54 Memorial Day Desserts That Aren’t Just Flag Cake

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 10

Frosting? In this heat? No way—I’m decorating the cake the easiest (and prettiest) way I know how, with fresh berries. "As it bakes, the berries form a sweet, caramelized layer," explains former PureWow senior food editor Katherine Gillen. "All you have to do is invert the cake onto a platter and…you’re done."

• Time Commitment: 4 hours and 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 6

They’re crowd-pleasing, easy to assemble and kids can’t resist them. "To keep things quick and easy (and to let the fresh bananas shine), I went with a cornstarch-thickened pudding instead of an egg-based custard," Gillen explains. "You could swap classic vanilla cookies for graham crackers, speculoos or even Oreos, if you want to go wild."

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 8

If you want to feel fancy but put in very little effort, this is the Memorial Day dessert for you. "I love the way vanilla paste flecks the galettes with vanilla beans, but you can substitute extract if that’s all you have," Gillen assures.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours and 35 minutes (includes chilling)
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

This is a modern riff on the Jell-O and pretzel-based strawberry “delight” your grandma (or someone's grandma, anyway) used to lovingly dish up, and yep, it’s just as delicious. "Sticking with tradition, it calls for less than ten ingredients and minimal baking, because some things never go out of style," Gillen raves.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 16

Are you in Italy? No. Does it matter? Not when there’s dessert. "The orange yogurt cake is tender, and the pink glaze is faintly boozy and just sweet enough, much like its namesake," Gillen explains. Wash it down with...well, you know.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 6

These rainbow cuties are surprisingly easy to make, thanks to a filling of store-bought jam. "I'm usually all for short-cutting with frozen pie crust, but in this instance, it’s worth it to make your own," Gillen urges. (Read: It's studded with colorful sprinkles.)

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes (plus chilling)
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 8

Never heard of this vibrant stunner? "The crust is made from crushed saltine crackers, which balance the sweet-tart filling," Gillen explains. "The pie takes almost no time to assemble and bake, making it ideal for beginners." Prep it ahead of the cookout and let it set in the fridge until it's time to serve.

• Time Commitment: 4 hours and 30 minutes (includes chilling time)
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 8 to 10

Traditional tiramisu is already drool-worthy; not only because it's delicious, but because it doesn't require turning on the oven. Here, Gillen traded coffee for fresh summer fruit. "The striking pink topping is just a dusting freeze-dried raspberries that have been powdered in a food processor," she notes. "A smattering of fresh berries or a touch of lemon zest would be equally delicious and elegant."

• Time Commitment: 4 hours and 5 minutes (includes freezing time)
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, make ahead, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 9

"These key lime pie ice pops are creamy and refreshingly tart like the pie they're inspired by, but heat-wave ready," Gillen says. "Best of all, you'll need less than ten ingredients to make them. You don't even need an ice pop mold, although it adds to the effect. Disposable cups or even Champagne flutes make excellent substitutes."

• Time Commitment: 3 hours and 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: sheet pan recipe, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 8

"If a trifle sounds like some kind of old-school British dessert, that’s because it is," former PureWow food editor Heath Goldman says. "But we've modernized and simplified this one so you don’t need a crystal-cut bowl, just your trusty baking sheet." Ripe summer berries don't need much help, but a bit of fluffy meringue and whipped cream can't hurt.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 35 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
• Serves: one 9-inch pie

Whatever you do, don’t forget to snap a picture before you slice in. (You know, for your Instagram followers.) Pro tip: Once you add the cornstarch to the filling, boil it for a full 30 seconds. This will not only cook off any starchy flavors, but also ensure your pie sets up properly.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes (plus chilling)
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly, no cook, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 8

Like standard tiramisu, this simple-yet-sophisticated treat can be assembled minutes before serving or kept in the fridge for up to eight hours. Since there's no ice cream involved, you can brew (or buy) the espresso ahead and store it in the fridge until dessert.

• Time Commitment: 12 hours (includes freezing time)
• Why I Love It: make ahead, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
• Serves: 4

Sweetened condensed milk is the key ingredient in this no-churn masterpiece. While I love the nostalgia of strawberries and cookie crumbles, any fruit will work in this ice cream recipe, from bananas to blueberries to peaches.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients, one pan
• Serves: 15

Roasting marshmallows on a stick one at a time is fun and all, but I'm in it for the end game: digging in and getting chocolate all over my hands. With this alternative, there's no bonfire or skewer necessary—just your sweet tooth.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 8

Want to know a secret? The cake is store-bought. (What? I'm not turning on the oven until September.) The three-ingredient blueberry sauce, however, is freshly made. That means your guests won't clock the shortcut, promise.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 4

"Roasting your strawberries really concentrates their flavor," recipe creator Erin McDowell explains, "and in this easy recipe, you just layer them and put ice cream on top. It looks fancy and everyone will think it took a lot of effort, but really, you can just throw this together on a weeknight." The rest is as easy as scooping a pint of vanilla ice cream.

• Time Commitment: 5 hours (includes freezing time)
• Why I Love It: make ahead, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

If you can make whipped cream, you’re already halfway there. And you can use store-bought chocolate chips if you want, but the homemade ones (here, made from chopped dark chocolate and coconut oil) are *chef’s kiss*.

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, no cook, kid-friendly
• Serves: 12

"This recipe uses freeze-dried strawberries, which means you don't need much for a big strawberry flavor and beautiful color," McDowell says. "It's easy to pull off and makes store-bought ice cream seem super impressive." The rainbow sprinkles are nonnegotiable, if you ask me.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, sheet pan recipe, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 12

A fancy lattice pie is nice, but I'm all about the higher crust-to-filling ratio of a slab pie. (Plus, there’s more leftover for breakfast the next day.) Assemble the homemade dough and juicy cherry filling on a rimmed baking sheet instead of on a round pie plate for a scrumptious 13-by-9-inch pastry that's ready to slice and serve any way you like.

• Time Commitment: 4 hours (includes freezing time)
• Why I Love It: make ahead, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
• Serves: 10

Alright, you caught me. I couldn't resist a little patriotic flair for Memorial Day. The best part? All this freezer gem requires is simple assembly—and not a moment of baking. Want to be extra festive? Add candles (or sparklers) to the top.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours
• Why I Love It: no cook, <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 10

Most cheesecakes fall under the “delicious but fussy” category. Not this beauty. There’s no water bath, the crust is pressed and frozen (not baked) and you don’t even have to turn on the oven to get the filling to set. That's a win-win-win in my book.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, make ahead
• Serves: 8

The trick to a pretty pink crust is to add freeze-dried strawberries to the dough. The lattice might look tricky, but it’s deceptively simple. However, if you need more practice or are short on time, skip it in favor of a simple double-crust pie. Just be sure to cut a few slits in the top to vent the filling.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours
• Why I Love It: <500 calories, no cook, make ahead
• Serves: 8 to 10

My motto? You’re never too old to enjoy an ice pop. These are made with real fruit (and no food dye!), so they’re a little more grown up. Take your pick of peach, raspberry or blueberry—or better yet, sample one of each.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
• Serves: one 9-inch cake

Skip the obligatory fruit salad and head straight for the fruit cake. The base is versatile (personally, I love the summer-inspired addition of cornmeal to the batter), so you could use another berry if your heart desires.

• Time Commitment: 8 hours and 30 minutes (includes chilling time)
• Why I Love It: no cook, make ahead, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 16

With a press-in crust and easy filling, you’ll hardly have to lift a finger to reach this level of Memorial Day dessert bliss. “Somewhere between a cheesecake and a key lime pie is this super-easy [dessert]," McDowell explains. "With tons of key lime flavor and a classic graham cracker crust, it's great to make in the summer when it’s too hot to turn on the oven."

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 6

Galettes are one of the easiest desserts imaginable: Just pile the fruit in the center of the dough (ideally store-bought for maximum convenience), fold the edges over and bake. The hardest part? Choosing whether to eat this freeform pie with ice cream or whipped cream—or both.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 6

You likely already fired up the grill for dinner, so why not keep the flames burning? The cherry sauce can be made ahead, if you’re savvy like that, so all you'll need to do before serving is char the pineapple and assemble.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 8 to 10

Sorry, kids. These babies are for adults only. (I’ll take any excuse not to share dessert, TBH.) You could use any sparkling wine you'd like for a bright, effervescent finish, but I'd advice using a cheaper prosecco or cava over real-deal Champagne.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: slow cooker recipe, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

If it’s too warm to turn on the oven, no worries. This entire dish comes together in your handy slow cooker, and all you have to do is press a button and kick up your feet. Buttermilk in the batter ensures a tangy edge and impeccably moist results.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours
• Why I Love It: make ahead, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 8 to 10

Dare I say it? They’re even better than the ones from the ice cream truck. This chic spin on a nostalgic rocket pop, made with real berries and creamy coconut milk instead of weird dyes and corn syrup, is a treat both kids and grown-ups will love.

• Time Commitment: 4 hours and 15 minutes (includes freezing time)
• Why I Love It: make ahead, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

PSA: You don’t need a clunky ice cream maker to whip up a batch. You’re welcome. The secret here is fresh whipped cream. Raspberry custard is folded into softly whipped cream before heading to the freezer, and the results are fresher and dreamier than any store-bought pint. Trust.

• Time Commitment: 4 hours
• Why I Love It: no cook, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 10

Buy five ice creams in various shades, wait for them to get a little melty and layer each in a pan to make a multicolored frozen masterpiece. Here, the recipe calls for a mix of raspberry and strawberry sorbets and froyos, but you could opt for a mix of citrus fruits (like lemons, limes and oranges) or dark blueberry and blackberry desserts instead.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 10

You only have so many days to get your fill of this classic Memorial Day dessert, so why not get the ball rolling as early as possible? Instead of a traditional pie crust, McDowell uses a streusel-like topping à la fruit crumble to change things up.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

Peaches are really at their peak later in summer, but I love them so much that I'm eating them now. Besides, a quick roast in the oven can make even ho-hum fruit taste delicious. "Just swirl the peaches and Greek yogurt together to marble them, then pop them into the freezer," McDowell says.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 20 straws

You’re 35 minutes away from a chic, pie-like Memorial Day dessert that requires a fraction of the work. "They're fun and easy to make, packing big, pie-like flavor into a simple preparation that's easy to master," McDowell tells us. Take that, double crust.

• Time Commitment: 4 hours (includes freezing time)
• Why I Love It: no cook, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
• Serves: 8

I didn’t think there could be a more refreshing way to enjoy watermelon than eating it freshly cut...until I saw this beauty. Here's how it's done: Freeze a cubed watermelon until solid, blend it into a smooth puree, pack it into a pan and refreeze. Before you know it, the sorbet is ready to scoop and enjoy, and you didn't even have to fuss with simple syrup.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 12

Typically, this dessert is finicky to make at home, but when you scale it down to cupcake size, it’s surprisingly simple. "The cons of angel food cake are that it involves a lot of egg separating and careful mixing to to make sure you don't deflate the batter," McDowell explains. "But here, all the amounts are smaller, so the mixing happens really quickly. They also bake really fast, unlike traditional angel food cakes, which can take over an hour."

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 6

Consider these soufflés an edible “choose your own adventure” book. Make raspberry, blueberry, blackberry or all three, and use frozen fruit to keep things super simple (or to whip them up in the off-season whenever a craving strikes). Just be sure not to over-mix them and to be gentle with them as they come out of the oven.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 6

These fruity, Insta-worthy skewers are just as fun to make as they are to eat. Most importantly, the biscuit dough is store-bought, so you won't need to fuss with making it from scratch. (Don't worry, I won't tell your guests about the shortcut.)

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 55 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 16

Skip the box of ice cream sandwiches from the freezer section and make your own instead—it'll be so worth it, promise. Save the leftover waffles for a breakfast treat in the morning (that's sure to get your picky eaters out of bed, no?).

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 12

These bake in less than an hour, so you can focus on more important things…like eating them. The biscuit-like batter is poured into a muffin tin and filled with lightly sweetened fresh strawberries. Next, the finished cupcakes are topped with whipped cream and, of course, more berries.

• Time Commitment: 5 hours and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: no cook, <10 ingredients, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 4

Here’s that beach vacation you ordered. One bite of this photogenic treat, and you’ll be immediately transported to Maui. Better yet, you don’t even need a shave ice machine to make it—all you need is a freezer, a fork and a blender.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
• Serves: 20 cookies

It’s the perfect mashup between lemon meringue pie and a sugar cookie. The trick is rubbing lemon zest into the sugar before you start for extra citrus flavor. As for the topping, take it from McDowell. "Put the meringue on top in a very casual swipe, because you don't want too much. You want to keep that tart-sweet combination."

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 6

Summer’s most delicious stone fruit doesn’t need much help in the flavor department. So, all you need to do is coat the peaches in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, then top them with dollops of biscuit dough before baking. Nectarines or plums would work, too.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 15 minutes (includes freezing time)
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 6

All you need to pull this refresher off is a fork and a freezer. "You can just mix it together and freeze it solid, then use a fork to scrape it into tiny crystals," McDowell notes. "Or, you can stir it periodically while it's freezing to make larger crystals, as pictured. Either way, it's delicious and easy—one way just requires zero attention, and the other you have to think about a little bit."

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 12

Between the backyard barbecue and the kids playing in the sprinkler, MDW always makes me feel super nostalgic. Up the ante with this homemade take on the best lunchbox snack of all time. The vanilla cream filling can be piped with a piping bag, but an offset spatula will also do.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <500 calories, make ahead
• Serves: 4

This Memorial Day dessert is so delicious, it'll make you finally cave and buy an ice cream maker. Did I mention all the recipe calls for is the ripest cantaloupe you can find, fresh mint and a bit of sugar? (Oh, and water.)

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: no cook, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
• Serves: 12

I can hear the kids squealing over these handhelds already. Picture layers of vanilla and chocolate ice creams separated by homemade Oreo crust, all topped with fresh whipped cream. You're only six ingredients away, not including chocolate sprinkles.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 6

America’s most quintessential dessert is even more mouth-watering when served in mini mason jars. How cute are those teeny-tiny crimped crusts? Use a crisp-tart type of apple that'll hold its shape, like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady or Granny Smith.

• Time Commitment: 4 hours
• Why I Love It: no cook, make ahead, kid-friendly
• Serves: 8

Go the extra mile by topping each popsicle mold with fruit jam for a pretty finishing touch. Tart raspberry jam offers tasty contrast to the sweet coconut milk base, but blueberry jam or orange marmalade would also be divine pairings.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: no cook, one pan, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 10

A mélange of berries makes this Memorial Day dessert red, white and blue without feeling too on the nose. Bonus? The recipe calls for store-bought ladyfingers and raspberry jam, so all you’ll have to do is assemble the ingredients. Ta-da.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 12

When a fruit is in season, take advantage of the bounty. "It tasted very good: not too sweet at all and very moist," Gillen says after having tested the recipe herself. Pair the simple, slightly sugary cake with a bowl of sweetened (or unsweetened) whipped ricotta.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes (includes cooling)
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 9

Who needs a campfire to make s'mores when you have a box of cereal in your pantry? To keep these light and fluffy, don't pack the mixture too tightly in the pan; just gently pack it in with minimal pressure. Warning: The treats will last about 30 seconds on the kids' table.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours (includes chilling time)
• Why I Love It: <500 calories, <10 ingredients, no cook
• Serves: 6 to 8

A sugar rush and a caffeine boost in one dish, aka the ultimate pick-me-up. "I add a little Amaretto to the whipped cream because I love that retro almond whiff it gives," recipe creator Letitia Clark explains, "but you can leave it out. You can also top this with grated dark chocolate or cocoa powder and serve it with amaretti."