14 Memorial Day Desserts to Start a Sweet Summer

Make the start of summer even sweeter with an all-American pie, crowd-pleasing lemon bars, frozen treats, and desserts you can grill. These sweet ideas include red, white, and blue tributes and celebrations of the fruits of the season. Turn fresh blueberries, strawberries, and watermelon into picture-worthy panna cotta, fruity pie fillings and toppings, and nostalgic popsicles, with these fun and festive Memorial Day dessert recipes to enjoy all weekend — and all summer long.

Whole-Fruit Rocket Pops

Jennifer Causey

Gail Simmons celebrates summer and the simple pleasure of frozen treats with these strawberry, banana, and blueberry popsicles.

St. Louis–Style Cheesecake with Blueberries

Johnny Autry

Andrae Bopp tops a luscious no-fuss cheesecake with a blueberry or huckleberry sauce — use whichever is fresh near you to celebrate the season.

Strawberry Slab Pie

Food & Wine / Andrew Purcell

Pastry chef Joanne Chang has the perfect pie for transitioning from spring to summer with a a sweet, jammy filling of strawberries and orange zest with a buttery crust.

Grilled S’mores Pie

Grilled S’mores Pie.

Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee

Recipe developer Ali Ramee reformats the joy of s’mores with a graham cracker crust, chocolate ganache filling, and gooey toasted marshmallow topping, cooked in a skillet on a closed ceramic grill.

No-Churn Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Shell Royster

Recipe developer Adam Dolge shares the keys to rich, creamy, fluffy frozen yogurt using a whole vanilla bean and higher milk fat percentage Greek yogurt. Plan for four hours of freezing.

Lemon Bars

Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Gabe Greco

Recipe developer Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman spoons sweet-tart lemony custard atop buttery, slightly salty shortbread crust for lemon bars packed with bright, tart flavor.

Skillet Brownies on the Grill

Victor Protasio

Chef Valerie Gordon butters a cast-iron skillet for these fudgy, smoky brownies cooked over hot coals with a charcoal grill.

Strawberry Granita with Sweet Pesto

Victor Protasio

Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson makes the most flavorful granita pairing sweet, juicy, tangy strawberries with honey-sweetened pesto and whipped cream.

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Pie

Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Debbie Wee

Serve slices of this traditional pie with a flaky pastry crust showcasing summer’s blueberry bounty with this recipe from David Page and Barbara Shinn of Shinn Estate Vineyards and Farmhouse.

Grape-Margarita Paletas

Photo by Johnny Autry / Food and Prop Styling by Charlotte Autry

Fany Gerson concentrates and caramelizes grapes by roasting them in the oven until they begin to burst. Then she processes them into a grape juice mixture and stirs in Blanco tequila and lemon juice for this cocktail popsicle.

Blueberry Panna Cotta with Blueberry Chia Pudding

Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee

Pastry chef Paola Velez delivers a creamy dessert with pops of texture and bright berry flavor combining blueberry panna cotta, a blueberry and chia seed pudding, and a pile of fresh blueberries.

Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches

Food & Wine / Photo by Stacy Allen / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Tucker Vines

Chef Taffy Elrod sandwiches no-churn cream cheese ice cream between cakey red velvet cookies for a sure crowd-pleaser that can be prepared in advance.