Skip the last-minute baking stress with these 20+ make-ahead dessert recipes. From freezer-friendly favorites like ice cream cake to classics like oatmeal cream pies, these recipes are perfect for any time you want dessert done in advance.
When there are holidays, parties, birthdays, dinner guests, and busy weekends on the calendar, I know how helpful it is to have dessert handled and DONE before the time arrives.
That’s why my team collected this list of 20 make-ahead dessert recipes. These are tried-and-true favorites including chilled desserts, freezer-friendly treats, no-bake recipes, crowd-pleasing classics, and much more. Many of these desserts taste even better the next day! (Looking at you, banana cake.)
Make-ahead desserts are especially helpful when the rest of the meal requires your attention. Instead of measuring, mixing, baking, and decorating at the last minute, you can prepare dessert hours (or even days) ahead of time.
Or maybe you need something for a birthday party, bake sale, work event, or get-together, but the only time you have to bake is the day before. That’s when a dependable make-ahead recipe can really save the day!
You can put your freezer to work for many of these recipes, too. An ice cream cake needs several hours in the freezer before serving, making it an ideal make-ahead no-bake dessert. Similar recipes like cookies and cream pie and Nutella cream pie need time in the refrigerator to set.
When I’m hosting or attending a dinner party, I’ll often make tiramisu for dessert. It can sit in the refrigerator for up to a day after assembling, so there’s no last-minute prep.
If I’m traveling to a get-together, I prefer to take bars that can be made ahead and transported right in their baking pan. (I own and love this 9×13-inch baking pan with a lid.) Key lime pie bars and no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars top the list.
The desserts below are reliable, thoroughly tested recipes I make when I need something easy, impressive, and prep-ahead friendly.
Recommended Baking Tools
9×13-inch Baking Pan with Lid
20 Make-Ahead Dessert Recipes
Creamy Tiramisu
This timeless no-bake, creamy, espresso-infused Italian dessert can be completely prepared and stored in the refrigerator for a full day in advance of serving.
Sky-High Chocolate Mousse Pie
Featuring an Oreo crust, smooth chocolate mousse, and fresh whipped cream, this pie must set in the refrigerator for several hours and up to 1-2 days.
Pecan Pie Cheesecake
Both the cheesecake and pecan pie topping can be made the day before!
No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
These 5-ingredient no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars are incredibly decadent and last for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
This is just like regular pumpkin cheesecake, but takes a fraction of the time, there’s no water bath needed, and the cooled pie must chill for at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).
Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies
Buttery shortbread cookies with orange zest and sandwiched with rich chocolate ganache. They’ll remind you of store-bought Milano cookies! The flavors and texture get even better after a day or 2.
Ice Cream Cake (Choose Your Flavor)
Because this cake needs to freeze for at least 12 hours prior to serving, it’s a great make-ahead dessert, perfect for summer celebrations.
The Best Banana Cake I’ve Ever Had
Soft, buttery, and ultra-moist, this is truly the best banana cake, and since the flavors develop and deepen over time, it’s my cake of choice to make a day ahead of serving.
No-Bake Cheesecake Jars
These fabulously easy no-bake cheesecake jars take just 30 minutes to make and can be prepared up to 3 days in advance before finishing them off with your topping(s) of choice.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark
Buttery crisp and super chocolatey, this chocolate chip cookie bark is quick and easy to make (no mixer needed!) and stores well at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Easy Key Lime Pie Bars
These tangy and refreshing key lime pie bars must chill for several hours before serving, and the handheld style makes them convenient for serving.
Smith Island Cake
Allowing the assembled cake time to sit before slicing and serving ensures perfect, beautifully layered slices every time!
Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
Even better than the original packaged version, these buttery, cinnamon-kissed oatmeal cookies sandwiched with fluffy, sweet cream filling can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
No Bake S’mores Icebox Cake
Just layer everything for this dessert together in a square baking pan and chill in the refrigerator overnight. When you’re ready to serve, torch the marshmallow topping campfire-style!
Homemade Butterscotch Pudding
For perfectly thick, smooth, and undeniably decadent homemade butterscotch pudding, let the pudding chill for several hours or even overnight before serving.
Classic Linzer Cookies
These classic Linzer cookies taste even better on day 2, making them an excellent choice for holiday parties and get togethers.
Cookies & Cream Pie (Oreo)
Made from only 6 ingredients, this cookies & cream pie tastes like the filling of an Oreo, is mostly no-bake and sets up in the refrigerator for 6 hours or up to 2 days.
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
You can make this seasonal favorite 2 days ahead of time and store covered in the refrigerator. In fact, last year I made it 3 days ahead of time and it was still good-as-new!
Nutella Cream Pie
Sweet, salty, rich, and impossibly chocolatey, this cream pie features a crunchy Oreo crust, Nutella cream, ganache, and hazelnuts on top. It can sit in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before serving.
Bread Pudding with Butter Rum Sauce
This bread pudding with butter rum sauce starts with pieces of day-old bread, which get a long soak (up to 1 day) in a rich and flavorful spiced custard before baking.
How to Make Oreo Balls (Truffles)
Oreo balls are a simple-ingredient, no-bake treat that lasts for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator—although they never last that long!
Pumpkin Pie in a Jar
These no-bake pumpkin pies in a jar deliver all the spiced, creamy richness of the classic dessert, and the filling can be made up to 2 days in advance for an easy make-ahead fall dessert.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I have been unable to save.
Hi Carolynn! You can save this page by clicking on the heart icon on the lower right-hand corner of the page. Then you can create an account, and find your saved favorites by clicking on the saved tag next to the heart, or click the magnifying glass at the upper right hand of the page. Hope this helps!
Your recipes are wonderful. My husband was in dialysis for 5 years and I would make treats for him to take to the patients are caregivers.
Do you happen to have a cookbook with just holiday recipes?
Lisa
Hi Lisa, that is so sweet of you. Sally does not have a holiday-specific cookbook, but here’s her most recent cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
I think your amazing carrot cake also is best made the day before. It truly is the BEST cake I/we have ever eaten. A couple of years ago, my friend Donna put together a conference call with a group of us women to preplan what we would all bring for the annual Donna and David 4th of July get-together. .. Donna said, would someone please bring potato salad, I make a very good one, so I said”I will.” Three women immediately said, “I will bring the potato salad, Fran you bring the Carrot Cake i.e. Sally’s Carrot Cale/. THANK YOU Sally. It is a birthday cake that I make for several friends and family every year! Fran
This is so sweet. That is a great carrot cake! Another wonderful make-ahead option. The flavors are outstanding on day 2!
I LOVE when your recipes come. Thank you