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Easy sweets for every cookout and potluck.
There’s something about a 9x13 dessert that just feels made for summer—easy to bake, easy to transport, and perfect for scooping out big squares to share. This collection is all about those crowd-pleasing pan desserts that feed a bunch of people without asking too much of you.
From nostalgic, retro-inspired treats like Watergate Cake and Strawberry Sonker to low-lift favorites like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dump Cake and Peach Pie Bars, these are the pan desserts you’ll want to bring to every potluck, cookout, and backyard gathering all summer long.
01 of 20
Easy Lemon Lush
Get Recipe: Easy Lemon Lush
“Lemon Lush is a great dessert to serve at gatherings since it can be made up to two days in advance. Plus, when folks ask to take some leftovers home (and they will), you can tell them they’ll stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two more days.” —Jessica Furniss, Recipe Developer
02 of 20
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dump Cake
Get Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dump Cake
“The best part is how forgiving this cake is. There’s no mixer required and no complicated steps to follow, and it’s very hard to mess up. You simply open store-bought goods, layer, bake, and serve.” —Morgan Baker, Recipe Developer
03 of 20
Blueberry Crumb Bars
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“Both the base and topping are made from the same mix: two-thirds gets pressed into the pan to create the crust and the remaining third gets crumbled over top. This makes these an easy treat to put together with minimal fuss.” —Cindy Rahe, Recipe Developer
04 of 20
Peanut Butter Éclair Cake
Get Recipe: Peanut Butter Éclair Cake
“This is an éclair cake designed for peanut butter and chocolate lovers. It’s made with a short list of simple, easy-to-find ingredients and comes together in very few steps. Once assembled, I let the fridge do all the work.” —Molly Allen, Recipe Developer
05 of 20
Mango Float
Get Recipe: Mango Float
“Mango float is a no-bake, four-ingredient dessert made popular by the Philippines, whose national fruit is the mango. The chilled dessert consists of sweet, ripe mango stacked between layers of whipped cream and held together by crisp graham crackers.” —Elizabeth Ann Quirino, Recipe Developer
06 of 20
Strawberry Sonker
Get Recipe: Strawberry Sonker
“My favorite version of sonker is made with strawberries and is so easy to make that even the most adamant non-baker can whip it up, no problem. Not all sonkers call for precooking the fruit on the stovetop, but because I like my sonker very, very juicy, I find that this is the best way to ensure a dessert that bubbles brightly with sticky strawberry juices, all the better to mingle with melting ice cream on your plate.” —Megan Scott, former Senior Editor
07 of 20
Watergate Cake
Get Recipe: Watergate Cake
“Its name both boosts and hampers it, forever pinning it to an infamous and defining episode of the 1970s. But what if we considered Watergate Cake without the cynicism of the whole affair and its aftermath? It’s a decidedly 1970s recipe with enduring, pistachio-green appeal, supremely of its time yet delicious in any era.” —Sara Bir, former Senior Editor
08 of 20
Lemon Gooey Butter Cake
Get Recipe: Lemon Gooey Butter Cake
“Think blondie meets lemon bars. This sweet treat is buttery and super lemony, with a dense and chewy cake layer on the bottom and a creamy, gooey layer on top. I think the edges are the best part since they’re caramelized and super chewy.” —Sheela Prakash, Recipe Developer
09 of 20
Easy Cherry Dump Cake
Get Recipe: Easy Cherry Dump Cake
“Nothing beats an easy fruit-forward dessert. It’s even better when you only need four ingredients for the base, a can of pie filling, and your favorite vanilla ice cream to pair with it. This cherry dump cobbler checks all of those boxes.” —Molly Allen, Recipe Developer
10 of 20
Pig Pickin’ Cake
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“Pig pickin’ cake isn’t just fun to say—it’s a sweet treat your whole family is sure to enjoy. This tender yellow cake is studded with mandarin oranges and topped with a pineapple whipped cream cheese frosting.” —Sheela Prakash, Recipe Developer
11 of 20
Peach Pie Bars
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“These peach pie bars have all the flavors of a classic summer peach pie without the difficulty and hassle of assembling and baking a homemade pie crust. The easy, buttery crust does double duty as a crumble on top. There’s no chilling, rolling out, or trimming required!” —Stephanie Cho, Recipe Developer
12 of 20
Key Lime Bars
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“Key Lime Pie Bars transform a classic American pie into a tangy hand-held treat, complete with a buttery graham cracker crust and a creamy tart filling. It has all the wonderful flavors of classic Florida Key Lime Pie with no need for a fork!” —Brianne Ross, Recipe Developer
13 of 20
Dump Cake From Scratch
Get Recipe: Dump Cake From Scratch
“The real beauty of this recipe? It is just as easy as the original. It uses ingredients you already have on hand and can be assembled in minutes. It resembles the dump cakes of my youth, but tastes so much better.” —Cindy Rahe, Recipe Developer
14 of 20
No-Bake Orange Creamsicle Bars
Get Recipe: No-Bake Orange Creamsicle Bars
“As a nod to the nostalgic treat, I created these sliceable, no-bake orange creamsicle bars. A graham cracker crust is topped with a creamy filling that uses both orange juice and orange Jell-O for punchy orange flavor.” —Jessica Furniss, Recipe Developer
15 of 20
Sweet Cherry Cobbler
Get Recipe: Sweet Cherry Cobbler
I think it was my grandma’s go-to dessert because on a warm day, it’s simply easier and quicker to make than pie—no chilling the pastry! Like my grandma, I also love cobbler in the summer because it satisfies the urge for a dessert with a bubbling fruit filling and buttery, biscuit-like topping.” —Cindy Rahe, Recipe Developer
16 of 20
Easy Berry Chantilly Cake
Get Recipe: Easy Berry Chantilly Cake
“This riff on the iconic Whole Foods cake is an easy-to-make sheet cake that hits all the flavors of the store-bought version while leaning on the convenience of boxed cake mix. After testing a handful of combinations, I found that zhuzhing the cake mix with milk and a combination of butter and oil resulted in a soft, tight-yet-tender crumb similar to the Whole Foods version.” —Kayla Hoang, Recipe Developer
17 of 20
Broken Glass Jell-O
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“Plan ahead, as this recipe needs two periods of chilling time. You can split it up over a few days if you like, making the colored gelatin on the first day, the creamy gelatin and assembly on the second day, and serving the dessert the next day.” —Elizabeth Ann Quirino, Recipe Developer
18 of 20
Mahogany Cake
Get Recipe: Mahogany Cake
“Chocolate cakes were still a relative novelty in American baking when mahogany cake emerged in the late nineteenth century. Cocoa powder was becoming more widely available, but the dark, deeply chocolatey cakes we know today were still uncommon. Instead, mahogany cake relied on a modest amount of cocoa powder, which, when combined with baking soda and buttermilk, produced the cake’s distinctive reddish-brown hue.” —Sara Bir, former Senior Editor
19 of 20
Butter Mochi
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“Once you’ve had it, Hawaiian butter mochi is one of those treats you’ll never forget. I tried it for the first time in Maui a few years ago, and I can still taste it now. Fresh from the oven, butter mochi is crispy and golden brown on the outside, but hiding within is a tender, moist, mochi-like cake with an almost magical bounce and chewiness.” —Kat Lieu, Recipe Developer
20 of 20
Pink Lemonade Cake
Get Recipe: Pink Lemonade Cake
“If you’re a lemonade lover, then this cake is for you. It’s citrusy, punchy, and just sweet enough—pink lemonade in cake form! It’s also easy to make, thanks to a few clever tricks. The secret ingredient is thawed frozen pink lemonade concentrate, which adds lots of flavor without adding too much liquid.” —Laurel Randolph, Associate Editorial Director
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