There is something so soothing to the soul when it comes to desserts and sweet treats, but the time to make them deters people, myself included. And I don’t want to sit in front of the oven all day staring at the baked goods to prevent it from burning or bubbling over, especially when life is so busy.
Now, you can have your lemon or chocolate cake and eat it too.
These crock pot dessert recipes for sweet-tasting comfort food are the perfect way to end a meal, and it is so quick and easy to make while you carry on with your day. The house starts to fill with a sugar-infused scent that hypnotizes you and you get thoughts about skipping dinner altogether and going straight to the good stuff.
#1. Heaven in a crock-pot
With only a handful of ingredients, this is one of those slow cooker dessert recipes you won’t want to skip out on and is so quick to put together that you will have a sweet treat that is ready in no time at all.
A few pre-crockpot steps make the result of the dessert that much better, and you can be sure that when the kids know that this is on the menu for the after-dinner course, they will have clean dinner bowls in no time at the dining table.
And what we love about this dish is that it is so versatile. It calls for vanilla ice cream for a paired serving but works just as well with salted caramel or banana. The options are endless and which means it is suited to everyone, each child can have their version.
Having a few extra sprinkles on the side for a fun decoration has always gone down well with my kids. I mean, who doesn’t love a rainbow sprinkle on everything, right?
My youngest loves volcanoes and things that explode so when I found these easy crockpot dessert recipes I knew I had landed on a winner. When he heard the title of the treat he jumped for joy all around the kitchen, and aren’t these the moments we live for as a parent?
If you love making sweet things but hate the effort it takes for them to be perfected then this is the one-pot wonder you have been waiting for, everything goes into the slow cooker, topped with a generous layer of chocolate chips (we like to spice things up from time to time with white and brown chocolate chips, and it has even been a hit when we added mini marshmallows into the mix as an experiment).
Leave to cook for a couple of hours, and serve straight from the crockpot. Add ice cream or whipped cream or even hot custard to add a different twist and a good pop of color to the bowl.
Me, growing up with a sweet scent in the house from my grandmother’s creations, I always associated dessert with fruit.
The cobbler was a regular visitor to the dining table, and when trying to find a version I could share with my kids I discovered these dessert slow cooker recipes which meant I could serve a delicious dessert without being in the kitchen for hours on end.
What is appealing about a cobbler is that there are so many options or versions of the fruit you can incorporate which makes it the perfect recipe to have on hand all year round. Whichever fruit is in season at the time is always the best choice for a dish, they will be ripe, fresh and sweet, and in top condition to give to the kids.
Our neighbors have an enormous cherry tree in their backyard and their garden is constantly sprinkled with cherries in summer, so they love having the kids over to collect the cherries and pick extra from the tree if they like.
This way their garden is cleaned, we get free cherries, and we repay them with great-tasting baked goods. The world is truly a great place to live when you have friends and relationships like this.
This is the easiest and quickest creation I have ever seen. I can count the needed ingredients on one hand and still have fingers left over, what more is there to want in a recipe card?
My kids love strawberry anything so once this is done slow cooking I make sure to have freshly chopped strawberry quarters in a bowl on the side for them to add to their dish. They place the chunks onto their whipped cream topping and somehow manage to fit a bit of each ingredient onto the spoons and stuffed it into their mouths.
It is safe to say that this is a winning dish in our house, and when dessert crock pot recipes are effortless, we have no issues making them as often as requested. A great summer dish.
When I think about cinnamon as an ingredient I immediately think of comfort food. There is something magical about cinnamon that brings out the coziness and feel-good emotion in a dish, and these dessert slow cooker recipes do just that.
And if you didn’t know it, nutmeg is the perfect sister ingredient to compliment cinnamon. Some flavor combinations work so seamlessly together, and one without the other just doesn’t taste right.
This is a great dish to make when you know there are going to be more people at the dinner table that evening. You can easily double the yield and it cooks in just as little time and there is no compromise on taste.
A true crowd-pleaser and a hit with the kids and their friends.
When the summer months are here the last thing you want is to be in the kitchen cooking or baking for hours, and with these healthy slow cooker dessert recipes, you don’t have to. This dish is filling but still has a light element to it, and when served with vanilla bean ice cream is the perfect indulgence to tuck into outside as the sunsets.
Big chunks of peach scattered throughout the dish are a great way to get fruit into the kids and adds a nice pop of color against the cream or ice cream when serving.
We have also experimented with peach sorbet and it went as well as fireworks on New Year’s Eve. If you want to change things up in a dish but seem to be hitting a blank wall, get the kids involved. Asking them for ideas will give you a new perspective on dishes and possible ingredients that you will most likely not have considered before.
Sometimes they work, other times they are a flop, but if you don’t give them a try how will you ever know. This is what makes living life so entertaining.
A one-pot sensation is what you will get when you try your hand at these dessert crock pot recipes for the holiday season, and allows you the luxury of setting the slow cooker on low and carrying on with the rest of the day’s activities and errands.
And the best part is you have peace of mind that your dessert creation won’t burn if you forget about it or leave it on for too long. Slow cooking, since discovering it through a friend, has become my go-to baking method and has saved me many an hour slaving away in the kitchen.
The tenderness of the apples offers a rich flavor profile to the overall dish and when you add in the nuts (your choice of nut is optional, and is easily omitted as well if there are allergies in the family) adds a great texture element to each mouthful.
If you choose to roast or even caramelize the nuts beforehand it elevates the dish to another level.
This recipe is comforting food at its best. This dish has all the components you could want in a dessert to make those midweek blues disappear. Sometimes the week may seem like it is dragging and the meetings at work never-ending, so coming home to a crockpot filled with this rich, chocolate decadence is like a dream come true.
Served hot on a cold winter’s evening, there is nothing better. These are the crock pot dessert recipes you want in your culinary collection, and they are so easy to make there is no excuse not to have them a regular visitor on the dinner menu rotation.
The inside is moist and gooey and melts in your mouth. You can be sure that the kids and hubby will be asking for second helpings so a double recipe portion may be a safe bet when making this.
A flop-proof dish that pleases the crowd every time.
My children love celebrating Halloween and we always have a big gathering at our house with family and friends, but let’s be honest, adults don’t particularly enjoy handfuls of sweets for a meal. So this version of Halloween came at the perfect time to try it out.
It has all the autumn flavors you know and loves just before the winter season, and the nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger work harmoniously together for the ultimate taste.
Quick and easy it essentially cooks itself while you set up for the party and arriving guests. And when they walk in the front door or you open it for trick or treaters throughout the evening, the smell is enveloping – you may even have some kids ask for some of what smells so good.
The kids love this dish and are a much better option than buckets of candies (every parent nodding in agreement I hope).
I could eat apples all day if they provided all the nutrients and vitamins we need to survive, but alas, they don’t. They do, however, have a versatility to them which works well in hundreds of recipes.
This healthy slow cooker dessert recipe is so simple to pull together that even the most novice of kitchen enthusiasts could make it without failing.
And the best part that made me want to try it in the first place was that I didn’t have to keep an eye on it the whole day, it needs no supervision and still comes out delicious. Win-win.
The richness of this dish (and is of the utmost importance that you don’t skip this step nor use less than a quality ingredient) is brought on by the butter that is chopped and sprinkled over the dish. A full-flavored element that is worth the effort.
Serve with ice cream and all is right in the world.
If I could have a cake for my birthday this would be it. There is everything you could want in this recipe and it is so effortless to prepare that any celebration (even if it is the weekend) would be an excuse to make it.
It may sound like it is a heavy dessert because of the cream cheese but it is pleasantly light and airy and a sweet way to end any meal or to enjoy with an afternoon cup of tea.
You can choose to use a cocoa cake mix instead of the white version and it would make the icing with the chunks of Oreo biscuit stand out.
When I first saw a cake recipe for a slow cooker I was skeptical, how was it supposed to rise, would the mix cook right through, and would it be dense? But this cake dessert was successfully tried and tested and is a firm favorite in our house.
A must-try for weekends when the children have friends over.
I love making this dish for parties or when we are invited to our friend’s house because it never disappoints.
The ingredients are nothing complicated and you will most likely have them in your pantry already making this cost-effective and easy on the wallet. The last we want when trying new recipes is to have to run to the shops for an unusual ingredient and then only for the meal to turn out unsuccessful.
Thankfully, this dessert is a huge success and a true-crowd pleaser wherever we take it. It not only looks great with the pineapple and pop of color from the cherries, but it tastes amazing. And when you serve it on the plate, the dish looks magazine-worthy.
If you have the in-laws coming over for Sunday lunch then serving this impressive dessert will earn you points for sure, and they won’t believe you made it all in the crockpot. A slow-cooking recipe that ticks all the boxes.
My mother and grandmother would always enjoy an afternoon tea session on the weekends. If the food was in the oven cooking slowly for the evening dinner, and the laundry was hung, they would make a pot of tea.
And rather than have a store-bought cake or biscuits to serve with it, my granny would work her way through her cookbooks each week making a new sweet creation, and this coffee option always smelled so great.
She did use make it in the oven but this slow cooker option is so much easier and I don’t have to worry about it burning either which for me is a bonus. You can follow this version as is or swap out the coconut cake mix for a traditional vanilla version, and the nuts add a great crunch to each mouthful.
The cake is light, fluffy, and pairs perfectly with a hot cup of brew. Afternoons should be about relaxing and enjoying life, and when there is a good cake to match and great company, life is good.
If you want to kill them with sweetness then this will be your perfect weapon.
This rich and excessively indulgent dessert is not for the faint-hearted, but I will say, because it is so hearty you only need to serve a spoonful (with added toppings, of course) of the mix, so it is great to feed a large group of people.
The cake is done in only a couple of hours, enough time to do a load of laundry and watch an episode of your favorite series with a well-deserved cup of coffee, and once done it has slightly pulled from the sides and is firm but soft to the touch.
My kids love pouring the melted peanut butter over the top and licking their fingers with the nutty goodness which somehow always lands on their hands.
I have a few extra decorations of choice if the kids want to add sprinkles or smarties to their bowls.
This is a filling meal so be sure to serve small portions and you will have plenty left over for the next day.
Finding a healthy version of slow cooker dessert recipes is not easy if you want something quick, but this dish is ready in under two hours, perfect.
Peaches and cream go together like black and white, and sometimes you just know that one without the other will not be as good as when they are together.
I particularly enjoy fruity-filled cakes as opposed to heavy chocolate or vanilla cakes, they are lighter and are a great excuse to tell yourself that it is healthy when there is fruit involved (or is it just me, ha).
Pop the ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning on low, head out the door to do the school run, and go to your spinning class at the gym, and when you come home late morning you will be welcomed by an aroma filled with goodness.
A sneaky taste before the family comes home won’t hurt anyone and I like to have it with pouring cream to change things up from time to time but it still tastes fantastic.
I have always known bread and butter pudding to be made in a rectangle dish, in the oven with a timer set, and taken out when the edges crisp up. Until now.
This version sounded so much easier when I found it that I had to give it a try, and it turned out perfectly. I did opt to broil it for a few seconds under the grill to get that crisp edge I know and love and it was beautiful.
What I loved about this dish, other than it tastes amazing is that I could tweak and edit it and it still came out great. I once used croissants instead of bread and it was gorgeously rich and buttery with the folded layers of pastry bringing a silent elegance to the taste, and then we added a half portion of the raisins and substituted the other half with chocolate chips which unsurprisingly went down a treat with the kids.
There are so many choices, and if you give them a try you have a new version to share with the family. A perfectly feel-good dish to curb those winter blues.
I served this on the plate to the family with a drizzle of sauce over and they sat waiting for more, I laughed and tucked in. They began to take a spoonful and then looked at me. This recipe does more than meets the eye and which is why I love serving it as simply as it is.
It is moist but not soggy, rich without an overbearing flavor, and each mouthful leaves you wanting more. So you take another spoonful. And if that is not an award-winning creation then I don’t know what will convince you.
When I initially told my husband I was making a cake with sour cream he pulled a face, probably thinking it would be more sour than sweet, but he admitted defeat. It has a subtle tang to it which is needed to balance the sweetness, and so, is a delicious recipe to round off the meal for the evening.
Those movies you see where the kids make s’mores over the fire are now just as easy when there isn’t a fire involved. You simply layer the first few ingredients into the crockpot and let cook for a few hours, and at the end, top with the marshmallows and allow them to melt before you let the kids serve themselves.
I also like to mix the marshmallow colors for a twist on the recipe and if you have a blow torch in your kitchen then giving the final stage a quick singe will give a nice golden, caramel flavor to resemble the fire of the original recipe.
We always look for recipes or meals that are easy and simple because our schedules are full-on, and even more so when the kids are back at school and all their sports training and practices have begun. There suddenly seems no time to do anything.
One less thing to worry about is having dinner and a sweet treat to end the day.
Wow. Yes, the name of this recipe is certainly a mouthful and for good reason too, the taste is unbelievable.
If you have been on a vacation recently or are waiting for the day to hurry up and arrive for a holiday you have booked, then this is the perfect way to get into a holiday mood or even to hold on a little longer to the memory of the one you just came back from.
Coconut, pineapple, and goodnesses are a sense and taste of holiday all wrapped up in one delicious bite, and you can have it time and time again without any effort.
This dish is a breeze to a make, it tastes as good as it looks, and takes you back to being on the beach at the first mouthful.
Enjoy a small portion of this outdoors on the deck while sipping an umbrella-decorated homemade cocktail and you can enjoy your vacation that little bit longer.
I was never a fan of rice pudding (even though I had never tasted it, just knowing it was rice and sweet) until my friend gave me this recipe to try. I’ll be honest, I was skeptical. Ha. But I was soon proven wrong in my thinking and now I also give this recipe to friends and family to taste.
It has a wholesome feel to it that fills the gap without leaving you feeling stuffed which so many carb-loaded dishes can do.
The best part of this creation is that it is vegetarian friendly so I don’t have to worry when friends come around who have specific diets or eating plans, this is suitable for everyone.
Whether you are looking for a great recipe to start the day with- yes I am a firm believer in a sweet treat for breakfast if that is what you feel like- or a brunch treat there is a dish for you.
Life is short and you should live it how you feel is best for you, and sometimes that means dessert first thing in the morning.
These crock pot dessert recipes for sweet-tasting comfort food will not let you down, they are great for the family, perfect to take to people’s houses, and made in the slow cooker making them a breeze to make. And if you want more delicious treat options, head to our blog for a browse of a whole host of recipes to add to your culinary arsenal.
Born and raised in South Africa and being immersed in the rich culture, Candace soon found a passion for all things food related. Exploring and experiencing new flavors and taste profiles she pursued her career as a qualified chef in silver service specialized in fine dining.
