2-Ingredient Dessert Recipes to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
Updated: Nov. 02, 2023
These easy two-ingredient dessert recipes are simple and delicious. Plus, minimal ingredients means less cleanup!
If you have a sweet tooth, you know what it’s like to plot your dessert all day or get hit with a late-night craving—sometimes you just need something sweet. But even easy dessert recipes may call for lots of ingredients that you don’t have on hand. When you’re too impatient for an elaborate homemade treat, turn to these two-ingredient desserts.
Our Best 2-Ingredient Desserts
These recipes use just two ingredients (even if one of them includes multiple components, like cake mix). If you’re looking for simple recipes but are willing to use a few more ingredients, check out our 5-ingredient dessert recipes.
Bunny Tails
Melted white baking chips and shredded coconut are all you need to make these sweet treats, which are great for both Easter and the winter holidays.
Editor’s tip: There are multiple ways to melt chocolate—you can use any method to melt the baking chips in this recipe.
Healthy Banana Chocolate “Ice Cream”
This recipe doesn’t actually include any cream. With just frozen ripe bananas and cocoa powder, you can whip up a healthy, ice cream-like treat. Enjoy it plain or add toppings like berries, whipped cream and sprinkles.
Editor’s tip: If you have a surplus of browning bananas on your hands, these ripe banana recipes will give you more ideas for how to use them up.
Oreo Popsicles
This recipe starts with a package of Oreos—and you don’t even need to take them out of the bag! Simply crush up the cookies in a single-serving bag, pour in milk or cream, add a popsicle stick and freeze.
Editor’s tip: To take it up a notch, cover the frozen popsicles in melted chocolate and more crushed cookies, and then freeze again for a creamy, chocolate-coated treat. (And if you’re still craving this classic cookie, try our other Oreo recipes.)
Lemon Bark
Transform white baking chips and hard lemon candies into a tart, sweet treat. With some cute packaging, they make a great favor for baby showers and wedding showers.
Soda Cake
This recipe gets away with just two ingredients because one of them is cake mix. (Cake mix can be very versatile—we have dozens of other recipes that start with a box of cake mix.) From there, all you need is a 12-oz. can of a carbonated beverage like soda or sparkling water.
Editor’s tip: Try vanilla cake mix and orange soda to get an orange creamsicle cake, or spice cake mix and ginger ale for a ginger spice cake.
Instant Rice Krispies Treats
Instead of eating Rice Krispies cereal in a bowl with milk, try it in a bowl with melted marshmallows—it’s like getting to enjoy a batch of homemade Rice Krispies Treats without having to wait for the baking.
Palmiers
These French pastries look fancy, but all you need to make them is one sheet of puff pastry dough and a cup of sugar. Here’s a list of desserts for two that are perfectly portioned.
Editor’s tip: If you like these palmiers (which are sometimes called palm leaves or elephant ears), try our other easy puff pastry dessert recipes.
Chocolate Ganache
This chocolate ganache recipe calls for semisweet chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream. It can be spreadable or pourable, depending on the consistency you’re going for. (Here’s how to make ganache, step by step.)
Editor’s tip: You can eat chocolate ganache with a spoon, dip fruit into it or spread it on graham crackers. If you’re willing to do some extra baking, add it to other desserts, like this Ganache-Topped Chocolate Cake.
Strawberry Apple Cream Pops
With just strawberry yogurt and apple juice concentrate, you can make the perfect homemade summery treat. (You’ll also need popsicle sticks and either paper cups or a popsicle mold.)
Editor’s tip: Here’s how to make popsicles, whether you have a mold or not.
Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Seeds
This recipe’s ingredients are pretty clear from the title: pomegranate seeds and dark chocolate chips. You can also add sea salt, crushed nuts or shredded coconut for some extra texture and flavor.
Editor’s tip: If you don’t have pomegranate seeds on hand, you can adapt this recipe for pretty much any fruit—try strawberries, raspberries, bananas or apples.
Chocolate Balloon Bowls
All you need is some bittersweet chocolate, white baking chocolate and a balloon, and you can create chocolate bowls for serving fruit, ice cream or mousse. This is the perfect way to elevate simple desserts for special dinners or gatherings.
Even More 2-Ingredient Desserts
Originally Published: December 17, 2020
