Easy Dessert Recipes with 5 Ingredients (Or Less!)

Sometimes all you need is a yummy dessert without the fuss of fishing out ten different containers to make one dish. All the recipes in this collection are made with five or fewer ingredients, ensuring you’re never more than a few steps and ingredients away from sweet treat bliss.

Desserts with 5 Ingredients or Less

These easy dessert recipes taste amazing. From no bake dessert, brownies, and cookie dough, to layers of goodness piled into a graham cracker crust, there is something for every occasion.

While we love store-bought desserts there is something magical about bringing a homemade dessert that is quick and easy to make!

Who knew cake batter could be turned into so many easy desserts!

Crockpot Caramel Sauce

Finding a one-ingredient recipe is rare, but the story begins here with this easy-as-pie caramel sauce. Who knew all you need to do to achieve perfect caramel sauce boils down to one simple step of submerging a can of sweetened condensed milk in a hot bath for a few hours?

2-Ingredient Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie Cups

These clever two-ingredient apple pie tarts use premade cinnamon roll dough for the cup portion and apple pie filling for the inside.

However, you can also make homemade cinnamon apples if you feel crafty and don’t want to use a canned product. They’re incredibly delicious with caramel sauce, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or both - we won’t judge!

2-Ingredient Lemon Bars

Whether you go for classic lemon, as in this recipe, or another fruit, you can’t go wrong with bakery-fresh fruit bars.

Switch up the flavor of these two-ingredient treats using a different canned or homemade pie filling variety. The angel food cake mix in these lemon bars makes them light and fluffy to the palate.

Caramel Apple Dump Cake

The fall carnival treat inspires this four-ingredient caramel apple dump cake made with a yellow cake mix.

While we chose to bake ours, this recipe adapts readily to the Crock Pot if you prefer this preparation method.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Our household also affectionately refers to this sweet and salty snack as “Christmas crack.”

We made ours with red, green, and white sprinkles to go with the holiday theme, but you can use any color or combination that goes with your desired theme. This recipe also works fantastically with milk or white chocolate chips.

Snickers Salad

We settled on the name “salad” after struggling with what to call this sweet combination of vanilla instant pudding, Cool Whip, apples, and Snickers chunks. We used green granny smith apples in our recipe.

2-Ingredient Coconut Macaroons

These two-ingredient coconut macaroons are proof that making fantastic food doesn’t have to involve overcomplicated processes.

Add chocolate to the mix by drizzling or dipping the macaroons in chocolate for more decadence. Hello, yum to a swoon-worthy sweet treat that comes together in minutes!

Grab a bag of coconut flakes and sweetened condensed milk and you can make an easy dessert!

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake

This pumpkin pie filling and angel food cake mix dessert can be made in a Bundt cake pan for an extra touch of elegance.

Need a heavier topping than whipped cream? Vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce are great garnish options for this five-ingredient cake.

Church Window Cookies

The stained glass effect on these classic four-ingredient Christmas cookies comes from multicolored pastel mini marshmallows, and the no-bake aspect makes them excellent for involving kids in their preparation during holiday gatherings.

We have seen these prepared with pieces of pecans or other nut varieties. To add a bit of crunch to the no bake cookie.

Chocolate-Covered Potato Chips

Pro-tip - you don’t always have to decide between salty and sweet when it comes to snack time, and when in doubt, you can combine both!

Also, don’t be afraid to swap the Ruffles for pretzels if you prefer going that route; you’ll still be at a total of two ingredients for this recipe.

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Serve brunch in a snap with this creative use of refrigerated cinnamon rolls, which is also the sole ingredient in this recipe.

If you don’t want to use the cream cheese frosting in the package, you can whip up a topping using powdered sugar, butter, and maple syrup.

Red, White, and Blue Angel Food Cake

This three-ingredient mishmash angel food cake is refreshing with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream; these additions also accentuate the Fourth of July theme.

If you're making this cake for a different themed event, swap the red and blue food dyes for other colors and complementary add-ons.

Earth Day Cookies

Celebrate Earth Day any day of the year with these easy-peasy five-ingredient sugar cookies made with blue and green food dye.

Cherry Cheesecake Dip

No-bake, make-ahead desserts that can be quickly whipped up for a crowd we’re entertaining are winners in our book.

We mix this four-ingredient cherry and cream cheese dip with a hand mixer to achieve the perfect consistency for dipping pleasure. For a flavor upgrade, blend in some vanilla extract.

This dip takes no bake cheesecake to a whole new level of goodness.

2-Ingredient Oreo Bark

Cookies and cream candy bark made with two ingredients? Yes, please!

Booty Dip

Although this cream cheese and chocolate chip dessert dip comes from the young world of TikTok, it is made with four classic pantry staples.

Classic Rice Krispie Treats

One of the keys to perfecting this four-ingredient schoolyard treat involves melting the marshmallows on low and slow heat so they don’t harden too much.

Cinnamon Roll King Cake

While you may be tempted to purchase a New Orleans king cake to celebrate Mardi Gras, this two-ingredient take on the dessert is also a viable and effortless option.

Kool-Aid Pie

This fun four-ingredient recipe can be adapted to your desired color or flavor using different Kool-Aid mixes.

For example, we used cherry in ours for a pink Valentine’s Day-friendly, but you can use the lime or green apple varieties if you prefer those flavors and colors. This pack of 22 flavors retailed on Amazon opens a world of possibilities for this no-bake pie.

Marshmallow Fluff Fruit Dip

We love making a big bowl of this three-ingredient dip with a  fresh fruit platter and Graham crackers or Nilla wafers.

Raspberries, blueberries, bananas, and strawberries are some of our favorite things to dip in this fruit dip.

Watergate Salad

As its name suggests, this five-ingredient pistachio pudding salad came from the same-named cake that became popular after the Watergate scandal.

RumChata Pudding Shots

Sweet, milky, and lightly spiced like the Mexican horchata drink, these four-ingredients adults-only pudding shots are for when your pick-me-up needs to be boozy and dessert-like.

Bailey’s Whipped Cream

This whipped Irish cream is inspired by the epic bourbon version that my husband has made for many weekend brunches.

Hot Chocolate Dip

This sweet dip, which can be given a Mexican flair with cinnamon, is also featured in our hot cocoa recipe collection.

Piña Colada Poke Cake

This five-ingredient pineapple poke cake with a whipped coconut topping has summertime flavor and indulgence written all over it, and we’re sure it’ll disappear in your household as quickly as it did in ours the first time we made it.

Drizzle rum over the cake and let it absorb for an adults-only piña colada cocktail-inspired take.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Per my husband’s suggestion, this five-ingredient no-bake pie is topped generously with Reese’s pieces and peanut butter cups around the perimeter.

If you love peanut butter cookies you are going to LOVE this no bake pie. Drizzle a bit of chocolate sauce for a decadent no bake pie.

Bisquick Blueberry Cobbler

Bisquick baking mix turns this simple five-ingredient fruit cobbler into a matter of pouring ingredients and baking to perfection. We highly recommend serving this with a side of vanilla ice cream.

We also have a Bisquick blackberry cobbler, Bisquick Peach Cobbler, and Bisquick Apple Cobbler.

How to Make S’mores in the Oven

This how-to on oven-made s’mores lets you make the three-ingredient campfire treat any day of the year, rain or shine.

RumChata Fudge

The hardest part about making this boozy four-ingredient holiday fudge recipe is waiting for the mixture to rest in the pan, but the idle time is almost entirely offset by the five minutes it takes to prepare it.

We enjoy topping ours with crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal for a crunch and sweet cinnamon spice.

3-Ingredient Oreo Fudge

Do you have white chocolate chips, cake icing, and a pack of Oreos in your kitchen? If so, you’re already halfway to making this homemade take on a confectionery delight.

Red, White, and Blue Cake Mix Cookies

This patriotic sugar cookie only requires four simple ingredients - boxed white cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and sprinkles.

Lemon Dump Cake

The hardest part of making this zesty lemon pie filling and yellow cake mix dessert is waiting for the four-ingredient cake to bake in the oven.

Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

The strawberry lemonade flavor and color of these four-ingredient cake mix cookies come from strawberry and lemon cake mixes.

Cherry Fluff

The world of food changes rapidly, and pulling out vintage favorites like this four-ingredient Cool Whip and marshmallow fluff salad is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the feeling of nostalgia.

Pro tips - drain the pineapple juice so the extra liquid doesn’t affect the texture, and use a large bowl to combine everything.

Serve in a trifle dish with cherries as a garnish for epic presentation.

Golden Graham S’mores Bars

These four-ingredient dessert bars are essentially s’mores reconstructed into Rice Krispie form.

Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade

This scratch-made, four-ingredient copycat version of Chick-fil-A’s frosted lemonade features freshly squeezed lemon juice and two heaping scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

Mix some fun into these three-ingredient devil’s food cake mix cookies with chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, or M&M candies.

We love this fun twist on a classic chocolate chip cookie.

Fruity Pebbles Treats

Let this colorful three-ingredient cereal bar bring cheer to your St. Patrick’s Day or Easter celebrations.

Dunkaroo Dip

Plain and Greek vanilla yogurt work equally well in this three-ingredient dessert dip made with Funfetti cake mix.

Lemon Icebox Pie

Did you know that the lemon icebox pie got its name from early nonelectric refrigerator models, which consisted of insulated boxes kept cold using a block of ice?

The lemonade concentrate in this five-ingredient version makes it bright, sweet, and tangy.

Pie Crust Cookies

Top these three-ingredient refrigerated pie crust cookies with jam or preserves for a sweet breakfast or brunch treat.

Butterfinger Poke Cake

In case you couldn’t tell, we love our candy-inspired sweets! In this recipe, the poke cake format provides ample room for the crushed Butterfingers to melt and pool while baking in the oven, and Cool Whip gives the topping a stable base so that it slices and eats cleanly.

In addition, chocolate cake mix is a valuable shortcut that cuts the ingredients needed to five pantry staples.

2-Ingredient Cinnamon Roll Apple Cobbler

Apple and cinnamon are a sweet combination that works, plain and simple. Apple pie filling and a tube of premade cinnamon roll dough are the only two ingredients needed to make this take on an apple cobbler.

One of our favorite Fall Dessert recipes 

No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls

When making these four-ingredient peanut butter balls, we recommend using a cookie scoop to ensure each size is similar.

Maple Monkey Bread Bites

These four-ingredient maple syrup, cinnamon, and pecan monkey bread bites are oh-so-dippable with a side of classic cream cheese glaze.

2-Ingredient Pineapple Angel Food Cake

Take a homemade trip to the tropics with this two-ingredient angel food cake made with a heaping can of crushed pineapple.

Crockpot Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake

Boxed lemon cake mix and canned blueberry pie filling are the genius shortcuts behind this three-ingredient lemon blueberry dump cake made entirely in your Crock Pot.

3-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins

These three-ingredient pumpkin spice muffins are a warm complement to a brisk fall morning.

2-Ingredient Peach Bars

All is peachy-keen with these two-ingredient peach bars made with boxed angel food cake mix and a can of peach pie filling.

No-Bake Key Lime Pie

No dessert evokes instant feelings of Florida sand and sunshine like the zesty Key lime pie. But did you know this signature dessert comes not from the sunshine state but from a 1931 Borden test kitchen in New York City?

Fresh or prepared Key lime juice work equally well in this five-ingredient no-bake recipe. Store in the fridge for a quick and easy party dessert that can be made ahead of time.

Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Clusters

There’s little a Crock Pot can’t do in the kitchen, including making these delectable four-ingredient chocolate peanut clusters. These can be made with milk chocolate or dark chocolate, try using almonds instead of peanuts for a different chocolate cluster.

Black Forest Cake

These five-ingredient mini loaf cakes are a throwback to our spectacular 2016 trip to Germany.

Carnival Chocolate Melting Cake

You’d never guess that only five ingredients are behind this Carnival Cruise indulgence.

Berry Coconut Sorbet

This tropical and berry-filled sorbet proves that healthy treats can be easily made.

Biscuit Donuts

Don’t forget the donut holes when making this two-ingredient refrigerator biscuit recipe!

We hope these easy dessert recipes helped fulfil any craving you were having!