Summer is the best season because it means that the local farms are packed with fresh summer produce like strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and cherries. And the best way to put those delicious fruit to use is in summer desserts. So if you wondering what to make for dessert on a hot summer day, then you have come to the right place. We have rounded up the 40 best and most popular summer dessert recipes including all the fruit pies (the best part of summer, right?), refreshing frozen treats from ice cream to sorbet, easy no-bake recipes, and fruity baked goods from cakes to muffins, and more!
Summer Fruit Pies and Crisps
Fresh strawberry pie is a delicious, summer dessert loaded with juicy strawberries and homemade strawberry glaze with no jello, in a flakey pie crust. The best summer dessert idea.
Blueberry Pie with Lattice Top
Summery classic blueberry pie is made with the perfect flaky pie crust, a jammy blueberry filling with a hint of lemon, and sealed with a lattice top.
Easy peach cobbler is packed with sweet and juicy fresh peaches and topped with a buttery, golden topping. Make it with just 15-minutes of actual prep work.
Blueberry oat squares are sweet, buttery, and delicious, with three mouthwatering layers. With just 15 minutes of prep, they are the perfect treat.
Lemon Meringue Pie made with delicate peaks of golden-brown meringue, creamy and tart lemon curd filling, and flaky pie crust is the best homemade pie ever!
Easier than pie, this strawberry galette with a buttery flaky crust and a sweet and tart strawberry filling is a beautiful treat to serve this berry season.
Key Lime PiePerfectly creamy and tart with a buttery graham cracker crust, this easy Key Lime Pie is a classic for a reason. You won't need another pie recipe again!
Summery and fruity, classic cherry pie has the most flakey and buttery pie crust on the bottom and top and is filled with a delicious cherry-packed filling.
Blueberry crisp with a sweet blueberry filling and a buttery, crispy oat topping, is a delicious, fruity treat that's ready in just 45 minutes.
There’s truly nothing like a homemade Funnel Cake: a crispy jumble of crispy vanilla-tinged batter fried and topped with a powdered sugar, and served warm.
Strawberry Cobbler made with sweet, gooey strawberries and light, fluffy cakey batter is an easy summer dessert to make from scratch with 10 minutes prep.
These bakery-style homemade Cherry Crumb Bars with 3 delicious layers are sweet, buttery, and tart. They’re easy to make and ready in just over an hour.
No Bake and Frozen Treats
Homemade strawberry frozen yogurt is a delicious, refreshing, healthy dessert made with 4 simple ingredients, no refined sugar, and in less than 5 minutes.
No bake blackberry cheesecake is light, smooth, creamy, and delicious, with a buttery graham cracker crust, cheesecake layer, and blackberry mousse on top.
Homemade strawberry popsicles are healthy, refreshing, and sweet. Made with just 4 ingredients, they're packed with fresh strawberries and no refined sugar.
Three ways to make bubble tea at home is a lot easier than you think! Made with real ingredients, this recipe is delicious, refreshing, and healthy.
Smooth, sweet and refreshing 3-ingredient peach sorbet can be made with just a few minutes prep and without an ice cream maker! It's dairy-free and vegan. The most refreshing summer dessert ideas.
No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream with Strawberry Jam
Smooth and creamy no churn vanilla ice cream with strawberry jam + toasted peanuts is easy to make, no ice cream maker required and better than storebought.
No bake banana pudding parfaits are creamy, delicious, and sweet, with layers of homemade vanilla pudding, freshly sliced bananas, and wafer cookies.
Mango sago is a popular Asian dessert that’s creamy, fruity, cold tapioca pudding dessert is easy to make at home with just a few simple ingredients.
Strawberries and Cream Popsicles
It is time to say good-bye to the store-bought stuff and make skinny strawberries and cream popsicles at home using fresh fruit and Greek yogurt!
This 3-ingredient Strawberry Sorbet is a refreshing, healthy, vegan, and gluten-free frozen treat to enjoy on a hot day. Plus, no ice cream maker required!
Peaches and Cream is an old-fashioned, no bake dessert that is simple to make with layers of tender, stewed peaches and homemade whipped cream.
This blackberry milkshake is thick, creamy, and smooth. You won’t believe how quick and easy it is to make at home with 3 ingredients in under 5 minutes.
This 2-ingredient Watermelon Sorbet is easy to make, healthy, all-natural and vegan. Make this homemade frozen treat with no ice cream maker required!
Grab a few easy ingredients, throw them in the blender and in a fews hours, a refreshing and unbelievably healthy lemon turmeric sorbet will be all set and ready for digging in.
Coconut Tapioca Pudding is a creamy, light, and refreshing Thai dessert to enjoy on a hot summer evening. Plus, it’s gluten-free and can be made vegan too.
Summery Baked Goods
Soft and fluffy lemon sweet rolls are filled with a lemon vanilla sugar and topped with homemade lemon cream cheese icing. They're sweet, citrusy, and tart.
Classic Strawberry Shortcake is a small, layered cake featuring fluffy crumbly biscuits, a fresh strawberry filling, and homemade whipped cream.
Easy lemon blueberry bread with lemon glaze is soft, moist, and delicious. This quick bread with fresh blueberries and lemon is the perfect summer dessert.
S'mores Cookies are chewy, gooey, and nostalgic, loaded with marshmallows, chocolate, and Graham crackers — and no campfire required. Quick and easy too!
Upside-Down Caramel Apricot Tart
Apricots are finally here and it’s time to rejoice with a sweet, juicy, upside-down caramel apricot tart laced with flakey sea salt — it’s heaven.
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
Chocolate chip zucchini muffins are moist, fluffy, and delicious. They are made healthier with fresh zucchini and yogurt which also adds amazing texture.
Lemon Bundt Cake with a sweet vanilla glaze is light, fluffy, and moist with a perfect golden brown crumb and made with real lemons.
Strawberry Muffins are tender, fluffy, and delicious! They are golden-brown and crisp outside while moist and cake-like inside and loaded with strawberries.
Blueberry buckle cake is soft and moist, loaded with fresh blueberries, and has a crunchy, sweet and buttery streusel topping. It's the best coffee cake.
Cherry Cheesecake is lush, velvety, and creamy finished with a heap of sweet homemade cherry sauce on top. The perfect summer dessert with cherries!
Persian Love Cake is a rich, moist, and nutty almond cake loaded with floral and citrus flavors, topped with a lemon glaze, pistachios, and rose petals.
Strawberry bread is fluffy, soft, and moist, packed with farm-fresh strawberries. Simple, sweet, and delicious, perfect for a summer brunch.
S'mores Bars are a delicious twist on the classic campfire dessert with delicious layers of graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows.
Chocolate zucchini cake is moist, fluffy, and delicious. Loaded with fresh zucchini for a burst of nutrition, and topped with a homemade cream cheese icing.
Light, tender and flakey, glazed lemon blueberry scones are crunchy and golden on the outside, soft and moist in the middle, with a drizzle of lemon glaze.
Mousse-like, creamy mango cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, light cheesecake filling packed with mangos, and mango swirled on top is so easy to make.
Delicious blueberry cinnamon rolls are soft and fluffy, filled with cinnamon sugar, loaded with fresh blueberries, and topped with cream cheese icing.
Quick and easy zucchini muffins are loaded with fresh zucchini which makes them fluffy, moist, delicious, and full of nutrients. Freezer-friendly too!
Inspired by Starbucks lemon loaf, this moist, homemade lemon loaf with lemon glaze has the perfect balance between sweet and tangy, and so so flavourful.
Blueberry yogurt muffins are buttery, moist, soft, and cakey and bursting with blueberries in every single bite. They are super quick and easy to make.
Nutella crepes with berries are sweet and indulgent. These French pancakes are an easy to make blender recipe that will have you craving breakfast all day.
Baked Jelly Donuts with Strawberry Jam
These melt-in-your-mouth, homemade baked jelly donuts, coated in sugar and filled with sweet strawberry jam, are so soft, fluffy, spongy and airy.
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
Dark chocolate raspberry truffles are so much easier to make than you think. It's as simple as combining quality chocolate, cream, raspberry jam, and cocoa.
More Dessert Recipes
- Cupcakes - Moist Vanilla Cupcakes or Moist Chocolate Cupcakes.
- Brownies - Fudgy Brownies or Caramel Cheesecake Brownies.
- Cookies - Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies, Almond Biscotti, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sugar Cookies, or French Macarons.
- Cake - Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes or Carrot Cake.
- Cheesecake - Classic New York Cheesecake, Basque Cheesecake, or Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars.
- Sauce - Salted Caramel Sauce or Strawberry Sauce.
- Cake Pops - Vanilla Cake Pops or Chocolate Cake Pops.
How to Make Ahead and Store Summer Desserts
You can make or prepare most of these summer dessert recipes ahead of time. You can store the pies and baked goods at room temperature for 1-2 days. You can also store them in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. The frozen treats can be stored for up to 3 months or more in the freezer. Confirm storing instructions by checking each recipe.
To reheat any of these desserts and serve them warm as if they just came out of the oven, you can reheat in a 300F preheated oven or air fryer for 5-15 minutes until fully warmed through. I would check on it every 5 minutes until ready. If heating from frozen, let it thaw first and then reheat.
Did You Make Any of These Summer Dessert Recipes?
Please leave a comment and rating below, and let me know what you thought of this round up of summer dessert recipes. Be sure to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @aheadofthyme or share it on the Pinterest pin so that I can follow along.
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PrintRecipe
40 Best Summer Desserts
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The 40 best and most popular summer dessert recipes including all the fruit pies, refreshing frozen treats, easy no-bake recipes, and fruity baked goods.
Ingredients
Refer to specific recipe post for full ingredient lists.
Instructions
- You can make or prepare most of these summer dessert recipes ahead of time. You can store the pies and baked goods at room temperature for 1-2 days. You can also store them in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. The frozen treats can be stored for up to 3 months or more in the freezer. Confirm storing instructions by checking each recipe.
- To reheat any of these desserts and serve them warm as if they just came out of the oven, you can reheat in a 300F preheated oven or air fryer for 5-15 minutes until fully warmed through. I would check on it every 5 minutes until ready. If heating from frozen, let it thaw first and then reheat.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: 40 best summer desserts, summer dessert recipes, summer desserts, what dessert to make in the summer, fruit desserts
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