27 Easy Fourth of July Desserts for a Patriotic Picnic

Classic Strawberry Shortcakes

If you've been called to make a last-minute patriotic picnic treat, you may be racking your brain for ideas. Grab a box of Bisquick and just half an hour later, these delicious strawberry shortcakes can be ready to serve. If you're looking for something even easier, use this recipe with pre-made pound cake.

• Don't have Bisquick? Try this substitute.

No-Bake Cheesecake Flag Cake

Cream cheese and mascarpone are thick as thieves in this delightfully delicious flag cheesecake recipe from resident Chef John. Set it and forget it to chill in the fridge for three hours, then top with strawberries and blueberries.

Blueberry Pie

Perhaps the most classic American dessert, blueberry pie never fails to impress. Instead of making your own pie crust, just buy the boxed kinds. They work beautifully. Serve with a scoop of ice cream for easy Fourth of July dessert perfection.

All American Trifle

Prepared pound cakes make this pretty red, white, and blue no-bake recipe a winner for time and presentation. Buy yourself more time to relax by the pool by using ready-made heavy cream, pudding mix, and lemon yogurt.

Crisp Peach Cobbler

Nothing says summer like peaches, and nothing says peaches like a warm peach cobbler made with fresh peaches, crowned with a crackling crisp top.

• Get even more peach dessert ideas.

Summer Berry Parfait with Yogurt and Granola

This sneaky treat will give the kids their calcium, protein, and antioxidants — without them even guessing it's not a decadent dessert! Halve the recipe if you want to put it into smaller cups to set out for the kids at your block party.

Uncle Sam Banana Split

Kids know what kids like. Strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream, plus bananas, drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce, topped with whip cream. Decorate them with some sparklers, and you've got a sweet memory forever.

S'more Brownies

Four ingredients — that's all. Brownie mix, graham crackers, mini marshmallows, and milk chocolate bars make this recipe almost as simple as s'mores themselves, and you don't even have to light your fireplace.

Mini Key Lime Pies

These tiny pies will impress your eaters with their style and taste. The filling consists of just condensed milk, sour cream, Key lime juice, and Key lime zest, poured into little graham cracker crusts.

Lemon Cupcake with Blackberry Buttercream

Cupcakes are always a crowd pleaser, especially for kids who want their own little piece of cake. Both lemon zest and juice are employed in this crave-worthy recipe with great flavor contrasts. Plus, paper cupcake liners in your muffin tin make cleanup a snap.

Raspberry Icebox Cake

Three cheers for icebox cake! Forget the conventional crust — this graham cracker concoction makes life easy. Just crush some up and add butter and brown sugar, bake and layer with raspberry Jell-O, frozen raspberries, and whipped cream.

No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Any recipe that's only two steps frees up the morning for you to relax. Just combine five ingredients and spoon them into graham cracker pie shells, then freeze. Nothing says America like peanut butter and graham crackers!

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

These tiny pineapple upside down cakes look cute as a button and are so easy to make. Your Fourth of July offering will look like you put a lot of work in, but no one has to know that pineapple cake mix and canned pineapple came to the rescue.

Mango, Coconut, and Chia Seed Pots

The rich tropical taste of mango is a summer no-brainer, especially when paired with rich coconut milk and sweet maple syrup. Chia seeds work as a great thickener, and you can pick cute little parfait glasses or pudding pots to plate these.

Chef John's Pavlova with Strawberries

A pavlova is essentially a giant meringue that's easy and pleasing to the eye when topped with whipped cream and fruit. Strawberries are at their flavor height during summer, but feel free to substitute whatever berries you have on hand, or even other fruits like kiwi or cherries.

Watermelon Ice Pops

Have some leftover watermelon you need to use? This recipe calls for things you probably already have in your pantry: honey, lemon juice, and sugar. Freeze the pops the night before a hot day, and enjoy watching your kids zoom around on their bikes eating their favorite cooling treats.

• 15 Heroic Saves for an Overripe Watermelon

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

This dessert is as genius as it is easy. It's like a sundae of ice cream sandwiches, in cake form! Some Allrecieps cooks recommend topping with crushed up candy bars, like Butterfingers, instead of pecans, for a legendary treat.

The Best Lemon Bars

When life gives you lemons, make lemon bars. The sweet, citrusy taste of these bars is complex enough to fool everyone, but these bars only require five ingredients you probably have lying around: butter, sugar, flour, eggs and lemons.

Easy, Eggless Strawberry Ice Cream

Top this strawberry ice cream with whipped cream, blueberries, and strawberries or cherries to make it perfect for the Fourth. Rich, creamy ice cream and tart fruit are the perfect combo. Garnish cups of ice cream with wafer straws.

• See even more of our best Fourth of July desserts.

Red, White, and Blue Dump Cake

No collection of quick and easy desserts is complete without a dump cake. Simply dump strawberry pie filling, frozen blueberries, white cake mix, and butter into a baking dish and let your oven do the rest. The result is a stunning red, white, and blue treat. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Heirloom Blueberry Cake

"My mother has been making this cake for over 40 years and it is always a crowd pleaser!" says recipe creator AuntieJ of this family heirloom cake recipe. The best part? This is essentially a dump cake with no creaming or alternating ingredients.

4th of July Fruit Kabobs

Kids will have fun assembling these healthy and refreshing star-spangled treats. "Don't cut the watermelon too thinly, otherwise the stars will break when you are trying to skewer them," suggests recipe creator sanne.

Rustic Fruit Galette

Don't be intimidated by galettes — they are really just deconstructed pies. This recipe uses prepared pie crust (such as Pilsbury®) for minimal prep work. Feel free to get creative with your choice of fruit: Blueberries and plums make a great July Fourth combination.

Fruit Salad in Seconds

As the temperatures rise, a light and refreshing fruit salad begins to sound more and more appealing for dessert. In this four-ingredient recipe, strawberries, green grapes, and bananas are tossed in strawberry yogurt.

Strawberry Graham Cracker Bites

These bite-sized treats are as cute as they come, and the whole family can have fun assembling them. Hulled strawberries are topped with whipped cream, chocolate-hazelnut spread, one blueberry, and a mini graham cracker.

Peach and Blackberry Cobbler

"Picked my own blackberries in Anacortes, WA with my grandson and used locally grown peaches," says one Allrecipes member. I made this cobbler for my family —perfect results and everyone was trying to get the last bite. Keeper recipe."

Coconut Poke Cake

"This simple coconut cake recipe is a white cake soaked in sweet, creamy coconut milk and smothered in whipped topping and flaked coconut — a real treat for those with a sweet tooth," says recipe creator Leslie.

Related:

• Fourth of July Cakes Worth Celebrating
• Our Best Fourth of July Appetizers
• Browse our entire collection of Fourth of July Dessert Recipes.