Whether it’s a hot Summer day or a holiday when your oven is overloaded with other dishes, these simple and delicious no bake desserts are the answer to the question, “What’s for dessert?” Give one, or all, of them a try and you’ll be glad you did. These are all definite crowd pleasers.
Easy Southern Banana Pudding
This simple and tasty recipe is a little more time consuming to assemble than the other recipes on this page, but it’s definitely worth it. My family loves banana pudding, so this recipe makes frequent appearances on our dinner table. It’s a great dessert all year long.
Pineapple Rice Pudding
This recipe was inspired by my recipe for Glorified Rice. As I was mixing together the glorified rice, I was wondering if it would be possible to combine the ideas used to make watergate salad and glorified rice to make a pineapple rice pudding. The result was delicious.
Strawberry Shortcake Trifle in a Jar
This recipe was inspired by some stale cookies, but it could easily be made with some, fresh, store bought cookies when it’s too hot to bake shortcakes. We love strawberries, especially when we have access to strawberries that have been picked in the last 24 hours.
Chocolate Eclair Cake
This simple dessert really tastes like eclairs, and we adore it. I don’t know how I managed to become and adult without ever hearing about chocolate eclair cake, but maybe, it was because my mother made cream puffs from scratch. If you don’t have the time and energy to make homemade eclairs, this recipe for Chocolate Eclair Cake is the next best thing.
Chocolate Mousse Cake
This recipe is very similar to the chocolate eclair cake recipe. In fact, that recipe, along with some chocolate graham crackers was the inspiration for this recipe. It’s rich, chocolatey, and delicious. I created this recipe during my 30 days of cans, so the ingredients include canned evaporated milk. If you don’t like canned milk, all you need to do is eliminate the water from the recipe and use 3 cups of fresh milk in place of the canned.
Mango Graham Freezer Cake
I learned of this recipe from my Filipino co-workers, and I had to try it. I wasn’t sure how my family would respond, but they loved it. Like the banana pudding, it’s a bit more time consuming, but it’s worth it. This Mango Graham Freezer Cake is so delicious, and it’s very refreshing on a hot summer day. I make this whenever I find mangoes on sale for an excellent price. This is also good made with sliced bananas in place of the mango. In fact, Sue Chef preferred the Banana Graham to the Mango Graham.
Banana Pudding in a Jar
Sharing this recipe here is probably cheating because it’s basically the recipe for my Easy Southern Style Banana Pudding, only the presentation is different. We love this presentation because it’s easy to store the sealed jars in a cooler and take them on a picnic, or set them in a tray of ice on a buffet.
No bake desserts aren’t just for summer.
Each of these recipes is simple and delicious. No one needs to turn on the oven to make them, so they’re great for a hot summer day or whenever your oven is busy baking other things.
Which of these desserts is your favorite? Do you have any other favorite no bake desserts? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Thanks for visiting Patty Cake’s Pantry.
You are so right, no-bake desserts are delicious and easy to make not only in the summer but throughout the year. I especially like the pineapple rice pudding!
The pineapple rice pudding was fun to create and everyone who tried it really liked it. What I really like about it is that it can be easily modified to serve to diabetics.
I am not a bake so I’m loving this roundup! Especially the strawberry shortcake one….love eating out of a jar.
I may have a problem with putting all kinds of food in jars, but I just love the way things look when they’re presented this way.
My mom used to make banana pudding like that every summer. Delicious!!!
Isn’t it amazing how a recipe can remind you of your childhood? My mom made amazing banana cream pies.
Well isn’t this a great collection. Even the novice cook can make some awesome eats. Takes the stress out of the kitchen…especially if you don’t like cooking.
That’s exactly who I started this blog for, novices who don’t know where to start. Of course, easy recipes like these also come in handy for experienced cooks who are tired and feeling overwhelmed. We all have those days.
I would eat every single one of these desserts, but I must say that my favorite is probably the eclair cake. Yum!! I’ll just have to work down your list!
Go right ahead. Start at the top and make all of them. I would caution you to, maybe, limit yourself to one a week, though. If you don’t, you might find that you need bigger pants. 😆 These are desserts, right?
P.S. My favorite is the chocolate eclair cake, too
Those jar trifles are adorable, but I’m mostly drooling over that chocolate mousse cake. Yum!
I hope you try it. It’s so easy to put together and it’s very chocolatey.
I love when you can find a use for stale ingredients – especially when they inspire something so yummy!
I grew up in a household that really believed in that saying “Waste note, want not.” I still get very anxious when I let something go to waste. Of course, stale cookies almost never happen in my house. I honestly don’t know what happened with that batch.
I first heard of banana pudding a few years ago – what can I say, I’m in the North LOL – and I keep thinking I want to try it!
But you have quite a collection beyond the chocolate Icebox Cake I grew up with. Really intriguing.
Anne, you know what? I’ve never had a chocolate icebox cake. I was an adult before I ever heard of it, and I keep wondering what it is. I guess there are huge differences in regional cuisine.
My husband would go crazy over your trifle, he is addicted to this dessert! I personally don’t have a sweet tooth but I know I would be in heaven with the pineapple rice, that just looks like my kind of dessert.
Helene, in my experience, that’s unique. Usually, it’s the women with the sweet tooth, and men who don’t like sweets. My husband is the same way. Don’t try to come between him and a piece of cake. The pineapple rice pudding is a good choice if you don’t like things that are too sweet. The pineapple, being naturally tart, helps to balance out the sweetness of the pudding. At least, that’s what we think.
I’m always looking for excellent no-bake dessert recipes for when my kids have friends over last minute. Each of these look so fantastic, I would have a hard time choosing, but I think that eclair cake would be a big hit!
The eclair cake is a favorite around here, too.
This is the perfect time of year for no-bake desserts. Everyone is so busy with the holidays, it’s great to have a collection of recipes that don’t add too much extra work.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. People are so busy, and I have friends who feel overwhelmed trying to make the perfect cake or pie. These recipes are so simple yet so delicious, that they are a great solution for what to bring.
No bake desserts are so nice to have in your roster for the days you don’t want to fire up the oven. Love that many of them are able to be made in advance, too!
That’s one of the reasons why we like these no bake desserts so much. I love anything that I can do to make the day of the get together less stressful and to help it run smoothly. I want to interact with my guests, not be chained to the stove and oven.
I love no bake desserts for busy nights! This is a great collection!
Thanks, Sara. Simple is wonderful when life gets crazy.