Are you planning a cookout or picnic for Memorial Day? Don’t forget the desserts! Here are the best Memorial Day desserts for your summer kick-off celebration.
Hi, my name is Sara, and I love desserts. You too? Phew! I’m glad it’s not just me who has a sweet tooth. That means I usually plan the dessert way before I plan the main part of the meal when I’m hosting any kind of get-together. This is especially true on Memorial Day. The unofficial start of summer opens up a whole different set of desserts!
If you’re looking for a dessert to make for a Memorial Day party that you’re hosting or if you’ve offered to bring a dessert to a Memorial Day party that you are attending, here is a list of the best Memorial Day desserts. Heck, pick a couple to make! There is nothing wrong with having leftover dessert!
The Best Memorial Day Desserts
Patriotic
If you know me, you know that I love a theme. So, when we have a patriotic holiday to celebrate, I go all-in. That means I’m all about a red, white, and blue dessert. Luckily, the red and blue berries are perfectly in season on Memorial Day, so the best Memorial Day desserts are a great opportunity to showcase the late Spring berries and stay within the patriotic theme.
Flag cake
The most classic patriotic dessert is, of course, a flag cake. The great thing about a flag cake is that it’s just as easy as it is festive, so it tops my list of the best Memorial Day desserts. All you need to do is follow these three simple steps:
Get yourself a cake
You can buy a cake at the grocery store, you can make a cake from a boxed mix, or you can make a cake from scratch. Pick the option that fits best with the bandwidth you’re able to devote to obtaining a cake.
Get yourself some white frosting
If you go the storebought cake route, you likely have the frosting covered, so a storebought cake is a two-for-one. If you make a cake yourself, you can buy a can of frosting, make a homemade frosting, or even just thaw a tub of Cool Whip. Who doesn’t love Cool Whip?
Get yourself some strawberries and blueberries
Wash your berries. Cut the strawberries into slices and make sure to remove any stems from the blueberries. Arrange the blueberries into a square at the top left corner of the cake. Make lines of strawberry slices that alternate with lines of plain white frosting. Voila! You have a flag cake!
If you need help visualizing how to arrange the fruit into a flag pattern, Well Plated has a tutorial with lots of pictures. My son followed her tutorial last year when he was 4 years old and it turned out looking great!
Berry cheesecake
If you want to incorporate the red, white, and blue color scheme, but you don’t want to go all-in with a flag cake, consider making a berry cheesecake. You can make a traditional cheesecake or a cheater’s cheesecake pie and then top with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream for a tasteful (and tasty!) patriotic dessert.
Berry pie (or cobbler)
Does your idea of the best Memorial Day desserts include really shining a spotlight on the seasonal produce? Then a fresh berry pie or cobbler is the right pick for you this Memorial Day. The strawberries and blueberries are really at their peak right now, so I’d suggest leaning into one of those (or both!). If you’re looking for a delicious recipe for a berry pie or cobbler that is sure to impress, I’ve tried all of these with great success:
Poke cake
Another really fun and easy patriotic dessert that is super kid-friendly is a red, white, and blue poke cake. A poke cake is a great way to doctor-up a basic boxed cake mix, and the super vivid colors are a delight for any kids in attendance at your Memorial Day gathering. If you asked my 3-year-old and 5-year-old, this poke cake would definitely top their list of best Memorial Day desserts to make and to eat!
Fruit pizza
Another kid-friendly patriotic entry on the list of best Memorial Day desserts is a fruit pizza. Bake one massive sugar cookie, top it with cream cheese frosting, and arrange berries on top for an absolutely delicious treat to round out your Memorial Day meal. I’ve used this recipe from Gimme Some Oven in the past and it is delicious!
Trifle
Are you having a bit of an upscale, adult-centered Memorial Day picnic this year? If your guests aren’t likely to break a beautiful glass bowl, then I highly suggest making a berry trifle.
All you need is a storebought pound cake, vanilla pudding, whipped cream, and a mountain of berries, then you get to assemble. Take a page out of How Sweet Eats’ book and make a raspberry sauce to really tip your Memorial Day trifle over the top.
Picnic
The best Memorial Day desserts don’t have to be patriotic. Sure, we are mainly focused on remembering those who have given their lives so that we can be free on Memorial Day, but it’s also the kick-off to Summer. Memorial Day is a prime opportunity to bust out your favorite summer bakes, whether they’re red, white, and blue or not.
Lemon bars
When I think Summer desserts, I think lemon bars. The gooey texture, the short crust, the pucker! Lemon bars are a great addition to your Memorial Day menu because they are crowd-pleasers that scream Summer.
If you’re looking for a good lemon bar recipe, this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction has never steered me wrong. They come out perfect every single time.
Brownies
For me, brownies are the classic picnic dessert. They’re just so portable they make a great addition to a meal consumed outdoors. They’re also crazy easy to make. If you’re looking for a good homemade recipe, I love these classic brownies. Looking to kick your brownies up a notch? I can’t get enough of these Nutella brownies. Short on time? Grab a box of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix at the store. It makes pretty darn delicious brownies in a pinch!
Strawberry shortcake
I was talking to my son this morning about strawberry shortcake and it really made me get a craving for it. There is just something that screams summer BBQ about strawberry shortcake. Oh, it’s to-die-for!
I prefer a strawberry shortcake that’s made with a sweet biscuit situation, but there is no shame in picking up premade dessert shells, filling them with macerated strawberries, and topping the whole thing with whipped cream.
S’mores desserts
Nothing quite screams summer like s’mores. But if you are anything like me, you don’t want to go to the trouble of making a fire (even in the Solo stove), getting out the marshmallow roasting devices, and dealing with the tears when somebody’s marshmallow falls into the fire. Enter the myriad variations of s’mores desserts that have all the delicious flavors of s’mores with none of the pitfalls!
If you agree that the best Memorial Day desserts have to include s’mores of some kind and you want to try your hand at something new this year, you might want to consider one of the options I list below. I’ve tried them all and can confirm they’re all delicious!
Fruit crumble bars
If you want the feel of a pie, but not the mess of slicing perfect wedges, then fruit crumble bars are for you! Sure, you can lean into the red and blue berries and make your fruit crumble bars patriotic, but you don’t have to! Some other options include raspberry, apple, and lemon. The options are endless!
Cookie bars
I love cookies. I could give Cookie Monster a run for his money. But although I love cookies, sometimes I just don’t have time to bake multiple batches of individual cookies. That’s why I love cookie bars! I can make them all at one time and the dough doesn’t require chilling. Cookie bars are the best Memorial Day desserts when you’re on a time crunch!
Of course, you can make the classic chocolate chip cookie bars, but you can also make frosted sugar cookie bars (red or blue icing would be fun!). Both are great Memorial Day desserts!
Other Posts
Looking for other Summer content? You might want to check out these posts:
I hope you’ve been able to pick one or two of the best Memorial Day desserts for your summer kick-off. What are you making this Memorial Day? Please share down below or over on Instagram @sarainseason.