Try these best summer dessert recipes this season, including vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and dairy-free options for everyone.
I'm excited to share my all-time favorite summer dessert recipes with you. This list includes all of my favorite sweet treats, from bars and cookies to ice cream and cakes. And they're all great for dessert, but there re some healthy options in the mix too, of course. I've included low-sugar, vegan and gluten-free options, so there's something for everyone.
Many of these recipes are also great make-ahead desserts perfect for entertaining. Enjoy!
Best Summer Dessert Recipes
Cookie Bar Recipes for Summer
- Strawberry Oatmeal Bars are soft and full of sweet fresh strawberry flavor. Also gluten-free and vegan.
- Healthy Lemon Bars are bright, citrusy and totally delicious with lemonade or iced tea.
- Gluten-Free & Vegan Apricot Oatmeal Bars are full of warming apricot preserves for a state of summer fruit.
- Healthy Vegan Raspberry Oatmeal Bars have a bright, tart raspberry filling.
- Fruit and Chocolate dream Bars from Very Best Baking are dense, fudgy bars with chocolate and dried fruit.
Best Cookie Recipes for Summer
- Soft & Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies are the most tender and chewy cookies that happen to be dairy-free and egg-free.
- Chunky Monkey Vegan Breakfast Cookies are healthy enough for breakfast, but sweet enough for an after-dinner treat.
- Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are deeply satisfying, thanks to creamy almond butter. They're also entirely gluten-free and dairy-free.
- Best Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are a bit healthier than cookies made with refined flour but just as delicious.
Ice Cream Recipes
- 4-Ingredient Mint Chip Banana Ice Cream is a decadent and zippy vegan dessert with real mint flavor.
- Vegan Cherry Ice Cream is my favorite way to eat sweet seasonal cherries for dessert.
- Black Raspberry Ice Cream is a stunning dairy-free frozen treat with fresh berries.
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream because it's always the right season for cookie dough!
- No-Churn Brownie Ice Cream from Orchids & Sweet Tea is an easy, fully-loaded ice cream recipe.
Baked Pastries to Make this Summer
- Healthy Cherry Crumble uses real, fresh cherries with a crisp topping.
- 10-Ingredient Healthy Peach Crisp is a juicy, fruity treat with your favorite summer stone fruit.
- Peach & Black Raspberry Tarts are an adorable fruit dessert switch a crisp crust.
- No-Bake Frozen Berry Tarts are the perfect cross between tart and ice cream.
- Balsamic Strawberry & Rhubarb Crisp is an elegant dessert with tart and sweet flavors.
- Stone Fruit Quinoa Crumble features your favorite summer stone fruit and a nutty quinoa topping.
Best Cake Recipes for Summer
- Gluten-Free Fig Cake is a fruity cake with juicy figs that's great with vanilla ice cream.
- Gluten-Free Vegan Strawberry Shortcake is a patriotic treat piled high with juicy berries and light whipped cream .
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecakes in Jars from Barbara Bakes are adorable single-serving treats with tangy cream cheese filling.
- Mini Raspberry No-Bake Cheesecake are two-bite treats that you don't have to turn the oven on for.
- Grain-Free Chocolate Cupcakes are dense, rich and full of chocolate flavor.
If you make any of these Summer Dessert Recipes, be sure to let me know what you think with a comment below!