Whether it's rich homemade ice cream, a fruity granita, or cooling paletas, frozen desserts are the ultimate warm weather treat. In this roundup you'll find all sorts of freezer-friendly recipes, including a tropical five-ingredient soft serve that comes together in minutes, classic Baked Alaska, and cinnamon-kissed apple pie ice cream sandwiches. With more than 20 incredible icy desserts to choose from, you're bound to find a new favorite.
01of 24
Frozen Creme Caramel
To make her crème caramel more refreshing, chef Amanda Hallowell serves it partially frozen, like a semifreddo. These can be frozen for up to a week.
Get the Recipe
02of 24
Mint Ice Cream
For a cool, refreshing dessert, look to this tasty mint ice cream from Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. This exceptionally creamy ice cream relies on two unexpected ingredients: corn starch (to help thicken it) and cream cheese (to make it scoopable).
Get the Recipe
03of 24
Strawberries and Cream Gelato Cake
As stunning as it is delicious, this creamy strawberry and sour cream gelato cake from Il Laboratorio del Gelato owner Jon Snyder is the perfect centerpiece for summer celebrations.
Get the Recipe
04of 24
Peach Ice Cream with Caramel-Bourbon Swirl
Tart, buttery, and sweet, the caramel-bourbon swirl here comes through in the best of ways, balancing the rich notes of crème fraîche in this silky, swirled ice cream. Fresh, ripe peaches add a great bit of texture in every bite.
Get the Recipe
05of 24
Banana Pudding Paletas
For this dreamy treat, pastry chef Paola Velez takes all the components you love about classic banana pudding — complete with vanilla wafers — and turns them into creamy paletas. With nutty browned butter, bits of banana, and crushed vanilla wafers held together by pudding, this refreshing dessert will keep you coming back for more.
Get the Recipe
06of 24
Pineapple-Coconut Soft Serve
With just five ingredients, this fluffy, effortless dessert comes together in minutes with a flavor reminiscent of a tiki co*cktail. For an adult version, swap a quarter cup of the coconut cream for the same amount of your favorite rum.
07of 24
Black Cherry–Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches
Homemade chocolate cookies encase store-bought black cherry ice cream for the ultimate ice cream sandwiches.
Get the Recipe
08of 24
Olive Oil Ice Cream
One of Portland, Oregon–based ice cream shop Salt & Straw's classic flavors, this Olive Oil Ice Cream is a perfect beginner batch to whip up. The combination of olive oil and whole milk results in a perfectly creamy and silky texture, no eggs or tempering required.
Get the Recipe
09of 24
Mud Pie
This decadent ice cream pie has a crunchy cookie crust, a fudgy chocolate-pecan layer, and lots of coffee ice cream. To top it off: a blanket of homemade hot fudge plus a generous heap of whipped cream.
Get the Recipe
10of 24
Rosewater and Saffron Ice Cream (Bastani Irani)
This fragrant ice cream is redolent with flavor. It's traditionally served between two thin wafers to make ice cream sandwiches, and it's equally delicious on its own.
Get the Recipe
11of 24
Fresh Mint Stracciatella Semifreddo
Fistfuls of fresh mint are steeped in the custard base of this semifreddo; a slow simmer releases the herb's oils into the base without leeching any color.
Get the Recipe
12of 24
Chocolate-Raspberry Icebox Cake
This icebox cake is the answer to summer days when you want to serve a beautiful cake but it's too hot to turn on the oven. It's creamy, it's dreamy, and it's so simple to make. Crushed cookies, fresh raspberries, and layers of tart raspberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream transform into a gorgeous marbled layer cake in about 15 minutes — no frosting required.
Get the Recipe
13of 24
Salted Watermelon Ice Cream
Nothing screams summer like slices of salted ripe watermelon, and this simple ice cream takes it to the next level.
Get the Recipe
14of 24
Mango-Cashew Kulfi Pops
Canned mango pulp works better in these frozen ice pops than fresh mangoes because of its concentrated flavor, which helps cut through the rich cashews and sweetened condensed milk.
Get the Recipe
15of 24
Apple Pie à la Mode Ice Cream Sandwiches
Top Chef winner Kristen Kish designed this dessert to honor both of her grandmothers, one known for her apple pie and the other for her snickerdoodles. Kish folds spiced apple pie filling into vanilla ice cream, then forms sandwiches with chewy snickerdoodle cookies.
Get the Recipe
16of 24
Boysenberry Oat Milk Sherbet
The base of this delicious sherbet is made with oat milk, and it provides a surprisingly smooth texture. The berries are roasted to intensify their flavor and color, and when pureed and added to the oat milk base, the sorbet takes on a stunning color.
Get the Recipe
17of 24
Strawberry Granita with Sweet Pesto
Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson pairs a subtly tangy berry granita with honey-sweetened pesto in this refreshing summer dessert. Choose the sweetest, juiciest berries for the most flavorful granita.
Get the Recipe
18of 24
Baked Alaska
Baked Alaska, the meringue-topped and torched layered ice cream cake, is a classic restaurant dessert, often served tableside with a fiery effect. Bring the sweet treat home with this simple step-by-step method that takes advantage of creamy (and customizable) store-bought ice creams and sorbets; a simple, buttery pound cake; and just enough time in the freezer between layers to ensure success.
Get the Recipe
19of 24
Hibiscus Snow Cones
In this playful icy dessert, cookbook author Nicole A. Taylor riffs on tradition, using dried hibiscus blossoms to make a sweet, tangy syrup for a celebratory snow cone. Whipped cream and crushed pink peppercorns add a final flourish.
Get the Recipe
20of 24
Strawberry Mochi Ice Cream Sandwiches
Pastry chef Jen Yee makes these fun and pretty sandwiches with a simple Japanese dough that combines sweet glutinous rice flour, sugar, water, and strawberry jam.
Get the Recipe
21of 24
Tropical Jackfruit–Ginger Ale Sorbet with Charred Pineapple
Chef Sam Fore of the pop up Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites in Lexington, Kentucky, created this summer fruit dessert recipe for an icy, quenching sorbet of jackfruit, pineapple, and ginger ale. The sorbet has become an ever-present treat at her summer pop-up dinners, combining pineapple and jackfruit, both popular in Sri Lanka, with the spicy flavors of Ale-8-One, a Kentucky ginger ale.
Get the Recipe
22of 24
Royal Falooda
There is no incorrect way to layer falooda, the milky, traditionally rose-flavored dessert beloved in India, Pakistan, and other parts of South Asia. This dessert stars bouncy cubes of rose jelly suspended in rose syrup–sweetened milk over layers of tender corn vermicelli and chewy chia seeds. A crowning scoop of vanilla ice cream adds a creamy finish.
Get the Recipe
23of 24
Bubble Sundaes with Peach-Blueberry Compote
Inspired by bubble tea, chef Bill Kim tops his ice cream sundae with chewy tapioca pearls cooked in lemonade.
Get the Recipe
24of 24
Strawberry-Mango Paletas
When crafting new paletas for her company La Newyorkina, Fany Gerson's rule of thumb is this: If the colors of her ingredients go together, the flavors will, too. These bright, red-and-orange-hued ice pops are perfect to make when juicy strawberries are at their peak.
Get the Recipe