16 Easy Desserts for a Crowd (Because You’re Having a Million People Over This Weekend)
Desserts taste better when you’re sharing them, right? Baking for a group may be daunting, but with sweet recipes designed to feed a crowd, you don’t have to get overwhelmed by the dessert course. These easy cakes, cookies, pies, crisps and more take any stress out of serving dessert to your squad and are totally worth the sugary results (and compliments).
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1. Easy Cherry Skillet Cake
Not only is skillet cake delicious, it’s also rustic and cute. Top each slice with some French vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce for an extra-decadent treat.
2. Ombré Citrus Upside-Down Cake
If you can slice oranges, you can make this impressive-looking cake. (Plus, it’s full of vitamin C, so it’s practically a fruit salad, right?)
3. Checkerboard Cake
This gorgeous cake is deceptively easy. Just mix up two packages of boxed cake mix and follow the simple instructions to bake a checkerboard pattern.
4. Giant Cinnamon Roll
The only thing better than a freshly baked cinnamon roll? A giant freshly baked cinnamon roll. Pizza dough acts as the base for a quick and easy crowd-pleaser that leaves your house smelling next-level delicious.
5. Slow-Cooker Salted-Caramel Rice Pudding
This decadent dessert practically cooks itself and serves eight people. The pudding is great warm, at room temperature or chilled and lasts up to five days in the fridge.
6. Avocado Chocolate Mousse
If you can use a blender, you can whip up this restaurant-quality, healthy-ish chocolate dessert. (Note: This recipe serves four, so double or triple it for a crowd.)
7. Perfect Instant Pot New York Cheesecake
A beautiful cheesecake is great for every occasion, and honestly, a group setting is best for this easy-to-make dessert, because leftovers are dangerous.
8. Deep-Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie with Caramel and Sea Salt
Remember those incredible cookie cakes your family would order every year on your birthday? Well, now it can be your birthday every damn day of the year.
9. Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
How long has it been since you’ve had a homemade Rice Krispie treat? Probably way too long. Let’s change that, shall we?
10. Crinkle-Top Brownies
Every group get-together is better with a tray of brownies, especially when they’re homemade. Dust them with confectioner’s sugar right before the group is ready to dig in.
11. The Best Apple Crisp
It takes only 20 minutes to whip up an apple crisp, and your squad will devour it even quicker. Have ice cream, whipped cream or blue cheese crumbles (!!) at the ready to top this treat.
12. Chocolate Peanut Butter Freezer Fudge
You’ll be inviting friends over just to have an excuse to make a big batch of this super-easy, four-ingredient vegan fudge.
13. Five-Ingredient Burnt Basque Cheesecake
This crust-free cheesecake, found in Spain’s Basque Country, is sophisticated and European, but also ridiculously easy to make.
14. Browned Butter Salted-Caramel Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Salty, sweet, gooey and ready to eat with your hands, no other dessert needs to exist after you make a big batch of these bars.
15. Chocolate Pecan Cobbler
Appearance isn’t the most important part of this decadent chocolate cobbler, which is ideal for newbie bakers. Serve it warm and your book club will be asking for the recipe (and a repeat invitation).
16. Chocolate Cherry ‘Nice Cream’
Yay, a frozen dessert that’s paleo, vegan and crazy delicious. The recipe serves two, so just scale it to accommodate your crowd (plus leftovers), who will be blown away by your healthy ice cream alternative.
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