15 Sweet Strawberry Dessert Recipes Perfect for Celebrating Summer (2024)

When summer comes around, those cartons of fresh strawberries at the grocery store are too tempting to pass up. With shortcakes, ice cream, cheesecake, and more, we have some of the best strawberry dessert recipes to celebrate your haul all season long. Warning: mouthwatering strawberry sweets ahead!

17 Deliciously Easy Summer Desserts Sure to Be a Hassle-Free Hit

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Strawberry, Mango & Rose Pavlova

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Edible rose petals, macerated (aka sugar-marinated) berries, and mangoes adorn this unique strawberry dessert recipe. Don't be intimidated by the pavlova; just follow our two secrets for success: Start with room-temperature egg whites and leave the oven door firmly in place while the meringue cooks and cools.

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Strawberry Hand Pies

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Fighting over who gets the largest slice of pie is a thing of the past. This single-serving strawberry dessert recipe guarantees everyone gets their fair share of the sweet selection. Making the dough in your food processor also gets the job done super-quick (with less mess). Use any extra strawberry filling by stirring it into oatmeal the following morning.

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Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake Minis

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With a salted pretzel crust and a citrus and strawberry filling, these creamy single-serving cheesecakes hit all the same flavor notes you know and love from your go-to Mexican restaurant beverage.

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Best Strawberry Shortcake

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The best part about shortcake? The strawberry filling, of course. Made with fresh-from-the-garden berries and a spoonful (or two) of sugar, this dessert has just the right level of sweetness.

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Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits

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A clear Mason jar allows the pretty stripes to steal the show in this lovely layered strawberry dessert recipe. Mix up your shortcakes with our lemon-poppy seed variation. It will change the way you think about biscuits!

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Best-Ever Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

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No strawberry dessert recipe list is complete without the quintessential strawberry rhubarb pie! This best-ever version with a buttery crust is a favorite from our Red Plaid cookbook.

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Strawberry S'mores Cobbler

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Take s'mores beyond basic status with a fruity campfire cobbler. This grillable version tosses citrus-strawberry filling into the heat and finishes with toasted marshmallows.

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Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

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Serve a crowd at your next bake sale or potluck with this delightful mini dessert idea. Who can resist a shortbread-crusted cheesecake topped with strawberries and drizzled with honey?

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Strawberry Shortcake Scones

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Pinkies up! This tea-time treat is flaky, fruity, and fit for a queen. You can thank ricotta cheese for the scone recipe's extra-tender texture.

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Dark Chocolate Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

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Introducing the most indulgent strawberry dessert you've ever had: endless layers of fudgy, dark chocolate cake smeared in strawberry-vanilla bean cream. Fork, please!

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Six-Layer Strawberry Cake

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Keep the strawberries coming with this sweet and moist six-layer cake. Add 2 Tbsp. of strawberry liqueur for additional fruit flavor, and sprinkle on coconut flakes and white chocolate curls after frosting for extra eye appeal.

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Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cakes

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If you love pairing strawberries and chocolate, wait until you get a taste of these upside-down decadent chocolate cupcakes. We've smothered them in a rich ganache before topping them off with a juicy strawberry.

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Roasted Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

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Prolong the life of fresh summer strawberries by roasting them and adding them to homemade frozen yogurt. Add flavor with crushed pretzels and freeze-dried strawberries.

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Strawberry Meringue Cookies

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Six ingredients (including salt and sugar) is all it takes to whip up these light and airy strawberry cookies. Fold in a homemade strawberry sauce and bake until crisp.

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Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake

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This mashup of strawberry shortcake and tres leches cake is a must-try. As one BHG home cook raved, "My kids loved the recipe because it is not super sweet. The cake part is dense and does not rise much, almost like a thick cookie that did taste like shortbread. I soaked it overnight but it was still not really soft. The sauce that you soak it in is delicious."

15 Sweet Strawberry Dessert Recipes Perfect for Celebrating Summer (2024)

FAQs

How to make strawberries sweeter overnight? ›

In this case, I used about 1/4 cup of sugar and a 1/2 quart of strawberries and let them sit overnight. It's best to use at least 2 tablespoons sugar per cup of berries and increase the amount based on the tartness of the berries. Some of mine were pretty tart and I wanted them to be nice and sweet.

How to make strawberries better? ›

Add a little sugar and salt! Wash your strawberries, cut them, and hit them with a pinch of salt and a couple good three-finger pinches of granulated sugar, give them a little tossy-toss, and watch them magically start to darken and get extra juicy.

What is the secret to sweet strawberries? ›

Growing Sweet Strawberries

If your strawberries aren't sweet, look at your current soil conditions. Strawberries perform best in well-drained, fertile, and slightly acidic soils. In fact, these plants tend to yield more and are sweeter when grown in compost-enriched, sandy soil.

What happens when you put sugar on strawberries? ›

Sugar maceration is well-suited for strawberries because its hygroscopic properties draw out the water in the berries, creating a syrupy juice. As the berries macerate, they gently collapse, forming a jammy consistency that is ideal for spooning over ice cream, yogurt, or cake.

What is the fastest way to sweeten strawberries? ›

Directions. Put the strawberries in a bowl, add the sugar, zest and vanilla and stir. Leave to macerate for 30 minutes at room temperature. The sugar will soften the fruit and draw delicious juices out to make a delicious syrup.

Does Epsom salt make strawberries sweeter? ›

Delicious Fruits

Adding Epsom salt to your fruits and vegetables soil will mean sweeter fruit and delicious vegetables. The Epsom salt will help to boost the chlorophyll levels in your fruit and nut trees. The more chlorophyl means more energy, and more energy means sweeter fruit.

What is the healthiest way to sweeten strawberries? ›

The taste difference is marginal at best so if you're desperate for a sprinkling of sugar over your strawberries, Stevia is the healthier option. If you're looking for something that's easier to mix into a bowl, agave syrup is another naturally-occurring and tasty alternative that will sweeten strawberries.

How can I sweeten strawberries without sugar? ›

Macerated means to soften or sweeten by soaking in a liquid. It is the perfect way to sweeten strawberries that aren't as sweet or ripe as you would like them. Fruit can be macerated in a liquid such as balsamic vinegar or liquor but it can also be macerated in sugar.

What brings out the flavour of strawberries? ›

Strawberries simply taste best when they are warm, such as when they are first picked and still kissed by the sun or when they are brought up to warm room temperature. You can do a lot to improve the flavor of your strawberries just by letting them sit out on a counter to warm up before you serve them.

Does soaking strawberries in vinegar make them sweeter? ›

A mixture of vinegar and water can destroy harmful bacteria and kill off mold spores on the strawberries. Vinegar gives berries a thorough cleaning and can get rid of any dirt or little bugs that may be on them. Soaking your berries in vinegar won't affect how they taste.

What does coffee grounds do for strawberries? ›

Because coffee grounds are slightly acidic, they are ideal for strawberries and other plants that prefer a slightly acidic soil. Although coffee grounds are high in nitrogen, they should not be used as the only fertiliser for strawberries, as they contain hardly any other nutrients.

What spices enhance strawberries? ›

I highly recommend chopped mint, basil and lavender, which add surprising depth to a bowl of strawberries. Skip the rest of them, especially tarragon and sage, which clash completely with strawberry's bright flavors.

Does putting sugar on strawberries make them sweeter? ›

The sugar will coax out the berries' juices, creating a thick and succulent syrup, while the strawberries will deepen in flavor and soften in texture. The result is a versatile, sweet-tart topping that's hard to resist.

How to sweeten strawberries without using sugar? ›

Lay your strawberries out on a baking tray and put them in a pre-heated oven at 350 °F (177 °C) for about 20 minutes. The heat from your oven will cause the natural sugars within the strawberry to concentrate, making them sweeter to your tongue.

Does vinegar make strawberries sweeter? ›

A mixture of vinegar and water can destroy harmful bacteria and kill off mold spores on the strawberries. Vinegar gives berries a thorough cleaning and can get rid of any dirt or little bugs that may be on them. Soaking your berries in vinegar won't affect how they taste.

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