[Flowchart] The best Fourth of July desserts to make this year

Whether you plan to stay inside or BBQ on the deck, you can still celebrate this Fourth of July with a delicious and patriotic dessert choice. If you’re struggling to find the perfect dessert recipe, worry not: we have the ideal flowchart to help you decide. Forget boring pies and predictable cakes; we have unique Fourth of July desserts guaranteed to add some pizzazz to your celebratory spread.

Most are super easy to make, and you can whip them up the night before or the same day. So, whether your kitchen skills are top-chef-level or you’re just figuring out how to use a paring knife, you can use these recipes to get started.

Fourth of July desserts you can enjoy anywhere — A flowchart

How to prepare for the holiday

If you want to actually spend your Fourth of July enjoying good weather, tasty BBQ, and family fun, it’s crucial to have a food-prep strategy that leaves you with plenty of free time. Whether you’re hosting the entire event or just bringing the desserts, follow our tips to manage your cooking tasks like a pro.

1. Get non-perishable cooking supplies well in advance.

One thing you can count on is that stores will always be packed around holidays that focus on food. Stay ahead of the crowds by stocking up on supplies a couple of weeks in advance. While it isn’t always possible or practical to shop for perishable ingredients early, you should buy non-perishable and non-food items sooner rather than later.

Stores can run low on supplies at any time, and you don’t want to end up hunting for charcoal, cupcake liners, or almond flour at the last minute.

2. Take care of food prep the night before.

If you’ve ever managed a project, you know that taking care of the critical tasks as soon as possible helps everything else run more smoothly. So, think about which tasks you can do ahead of time to make the holiday more pleasant and relaxing for you.

Can you cut up fruit or vegetables in advance to easily add them to recipes later? When you’re making multiple desserts, and all or some of them are easy to freeze, why not prepare them early and store them overnight? If you’re making a big meal with a lot of moving parts, you can even map out the process. Figure out the most strategic timing to complete smaller tasks while something else finishes baking.

3. Round up a cooking task force.

You know how the old saying goes: “More hands lighten the load.” Enlist your family or housemates to help with the planning by setting up a mini assembly line. Not only is this a great bonding moment, but it makes it easier to quickly assemble desserts that have a lot of ingredients. As head chef, you can devote all your focus to one or two tasks and let your assistants streamline the whole process. Working as a team also saves time when you have a large feast to prepare and only a few hours to get it done.

4. Create the appearance of options.

Do you have to prepare Fourth of July desserts for a large group of people? The best way to achieve high volume with less work is to create a dessert that guests can customize in simple ways. Give guests the appearance of having more options by making multiple sauces or toppings they can add as desired. That way, you can stick to one dessert and keep it simple while still pleasing a variety of different tastes.

5. Do more grilling and less baking.

Everyone knows the grill is where the magic happens on the Fourth of July. If you don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen, make everything on the grill. And we mean everything. Choose a dessert recipe you can conveniently make on the grill, such as dessert pizza or grilled fruit topped with ice cream.

Links to recipes for Fourth of July desserts

Ready to try out a few dishes from the list? If you click on the Fourth of July flowchart, you can view it in our Cacoo editor, where each answer is clickable. Or, you can follow the below links for details on each recipe:

• Fizzy Red Float
• Firewords Pudding Cookies
• Red, White, and Blue Meringue Cups
• 4th of July Fruit Kabobs
• 4th of July Rice Krispies Treats
• Patriotic Tartlets
• Patriotic Oreo Pops
• 4th of July s’mores dip
• Patriotic Caramel Pretzel Bites
• Red, White, and Blue Jello Shots
• All American Classic Waffles

Whatever you decide to whip up, we hope you all have a happy (and safe) Fourth of July this year! If you want tips on how to make an awesome flowchart like the one above, try our free diagramming software, Cacoo. Since it’s a cloud-based tool, diagrams are easy to store, edit, and share with others.

This post was originally published on June 30, 2020, and updated most recently on July 4, 2021.