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This collection of Memorial Day desserts features all of our favorite patriotic, make-ahead, and cold desserts to take to holiday BBQs and potlucks!
More Collections: Memorial Day Recipes, Summer Desserts, 4th Of July Desserts
We Love To Celebrate and Remember!
We love to have a Memorial Day cookout. A backyard barbecue is a great time to remember, be with family, and the perfect kick-off to summer!
We usually assign everyone to bring a different type of dish, and I personally love being in charge of desserts. There is no shortage of outstanding options for your Memorial Day desserts!
Why we love Memorial Day desserts:
- Patriotic. Many feature a red, white, and blue color palate like our American Flag Cake – perfect for patriotic celebrations!
- Bright and flavorful. With the start of summer, there are plenty of fresh fruit options to use and a variety of bright flavors.
- Traditional. There are plenty of tasty traditional desserts like pie or cake.
- Summer sweets. Since the weather is warm it’s also a great opportunity to do a cold or frozen dessert!
Planning Tips
- How much to make. Plan to have at least 2 dessert choices for the first 10-12 guests. Make sure there’s enough for people to have two dessert servings and not a piece of each dessert.
- Keeping desserts cold. Many desserts can be left out for a couple of hours or longer and still be ok to eat, but to keep cold desserts chilled:
- Store in the refrigerator or a cooler with ice until serving.
- To keep chilled on a serving table, fill a sheet pan or bowl with ice. Place the dessert on a platter or in a bowl and set it right on top of the ice.
Transporting Desserts
- Carriers. Many desserts have specifically designed carriers, like cupcakes and cake carriers. Often you can use pans, boxes, and bins that you already have to protect the dessert. Be careful that the ice is contained so that if it melts it won’t leak into the dessert.
- Temperature. Keep them at the right temperature. Use a cooler packed with heating pads or ice packs depending on what type of dessert you have.
- In the car. Set them on the floor where they cannot tumble off the seat. Use a yoga or other non-stick mat to help prevent sliding, or place a blanket or towel around the container to keep it snugly in place.
Our Favorite Desserts for Memorial Day
Ice cream sandwiches and Strawberry Pie are a summer favorite along with this top-loved list! Try a favorite treat from our go-to list and check out our Best Summer Desserts.
Don’t forget fresh Whipped Cream or a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream!
1 Fruit Pizza
2 American Flag Cake
3 4th of July Poke Cake Recipe
4 Dirt Cake Recipe
5 Cream Puff Cake Recipe
6 Lemon Lasagna Recipe
7 Angel Food Ice Cream Cake Recipe
8 Oreo Ice Cream Cake Recipe
9 Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
10 Ice Cream Sandwich Cake Recipe
Easy Memorial Day Desserts
Keep it simple with no bake desserts, Fruit Salad, or Nilla Wafer Banana Pudding – or try something from our simple list of tasty treats!
11 4th of July Rice Krispies Treats
12 Jello Poke Cake Recipe
13 Peach Cobbler
14 Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
15 Peach Dump Cake Recipe
16 Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe
17 Blueberry Cobbler Recipe
18 Frozen Strawberry Dessert Recipe
19 Rice Krispie Treat Recipe
20 Scotcheroos Recipe
21 Puppy Chow Recipe
22 Dessert Kabobs Recipe
23 Dessert Parfait Recipe
More Memorial Day Dessert Ideas
A classic Apple Pie, Blueberry Pie, or ice pops are classic All-American treats, but we have even more sweet treats to enjoy!
Check out our other summer favorites in our summer desserts or Fourth of July desserts collection!
24 Red White and Blue Cake
25 Blueberry Delight Recipe
26 Butterfinger Pie
27 Cherry Sheet Cake Recipe
28 Peach Pie Recipe
29 Strawberry Pie Recipe
30 Frozen Peanut Butter Pie Recipe
31 Berry Pie
32 Strawberry Icebox Cake Recipe
33 Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
34 Lemon Icebox Pie Recipe
35 Key Lime Pie Recipe
36 Sugar Cookie Bars
37 No Bake Cheesecake
38 Strawberry Shortcake Bars Recipe
An All-American Treat!
Festive and fruity American Flag Cake is a delicious way to celebrate. It’s patriotic, light, and refreshing!
You’ll love this recipe. Topped with fresh berries, it’s simple, but quite the show-stopper!
Here is the recipe:
35+ Memorial Day Desserts
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Frosting
- 2 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup pineapple juice
- 2 – 3 cups (about 1 pound) strawberries, sliced
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Grease an 11×15 baking pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of water to a boil
- Remove pot from stove and whisk in flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and almond extract until smooth.
- Pour batter into a pre-greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Use a toothpick to test if cake is done. When it comes out clean, remove from oven and let rest on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
- Make the frosting while cake is cooling. Cream together cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, and pineapple juice with the hand mixer. Spread frosting over the cooled cake.
- Add sliced strawberries and blueberries to look like a flag. Allow to chill for 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
crowd-pleasing desserts
We hope you enjoy this collection of Memorial Day desserts. They are the perfect finishing touch to any cookout or get-together and are sure to please a crowd!
More Collections: Dessert Bar Recipes, Cookie Bar Recipes, Cakes With Fruit
I love this although I am a Nigerian
I have made the fruit pizzas and fruit cookie recipes. They are so easy and very delicious! I am planning on making the lemon lasagna soon!!!
I’m so glad you have enjoyed the fruit pizzas! Those are fun ones. Hope you enjoy the lemon lasagna too!!
I love all the different recipes for the holidays. I like the ideas and how fun it is to make all this food for your family!!
I’ve made the Strawberry Pie and the Fruit Pizza recipes listed here both were amazing. I’m anxious to try out more of these desserts- and just in time for memorial day this Monday.
We love your lemon lasagna!! The more desserts, the better! We make your fruit pizza all summer long!