25 Best Dessert Bar Recipes for Sharing with a Crowd (2024)

Our 18 Best Potluck Desserts to Feed a Crowd

Lemon Bars

Tart and tangy lemon bars are a great fit for summer cookouts. The flaky bottom crust on these dessert bars is super simple, and it’s the best-supporting player for the gooey, citrus-packed filling. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar for a little extra sweetness.

Cannoli Bars

Skip the fuss of frying cannoli shells and make this dessert bar recipe instead! This recipe uses a graham cracker crust to mimic the signature crunch of a cannoli, paired with a creamy mascarpone and ricotta topping. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips and powdered sugar on top for an irresistible finish.

Dutch Letter Bars

Dutch letter pastries are usually filled with almond paste and became a Midwest favorite after being brought to the area by Dutch immigrants. This version turns the typical S-shape pastry into a delicious dessert bar recipe. While it has the classic almond flavor, this variation is made a little sweeter with raspberry jam.

Copycat Musketeer Bars

Craving a candy bar? We've turned an all-time favorite chocolate bar into the best copycat dessert bar recipe. Chocolate wafer cookies add a little crunch, while chocolate, malt powder, butter, and marshmallow crème make up the irresistible fluffy filling.

Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars

This pumpkin dessert bar recipe is a must-make for fall. They have all the traditional ingredients you’d expect—canned pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, pecans—but elevated with a few extra add-ins. The ginger-crumb crust and toffee pieces on top help take plain pumpkin bars to the next level.

Limoncello Cheesecake Bars

No need to worry about the top of this cheesecake cracking—cutting it into dessert bars takes all the pressure off. Start with a classic graham cracker crust, then fill it in with luscious cheesecake flavored with limoncello. Topping with candied lemon slices is up to you, but it adds a delicious burst of citrus and makes the finished bars oh-so pretty.

Pistachio Gelato Brownie Bars

Part dessert bar recipe, part brownie, and part ice cream bar, there’s no way this recipe can be anything but a hit. Speed up the process (and cut down on the ingredient list) by using a brownie mix as the base. Then, sandwich in pistachio gelato, chocolate syrup, and chopped pistachios for a sweet, crunchy, chocolatey dream.

Marbled Pumpkin-Chocolate Cream Cheese Bars

When you can’t decide between chocolate, vanilla, and pumpkin, make all three! This gorgeous dessert bar recipe combines smooth chocolate and cream cheese with cinnamon-spiced pumpkin bars. To create a stunning marbled effect, alternate spooning the chocolate and cream cheese over the pumpkin batter, then use a knife to gently swirl together.

No-Bake Irish Cream Pudding Bars

Smooth, creamy, chocolatey no-bake dessert bars are one of the easiest (and tastiest!) treats you can make. Crushed chocolate sandwich cookies make a crunchy crust, decadent Irish cream liqueur teams up with vanilla pudding for the center, and melted chocolate adds just the right amount of bittersweet flavor. Just layer everything together, chill in the fridge, and serve.

Apple-Brown Butter Bars

Satisfy apple pie cravings without the work of perfecting a crust. These dessert bars have a sugar, flour, and almond base that creates delicious flavor without rolling out dough. Top with a filling made from sliced apples, apple jelly, and cream, plus a brush of brown butter for added richness.

Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate Ganache

If you can’t get enough of chocolate and peanut butter, this dessert bar recipe was made with you in mind. It starts with a layer of chocolatey devils food cake, then gets topped with a light and fluffy layer of peanut butter with chopped peanuts. Pour a decadent chocolate ganache on top to mimic the chocolate covering your favorite candy cups.

Banana Bars with Butter-Rum Frosting

Almost like banana cake but a lot easier to share, this dessert bar recipe is a great way to use up those brown bananas. The base of these bars is a little bit like an ultra-light and fluffy banana bread. Then, top it off with a generous spread of butter-rum frosting and extra banana slices.

Carrot and Zucchini Bars

Turn extra garden goodies into a sweet treat! This dessert bar recipe combines zucchini bread and carrot cake into one yummy, shareable summer recipe. But the real star of the show might be the citrus-cream cheese frosting (flavor it with lemon or orange peel—your choice).

Linzer Bars

These dessert bars are a twist on traditional Austrian Linzer tortes, shortbread pastries topped with fruit preserves, sliced nuts, and a lattice design. This recipe keeps the shortbread base and flavors it with raspberry jam and sliced almonds. Instead of a lattice, finish with a drizzle of almond glaze topping (although you could pipe it in a lattice if you wanted!).

Gooey Chocolate-Caramel Bars

This recipe is for the classic, brownie-like dessert bar. A full cup of brown sugar is key for getting the chewy texture just right, and a layer of sweetened condensed milk and chocolate in the center helps make them nice and gooey, too. These bars will also freeze for up to 3 months, so they’re great to make and save for an occasion when you need a last-minute dessert.

Gluten-Free Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

Make dessert bars everyone can enjoy. This gluten-free recipe will appeal to most, especially since it’s loaded with mini chocolate chips and chocolate-covered caramel candies. Plus, everything gets mixed up in one bowl, so it’s one of the easiest dessert bars you can make!

Caramel Coconut Cookie Bars

No matter what season, you can always turn to these caramel coconut dessert bars. A copycat of a popular Girl Scout cookie, these bars combine dulce de leche, coconut flakes, and chocolate chips with a cookie crust. The recipe makes 24, so there’s plenty to share (or plenty to save for later).

Scotcheroos

The ultimate Midwestern dessert bar recipe is right here. Gooey, crunchy scotcheroos mix rice cereal with peanut butter for the tastiest combo of sticky and sweet. Top with a super simple “frosting” made from semisweet chocolate and butterscotch chips, and these yummy bars are ready to share.

Chocolate Revel Bars

An all-time favorite dessert bar recipe, these bars have layers of chocolate and crunchy oatmeal. The chocolate layer stays nice and gooey, while the oat mixture sits in dots on top. This recipe makes a whopping 75 bars, so it’s an excellent choice for a big family gathering or neighborhood potluck.

Millionaire Shortbread

This dessert recipe is part bar cookie and part candy bar. It's earned rave reviews ever since we published it. As one reviewer shared, "One of my favorite things, ever! I added food-grade 24k gold flakes on top to up the 'millionaire' factor."

Hot Honey Nut Bars

You can find hot honey in the grocery store. It's honey that's been infused with fresh or dried chile peppers. Here, it coats salted mixed nuts for a dessert bar recipe that's equal parts sweet and spicy.

Chocolaty Caramel-Nut S'more Bars

These s'mores bars are layers of chocolate and marshmallow. Start with a cookie crumb crust and top with caramel. Press on mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and chopped mixed nuts.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Bars

This fruit bar recipe showcases the best of spring. If you can't find fresh rhubarb (or you want to make this dessert off-season), frozen rhubarb works great. If you want even more flavor, drizzle the bars with a homemade ginger icing.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Making homemade cheesecake can be a daunting task. This easy bar recipe takes the guesswork out of the fan-favorite dessert. You'll need just 6 ingredients to make a pan that serves 36.

Danish Pastry Apple Bars

If apple pie is your go-to dessert, you'll love this apple bar recipe. Our secret to the perfect texture, is slicing the apples very thinly for the filling. Drizzle the bars with a homemade vanilla icing.