35 Summer Desserts Everyone Should Try

At the top of our summer desserts…the best-ever fresh Strawberry Pie! It highlights the best ripe berry flavor, perfectly sweet tart with a delicious hint of cinnamon. Our neighbors promptly declared it was “the best pie I’ve ever had.” Don’t believe us? Well, you’ve got to test for yourself!

Here’s the quintessential summer dessert: blueberry cobbler! This one is everything you need in a sweet treat: the fruit layer bursts forth with pure berry juiciness. The topping is cakey and fluffy, just sweet enough and baked to golden perfection. This is the blueberry cobbler recipe you need! 

Another top summer dessert? Classic strawberry shortcake recipe. It’s got tender, biscuit-like shortcakes, juicy sweet berries, and fluffy, homemade whipped cream. It’s so ridiculously good, it’s perfect for special occasions of all kinds: cookouts, patio parties, birthdays, and anytime you come across a load of ripe, beautiful berries.

Here’s the ultimate summer treat: this Peach Galette! Imagine, a filling of tender fruit flavored with brown sugar, nutty browned butter and a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. It’s all encased in a flaky, buttery pastry crust. A galette is a rustic tart: the perfect easy alternative to a pie.

You absolutely must try summer’s best dessert: Watermelon Sorbet! Each bite is an explosion of pure juicy fruit flavor, with a smooth, frosty texture. Even better: it’s incredibly simple to blend up.

This homemade frozen yogurt recipe is the perfect summer dessert! It's so simple and comes out tangy and creamy with just 3 ingredients. Essentially a Greek yogurt ice cream, it hits the spot in any season—add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

This crowd-pleasing dessert won over our family and friends recently, so we’re excited to share it today. Try this Old fashioned blackberry cobbler recipe! The topping is sweet and fluffy with a crunchy sugar coating on the top, and it covers a zingy berry layer that’s scented with vanilla and cinnamon. We dare you not to take another bite! Also try this Cherry Cobbler.

Three words: strawberry rhubarb pie. This iconic pie filling is famous for a reason: it’s just that good. Sweet tart stalks of pink rhubarb are the perfect foil for sweet summer berries. Also try this streusel-topped Classic Rhubarb Pie.

When cherries are in season, what better way to use them than in a classic crisp? Here the crumble topping is golden and crunchy, and it tops a sweet, cinnamon-spiced fruit layer. Perfect for summer cherries!

Here's a simple fruit dessert: Blueberry Pie Bars, aka all the flavors of blueberry pie in handheld form! These are so simple and satisfying! The same dough makes a thick bottom crust and golden buttery crumbles, and the filling is a bright burst of fresh blueberries and lemon juice.

Got your grill fired up? Good, because this summer dessert is 100% stunning: grilled apples! It’s carefree, easy, and a la mode (which makes everything better). The grill turns sliced apples tender and velvety, with subtle nuance of smoke. Top with melty vanilla ice cream, and well: it doesn’t get any better than this! It’s easy to make up a packet and cook it while prepping the rest of a grilled dinner. 

Are you a chocolate lover? Here’s a standout summer dessert to try: homemade Chocolate Chip Ice Cream! It pairs a lusciously creamy vanilla base with irresistibly irregular chocolate chips and chunks that are perfectly dispersed into every bite. Pouring melted chocolate into the cold ice cream achieves the stracciatella effect with irregular pieces.

Also try: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

 What's better than a good pan of lemon bars in the summer? A zingy lemon custard topping layers over a thick shortbread layer, making the best textural contrast of gooey versus crunchy. It’s got just the right burst of lemon and hint of vanilla in the shortbread.

Here’s a nostalgic dessert that’s easy to whip up and full of bold flavor: Peach Crumble! Imagine: a layer of juicy, tender peaches seasoned with vanilla and lemon juice. It’s topped with a golden crumble layer spiced with cinnamon and ginger that’s got just the right amount of crispness and irregular crumble pieces. Top with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and it’s an incredible treat.

Is there a more quintessential summer dessert than blueberry pie? This blueberry pie recipe is something special: it’s got a luscious, thick berry filling and a golden, buttery lattice-topped crust. The perfect treat topped wtih melty vanilla ice cream!

Try this homemade Raspberry Sorbet recipe! The flavor is an explosion of pure fruit, like taking a bite of 100 raspberries at once. It’s got the best creamy, frosty texture, like a good raspberry gelato. Better yet: it’s simple to whip up at home and impresses everyone.

Also try: Strawberry Sorbet, Mango Sorbet, or Lemon Sorbet

Raspberries are one of our favorite fruits, starring in everything from raspberry sorbet to sherbet to raspberry lemonade. But the crown jewel of any raspberry recipe is the mighty pie! Meet this incredible Raspberry Pie, simple and classic with just the right berry flavor. The filing is thick and jammy, sweet tart and enhanced with a little lemon zest for brightness.

Everyone knows that homemade ice cream is the best. And in the case of strawberry ice cream, the results are beyond worth the effort. Try this homemade strawberry ice cream recipe! It’s lusciously creamy, with a pure sweet tart berry flavor interspersed with chunks of red berries.

Looking for a blueberry dessert that’s as perfect as they come? This Blueberry Crumble recipe is the ideal nostalgic treat for ending a meal. It’s got a juicy, fruity berry filling seasoned with cinnamon, allspice and lemon zest, topped with buttery, crispy crumbles. Add melty vanilla ice cream and it’s truly a sublime treat.

What do you make when you’ve made all the zucchini bread and zucchini muffins? Zucchini brownies, of course! Stop what you’re doing and gather the ingredients for this recipe that will have your friends and family running for another piece. The brownies come out ultra moist and gooey, with a deep, rich chocolaty flavor. They’re simple to make and you won’t believe the amazing flavor and texture!

Here’s summer's best treat, if you can find a bunch of those magical pinkish-green stalks: Rhubarb Crisp! This homey dessert is absolute summer nostalgia: each bite is a burst of gooey, sweet tart candy topped with a golden oat crumble. Top it with melty vanilla ice cream, and there’s nothing better than scooping up heaping mouthfuls on a summer’s evening. 

Got some juicy, ripe peaches? Try this homemade Peach Ice Cream! When summer hits, it’s time for all the peach recipes and peach desserts. And what better way to highlight their intoxicating flavor than ice cream? This recipe comes out lusciously creamy, vanilla-scented with chunks of sweet peaches throughout. A simple scoop is the most decadent treat on a summer evening! 

Here’s a blueberry dessert that’s tastier than pie, in our opinion. Try this Blueberry Galette! This free-form blueberry tart is so simple to whip up with no special equipment: and the flavor is out of this world. The filling is piled with sweet tart berries, sweetened just enough and heightened with lemon zest and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It’s all encased in a golden flaky pastry crust, which forms a charming frame for the berries. Top with vanilla ice cream and it’s a heavenly summer dessert.  

Here's a tasty summer dessert: peach pie! And this really is the world’s best peach pie recipe. It's got fresh peaches with a thick creamy custard and a salty crust: my great Aunt’s prize winning recipe! Instead of the typical peach pie recipe that features canned peaches in a sugary glaze, in this pie the ripe peaches mix with cream and sugar to make an insanely creamy interior.

Here's a tasty, carefree summer dessert recipe: blueberry cake! This one is fluffy and moist, topped with a layer of purple-blue ripe blueberries. It’s lightly sweet and has a hint of lemon. It has a bit of a healthy spin: it’s made with olive oil, Greek yogurt and applesauce instead of rich butter. Because of that, the dessert tastes light and fresh instead of indulgent. 

This grilled pineapple is the best summer dessert for ending a grilled meal on the patio. Pineapple is tangy and juicy as is: imagine it infused with a smoky flavor and warm from the grill! For the easiest option, drizzle it with honey and top with fresh mint. Or, take it over the top and serve with melty vanilla ice cream or toasted coconut. 

Here’s our best nostalgic Blackberry Crisp recipe, aka Blackberry Crumble! It’s just sweet enough, filled with sweet berries with a hint of orange and vanilla, and a crunchy oat crumble topping. Even better: you can make it with fresh or frozen berries, so it works no matter what you can find.

Also try: Mixed Berry Crisp

Here's an ideal dessert for summer: these soft, gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! They’ve got an irresistibly chewy texture, featuring a luxurious dough with loads of dark chocolate chips. A bit of oatmeal gives it a nostalgic heartiness, and the edges get perfectly golden. 

Man, is this peach cobbler a showstopper! Imagine: cinnamon-spiced, ripe and tangy peaches, covered in delightfully flaky ricotta biscuits. No canned peaches or Bisquick topping here! This cobbler absolutely holds up to the hype and will become a family favorite. Also try: Peach Crisp

Here's a summer dessert that's impossible to resist: this strawberry crumble! There’s the berry filling, scented with orange zest and vanilla until the berries pop. There’s the crunchy crumble topping, hearty and homey with oats and walnuts. It’s simple, but all together it makes a true symphony of flavor. Even better: you can make it using fresh or frozen berries! 

Here’s an easy frozen dessert that will have citrus lovers shouting from the rooftops: homemade Lime Sherbet! Make it homemade with real limes and it’s transcendental: creamy and unbelievably zesty, with a pure flavor that easily trumps any store-bought variety. There’s something about real limes that can’t be beat. This nostalgic recipe is a fun summer treat: and it’s simple to make at home with an ice cream maker. 

These No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are a step above the rest! These are rich and chocolaty, full of dark chocolate peanut butter flavor and sweetened just enough with sugar and maple syrup. They’re beautifully glossy in texture, and the flavor? When we serve them at parties, they go fast.

Are you a lemon dessert lover? Then you absolutely must try homemade Lemon Sorbet! Each bite is loaded pure citrus flavor: icy and bright, with just the right amount of zing on the finish. Both lemon juice and lemon zest bring a bold flavor, and it’s irresistibly refreshing after a meal or as a palate cleanser. 

Try this over-the-top summer dessert: Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream! This homemade ice cream is decadent and rich, featuring zingy-sweet fruit against a creamy vanilla base and soft graham cracker chunks. Take one bite and you’ll mumble “wow” before immediately poising your scoop for another.

Here’s one of our favorite summer desserts: Grilled Peaches! Throw these sweet, juicy fruits onto the grill and they get caramelized and lightly smoky. Then top with vanilla ice cream and fresh mint, and it’s one of the best treats on the planet. This is a summer dessert recipe that everyone raves about: and it’s easy to throw on the grill after the main dish!

Here’s a dessert that’s pure perfection in its simplicity: the classic Italian affogato! Two ingredients come together in the most exciting flavor pairing: sweet, creamy vanilla gelato and bitter, rich espresso. Poured at the table, you get to see the ingredients transform right before your eyes. It's ideal for summer evenings!