Lemon Pound Cake

A lemon glaze settles over Lemon Pound Cake and adds another layer of citrus to the buttery loaf. Sugar, zest, melted butter, eggs, juice, sour cream, milk, flour, and baking powder make 8 servings. The recipe takes 1 hour 15 minutes, including a full hour in the oven. Slice the cooled loaf before leaving home so guests can move pieces directly onto potluck plates without needing a knife at the table.
Get the Recipe: Lemon Pound Cake

Cherry Pie

Juicy fruit and a lattice crust give Cherry Pie the classic look of a summer picnic dessert. Six cups of fresh sweet cherries are cooked with sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt before being placed between two prepared crusts. The recipe makes 8 servings in 1 hour 25 minutes. Bake it ahead and let it cool fully so the filling thickens, the slices stay neat, and the pie travels more easily to a backyard table.
Get the Recipe: Cherry Pie

Strawberry Cheesecake

A cooked berry topping covers Strawberry Cheesecake after the cream cheese filling chills inside a graham cracker crust. Sour cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and 16 ounces of cream cheese form the seven-inch cake. The recipe makes 8 servings in 5 hours 30 minutes, including 4 hours of chilling. Transport it in the springform base or a cake carrier and keep it refrigerated until the cookout dessert table is ready.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Cheesecake

Blueberry Cobbler

Fresh berries bubble beneath a soft batter in Blueberry Cobbler, giving the cookout table a dessert that can be spooned straight from one pan. Four cups of blueberries combine with two sugars, lemon juice, zest, butter, flour, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. The recipe makes 16 servings in 40 minutes. Let it rest briefly after baking so the filling thickens, then serve it alone or with vanilla ice cream.
Get the Recipe: Blueberry Cobbler

Strawberry Earthquake Cake

Cream cheese pockets and white chocolate run through Strawberry Earthquake Cake above a berry-filled cake layer. A boxed vanilla cake combines with eggs, water, oil, cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, diced strawberries, and two cups of white chocolate chips. The recipe makes 8 servings in 1 hour 5 minutes. Cool the 9-by-13-inch pan before covering it, then cut sturdy squares for a potluck plate or serve warm portions with ice cream.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Earthquake Cake

Pistachio Ice Cream

Ground nuts give Pistachio Ice Cream its main flavor while heavy cream creates a rich frozen base. One cup of raw pistachios blends with sugar, salt, vanilla, and two cups of cream, with food coloring left optional. The recipe makes 8 servings in 5 hours 10 minutes, including 5 hours of freezing. Pack the container into a well-stocked cooler and set out cones or bowls when dessert is ready to be scooped.
Get the Recipe: Pistachio Ice Cream

Mini Cheesecakes

Individual portions make Mini Cheesecakes easy to move from a chilled carrier to a crowded potluck table. Graham cracker crumbs and butter form six crusts beneath cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, flour, and heavy cream. The recipe takes 30 minutes before any additional chilling, and strawberry jam or fresh fruit can finish each top. Keep the cakes refrigerated and add the toppings shortly before serving so the chilled tops stay neat outdoors.
Get the Recipe: Mini Cheesecakes

Lemon Meringue Pie

A toasted cloud of egg whites sits over Lemon Meringue Pie and its thick citrus filling. Six lemons, sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, and water form the center, while a homemade pastry base and powdered-sugar meringue complete 8 servings. The displayed schedule is 1 hour, though the pastry dough also rests in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Make it ahead, chill it well, and carry it in a firm pie container for the backyard table.
Get the Recipe: Lemon Meringue Pie

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Salty crumbs, cream cheese, and gelatin create three distinct layers in Strawberry Pretzel Salad. Crushed pretzels and brown sugar bake into the base before cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, whipped topping, strawberries, and strawberry gelatin go over it. The recipe makes 6 servings in 4 hours 30 minutes, including 4 hours of chilling. Keep the pan cold and slice it just before serving so the creamy center and fruit layer remain defined.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Coconut Cream Pie

Toasted coconut covers Coconut Cream Pie above a chilled custard and whipped cream topping. Coconut milk, half-and-half, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, butter, vanilla, and a prepared nine-inch crust make 8 servings. The displayed total is 1 hour 10 minutes, though the crust must be blind baked and the filling can chill overnight. Carry it cold and protected from direct sun so the whipped top stays firm on a backyard dessert table.
Get the Recipe: Coconut Cream Pie

Rocky Road Ice Cream

Chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts give Rocky Road Ice Cream several textures in every scoop. Milk, cocoa powder, sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, three-quarters of a cup of nuts, and one cup of mini marshmallows make 8 servings without an ice cream machine. The recipe takes 3 hours 43 minutes, including 3 hours of freezing. Make the batch ahead and keep it deep in the cooler until guests are ready for a cold potluck dessert.
Get the Recipe: Rocky Road Ice Cream

Strawberry Mochi

Soft rice-flour dough wraps fresh fruit in Strawberry Mochi, creating compact pieces for a dessert tray. Sixteen strawberries pair with mochiko, water, sugar, cornstarch, and optional red food coloring, while the microwave handles the cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings in 25 minutes. Place the finished pieces in a covered container and serve them the same day, when the potluck needs a small dessert that does not require plates or cutting.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Mochi

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

Citrus cake and berry buttercream meet in Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting, giving the cookout table two summer flavors in one portion. Flour, butter, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and raspberry frosting make 14 cupcakes. The recipe takes 1 hour 20 minutes, including 30 minutes of cooling. Transport them in a cupcake carrier so the frosting stays upright, and each guest can take one without slicing or serving utensils.
Get the Recipe: Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

Rhubarb Pie

Tart stalks and strawberries share the filling in Rhubarb Pie beneath a homemade double crust. One and a half pounds each of rhubarb and strawberries are cooked with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and butter. The recipe makes 8 servings in 1 hour 45 minutes, apart from 30 minutes used to freeze the crust butter. Let the pie cool before travel so the fruit sets and the slices hold their shape on potluck plates.
Get the Recipe: Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Cookies

Freeze-dried fruit gives Strawberry Cookies berry flavor without adding excess moisture to the dough. Flour, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, strawberry powder, and chopped freeze-dried strawberries make 24 cookies. The recipe takes 32 minutes, including 12 minutes of baking. Stack the cooled cookies in a lidded container or arrange them on a platter when the backyard table needs a dessert that travels easily and can be eaten without forks or refrigeration.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Cookies

Ice Cream Sandwich

Raspberries and crushed graham cookies change the filling inside this Ice Cream Sandwich from plain vanilla to a fruit-and-crumb mixture. Two cups of softened ice cream are frozen in a carton or narrow container, then cut and placed between 16 rectangular wafers. The recipe makes 8 servings in 4 hours 30 minutes. Wrap the finished sandwiches individually and keep them frozen until serving so guests can take one before the outdoor heat softens them.
Get the Recipe: Ice Cream Sandwich

Strawberry Shortcake

Warm berries, tender biscuits, and whipped cream build Strawberry Shortcake in layers just before serving. Four cups of strawberries are cooked briefly with sugar, while flour, cold butter, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, and salt make six biscuits. The recipe takes 37 minutes. Carry the berries, biscuits, and cream separately, then assemble each portion at the cookout so the biscuits do not absorb too much juice on the way.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake