23 Memorial Day Desserts Your Cookout Deserves This Year
Finding a great cookout dessert that travels well, feeds a crowd, and doesn’t require an oven at the last minute is harder than it sounds. These 23 recipes cover the range: make-ahead frozen treats, no-bake cheesecakes, fruit-forward summer classics, crowd-pleasing cookies and bars, and show-stopping layered cakes that go from fridge to table without a fuss. From a 10-minute hot fudge sundae bar to a brûléed cheesecake worth the weekend effort, there’s a dessert here for every cookout scenario.
Muffin Pan Strawberry Shortcakes
Baked in just 30 minutes with Greek yogurt keeping the crumb tender, Muffin Pan Strawberry Shortcakes are individual servings that skip the slicing and plating mess at a cookout. Each shortcake is loaded with fresh strawberries and honey, then finished with whipped cream. The muffin pan format means you can bake a batch ahead and stack them in a container for the drive over.
Get the Recipe: Muffin Pan Strawberry Shortcakes
Ambrosia Salad
A retro cookout fixture that still earns its spot on the table, Ambrosia Salad comes together in under an hour using mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks, maraschino cherries, shredded coconut, and mini marshmallows folded into a whipped cream and sour cream base. It chills beautifully overnight, which makes it one of the most reliable make-ahead desserts in the lineup. Spoon it into individual cups for easy serving.
Get the Recipe: Ambrosia Salad
Million Dollar Pie
No oven needed and 8 hours in the fridge does all the work: Million Dollar Pie layers crushed pineapple, sweetened condensed milk, lemon, shredded coconut, maraschino cherries, and pecans into a graham cracker crust, then tops the whole thing with whipped topping. It slices cleanly straight from the fridge and holds its shape at a cookout table. Make it the night before and it’s done.
Get the Recipe: Million Dollar Pie
Easy Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Five ingredients and 54 minutes from start to finish, Easy Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars use a box of yellow cake mix as the base, with eggs, vegetable oil, water, and a full cup of chocolate chips stirred in. The bars bake up thick and fudgy, cut into squares without crumbling, and travel easily in the pan. A reliable crowd-pleaser for any age group at the cookout.
Get the Recipe: Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Boston Cream Pie
Worth the 3-hour investment for a cookout where you want one showstopper dessert, Boston Cream Pie layers a from-scratch butter cake with a real vanilla custard filling and a poured chocolate ganache top. The custard is made from egg yolks, whole milk, and cornstarch, giving it a firm set that stays put when you slice it. Keep it refrigerated until serving and it holds its shape cleanly.
Get the Recipe: Boston Cream Pie
Red, White & Blue Chocolate Bark
Two hours of chilling time and no baking required: Red, White, and Blue Chocolate Bark layers semi-sweet and white chocolate with red, white, and blue candy melts, then tops everything with patriotic M&Ms and star sprinkles. Break it into shards and pile them onto a tray for the easiest festive dessert at the cookout. It stores at room temperature and ships in a container without sticking.
Get the Recipe: Red, White & Blue Chocolate Bark
Cookie Cake
Ready in 30 minutes and built to feed a crowd, Cookie Cake uses brown sugar, butter, eggs, and semi-sweet chocolate chips for a giant skillet-style cookie base, then gets piped with a chocolate buttercream frosting once it cools. It slices like a cake, serves a full table, and needs no extra plating or prep at the cookout. Bake it the morning of and it’s ready to go.
Get the Recipe: Cookie Cake
Funfetti Rice Krispie Treats
In 30 minutes you get a pan of Funfetti Rice Krispie Treats loaded with butter, mini marshmallows, vanilla, rainbow sprinkles, white chocolate drizzle, and crushed golden Oreos. They cut into clean squares, stack in a container for transport, and disappear fast at any cookout with kids. The golden Oreos add a vanilla crunch that takes these well past the standard version.
Get the Recipe: Funfetti Rice Krispie Treats
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Just 35 minutes and four ingredients: Chocolate Covered Strawberries dip one pound of large, dry fresh strawberries in melted dark or semisweet chocolate with a bit of coconut oil for shine, then finish with an optional white chocolate drizzle. Line them on parchment and refrigerate until the cookout. They hold at room temperature for a couple of hours and look like you put in far more effort than you did.
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Funnel Cake
The cookout dessert that makes people stop mid-conversation, Funnel Cake uses a simple batter of flour, sugar, milk, eggs, and vanilla fried in vegetable oil and dusted with powdered sugar. The whole recipe takes 25 minutes. Set up a frying station at the cookout and cook them fresh, or make them in batches ahead and keep warm in a low oven until the crowd arrives.
Get the Recipe: Funnel Cake
Cream Cheese Brownies
Baked in 50 minutes with a fudgy brownie base using butter, sugar, eggs, and cocoa powder, Cream Cheese Brownies swirl in a separate cream cheese layer of cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla that bakes right into the top. They cut into squares cleanly once cooled and need no frosting or finishing. Pack them in the pan and they’re done for the cookout.
Get the Recipe: Cream Cheese Brownies
Hot Fudge Sundae
Ten minutes is all it takes to make a from-scratch hot fudge sauce from butter, sugar, cocoa powder, agave, milk, and vanilla, and that’s the whole engine of a Hot Fudge Sundae bar. Set out the sauce, vanilla ice cream, and crushed Biscoff cookies at the cookout and let everyone build their own. It’s the easiest interactive dessert on this list and uses no oven at all.
Get the Recipe: Hot Fudge Sundae
Creme Brûlée Cheesecake
A graham cracker crust filled with cream cheese, eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla, then chilled for 5 hours and finished with a brûléed sugar top, Crème Brûlée Cheesecake is the make-ahead dessert that gets the most attention at a cookout. The custard filling sets firmly overnight, so it slices cleanly. Bring a kitchen torch and brûlée individual slices tableside for the full effect.
Get the Recipe: Creme Brûlée Cheesecake
Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting Recipe
One hour, 14 cupcakes, and a brightness that cuts through every other rich dessert on the table: Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting Recipe use fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and buttermilk in the batter, then pipe on a raspberry buttercream that turns deep pink against the pale cake. These travel well in a covered carrier and are one of the freshest bites at any summer cookout.
Get the Recipe: Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting
No Churn Salted Caramel Ice Cream
No ice cream machine needed: No-Churn Salted Caramel Ice Cream whips together heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, salted caramel sauce, and sea salt, then freezes for 5 hours until scoopable. The flavor is genuinely deep and salty-sweet rather than flat. Pull it from the freezer 10 minutes before serving and it’s the easiest frozen dessert you can bring to a cookout.
Get the Recipe: No Churn Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Lemon Meringue Pie
A from-scratch recipe using real lemons for the curd, a homemade butter pastry crust, and a stiff egg white meringue, Lemon Meringue Pie takes about 1 hour total and delivers a vibrant citrus punch that balances every sweeter dessert on the table. It needs refrigeration after baking, but holds its structure well for several hours. Slice it at the cookout for the visual payoff of the toasted meringue.
Get the Recipe: Lemon Meringue Pie
S’mores Stuffed Cookies
One hour produces a batch of thick brown sugar butter cookies stuffed with a marshmallow, a square of semi-sweet baking chocolate, and a piece of graham cracker, with chocolate chips throughout the dough: S’mores Stuffed Cookies are the campfire dessert without the fire. They bake up tall and gooey in the center and hold their shape at room temperature for hours, making them one of the easiest cookies to bring to a cookout.
Get the Recipe: S’mores Stuffed Cookies
Tiramisu Cheesecake
Four hours of refrigeration time turns a graham cracker and cocoa powder crust, 21 ounces of cream cheese, mascarpone, and a coffee-and-ladyfinger layer into a Tiramisu Cheesecake that tastes like both desserts at once. Dusted with Dutch-processed cocoa powder before serving, it slices cleanly from the refrigerator and earns its spot as the most requested slice at the table. Make it the day before for the best texture.
Get the Recipe: Tiramisu Cheesecake
Lemon Tiramisu
Six hours in the fridge produces a no-bake Lemon Tiramisu built from lemon-soaked ladyfingers, a mascarpone and heavy cream layer sweetened with powdered sugar, and a garnish of fresh lemon zest. A splash of limoncello goes into the soaking liquid for the version with a little kick. Lighter than the traditional coffee version, it pairs well alongside the richer cheesecakes and bars on the table.
Get the Recipe: Lemon Tiramisu
Oreo Ice Cream Cake
Four hours in the freezer and five ingredients: Oreo Ice Cream Cake builds a crust from crushed Oreos and melted butter, layers in 8 cups of vanilla ice cream and a full 14-ounce jar of hot fudge sauce, then tops the cake with Cool Whip and more Oreos. Pull it from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. It slices cleanly when slightly softened and is the most reliably crowd-friendly frozen dessert on this list.
Get the Recipe: Oreo Ice Cream Cake
Watermelon Sorbet
Three ingredients and 4 hours of freezing time yield a Watermelon Sorbet made from 4 cups of cubed seedless watermelon blended with sugar and lemon juice, then churned or frozen until scoopable. Fresh mint makes for a clean garnish. It’s the lightest, most refreshing option on this list and the one that makes sense alongside heavier slabs of chocolate cake. Scoop it into cups at the cookout for a simple serve.
Get the Recipe: Watermelon Sorbet
Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Using cold butter cut into flour with buttermilk for a flaky, biscuit-style base, this memade Strawberry Shortcake Recipe layers fresh sliced strawberries macerated in sugar with whipped cream and a finishing touch of lime zest that keeps the whole thing from going too sweet. The recipe takes 37 minutes. Split the biscuits and assemble at the cookout for the freshest result, or assemble ahead and refrigerate for up to an hour before serving.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake
Mini Cheesecakes
Individual, no-fuss, and done in 30 minutes: Mini Cheesecakes bake in a muffin tin with a graham cracker butter crust, a cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, lemon juice, and heavy cream filling, then cool completely before topping with strawberry jam and fresh berries. The individual portions mean no slicing at the cookout and no plates needed. Bake them the day before, refrigerate overnight, and they’re ready to go.
Get the Recipe: Mini Cheesecakes
