31 No-Bake Desserts to Make at Home

No-bake desserts are treats that home cooks can make without using an oven. These types of desserts come together in the refrigerator or freezer or on the stovetop and sometimes only feature a handful of ingredients. Sweet no-bake recipes include ice cream cakes, candies, puddings, trifles, and more.

These tasty desserts, ranging from light frozen treats to stovetop puddings to layered confections, will satisfy your sweet tooth without exposing your kitchen to the heat of an oven. Whether you’re looking for a summer dessert or an easy “set and forget” treat, try making any of these no-bake treats at home.

1. 1. Banana cream pie: This popular diner pie recipe consists of a cooked custard or pudding, fresh slices of banana, and whipped cream topping. Make banana cream pie with a standard pie crust or a cookie-based one made with graham crackers, vanilla wafer cookies, or crushed pretzel for a savory twist. Use a store-bought graham cracker crust for a traditional no-bake confection.
2. 2. Banana ice cream: One-ingredient banana “ice cream” is a fruit purée made of blended frozen bananas. The banana’s starchiness lends this frozen treat the same creamy texture as soft-serve ice cream or an old-fashioned milkshake, without sweeteners or dairy. Make no-churn banana “ice cream” in a blender or food processor.
3. 3. Banana pudding: This dessert consists of layers of vanilla pudding studded with fresh banana slices and vanilla wafer cookies. Homemade banana pudding is easy to make and customize with toppings and mix-ins, like chocolate chips or toffee chunks.
4. 4. Butterscotch pudding: Home cooks make this caramel-flavored custard with kitchen staples like milk, pure vanilla extract, butter, and cornstarch. Packed with caramel flavor, butterscotch pudding replicates the flavors of a crème brûlée with a fraction of the effort.
5. 5. Chocolate ice cream: Making chocolate ice cream involves adding melted chocolate and cocoa powder–flavored sugar to a dairy base. Some recipes may incorporate sweetened condensed milk or cornstarch to make a creamier, easier-to-scoop chocolate ice cream. Incorporate commercially produced cookie dough (made with heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs) into the recipe and top with chocolate peanut butter cups.
6. 6. Chocolate mousse: Home cooks flavor this airy pudding-like dessert with rich dark chocolate. Home cooks give traditional chocolate mousse its creamy texture by creating a whipped custard with eggs, sugar, and cream.
7. 7. Chocolate pudding: Cook milk or cream with thickening agents such as eggs, flour, and cornstarch to make this chocolate-flavored custard. The silky texture of chocolate pudding is not as airy as a mousse, but it’s simpler to make at home.
8. 8. Chocolate pudding pie: This dessert consists of a crumbly graham cracker crust and a creamy, no-bake chocolate pudding filling. Use a store-bought graham cracker crust for a no-bake chocolate pudding pie.
9. 9. Coconut milk ice cream: This frozen dessert swaps the typical dairy ice cream base for unsweetened coconut milk or coconut cream. Due to its dominant coconut flavor, coconut ice cream may not be as flexible as basic vanilla ice cream. However, it still lends itself to experimentation with various add-ins and toppings like white chocolate chips or chopped peanut butter cookies.
10. 10. Coffee ice cream: Making coffee ice cream involves flavoring a sweetened dairy base with ground coffee. Some homemade coffee ice cream recipes may incorporate crunchy chocolate-covered coffee beans, chocolate chips, or a touch of spice with floral ground green cardamom.
11. 11. Cookies and cream ice cream: Cookies and cream ice cream (or cookies ‘n cream ice cream) features crushed chocolate sandwich cookies and a vanilla ice cream base. Learn how to make cookies and cream ice cream.
12. 12. Gelato: This Italian frozen dessert is similar to ice cream: Both desserts call for ingredients like milk, cream, and sugar. In spite of being lighter than standard ice cream, gelato is known for its thick, creamy texture and rich flavor.
13. 13. Granita: This simple Italian dessert features frozen fruit purée shaved into an icy, crystalized treat. Granita is a dairy-free and gluten-free treat that requires only a few ingredients, including fruit, sugar, and water. Top the granita with key lime zest for a punch of flavor.
14. 14. Green tea ice cream: This popular Japanese dessert consists of a dairy base flavored with matcha, an earthy, grassy green tea powder. Green tea ice cream combines those savory tea flavors with the sweetness of chilled cream.
15. 15. Icebox cake: Home cooks make this no-bake dessert by refrigerating flavored whipped cream filling over a crumbled cookie crust. Typically made in a loaf pan, icebox cake features layers of cookies and cream, making for a beautiful interior profile when sliced.
16. 16. Ice cream bombe: Known as bombe glacée in French, this round dessert features a layer of meringue and dark chocolate over an ice cream center and a pie crust base. Learn how to make an ice cream bombe.
17. 17. Ice cream pie: This frozen dessert features a soft, crushed graham cracker or cookie crust, a layer or two of ice cream filling, and a set whipped cream topping. Use a store-bought pie crust instead of homemade for a simple ice cream pie perfect for a hot summer day.
18. 18. Ice cream sandwich: This frozen dessert consists of a layer of ice cream between two baked goods, like cookies, biscuits, or wafers. Brownies, blondies, oatmeal-raisin cookies, sugar cookies, or chocolate chip cookies are all equally popular in Western-style ice cream sandwiches. Use store-bought cookies and ice cream to craft this easy dessert in minutes.
19. 19. Kakigōri: Home cooks make this Japanese dessert by topping freshly shaved ice with flavored syrups and condensed milk. Unlike a snowcone, traditional Japanese kakigōri is light and fluffy, due to the use of hand-cranked machines that produce paper-thin shavings of ice.
20. 20. Lemon pudding: Home cooks make this custard-based dessert from kitchen staples like milk, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and egg yolks. Fresh citrus infuses lemon pudding with plenty of fresh, tangy flavor.
21. 21. Mochi ice cream: This treat consists of ice cream balls encased in mochi dough, made by pounding sticky glutinous rice (mochigome) until chewy and tender. There are many possible versions of this Japanese dessert, but vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mango, green tea/matcha are among the most popular.
22. 22. No-bake cheesecake: No-bake cheesecakes feature whipped heavy cream folded into a cream cheese filling, smoothed over a cookie or graham cracker crust. Instead of baking the dessert, home cooks set it in the refrigerator to yield a product similar to a mousse. Adapt any no-bake cheesecake recipe to include various fillings and toppings.
23. 23. Pumpkin pudding: This gluten-free dessert consists of a custard made from pantry staples like pumpkin purée, brown sugar, maple syrup, and allspice. This cool, light, pumpkin spice-flavored dish is a great option for a light dessert to follow a rich Thanksgiving feast.
24. 24. S’mores: Home cooks typically make this classic dessert from the United States—featuring toasted marshmallows and melted chocolate wedged between two graham cracker halves—over a campfire or open flame. Diners can customize their s’mores to include different types of chocolate, marshmallow fluff, and other fillings.
25. 25. Sorbet: This frozen dessert is made of fruit purée and sweeteners like simple syrup or corn syrup. Sorbet is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan (when sweetened with honey), making it a lighter alternative to ice cream.
26. 26. Strawberry trifle: This no-bake British dessert involves soaking layers of (ideally, stale) baked goods like pound cake, shortcake, or angel food cake in simple syrup or liqueur. Cooks top the saturated cake with a layer of vanilla pudding or lemon curd, fresh fruit, and thick whipped cream. Fresh strawberries are the star of the summer-friendly strawberry trifle.
27. 27. Tiramisu: This easy Italian dessert features alternating layers of ladyfinger (savoiardi) sponge cake biscuits dipped in espresso, nestled in a thick, creamy mascarpone cheese mixture. Cooks dust the final layer of tiramisu with bittersweet cocoa powder or fine chocolate shavings and allow it to set in the fridge.
28. 28. Truffles: These no-bake candies call for three ingredients: baking chocolate, butter, and cream. Chocolate truffles come in a variety of flavors with a wide array of sweet toppings, including chopped nuts, cocoa powder, grated coconut, mini chocolate chips, chocolate ganache, and sprinkles.
29. 29. Vanilla ice cream: This classic ice cream features light vanilla bean or vanilla flavoring. Vanilla ice cream makes the perfect canvas for toppings like hot fudge, caramel sauce, melted peanut butter, sprinkles, rice cereal, crushed nuts (like peanuts, walnuts, and pecans), and maraschino cherries.
30. 30. Vanilla pudding: Home cooks construct this classic custard from pantry staples like sugar, cornstarch, eggs, milk, and vanilla flavoring. Serve vanilla pudding on its own, as part of a traditional banana pudding, or topped with various garnishes like crushed vanilla wafers, granola, or lemon curd.
31. 31. Watermelon ice cream: This gluten-free, no-churn frozen dessert consists of frozen watermelon chunks blended with a little heavy cream. Learn how to make watermelon ice cream.

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