25 Easy Memorial Day Desserts

Celebrate the start of summer with these Memorial Day desserts! Find no-bake treats, crowd-pleasing cookies and bars, fruit crisps, pies, and more.

No Memorial Day cookout is complete without dessert! I’ve rounded up our best Memorial Day dessert recipes to help you find the perfect one for your celebration. They include no-bake treats like this show-stopping strawberry tiramisu, crowd-pleasing cookies and bars (no one ever complains about brownies!), frozen desserts, and all things fruit. Try one (or two or three) for a sweet start to summer!

Very Berry Memorial Day Desserts

Strawberry Shortcake

When it comes to Memorial Day desserts, you can’t get more classic than strawberry shortcake. This recipe is wonderful with ripe, juicy early summer strawberries, but feel free to use other berries too. A mix of strawberries and blueberries would be so festive for Memorial Day!

Blackberry Cobbler

This cobbler is one of the easiest ways to turn fresh fruit into a mouthwatering Memorial Day dessert. A simple, one-bowl batter bakes into a buttery, cake-like topping for the juicy berries. Don’t expect leftovers. In our house, at least, this one always disappears quick!

Strawberry Tiramisu

This strawberry tiramisu has summer entertaining written all over it! It’s no-bake, you can make it ahead, and it’s absolutely delicious, with layers of fresh berries, strawberry-soaked ladyfingers, and mascarpone cream. L&L reader Melinda wrote, “This is a fantastic fresh dessert that will definitely be a summer go-to.”

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Two slices for me, please! This easy quick bread is moist, lemony, and bursting with juicy blueberries. On its own, it can pass as breakfast, but a 2-ingredient lemon glaze takes it firmly into dessert territory.

Blueberry Cobbler

This classic cobbler has a flaky biscuit topping and a saucy, syrupy blueberry filling. If you’re serving folks with dietary restrictions, you can easily make it vegan or dairy-free. Just replace the regular butter with vegan stick-style butter. No one will guess that it’s plant-based!

Blackberry Crisp

This simple summer crisp has an almond, oat, and walnut crumble topping, so it’s a perfect gluten-free dessert for Memorial Day. L&L reader Lo Mo wrote, “I’ve made this 3 times with no changes. It’s incredible and wonderful to be able to serve to my gluten-free family and friends!”

No-Bake Memorial Day Desserts

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Our most popular summer dessert? This ice cream, hands down. Easy to make with 5 simple ingredients, it’s rich, creamy, and full of sweet vanilla flavor. Enjoy it with your favorite toppings (putting in a vote for this strawberry compote!), or scoop it onto fruit crisps, cobblers, and pies.

Lemon Posset

Lemon posset is a bright, creamy British pudding…and it just might be the easiest of all the Memorial Day desserts on this list. Make the 4-ingredient base in 15 minutes on the stovetop, then pop it in the fridge for a couple hours to set up. Serve it in hollowed-out lemon halves for an incredibly cute treat!

Watermelon Popsicles

My son Ollie can’t get enough of these 2-ingredient pops! The base is super simple—just blended watermelon and lime juice. What could be more refreshing on a hot day?

Peanut Butter Bars

If you love Reese’s peanut butter cups, these no-bake bars are for you! They have a crisp chocolate topping and a fudgy peanut butter and graham cracker base. They’re a great dessert to make with kids. Ollie loves pressing the peanut butter mixture into the pan!

Raspberry Vegan Cheesecake

These no-bake cheesecake bars have three delicious layers: a date and nut crust, a creamy “cheesecake” middle, and a bright raspberry stripe on top. They set up in the freezer, so they’re a perfect summer treat to make ahead!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

So simple, but so darn good. A delicate chocolate shell makes sweet, juicy summer strawberries a delightful one-bite treat.

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

I tested this recipe multiple times last summer, and I’m embarrassed to admit how quickly each batch vanished from our freezer (…very, very quickly). Cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate give it a wonderful rich chocolate flavor. L&L reader Scarlet wrote, “This recipe turned out just right—so creamy and chocolatey.”

Ice Cream Cake

Who says ice cream cakes have to be store-bought?! This adorable homemade one has a chocolate cake base topped with three types of ice cream and fresh raspberries. Feel free to use any type of ice cream you like. I love this colorful mix of pistachio, salted caramel, and raspberry sorbet!

More Fruit Desserts for Memorial Day

Rhubarb Crisp

Rhubarb season is short and sweet—usually over by the end of June—so Memorial Day is the perfect time to make this sweet-tart crisp for dessert. Top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to complement the sour rhubarb flavor.

Homemade Cherry Pie

If you’re up for a cooking project this Memorial Day weekend, make this cherry pie! It’s a bakery-worthy dessert, with a buttery, flaky crust and velvety, almond-scented filling. Frozen cherries work perfectly here if you can’t get your hands on fresh ones.

Easy Peach Cobbler

Peaches are in peak-season in Texas in May, so there’s a good chance this peach cobbler will round out my Memorial Day menu this weekend. It’s sweet, summery perfection, with a juicy fruit filling topped with tender, barely-sweet biscuits.

Cherry Clafoutis

For an elegant Memorial Day dessert, wow your guests with these cherry clafoutis! This classic French dessert is deliciously custardy and lightly sweet. L&L reader Liz wrote, “Delicious! Felt fancy eating them.”

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

This cake’s fruity, citrusy flavor makes it perfect for summer. Load it up with juicy strawberries and whipped cream to make it feel even more festive for Memorial Day weekend.

Cookies and Bars

Best Homemade Brownies

Can’t decide what Memorial Day dessert to make this weekend? Brownies are never a bad idea! These ones have an intensely fudgy texture, with crisp edges and crackly tops. They’re so much better than a boxed mix!

Lemon Bars

Lemon bars are such a classic, crowd-pleasing treat for summer celebrations! Mine have a shortbread crust and an extra-zesty lemon filling. I love this variation from L&L reader Sharon: she added 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme to the filling for an herbal twist!

Perfect Oatmeal Cookies

Sometimes, a classic cookie is the perfect way to end a summer cookout. You can’t beat these oatmeal ones—they’re soft, chewy, full of buttery brown sugar flavor, and studded with raisins and walnuts. Yes, chocolate chips are great here too. 🙂

Blondies

Brownies, I love you, but sometimes I think I might love these blondies even more. Brown butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract give them an irresistible butterscotch flavor, and white chocolate chips add creamy pockets of sweetness. They’ll be the sleeper hit of your Memorial Day cookout!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This no-chill recipe yields my ideal chocolate chip cookie—crisp-edged, nicely chewy, and with enough salt to balance out the sweet. If you’re hosting chocolate lovers for the holiday weekend, they’ll gobble these up.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

I brought these cinnamon-spiced cookies to a block party a few summers ago, and the entire container vanished in minutes. Soft and chewy, they’re a hit with kids and adults alike!