Are you looking for quick and easy desserts you can whip together in just minutes? Well, the good news is that there are tons of amazing 3-ingredient desserts.
When you want to serve your family a sweet treat or dessert, you don’t have to have a ton of ingredients in your pantry. Some of our favorite desserts are quick and easy to make. Think of delicious no-cook truffles and chocolate-dipped strawberries. But there are so many other easy desserts you can make with just three ingredients.
Whether you’re planning for an event or have a few friends dropping by, 3 ingredient recipes can be a lifesaver.
Desserts are the highlight of any meal, and you don’t need an elaborate recipe to enjoy a delicious treat. Simplicity is the key. In this article, we’ll share some mouthwatering 3-ingredient dessert recipes with you. Whether you’re short on time or new to baking, these easy recipes will help you prepare delectable desserts without any hassle.
You’ll be surprised at the variety of delightful combinations that can be whipped up using just three ingredients. Not only are these recipes quick and effortless, but they also result in sweet indulgences that your friends and family will love. The best part is that these desserts are usually budget-friendly, making them perfect for both impromptu gatherings and planned events.
And mind you, easy dessert recipes with few ingredients don’t just consist of doing basic stuff with fruit (although we all love chocolate strawberries). They can also create some pretty fancy candies and pastries.
And if you’ve searched for terms like “3 ingredient desserts no bake,” then you’ve definitely come to the right place!
Below we’ve collected some of the best 3 ingredient dessert recipes designed to save you time while delivering maximum yummy returns!
Shortbread is one of those desserts that take us back to our childhoods. These cookies are so creamy and buttery. They melt in your mouth with a simple sweetness that’s nothing short of addictive.
However, in the past, they, like many pastries, were a bit of a hassle to make from scratch. Thankfully, you can add shortbread to your list for anyone looking for easy desserts with few ingredients.
Shortbread is about a simple taste, and this recipe couldn’t be more straightforward.
Now, you might look at this while making it and think you have to add something else, like milk. But just trust the process. Trust us. These cookies will come out just right!
Energy bites are a great way to grab a healthy breakfast or lunch on the go, and they are packed with healthy proteins that give you plenty of fuel.
However, many energy bites are not ideal for those allergic to nuts or simply don’t want to eat nuts. That’s why this nut-free energy bites recipe is perfect, and best of all, it’s one of those few ingredient desserts that are super easy to make.
Plus, this recipe is perfect for parents who have children in “nut-free” schools. We all know how picky schools have gotten about items in lunch boxes, and this recipe is sure to satisfy both the school’s requirements and your child’s appetite.
Three-ingredient peanut butter cookies are another one of those easy desserts with basic ingredients that save tons of time and taste amazing!
This peanut butter cookie combines just the right ratio of fat and sugar to create a deliciously flavorful cookie. It’s an excellent recipe for when you’re having a lot of kids over and a perfect dipper for chocolate fondue.
And believe it or not, one of the main ingredients isn’t flour! Nope, it’s just sugar, peanut butter, and one egg! Isn’t that crazy?
One of the things many of us dread is seeing those little girls in green dresses knocking at our door. Now, mind you, it’s not because we don’t want to support a positive organization that helps young girls.
It’s more because their cookies are crazy delicious, and we can’t help but buy a couple of boxes at a time, which can cost some serious dough!
One of my favorite personal downfalls when it comes to Girl Scout cookies is their chocolate thin mint cookies, but now you can ignore your doorbell while snacking on this easy-to-make a three-ingredient recipe for chocolate thin mint cookies.
If there’s one type of snack, I love it’s something that’s both sweet and salty. There’s just some kind of magic that happens when you combine those very opposite flavors.
And when it comes to salty snacks, potato chips are at the top of the mountain. But what happens when you combine potato chips with melted white chocolate and chopped pecans?
And if you’re not a big fan of white chocolate, you can always switch out for milk chocolate or even caramel sauce.
If you’re like me, smores are perhaps one of your favorite 3-ingredient desserts of all time.
But did you know that you can also eat smores as a delicious dessert dip? Best of all, you don’t have to add many new ingredients. There are still only three things you’ll need: chocolate chips, jumbo marshmallows, and gram crackers.
Technically, the recipe also calls for butter, but that’s just for greasing the pan, so we’re not really counting that.
For those people looking for a keto-friendly 3-ingredient dessert, we’ve got you covered. Not only is this recipe for 3-ingredient peanut butter fudge is super simple, but it’s also a fantastic no-bake recipe!
All you need is a microwave, and you can enjoy this incredible peanut butter snack that takes just minutes to create.
The main ingredients are butter, creamy peanut butter, and powdered erythritol. The texture of this dessert is shockingly similar to that of traditional fudge, chewy and creamy.
And if you’ve never used powdered erythritol before, it’s not something that melts as well as regular sugar, but as far as taste goes, it’s pretty close!
Another amazing no-bake dessert is cranberry and almond chocolate bark. This dessert only has three main ingredients and is also gluten-free, vegan, and oil-free.
Best of all, preparing this sweet treat only takes five minutes.
You can also substitute dark chocolate for white chocolate, the dried cranberries for another dried fruit, and the almond with any nut that suits you.
Another simple and easy-bake 3 ingredient dessert recipe is peanut butter banana bars. You don’t need to bother with butter, eggs, or flour for this recipe.
The only things you need are bananas, oats, and peanut butter. That’s all.
And if you really want to go big, you can throw on your favorite toppings like nuts and chocolate chips, but those are extras.
If you use ripe bananas, your bars will come out much sweeter, and you can also use chunky peanut butter if you wish to incorporate nuts into the recipe.
Haystacks are another fantastic no-bake recipe that only uses three ingredients; peanut butter, butterscotch chips, and chow mein noodles.
This sweet and crunchy dessert takes only minutes to put together, and the only cooking involved is melting your butterscotch. Thanks to the peanut butter, your mixture will hold the noodles together to create tasty little cookies.
For experienced Disney World visitors, there’s one dessert they’ve wanted to make at home for years but never could figure out the recipe, and that’s their world-famous Disney Dole Whip.
However, when Disney World was closed for business during the pandemic, the company decided to give mouse fans a little gift by sharing some of their exclusive recipes.
And to everyone’s amazement, the Dole Whip dessert turned out to be super-easy to make at home, using only three ingredients!
Whoever first thought oreo cookies, Nutella, and chocolate would make an insanely delicious 3 ingredient dessert needs to be given the Nobel Peace Prize!
This super-simple truffle recipe requires using a food processor, but the good news is it doesn’t involve any baking!
Now, you really need to make sure you get melting chocolate like almond bark or Candiquik. And you’ll need to shape and chill your batter in the refrigerator for a bit before dipping.
While it may take a bit more time than most recipes, your taste buds will thank you for all your “hard” work!
Making healthy, delicious fruit sorbet has never been easier. The only ingredients you need are water, fruit, and a sweetener.
Now, most folks use sugar, but we’ve found this recipe works great with alternatives as well, such as monk fruit.
And when it comes to flavors, the sky is the limit. Our favorites are peach, blueberry, strawberry, banana, and lemon.
You can also blend different flavors for totally new experiences. This recipe does call for an ice cream maker that will give you the smoothest results.
Do you remember that old commercial for almond joy and mounds? I never thought about it much, but it was a bit of marketing genius, wasn’t it? Hershey managed to advertise two different candy bars with one commercial using an iconic jingle many of us still hum in our heads today!
And for those Mounds fans out there, we’ve got some good news. You can make your own homemade mounds candy bars using three simple ingredients in just a few minutes.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t necessarily need an ice cream maker to make creamy and delicious homemade ice cream.
In fact, this recipe for 3 ingredient vanilla bean ice cream only uses condensed milk, vanilla bean paste, and heavy cream to create creamy and delicious ice cream that can be ready to eat by dinner time (or breakfast, no judgment).
You can also blend in your favorite toppings like chocolate chips, sprinkles, fruit, candy bars, you name it! And making different flavors like chocolate only requires substituting the vanilla paste for the appropriate ingredient.
One of the classic 3 ingredient desserts out there is chocolate-covered strawberries.
These are amazing and easy-to-make sweet treats you can serve at parties, weddings, fancy dinners. You name it! Plus, they can be a reasonably healthy snack, depending on what type of chocolate you use.
And this recipe is totally customizable, allowing you to add extras like sprinkles, sea salt, powdered sugar, or swirls of melted caramel, butterscotch, or white chocolate, to name a few.
Once again, when it comes to chocolate, you want to use melting chocolate when possible. This will give you a bar of sturdier chocolate covering that doesn’t break as easily.
One of my favorite simple chocolate bars is Hershey’s with almonds. And with this recipe for 3 ingredient chocolate almond bark, you can recreate the crunch and creamy chocolatey flavor of this iconic candy bar right at home.
This sweet treat only needs three ingredients; chocolate chips, almonds, and coconut oil. That’s all you need.
And if you’re interested in making this recipe vegan, make sure you use vegan chocolate chips.
While we’re on the almond train, let’s take a look at this recipe for 3 ingredient chocolate almond clusters.
Now, unlike the almond bark, this recipe calls for using vegetable oil. There’s no reason you can’t substitute it for coconut oil.
The main difference with this recipe will be how you set your mixture. You’ll need to use a mini muffin tray to create your clusters, then just let the mixture set in your fridge.
We enjoyed using the semi-sweet dark chocolate and adding seal salt flakes for a fantastic flavor.
Upon writing this article, I’ve come to realize that I probably ate way too much candy as a kid! Because just about all of these homemade candy bars have been some of my favorites. But if I had to pick one that I always asked for at the store, it had to be Butterfinger.
And now, you can make your own crispy, crunchy, chocolaty Butterfinger bars at home using just three simple ingredients.
Now, of course, you’ll need chocolate (the candy-coating variety). And you’ll need peanut butter. But, the one ingredient that might sound surprising is candy corn.
It might sound odd, but trust us, it totally works for this recipe!
You can make a quick and simple treat without heating up your oven is microwave cinnamon apple slices. Now, for those who love baked apples, it’s understandable how you might be a bit skeptical about microwaving apples.
However, this simple recipe that only uses apples, cinnamon, and water, delivers a terrific flavor. Plus, the apples are nice and juicy, not dried out.
They have a soft texture that’s not rubbery or grainy and make for the perfect afternoon treat when you just want something quick and easy to make.
People swear that Apple cobbler is one of those desserts that can only taste right if made from scratch.
But we say, pish posh!
You can make a delicious apple cobbler using three ingredients without all the hassles of making dough. All you need are premade canned cinnamon rolls, apples, and cinnamon.
And after a bit of quality oven time, you’ve got yourself some warm and delicious apple cobbler.
Add a bit of whipped cream if you like, and enjoy those sweet juicy bites of apple and fluffy cinnamon roll pieces.
The best way to describe tiger butter fudge is a cross between chocolate bark and chocolate fudge with creamy white chocolate and peanut butter mixed in with milk or dark chocolate.
However, it’s thinner than fudge, and the peanut butter creates a chewy texture that perfectly compliments the chocolate.
If you can’t get enough smore action in your life, you’ll love this recipe for 3 ingredient smores cookies. These adorable little bites use graham cracker sheets, marshmallows, and Hershey kisses to create a smore experience people will rave about for years!
You can also discover more easy 3 ingredient dessert recipes in the video below.
26 Super Easy 3-Ingredient Desserts (+Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries)
These recipes are sure to please. So, gather your family and friends and enjoy. Let us know your thoughts!
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
