20 No-Bake Thanksgiving Desserts
There's no rule that says all great Thanksgiving desserts have to come from an oven. If baking's not your bag, or your oven will be otherwise occupied (looking at you, turkey), check out these no-bake Thanksgiving desserts you can make without touching that oven dial.
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Chef John's Dark Chocolate Mousse
A pinch of chile powder intensifies the chocolatey goodness of this rich and creamy dessert. After a quick 20-minute stovetop prep, you can spoon the mousse into individual glasses, ramekins, or cups to chill in the fridge. Top with extra whipped cream and shaved chocolate to make it photo-ready.
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Slow Cooker Apple Crisp
Talk about an easy dump dessert. This apple crisp is made entirely in the slow cooker but will still have the crispy topping and tender apples that you love in the traditional oven-baked version. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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Pumpkin Crumble Yogurt Parfait
Pumpkin purée flavored with maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice is layered with Greek yogurt and granola to make light and attractive pumpkin desserts.
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Tiramisu II
Store-bought ladyfinger cookies are soaked in rum and coffee, and layered in a serving dish with enriched mascarpone and whipped cream. After an overnight soak in the fridge, this Italian dessert gets a dusting of cocoa powder to embellish before serving.
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Low-Fat Pumpkin Flan
"This delicious pumpkin flan is the result of an experiment in replacing the recipe's usual cream and half-and-half with low-fat milk," says recipe creator Chef John. Since it needs to cool in the fridge for at least four hours, you can easily make it the day before and just stash it away. Reviewer cocakay says, "This recipe is easy and makes delicious flan. I have added pumpkin whipped cream plus a ginger cookie!"
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No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake
This elegant looking dessert takes a few shortcuts, such as using graham crackers instead of baked puff pastry for the layers and vanilla pudding instead of pastry cream for the filling, but reviewers have awarded it a solid 5-star rating. "This recipe is definitely a 'keeper.' My husband who usually doesn't eat many sweets couldn't get enough of this cake! He kept going back for more! The kids also loved it and they are picky eaters," says 1BUSYMNTX.Â
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Peanut Butter Pie
You can use a ready-made graham cracker crumb or Oreo cookie crumb pie crust for this recipe. MARPRINC went totally rogue and froze the pie before adding a layer of hot fudge sauce, and then topped it with whipped cream.
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Buckeye Cookies III
Looking like they just dropped off a chestnut tree, these chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls would make an eye-catching addition to a dessert buffet.
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No-Bake Chocolate Oat Bars
You're going to want to save room for these kind-of-good-for-you layers of oats and dark chocolate and peanut butter. Home cook KRANEY raves, "What a great dessert! Took me only 15 minutes, start to finish. Very rich — a small bar goes a long way!"
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Boardwalk Quality Maple Walnut Fudge
Guess what? You can make this creamy rich fudge in your microwave. For another layer of flavor, pan-toast the walnuts and let them cool before adding them to the mix. House of Aqua declares, "Seriously, this stuff is amazing! I got the idea from another who made this recipe to use some candy cup papers and I used a small cookie scoop to measure fudge into each cup. The papers peel off easily and you have perfect looking and even tastier fudge!"
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Poached Pears Belle Helene
If you want to impress the heck out of your Thanksgiving guests, dish up these elegant (and surprisingly easy) poached pears. Just serve them with ice cream and a pool of ready-made chocolate sauce, and take your compliments like a grown-up.
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Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Chocolate-coated crispy rice cereal forms the crust for this no-bake cheesecake. Even though it's quite rich, you'll be surprised by how quick and easy the whole thing is to prep. JIXJAX recommends taking it out of the freezer at least 15 minutes before serving to make it easier to slice through the chocolate.
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Double Layer Pumpkin Pie
This delicious and gorgeous double-layer pie has a layer of traditional cheesecake and a layer of pumpkin cheesecake for the best of both worlds. With its light and fluffy texture, guests will devour this pie even faster than your regular pumpkin pie.
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Paleo Raw Carrot Cake
This no-bake carrot cake uses raw ingredients that happen to be paleo- and vegan-friendly. "Made with a carrot, date, and walnut base, this delicious cake is topped with a silky cashew maple coconut icing that's surprisingly healthy and good for you. This is what carrot cake dreams are made of," Megan Olson says.
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The Best Banana Pudding
For some Southern families, Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without banana pudding. But even non-Southerners would delight in this top-rated, no-bake recipe
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Chocolate Pie
This chocolate pudding pie is easy to make and sets up in just an hour, so you can make it right before your guests arrive and it will be ready by the time you're finished eating dinner. Use a graham cracker or Oreo crust and your favorite chocolate pudding mix to make this pie a winner this holiday.
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No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
Fill a pie crust with cream cheese, whipped topping, powdered sugar, and pumpkin pie filling to create this cross between two of our favorite desserts. Reviewers recommend freezing it to set it (versus refrigerating it). Or, take a cue from reviewer Amanda: "This pie really had the flavors of fall and would be great to make ahead and freeze!"
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Gingersnap Pumpkin Trifle
This trifle not only tastes great with gingersnaps, pumpkin cheesecake, vanilla pudding, candied pecans, and whipped cream, but it will also look beautiful on your dessert table. And the best part is it only takes 30 minutes to whip up, although your guests will think you spent all day making it.
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Maple-Pumpkin Pudding in the Slow Cooker
Thank goodness for slow cookers because this dessert is the perfect set-and-forget. Reviewers say this pudding tastes like pumpkin pie without the crust, and it's so much easier to make than a traditional pie. Although the recipe says to cook it for six hours, reviewers say it is ready to serve in just two.
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Easiest Pumpkin Mousse
Serve this tasty mousse on its own or as an icing over your favorite Thanksgiving cake. If you love pumpkin flavor, reviewers suggest using pumpkin pudding mix instead of vanilla for a more intense flavor. "It was very good, very light, and very refreshing," says Allrecipes Allstar Yoly.