No-Bake “Strawberry Delight” Won’t Last 10 Minutes at Your Next Backyard BBQ (It’s That Good)

We’re in somewhat of a “delight” era over here. Chocolate chip cookie delight, cherry pie delight, and lemon blueberry delight are a few of our more recent faves. But it all started with Kelli’s OG strawberry delight with six blissful no-bake layers: graham cracker crust, summer strawberries, whipped cream cheese, strawberry cream cheese, whipped cream, and more fresh strawberries. Before this absolute icon of a dessert, I had no idea what a delight was. Now I can’t get enough. 

Get the recipe: No-Bake Strawberry Delight

If you’re new to the term, perhaps you know it by something else, like “lush” or “dream.” Essentially, it’s a layered dessert that comes together in a baking dish — no oven required! — and starts with some sort of crumbly, buttery crust. Another common denominator: whipped cream or topping. Cream cheese often comes to play as well. 

I’m going to be careful with my wording. The cream cheese in two of these layers adds a subtle cheesecake-esque vibe. It is no way meant to stand in for the iconic baked dessert, nor does it exactly compare to it, but fans of cheesecake (me!) will think this fluffier, lighter version is pretty dang delicious all the same. 

There’s also none of the fuss of baking an actual cheesecake. In fact, you need exactly zero baking skills to pull off this stunner. The striking layers are easy to pull off simply by dolloping and spreading everything into your 8×8 pan. Gelatin helps make getting nice clean slices possible, as long as you let it chill properly before serving.

Get the recipe: No-Bake Strawberry Delight

What’s the difference between a delight and a dream bar? I’m not entirely sure, so it felt wrong to exclude those delightful recipes from this list. 

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight
• Cherry Pie Delight
• Lemon Blueberry Delight
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars 
• Strawberry Dream Bars
• Coconut Delight 
• Chocolate Delight
• Caramel Apple Delight (for fall!) 
• Pumpkin Delight (bookmark it for Thanksgiving!) 

This article originally published on The Kitchn. See it there: No-Bake “Strawberry Delight” Won’t Even Last 10 Minutes on 4th of July Weekend (It’s That Good)