Easy Make-Ahead Desserts
Jun 28, 2024, Updated Aug 15, 2024
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Looking to impress your guests at your next barbecue? With the 4th of July just around the corner, I’ve rounded up a handful of my favorite go-to dessert recipes. These easy make-ahead desserts are not only delicious and straightforward to prepare (one-bowl even!), but they also allow you to get everything ready in advance.
With crowd-pleaser recipes like these, you’ll spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the summer sun with the people you love!
🥧 An Easy Make-Ahead Dessert Pie Alternative: Mixed Berry Crumble Bars
These bars are tart, rich tasting, and just sweet enough with a crumbly topping and crust sandwiching an easy jammy berry filling. These would be the perfect easy make-ahead dessert for a picnic, potluck or casual summer backyard get-together.
They are closer in texture to a piece of pie than a granola bar, so serve them plated with a fork as you would most desserts, but I won’t say I haven’t eaten one with my fingers cold right out of the fridge… (it was worth it!)
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These are so so good and so easy to make! I made them for a family cookout and they were a hit! Perfect amount of sweetness and will definitely be baking these again. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
– Catie
Mixed Berry Crumble Bars
🥣 When You Want To Make-Ahead & Keep Dishes To A Minimum: One-Bowl Zucchini Cake
When I’m making zucchini cake, it’s because I want cake: fluffy, high, moreish…. and frosting – especially if it’s cream cheese frosting! Too many zucchini cakes come out of the oven looking (and tasting) like zucchini bread dupes, with nuts and maple syrup and a dense texture that isn’t quite what I had in mind when I started. But that ends right here, right now with this recipe.
Friends, this is a cake – an easy, one-bowl make-ahead friendly cake to be exact!
It’s soft and moist and the perfect way to use up a bountiful summer zucchini harvest, with less fat and sugar than a traditional zucchini cake to boot! I affectionately refer to it as a ‘snacking cake’ because it’s perfect for indulging anytime, anywhere – just slice yourself a generous square and enjoy.
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Made this for a group gathering, it was an immediate hit.
We all loved the cake texture; a nice change from a zucchini bread. Using zucchini makes you feel less guilty about eating dessert.
– Lisa
One-Bowl Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
🥥 When You Want Something Simple & Zesty That Feeds A Crowd: Coconut Lime Sheet Cake
Do you like key lime pie? Do you like coconut cake? If you answer yes to both of those questions, then this easy, make-ahead friendly cake for you.
This cake has a dense, moist crumb with a hint of coconut and lime, and is topped with a simple, bright glaze and toasted coconut. it’s ideal for a crowd, as it will feed a lot of people, and trust me, a lot of people will want a piece of this cake.
