15 No-Bake Summer Desserts—Because It's Way Too Freaking Hot to Turn on the Oven

A plate with chocolate squares having a fudgy texture and a sprinkling of sea salt on top — Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

There are tons of reasons to make dessert in the summer—parties, cookouts, holidays, a gang of kids hanging at the house, birthdays, or simply because you feel like enjoying something sweet. (That's my favorite reason to make dessert!) There's one big reason to NOT bake dessert in the summer, though—turning on the oven on a hot day. It heats up the kitchen, makes the whole house warmer, and pleases only the utility company. There's an easy fix for that: Make a no-bake dessert. These 15 delicious desserts come together without ever turning on the oven.

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S'mores Icebox Cake

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

You don't need a campfire to get the flavor of s'mores with this icebox cake. Make it in a loaf pan for perfect slices of layered coffee-soaked graham crackers and chocolate mousse, all coated in a toasted meringue.

S'mores Icebox Cake
No-Bake Chocolate Nutella Cheesecake

Nila Jones

If you need impressive individual desserts, this is exactly what you're looking for. Top an Oreo crust with a layer of Nutella cheesecake, a layer of chocolate cheesecake, and whipped cream, and then dot with crushed hazelnuts and bonus crushed Oreos.

No-Bake Chocolate Nutella Cheesecake
No-Bake Fudgy Chocolate Squares

Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

What do you get when you combine brownies, fudge, and mousse and put them all on top of a cookie crust? You get these no-bake, luxuriously rich and fudgy chocolate squares that come together in under half an hour. No wonder this is one of our most popular new recipes!

No-Bake Fudgy Chocolate Squares
Black Forest Icebox Cake

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

In this icebox riff on Black Forest Cake, layers of chocolate cookies, cherry compote, chocolate mousse, and whipped cream recreate the flavors of the classic dessert.

Black Forest Icebox Cake

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Easy No-Bake Cheesecake

Biscoff lovers, pay attention to this dessert. Crushed cookies create a rich, caramelized flavor in the no-bake crust, which you top with a filling of sweetened cream cheese blended with heavy cream. Fresh seasonal berries are the pastry chef's kiss on top.

Easy No-Bake Cheesecake
No-Bake Cheesecake With Freeze-Dried Fruit

Freeze-dried strawberries add color and concentrated strawberry flavor to the cheesecake filling on top of a Biscoff crust. If strawberries are not your favorite, use whatever freeze-dried fruit is calling your name.

No-Bake Cheesecake With Freeze-Dried Fruit
Knickerbocker Glory

Serious Eats / Larisa Niedle

Ask your kitchen smart speaker to put on some Bowie or Dua Lipa, then get to work building this summer-y sundae, a staple across the United Kingdom. Layer vanilla ice cream, strawberries puréed with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and raspberries, then top with a wafer.

Knickerbocker Glory
Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

This retro dessert is a perennial crowd pleaser at picnics and potlucks. Instead of the usual Cool Whip and Jell-O, our version is made with heavy cream and a homemade jelly layer atop the pretzel crust. It's nearly as easy as using store-bought ingredients, but we think the flavors and textures are much better.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

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Fāloodeh (Persian Frozen Noodle and Rose Water Sorbet)

Serious Eats / Nader Mehravari

This Persian sweet treat combines mung bean noodles and a sweet rose water flavored syrup—cooled to a semi-frozen state—to create a chilly treat. Top servings with citrus and sour cherry syrup before digging in.

Fāloodeh (Persian Frozen Noodle and Rose Water Sorbet)
Honey Semifreddo

Vicky Wasik

A cross between ice cream and mousse, this Italian semifreddo (English translation: half frozen) is a mixture of eggs, cream, and sugar—or in this case, honey—turned into a soft ice cream-ish creation with no ice cream maker needed. Top with fruit, nuts, or whatever you wish.

Honey Semifreddo
No-Bake Cookies With Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Chewy Oats

Vicky Wasik

The secret to the success of this mixture of chocolate, peanut butter, and oats is a digital thermometer, ensuring the cookie "dough" is the right temperature to create cookies that aren't sticky or dry. Drop the perfectly cooked dough by spoonfuls onto parchment to create fudgy cookies ready to eat after just 25 minutes.

No-Bake Cookies With Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Chewy Oats
5-Minute Fruit Mouse

Nila Jones

If you need a summer dessert in a hurry, make this five-minute mousse with frozen fruit. Mix the fruit, sugar, and an egg white in a food processor, spoon into serving dishes, and serve immediately or within two hours. Or, layer it with whipped cream for an easy parfait.

Light and Easy 5-Minute Fruit Mouse

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No-Bake Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

Vicky Wasik

This no-bake method creates an incredibly fluffy cheesecake that sits on a crust made from chocolate cookies. It's one of the more involved recipes on this list, but the result is airy, tart, and well worth the effort.

No-Bake Greek Yogurt Cheesecake
No-Bake Crispy Corn Flake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Yvonne Ruperti

Add cornflakes and chopped peanuts to a peanut butter/butter/corn syrup/brown sugar mixture and spread it into a baking pan like you would Rice Krispies Treats. Then, spread melted chocolate over the top and let it cool before you cut it into squares that will disappear in a jif.

No-Bake Crispy Corn Flake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

Yvonne Ruperti

Variations on cheesecake keep popping up on this no-bake dessert list for a good reason—everyone loves cheesecake. If you crave both cheesecake and chocolate, this easy recipe will become a favorite.

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake