Looking for the best picnic desserts that don't need refrigeration? These easy and reliable dessert recipes taste delicious, look just as good, and are easy to transport to a gathering. Whether you are looking for bbq picnic desserts, fruity desserts, or easy church desserts, this list of fun picnic desserts that don't need refrigeration can all be enjoyed outside in the sunshine all day long.
Jump to:
- Best Picnic Desserts
- 1. Lemonade Bundt Cake
- 2. Sweet potato muffins
- 3. Blueberry Galette
- 4. Palmiers
- 5. Danish Butter Cookies
- 6. Earl Grey Macarons With Lemon Curd Filling
- 7. Coconut Muffins
- 8. Red Velvet Brownies
- 9. Boozy Orange Aperol Spritz Cake
- 10. Pistachio Muffins
- 11. Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers
- 12. Strawberry Muffins
- 13. French Financiers
- 14. Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake
- 15. Lemon Muffins
- 16. Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
- 17. Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake
- 18. Raspberry Muffins
- 19. Mojito Pound Cake
- 20. Brownie Blondies
- 21. Vanilla Muffins
- 22. Classic Madeleines
- 23. Peach Cake
- 24. Walnut Babka
- 25. Mini Bundt Cakes
- 26. Peach Galette
- 27. Banana Bread
- 28. Rhubarb Cake
- 29. Fig Frangipane Tart
- 30. Sugar Donuts
- 30. Beignets
- 32. Peanut Butter Cups
- 33. Summer Watermelon Fruit Salad
- 34. Blackberry Pie Bars
- 35. Buttery Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
- Picnic Desserts FAQs
- Related Picnic Desserts That Don't Need Refrigeration
- Top 35 Best Picnic Desserts
Best Picnic Desserts
1. Lemonade Bundt Cake
Present this summery bundt cake at a picnic party and watch the compliments roll in. A moist yogurt sponge cake flavored with citrus zest is glazed in the most delicious lemonade syrup. Garnish with fresh raspberries to pump up the summer flavors, slice up and enjoy!
2. Sweet potato muffins
Say hello to your new favorite on-the-go breakfast and picnic dessert with these healthy and delicious Sweet Potato Muffins! This easy dairy-free recipe is the ideal balance of convenience, flavor, and wholesome goodness. Made with a combination of sweet potato, warm spices, and gooey chocolate chips these moist and fluffy muffins are the perfect sweets that requite no refrigerator.
3. Blueberry Galette
Don't have time to make blueberry pie? Blueberry galette has all the texture and flavor but takes half the time. Galette tastes equally delicious hot or cold, and the best part is how easy they are to make. The crust takes minutes to put together, and then after a short rest, it can be loaded with fruit filling and baked to perfection. Simply slice up and serve.
4. Palmiers
Easy palmiers have to be one of the simplest dessert recipes ever. They can be ready in well under an hour, and all you need is 2 ingredients. What could be easier? I recommend using store-bought puff pastry for this picnic dessert recipe, but if you are feeling adventurous, I also have a tutorial on homemade puff pastry.
5. Danish Butter Cookies
Handing around a cute basket of cookies is such a fun way of serving dessert at a picnic. Danish butter cookies (or Danish biscuits) are famous for their soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture and buttery taste. Despite their fancy appearance, they are actually a lot easier to make than you might think.
6. Earl Grey Macarons With Lemon Curd Filling
Dainty macarons are always a hit, and you'll score a lot of points if you make these little desserts for a picnic. Almond meringue cookie shells are delicately flavored with Earl Grey tea and sandwiched together with a lemon curd filling. Super cute picnic desserts that everyone will love!
Take my online macaron class if this is your first time and you want some of my expert guidance on making these famous French pastries.
7. Coconut Muffins
Summer picnic menus can't be complete without some muffins. Made with shredded (desiccated) coconut, vanilla extract, and perfectly balanced sugar, these tasty summer muffins bring both amazing flavor and texture to the party.
8. Red Velvet Brownies
Regardless of the season or occasion, brownies are always popular picnic desserts. Fudgy and dense red velvet brownies with rich marbled cream cheese crackly tops are irresistible to kids and adults alike and trust me when I say that these will disappear very, very fast.
9. Boozy Orange Aperol Spritz Cake
If you love an Aperol Spritz cocktail, you'll love this cake version that is just as tasty and beautiful to look at. A moist, brown sugar yogurt cake is topped with oranges that are soaked with Aperol Spritz, giving the whole dessert the unmistakable taste of the famous Italian cocktail.
10. Pistachio Muffins
Muffins are a very easy dessert to serve at a picnic as they don't require a plate or cutlery, and everyone can have one (or several) of their own. And there's no cake mix here, only 100% natural ingredients to bake the most flavorful, moist, and fluffy muffins topped with homemade pistachio butter.
11. Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers
Turnovers are similar to apple hand pies and work so well as fruity picnic desserts as they are hand-held and easy to transport. Puff pastry turnovers are perfectly flaky & crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside with the taste and texture of apple pie but more transportable. And what's more, they are ready in under an hour.
12. Strawberry Muffins
Love fruit desserts but also love baked goods at a picnic too? Super moist, light, and fluffy strawberry muffins are the dessert for you. They'll be prepped and baked in 30 minutes, and the whole family will love the hint of vanilla with fresh strawberry flavor.
13. French Financiers
These fancy little French financiers are so cute and work really well as portable desserts for picnics. In my easy recipe, I'll teach you how to make these tea cakes in 3 different flavors; almond, hazelnut, and pistachio. You can experiment with adding fillings or other flavors like spices and citrus zest and really put your own spin on things, nevertheless they are cute picnic desserts.
14. Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake
Searching for a chocolate dessert for a picnic? A loaf cake is surely one of the best desserts for outdoor party gatherings. It is very easy to transport, slice up and serve and does not require refrigeration, so you can also make it in advance. And when the cake is a pretty marbled mixture of chocolate and vanilla sponge, even better!
15. Lemon Muffins
Be warned; you certainly won't be able to stop after eating one of these lemon muffins. The lemon glaze alone will have you reaching for another! The batter is made with both oil and butter, and it means they are super light and fluffy and packed with a sweet citrus taste.
16. Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Surely, no picnic is complete without chocolate chip cookies? And I love adding chopped walnuts and a pinch of sea salt to enhance the flavors and balance the sweetness. No doubt, this is certainly an indulgent cookie recipe you cannot miss. These cookies are the perfect easy picnic desserts for a crowd!
17. Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake
Imagine a flavorful and moist yogurt cake topped with sticky and sweet caramelized banana topping. The magic of upside-down cakes is that all of the moisture from the topping slowly seeps down into the rest of the cake once it is flipped over, giving it the most incredible texture.
18. Raspberry Muffins
Who doesn't love individual picnic desserts that have their own wrapper and don't need a plate or a fork? Raspberry muffins will save you time as well as stop you from needing to bring extra serving equipment with you. What could be better? And then there's the amazing fruity flavor that makes this easy muffin recipe a total winner as one of the best summer desserts.
19. Mojito Pound Cake
You can choose to make this unusual picnic dessert recipe with or without the rum, but either way, it's a beautifully aromatic, sweet, and tangy cake. The cake is spiked with lime zest for the most refreshing and zingy flavor, and then the mojito syrup glaze will have all the guests reaching for more.
20. Brownie Blondies
If you can't decide between brownies or blondies but love them both, this is the dessert for you. A deliciously moist and chewy texture, amazingly chocolate and vanilla flavor, and the most visually arresting marbled appearance are the winning formula for a knockout picnic dessert idea.
21. Vanilla Muffins
Sometimes, the simplest flavors and ideas are the best. Vanilla muffins have all the sweet flavor and delicious fluffy texture but don't overcomplicate things. So even the fussiest eaters will enjoy them! My easy recipe uses butter and oil to ensure they stay moist days after baking them, which means you can make them in advance, too.
Read my guide on how to store muffins to keep them fresh.
22. Classic Madeleines
Why not bring a classic French treat to the picnic so that guests can nibble on them as they chat and mingle? Delicate in appearance and taste yet extremely easy to make, you'll definitely be popular if you make them.
23. Peach Cake
Fresh and ripe summer peaches play the main character role in this delicious summer cake. The peach thyme compote on top of a yogurt cake has the most amazing flavor and texture. What's more, it is very easy, so this is the perfect cake to make for a picnic, even if you are a beginner in the kitchen.
24. Walnut Babka
You won't need any fancy ingredients or special kitchen equipment for this beautiful babka. It's a recipe that comes together really easily and is completely achievable, even if you are a beginner. I give you all my baking tips and full instructions on how to make the pillowy brioche dough and twist it into shape.
25. Mini Bundt Cakes
You can make mini bundt cakes in so many flavor combinations and really tailor them to any event! Plus, mini desserts are so cute. I'll show you how to make cute mini bundt cakes in raspberry, lemon-poppy seed, and chocolate flavors, and then you can go off-piste from there, inventing some of your own.
26. Peach Galette
Here's another picnic recipe with summer peaches to enjoy! Galettes are so versatile, and loading the pastry up with peaches results in the best contrast between the juicy baked fruit and crisp pie crust base. If you have the means to bring chilled whipped cream with you to your picnic, it's a dream partnership, but it tastes just as delicious on its own.
27. Banana Bread
Everyone's favorite recipe that's easy to eat with your hands! Either spread with butter or enjoyed plain, banana bread is the most moist and tasty dessert you can take anywhere. And if you have overripe bananas going spare, it really is the best way to use them up.
28. Rhubarb Cake
Strawberry and rhubarb are a flavor pairing made in heaven. And when their sweet and juicy flavors are combined with a moist sponge cake, it really is like winning the taste lottery. Try making this easy yet impressive dessert for a picnic, and it's sure to be a hit.
29. Fig Frangipane Tart
I love it when figs come into season. And the taste of these fig and frangipane tarts is insane; you won't be able to get enough! A sweet pastry shell is filled with frangipane (almond cream) and figs and baked into a beautiful and incredibly delicious pastry. Perfect for an elegant picnic party.
30. Sugar Donuts
Sweet, crunchy, and hard to resist, these homemade sugar donuts are the perfect mid-day treat alongside coffee or tea or as a post-dinner dessert. This easy sugar donuts recipe is a breeze, requiring only eight ingredients and 30 minutes of your time. Super easy to transport them and everyone loves them!
30. Beignets
Popular in French cuisine and a staple in the Louisiana city of New Orleans, these New Orleans-style homemade beignets are fun to make and hard to resist! Their light, sweet, and pillowy texture make them the perfect treat to enjoy any time of day: For breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert on a picnic.
32. Peanut Butter Cups
Looking for easy no-bake picnic desserts? Surely this is one of the easiest desserts to make, as it only has a handful of basic ingredients and doesn't require an oven! Chocolate peanut butter cups will always disappear fast, though, so be sure to make more than you think you will need. A major benefit is how many you can fit in Tupperware, so this is a super portable dessert that will feed a crowd.
33. Summer Watermelon Fruit Salad
A summer fruit salad is a light and refreshing dessert for picnics that is perfect for hotter weather. The tart lime dressing tones down the sweetness of the berries, and the watermelon makes every mouthful a burst of juicy fruit flavor.
34. Blackberry Pie Bars
Pie bars are another dessert that is so easy to transport and serve. You can slice them up and stack them or leave them in the tray to make things even easier. Hand them around on a platter or let guests serve themselves; the fresh summer flavors are super tasty, and the topping gives every bite the best crunch ever.
35. Buttery Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
These oatmeal cookies have a thin, crisp edge and the best soft chewy center; it's the dream! The addition of coconut is the magic ingredient that creates this texture, and the flavor is not overpowering, so even coconut haters will enjoy them.
They're a healthier dessert to make for a picnic, and I guarantee everyone will love the sweet and salty flavor. I also think you could add some white chocolate chips and make white chocolate oatmeal cookies to be more decadent.
Picnic Desserts FAQs
Cookies, brownies, fruit dessert recipes, and sheet cakes work well at picnics as they are easy to transport, full of summer flavor, and do not need a fridge.
Cakes, muffins, and cupcakes without frosting all travel well in heat and do not require a fridge. Avoid desserts like New York cheesecake bars or anything with cream cheese frosting.
Desserts that are easy to serve and do not need a fridge like sheet cakes, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, or muffins.
Related Picnic Desserts That Don't Need Refrigeration
Top 35 Best Picnic Desserts
Ingredients
Top 35 Best Picnic Desserts
- Lemonade Bundt Cake
- Sweet Potato Muffins
- Blueberry Galette
- Palmiers
- Danish Butter Cookies
- Earl Grey Macarons With Lemon Curd Filling
- Coconut Muffins
- Red Velvet Brownies
- Boozy Orange Aperol Spritz Cake
- Pistachio Muffins
- Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers
- Strawberry Muffins
- French Financiers
- Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake
- Lemon Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
- Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake
- Raspberry Muffins
- Mojito Pound Cake
- Brownie Blondies
- Vanilla Muffins
- Classic Madeleines
- Peach Cake
- Walnut Babka
- Mini Bundt Cakes
- Peach Galette
- Banana Bread
- Rhubarb Cake
- Fig Frangipane Tart
- Sugar donuts
- Beignets
- Peanut Butter Cups
- Summer Watermelon Fruit Salad
- Blackberry Pie Bars
- Buttery Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
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