For anyone who loves food, Thanksgiving dinner is probably the best meal of the year. The food options are bountiful and endless, and all you need to worry about doing afterward is spending three days cozied up at home. The days leading up to Thanksgiving, though, can be a different story. Gathering and cooking all of that food can be stressful, especially if you’re relatively new to the game. But then enter: no-bake Thanksgiving desserts.
Turkey takes forever to cook. So when it comes to whipping up Thanksgiving dessert, you need to plan for the fact that your oven will be occupied for three to four hours on Thursday afternoon. Then there’s the fact that you can’t just skip certain side dishes because you feel overwhelmed—everyone has a different favorite, so you need to go all out with a full spread in order to not ruin anyone’s holiday.
While I love a good pumpkin pie as much as anyone, I’ve learned that the smartest way to handle dessert is to either bake a few pies far in advance, or just ask that guests each bring one. And to make sure you have something to contribute to the sweets table, I advise choosing a simple, no-bake dessert that you can prep at least a day ahead of time, and just pull out of the fridge or freezer when the time is right.
The 12 no-bake Thanksgiving desserts below range from single-serve parfaits to a delicious pumpkin cheesecake. All are easy, tasty, and will fit right in with your holiday spread.Pumpkin Cheesecake Not a pie person? This pumpkin cheesecake might be right up your alley.Pumpkin Icebox Cake Freezer desserts aren’t just for summertime. This easy pumpkin icebox cake is made with layers of graham crackers, so it also tastes a whole lot like pie.Chocolate-Oatmeal Bars Forget cookies.