Food

7 Vegan, Nutrient-Rich No-Bake Desserts That Taste Like a Ray of Sunshine

Discover seven delicious vegan desserts that will turn heads the moment they enter the room, and require zero baking (or baking skills).

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Photo: Stocksy/Giada Canu
Updated Jan 9, 2024

Written by 

Maki Yazawa

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Whether it’s the beads of sweat accumulating on your upper lip or your back glistening like the misty air that radiates from a waterfall—these, my friend, are dead giveaways that summer’s sweltering heat has officially entered the chat. As everyone claws their way outdoors to celebrate the sunshine and warmer days, poolside festivities and outdoor BBQs quickly become all the rage. Next thing you know, you’re tasked with bringing a supersized pasta salad, a dip for the masses to munch on, and a dessert fit for the entire friend group.

If the last thing you want to do is crank on the oven to bake a cake meanwhile simultaneously transforming your house into the Saharan desert, we’ve gathered the best no-bake (and very *cool*) vegan desserts to bring to your next shindig. From vegan brownie bites to creamy flan to matcha swirl cheesecake, we’ve got you covered. Best of all, you won’t even break a sweat— literally. Granted: These no-bake vegan desserts come in handy no matter the time of year (and not just in the summertime), especially if your oven is piled high with pots and pans.

7 no-bake vegan desserts for summer (or any time of year)

Brownie

1. Brownie Bites

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Photo: Minimalist Baker

Just like a great BOGO deal, this recipe combines energy bites and dessert all into one. Made with just seven ingredients, one food processor, and a quick 15 minutes, you can enjoy this luscious and chocolatey brownie bites recipe by Minimalist Baker in no time. Rich in antioxidants (from the chocolate) and omega-3s (from the hemp seeds, walnuts, and almond butter), this recipe is one of the most delicious and easy no-bake desserts that’s perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth all summer long. BTW, on the hunt for the best vegan chocolate? We’ve got you covered.

Get the recipe: No-Bake Brownie Bites 

Puddings and Custards

2. Flan

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Photo: Minimalist Baker

Feel as though you’re on a tropical island getaway with this vegan flan by Minimalist Baker that’s eggless and dairy-free but still creamy, smooth, and entirely delicious. For the iconic caramel layer, recipe developer Dana Schultz uses coconut sugar in the place of refined sugars for the deep, rich, and golden sweet topping. Best of all, these flans can be made in individual-sized portions, so sharing is totally optional (and most definitely *not* a requirement).

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Get the recipe: Easy Vegan Flan 

3. Bananas Foster Chia Pudding

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Photo: Feasting on Fruit

Nutrient-rich sweets on your mind? Say no more. This drool-worthy bananas foster chia pudding recipe by Feasting on Fruit features layer upon layer of decadent goodness. From a creamy chia seed pudding to a gooey caramel sauce to caramelized cinnamon bananas, each bite of this no-bake vegan dessert will leave you smiling even bigger than the bite before. With vegan desserts this pretty, you can guarantee they’ll be plastered all over your friend’s newsfeed with requests demanding how to make it.

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Get the recipe: Bananas Foster Chia Pudding 

Cookie Bars

4. Cookie Dough Bars

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Photo: Rainbow Plant Life

Bring back the childhood memories of sneaking a few bites of raw cookie dough right out of the bowl while your mom looked away with this cookie dough bars recipe by Rainbow Plant Life that’s parent-approved and just as delicious as you remember. Plus, with the help of a food processor, whipping it together for a last-minute event (that you completely forgot about) is really NBD.

Get the recipe: No-Bake Cookie Dough Bars 

Tarts and Pies

5. Fragrant Pandan Coconut Tart

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Photo: Vegamelon

Enjoy the pristine summer vibes with fruits like coconut and pandan year round with this tasty no-bake tart recipe by Vegamelon. Just like the name implies, this fragrant and no-bake recipe comes together with tasty ingredients like pandan, a tropical plant known for its sweet taste and mild aroma. The best part? The majority of the “cooking” time spent making this recipe involves chilling in the freezer. Pretty cool, right?

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The gluten-free (and vegan) recipe features a coconut almond crust, layered with a smooth and creamy coconut milk and pandan filling and garnished with fresh blueberries for a beautiful pop of color to brighten any tablescape. (BTW, if you’re having a hard time sourcing pandan powder, you can also swap it for matcha powder which will yield similar results in terms of the gorgeous green hue that makes this no-bake dessert such a showstopper.)

Get the recipe: Fragrant Pandan Coconut Tart 

6. Matcha Swirl Cheesecake

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Photo: Minimalist Baker

If the thought of making cheesecake might seem like a cumbersome task, this no-bake matcha swirl cheesecake recipe by Minimalist Baker will quickly change your mind. Between the bright green hue that screams summertime to the matcha-infused filling that will help perk you up, this easy cheesecake recipe is the perfect crowd-pleasing dish to bring to any party. Best part? No bain-marie (hot water bath) in sight.

Get the recipe: Vegan Matcha Swirl Cheesecake 

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7. Lemon Tart

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Photo: Bianca Zapatka

If the sun were a pie, it definitely would look like this vegan lemon pie by Bianca Zapatka. Bright like sunshine, sweet and tangy like summer, and filled with tons of bright, zesty fruit, this show-stopping vegan dessert will turn heads the moment it enters the room. And if you’re wondering if this recipe calls for any artificial food coloring to achieve the vibrant yellow color, the answer is surprisingly no. With the help of turmeric (which is loaded with anti-inflammatory properties and helps make this one of our all-time favorite healthy fruit desserts and anti-inflammatory desserts), you can quickly achieve this bright, beautiful hue of yellow to wow everyone in sight.

Get the recipe: Vegan Lemon Tart 

A few vegan-friendly baking swaps

What do vegan bakers use instead of eggs?

When it comes to baking, you’ll come to find that most recipes include eggs. Good news is that there are tons of vegan-friendly egg substitutes to choose from. A few of our favorites include bananas, applesauce, flax (which is used to make this delicious vegan Dutch baby recipe), and tofu. Here’s a quick guide on ratios for replacing an egg.

  • 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water
  • 1/2 mashed banana
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water
  • 1/4 cup silken tofu
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
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Which frosting is vegan?

Most frosting recipes, including American buttercream and Swiss meringue, star lots of butter and/or eggs. However, there are tons of vegan-friendly ingredients to make delicious, decadent frosting that’s fully plant-based. With a little help from vegan butter + vegan cream cheese + powdered sugar, you’ll be able to make the smoothest, richest, and creamiest vegan frosting of your dairy-free dreams (much like the one featured in this easy vegan spice cake recipe, which gets topped with a decadent vegan cream cheese frosting).

No time to whip together a batch from scratch? No problem. You can find tons of store-bought, premade options at the market, like Miss Jones Baking Organic Buttercream Frosting. It’s ideal for icing and decorating, vegan-friendly (made with all-organic ingredients like coconut oil), and comes in various tasty flavors like chocolate, vanilla, cream cheese, and our personal favorite, Confetti Pop. Tasty vegan desserts, here we come!

Hold up. Did someone say vegan, gluten-free, and *no-bake* s’mores pie? Sign me up.

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FoodNutrition

‘I’m a Food Safety Expert, and This Is the Exact Temperature Your Fridge Needs to Be to Prevent Nasty Bacteria From Growing’

Foods in the fridge need to be stored in cold temperatures to avoid bacterial growth. Find out the best fridge temperature.

woman in yellow shirt opening up fridge in kitchen and checking the expiration date on a bottle
Photo: Stocksy / Anna Berkut
Updated Feb 5, 2025

Written by 

Tiffany Ayuda

Maintaining a clean, organized fridge set at the proper temperature is ultimately what’s going to keep you safe from harmful, illness-causing bacteria. Hey, we’re certainly not calling on everyone to pick up the “fridgescaping” trend of decorating the inside of your fridge with candles, books, and picture frames. But you know what isn’t a good look? Slimy leftovers and rotting fruits and vegetables. That’s why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends chilling your foods at a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. But is there a perfect temp? We spoke to a food safety expert to explain what the best fridge temperature is and why.

Experts in This Article

Bryan Quoc Le

food scientist and food consultant

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What is the best fridge temperature for storing food?

According to Bryan Quoc Le, PhD, a food scientist and food science consultant, the ideal temperature is 37 degrees Fahrenheit. “Essentially, these are nearly the lowest temperatures you can get to before your food starts to frost over. The lower the temperature, the slower the growth of the microorganisms is. Every 10 degrees higher than that temperature (37 degrees Fahrenheit), the microorganisms can double their growth rate,” Quoc Le explains.

Most modern refrigerators allow you to set the exact temperature, but if it doesn’t come equipped with one, Quoc Le suggests placing some peanut oil in your fridge and seeing if it solidifies. “Peanut oil happens to have a freezing point of 37.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius), which is just slightly above the ideal temperature for a refrigerator. If you put peanut oil in the fridge and it solidifies, then your refrigerator is at the right temperature,” he says. That said, the FDA recommends checking often whether your food is chilling at the proper temperature, so buying a freestanding appliance thermometer is your best bet.

How to store food safely in the fridge

Aside from keeping your fridge at 37 degrees Fahrenheit, you can help prevent bacterial growth and foodborne illnesses by storing food properly and refrigerating cooked dishes shortly after eating.

1. Keep fruits and vegetables in the crisper

The crisper drawers in your fridge are specifically reserved for your fruits and vegetables because they don’t require as cold of a temperature as the rest of your fridge to prevent spoilage, Quoc Le says. Crisper bins expose your produce to different levels of humidity and restrict air flow, which will help fruits and vegetables prolong their longevity.

“If it gets too cold for them [fruits and vegetables], the tissue will start to break down. They go through what’s called chill injury. This means that they go through the same process as they would in the winter. When that happens, the plant will try to reabsorb a lot of the nutrients and break down quickly. They get softer, they get mealy, there’s going to be off flavors, and it’s not going to taste as good. They lose a lot of their sugars,” Quoc Le explains.

Other foods, like meat, dairy, and eggs, should be stored outside of the crisper drawers in their appropriate bins at cooler temperatures.

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2. Place leftover food in the fridge immediately

Whether you just finished cooking or are reheating leftovers, you want to keep whatever food you don’t end up serving or eating back in the fridge ASAP. Leaving food out of the fridge allows bacteria to proliferate. “The danger zone is 60 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit. So foods that are hot that cool down to that temperature and foods that are cold and warm up to that temperature, the microbial growth is going to be quite accelerated,” says Quoc Le. “Most modern refrigerators move heat fairly quickly. So ultimately, you don’t want to leave things on the stove for too long and have it come to room temperature.”

The rule of thumb is to avoid leaving perishable foods out for two hours or more, but you need to consider the environment they’re in. If you live in a hot, humid climate or if it’s a warm summer day, food is going to spoil faster. Certain foods aren’t going to go bad as quickly as others.

For example, “foods that have more acidity, more salt, or are high in sugars tend to be more resistant to microorganisms because they have a really hard time growing in things like that,” says Quoc Le. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that leftover food in the fridge should be reheated to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and ready-to-eat foods to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Soups, sauces, and gravies must come to a boil.

3. Clean up spills and throw away bad leftovers

Per the FDA, clean up spills as soon as they happen to avoid cross-contamination of bacteria from different foods. You also want to avoid “overpacking” your fridge to allow cool air to circulate and keep foods chilled at the right temp. When it comes to leftovers, meat products and dishes with vegetables are usually good for two to three days, Quoc Le says. “Again, things that have acidity and high sugar and salt content are going to be more resistant to spoilage, so you could probably extend that to six to seven days,” he explains.

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FoodNutrition

Looking for a Nutritionist? This Online Service Makes It Easier Than Ever to Work With an RD

Fay Nutrition is on a mission to make nutritionists more accessible to Americans. We tried out the service—here is our honest review.

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Published Jan 29, 2025

Written by 

Christina Manian, RD

Our editors independently select these products. Making a purchase through our links may earn Well+Good a commission

As a registered dietitian (RD) with more than a decade of experience, I’ve worked in a range of healthcare settings over the years— from inpatient hospitals and outpatient clinics to private practices—and the one issue that continues to plague all of these establishments is lack of insurance coverage for nutrition consultation.

Experts in This Article

Jason Rasmussen

Jason Rasmussen, Co-founder and CEO of Fay Nutrition

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While patients in a hospital can typically seek the counsel of an RD as part of their stay, many won’t be able to continue that care once they go home as insurance coverage in outpatient and private practice settings is hard to come by. If clients do have coverage, it’s often for a very limited amount of sessions (around two per year maximum) Given that proper nutrition is one of the primary ways to prevent several types of chronic diseases, working with a nutritionist on healthy eating habits is something that almost all adults could benefit from.

Thankfully, one company has made it their mission to address these long-standing issues for patients and nutrition professionals alike…and that company is Fay Nutrition. As an RD, I tested this online service to get firsthand insight into how it works, what it offers, and if it’s worth trying.

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What is Fay Nutrition?

Fay Nutrition is an online platform that connects board-certified registered dietitians/nutritionists (RDs and RDNs) to individuals through insurance-covered virtual or in-person appointments. It’s also the nation’s biggest and fastest-growing network of dietitians.

Fay was started by Jason Rasmussen, co-founder and CEO of Fay Nutrition. “Both my mom and sister are registered dietitians, and before starting at Harvard Business School, I was helping them with their private practice,” he said. “What I learned was that many dietitians struggled to accept insurance and open a private practice, yet so many people needed the help of an affordable, personal dietitian.”

Rasmussen soon made it his mission to empower RDs and make medical nutrition therapy more affordable and accessible to Americans. “In America, over half of adults1 have one or more preventable conditions linked to eating patterns, but access to nutrition care has been gate-kept by prohibitively high costs and obstacles for dietitians to accept insurance,” he explained. The company aims to help millions of Americans live longer, healthier, and happier lives through the power of nutrition.

My Experience Using Fay Nutrition

A platform linking you to RDs that take your insurance certainly sounds alluring, but what is it actually like to use? Here’s how my test run went.

Given that I was trying the platform on a demo, I was given a special link with an accompanying payment method to use upon signing up. For at-home users, you’d sign up as you would for any other service, inputting your basic personal and payment information (for co-pays if you have any). You then enter your health insurance information. If you don’t have health insurance, your journey on the platform will end here as it hinges upon this prerequisite.

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From there, it offered me a list of RDs to choose from based on my location, insurance company, and primary nutrition concern. With each listed RD, you can read a little bit about their philosophy and what areas of nutrition they specialize in.

The first RD I chose wasn’t actually available to see new clients—which was a little confusing, to be honest—but the next one I picked was. However, even though available for both virtual and in-person appointments, this next RD was located in Connecticut—a very long drive from my home in Colorado for an in-person session. If I hadn’t been looking for a virtual appointment, this would have required additional time and searching to find a Colorado-based RD.

Thankfully, virtual worked for me, so I went with the Connecticut-based RD and was able to get an appointment within a week of booking, which is impressive given that many outpatient and private practice RDs are booked out for weeks (if not longer). Booking was simple and I received plenty of helpful email communication after the fact, sharing everything I needed to know before the appointment, as well as frequent appointment reminders. Logging into my appointment was just as simple—I clicked the Zoom link in the email and entered right into the meeting.

My RD was very competent with an impressive 25 years of experience working in a range of settings with a variety of patients. She did all the right things when it came to an initial consultation: inquiring about my medical history, family history, basic biometrics, typical eating patterns, activity level, and more. She then offered very sound nutrition advice (I opted to receive general nutrition information) that was catered to me, recommending balanced eating practices that included all the major food groups (in line with my dietary preferences) to provide the correct amount of macro- and micronutrients.

We also had a candid conversation about who I was and what I was up to. This RD had nothing but positive things to say about working with Fay as a long-time professional in the field. She explained how Fay took care of all the behind-the-scenes insurance work, freeing up RDs to see more clients and often landing patients several covered appointments. This has allowed her to have long-standing relationships with Fay clients, making an even bigger impact on their health through nutrition therapy.

She shared several Fay client success stories with me and assured me that she was being compensated competitively by the company—all things I love to hear as an RD who supports other RDs.

Final Thoughts

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Pros and Cons of Fay Nutrition

Pros:

  • Easy-to-use
  • Accessible, no matter your location
  • Works seamlessly with your insurance provider

Cons:

  • Fewer options for in-person appointments
  • Only accessible for those with insurance
Find a Nutritionist
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Overall, I think Fay Nutrition is providing a great service for both RDs and patients. Throughout my career, I’ve seen time and time again how problematic a lack of insurance coverage for nutrition services can be for those who need it.

Fay addresses this by doing the grunt work for users and dietitians—a middleman that serves both sides. This enables more Americans (with health insurance) to receive nutrition care, while also empowering RDs to build up their businesses. The company also has an extensive vetting process for new hires (according to the RD I spoke to), ensuring that only experienced and well-qualified providers are featured on the platform.

So if you’re seeking nutrition consultation and have health insurance, it’s more than worth logging onto Fay to see what your options are. It’s far quicker and less frustrating than calling your insurance company for coverage confirmation and then doing additional leg work to find covered RDs in your area.

  1. Buttorff C, Ruder T, Bauman M. Multiple Chronic Conditions in the United States. Rand Corp.; 2017.

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