10 No-Bake Christmas Desserts That Keep Your Oven Free for Everything Else

When the oven’s booked solid, these make-ahead desserts save the day—no baking required.

By Robin Shreeves
Published December 15, 2025
Overhead view of black forest icebox cake

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Holiday cooking puts serious pressure on the oven—between the roast, the sides, and the last-minute bake you swore you wouldn’t add, things fill up fast. That’s where no-bake desserts come in. These 10 sweet, make-ahead treats skip the oven entirely, giving you more room to cook (and one less thing to stress about).

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  • Rocky Road

    Rock Road squares on a yellow plate, and a green tarrazzo table, with a baking dish full of more rocky road

    Serious Eats / Deli Studios

    This no-bake dessert comes together in one bowl. Melt milk and dark chocolate in the microwave, then stir in butter, golden syrup, crushed digestive biscuits, marshmallows, and candied cherries before pressing the mixture into an 8 x 8-inch pan. Once it firms up, cut into squares for a dessert that’s crunchy, soft, and chewy.

  • Black Forest Icebox Cake

    Overhead view of black forest icebox cake

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Kirsch-soaked chocolate cookies are layered with chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and a cherry compote made from frozen cherries (no pitting), delivering all the flavors of Black Forest cake without turning on the oven. The icebox cake is assembled in a loaf pan and chilled for six hours before slicing and serving.

  • No-Bake Chocolate Pumpkin Mousse Pie Recipe

    Yvonne Ruperti

    This no-bake pie layers a chocolate wafer crust with pumpkin mousse spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, plus a cocoa whipped cream. After chilling, it’s finished with chocolate shavings just before serving.

  • S’mores Icebox Cake

    Overhead view of smores icebox cake

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This icebox cake layers coffee-soaked graham crackers with chocolate mousse and whipped cream for a dressed-up take on a summer classic. Once chilled, it’s coated in Italian meringue and toasted with a blowtorch for an impressive dessert that never sees the oven.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Nanaimo Bars

    Side view of nanaimo Bars

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    A classic Canadian dessert built in layers, with a nutty base of chocolate, coconut, and walnuts, a creamy custard middle, and a simple chocolate-and-butter topping. Each layer is chilled before the next goes on, then the whole dessert sets in the fridge before being cut into rich, irresistible bars.

  • No-Bake Chocolate Kahlua Pie

    A slice of pie with whipped topping served on a plate with a fork on a striped napkin

    Serious Eats / Deli Studios

    A chocolate cookie crumb crust supports a simple but deeply flavorful filling made with chocolate, cream, coffee liqueur, sugar, and a pinch of salt, set with unflavored powdered gelatin. The pie comes together in about 25 minutes and, after a three-hour chill, lands somewhere between a chocolate mousse and a chocolate cream pie.

  • No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars

    Stack of chewy chocolate chip peanut butter oat bars

    Serious Eats / Deli Studios

    These bars are a hit with adults and kids alike, and with oats and peanut butter in the mix, leftovers even pass for a guilt-free breakfast treat. Toasted oats are folded into a melted mixture of butter, peanut butter, marshmallows, and honey, then finished with chocolate chips and pressed into a pan to set.

  • Pistachio Tiramisu

    Pistachio tiramisu in a dish a serving being lifted with a spatula revealing layers

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy Jr.

    A riff on classic tiramisu, this dessert layers coffee- and rum-syrup-soaked ladyfingers with pistachio-mascarpone cream and a topping of finely ground pistachios. The pistachio cream takes the most time, but the dessert still comes together in about 40 minutes before chilling.

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  • No-Bake Fudgy Chocolate Squares

    A plate of layered chocolate squares with a fudgy and textured appearance topped with sea salt

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    A riff on classic tiramisu, this dessert layers coffee- and rum-syrup-soaked ladyfingers with a rich, nutty pistachio-mascarpone cream and a topping of finely ground pistachios. The whole dessert comes together in about 40 minutes before chilling.

  • Rich and Creamy Tiramisu

    slice of tiramisu on plate
    Vicky Wasik

    For those craving the original, this classic tiramisu delivers. Good ladyfingers—ideally from a trusted Italian bakery—are soaked in coffee spiked with booze, then layered with a rich mascarpone filling and finished with a dusting of cocoa powder. It’s straightforward to assemble and impressive on the table.

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