26 Easy Dessert Recipes You Can Make In One Bowl

This cake is fool-proof, with just a quick mix and a sprinkling of cherries and pistachios before it heads into the oven. Rubbing lemon zest into sugar before using infuses the cake with a bright, citrusy flavor.

For another fun twist on classic olive oil cake, this version is infused with fresh ginger, lemon zest, and studded with juicy blueberries for a vibrant, fruit-forward flavor. Made in just one bowl, it’s as effortless to make as it is to enjoy.

The key to this one-bowl bread is to mix in the flour just until combined to keep the it from developing a dense or rubbery texture.

You won’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to make this delightful dessert that just so happens to double as a breakfast food. This pound cake really is as easy as mixing the ingredients together and baking them. A standing mixer with a paddle attachment makes it all work.

With this easy recipe, the slow cooker has dessert handled. Aside from being quick and using relatively few ingredients, using a slow-cooker makes for easy cleanup and doesn’t require cranking up the oven in the summer when peaches, and therefore cobblers, are at their best.

This cake is both mixed and baked (well, microwaved) in the same bowl (well, mug). That’s what makes mug cakes so special and fun. They’re the perfect for-one dessert when you’re craving something sweet but you need it to be easy and mess-free, too.

Originally published in 1993, we haven’t spent a holiday season without making these since. Unlike many bourbon or rum ball recipes, these call for honey instead of corn syrup, which them a more complex flavor and keeps them from being overly sweet. The recipe couldn’t be easier to make if you use a food processor to finely chop up the vanilla wafers and pecans.

Not only is this cake made in just one bowl, it requires just two ingredients: angel food cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple. It really couldn’t be easier. For extra flavor and presentation points, frost it with whipped topping and decorate with fruit or sprinkles.

Ground cinnamon and ginger give the classic pecan pie a welcome twist—in big-batch bar form! This is perfect for the school function you promised to make dessert for, or for a potluck birthday party. And once made, you will come back to these delights again and again.

Make use of fresh blackberries this summer with this quick treat. This humble recipe evokes memories of my childhood summers spent roaming the woods, dodging brambles while plucking blackberries with purple-stained fingertips. And when we say it’s easy to pull together, we mean it!

This old-school favorite came around in the era of desperation pies, and we’re still making it today. With a simple ingredient list, a fantastic history, and an irresistible flavor, you’ll want to add buttermilk pie to your table the next time you host company.

During the holidays, these are the best bite-sized treats to give as host gifts. With only 30 minutes of hands-on time, you’ll spend less time making these morsels than you would picking out a present for someone at the store! If you want to make a few batches and save them to gift, they freeze well and can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Shaker cooks considered lemons an important part of a healthy diet, even though they were expensive and hard to come by, so they devised this pie to make use of every bit of the fruit. You can thank the Junior League of Charleston, West Virginia, for this old-school pie that uses every bit of the lemon—peels, too.

These peanut butter cookies only require four ingredients and a few minutes to throw together, so you can satisfy your sweet tooth as quickly and easily as possible. The oil in the peanut butter and the proteins in the egg blend together with the sugar to make a cookie with a soft texture.

With just seven pantry staple ingredients, you can make one of our all-time favorite pound cake recipes. It is a simple recipe to create, and can be served freshly baked or made ahead and stored for a quick dessert option. This will definitely become a dessert go-to in your household.

Fresh apple pie, made in your cast-iron skillet from start to finish. It just doesn’t get better than that! Serve this skillet apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream for a dessert that gives all the right feels.

This sweet recipe was the first-ever bar cookie featured in Southern Living. It’s so easy, that you basically just stack the ingredients up and bake it! They are the perfect choice if you need a last-minute dessert to bring to the neighborhood potluck or are on the hunt for a decadent treat to add to your dessert buffet. 

A Southern staple, chess pie is simple and sweet, which is all we need in a dessert. A chess pie will be a crowd-pleaser every time you serve it. Even better? Our recipe uses pre-made piecrust, so pulling one together for last-minute celebrations is a breeze.

If you love pecan pie but need a recipe that feeds a crowd, here you go! These pecan squares are easier to make than traditional pecan pie, and use common and widely available ingredients. Your next potluck dessert promise will be filled with these exquisite bars.

We named this recipe “easiest ever,” and it holds up to it—trust us. Using only seven ingredients, this pumpkin pie punches more than its weight in flavor. Our test kitchen didn’t devise this recipe to be any harder than it needs to be, and we guarantee that you and your family will love it.

You can enjoy this beautiful pound cake with your morning coffee or as a pretty luncheon dessert. For the strawberry swirl, we used pre-made strawberry glaze for convenience. Dollop the glaze in layers throughout the pound cake batter to achieve this marbled look, and watch guests swoon as you cut into the cake.

The kids will love this quick dessert. Though we call for whipped topping and grated chocolate, this recipe is versatile. Try layering fresh fruit such as strawberries into the pudding to make it your own.

Every chocolate lover has to have a good fudge pie recipe in their collection. When this pretty pie comes out of the oven, you’ll be thinking it looks a lot like your Thanksgiving pecan pie at first glance. But as soon as you slice into the decadent dessert, the oozing chocolate inside will put those thoughts to rest.

Instead of standing at the dessert table to slice, make these mini pecan pies for easy serving. Made with frozen tart shells and a sweet, nutty filling that comes together in a single bowl, they make a fantastic addition to a dessert table or holiday buffet. 

You can have decadent pecan pie right from your cast-iron skillet. Serving it in the skillet is also easy and makes the dish even more Southern. You won’t regret taking your pecan pie to new heights with this recipe.

This first-lady-approved dessert has had our hearts for years. Newspapers across the land printed the fudge attributed to Mrs. Eisenhower shortly after she became First Lady in 1953. It remains a benchmark for chocolate fudge. It’s delicious, creamy, and fool-proof.