25 Easy Meal Train Desserts That Travel Well
These easy meal train desserts travel well, are easy to make, and can be enjoyed by the family now or later if they choose to freeze them for after the help has stopped coming.
Sometimes the person who sets up the meal train for a family will define the expectations of what you should bring.
For our "mommy meals" meal train after our playgroup had new babies, we were expected to bring:
- Main Dish
- Vegetable Side Dish
- Dessert
If you're bringing dinner to a friend in need as part of a meal train or as a special surprise and no one has defined "the rules," you can make your own! Dessert is such a thoughtful addition that puts the sweet finishing touch on the delivery and shows just how much you care.
There are so many travel-friendly desserts that would work well for a food delivery: cookies, brownies and bars, 9x13-inch baked goodies, and even dessert dips with dunkers.
But here's something to remember: You're not the only one delivering food and I can almost guarantee most people are bringing chocolate chip cookies or brownies. So if you plan to bring those, make sure they are the best version you can find. Otherwise, pick any one of the more unique suggestions from my list below.
You'll get bonus points for a dessert that can be frozen and enjoyed in the future if they have too much on hand now. All the food arrives when help is first needed, but especially if you're feeding a grieving family, the help is still needed long after the deliveries stop.
Easy No-Bake Desserts to Bring
You don't have to bake something from scratch in order to bring a thoughtful dessert as part of your meal train delivery. Here are a few store-bought short-cuts that would be very appreciated:
- Root Beer Floats: Bring a 2-liter of root beer and a tub of vanilla ice cream. They can be stored for later if the family wants.
- Pound Cake Sundaes: Bring a frozen pound cake and a unique flavor of ice cream or fresh berries that you've prepped for them and a canister of whipped cream.
- Chocolate Pudding Parfaits: Bring a tub of pre-made chocolate pudding, some OREO Cookies for crumbling, and a canister of whipped cream.
- Fresh Bakery Items: Stop by the nicest bakery nearby or the fresh bakery section of your grocery store and pick up a pie or other seasonal treat. My mom's go-to is a bakery-made angel food cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
Best Homemade Brownies
Brownies are a popular meal train dessert for good reason -- they are universally beloved and travel so well. They're also easy to bake.
If you're going to do brownies, I recommend making these chewy homemade brownies from scratch. They don't take much longer than a boxed mix but taste so much better.
Otherwise, you could really spoil them with a batch of these sourdough discard brownies which are the richest and fudgiest I've ever had.
Freezer-Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies are the second most popular meal train dessert for all the same reasons as the brownies.
If you know you are not the first to show up with the meal train dinner, I recommend prepping a batch of my amazing chocolate chip walnut cookies but flash-freeze the cookie dough balls.
Deliver them in a plastic freezer bag with baking instructions and let the family decide if they want one or two fresh-baked cookies tonight or if they'd prefer to save the whole package for another time. They just might love being able to stretch out the treat in the months to come.
Double Vanilla Cookies
If you want the delivery ease of cookies but want to try something a little different than chocolate chip, I highly recommend my double vanilla cookies with a hint of orange zest. They can be eaten now or frozen for later as needed.
Meyer Lemon Bars
You can make my tart and juicy Meyer lemon bars with Meyer lemons or regular lemons as you prefer. This is a wonderful baking dish treat that could be baked in a disposable foil pan for easy delivery.
Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
My easy ice cream sandwich cake takes just minutes to assemble and could be prepped and frozen in a 9x13 foil baking dish for easy delivery. This would be a perfect treat to bring in the warmer weather months.
Chocolate Chip Scones
My delicious chocolate chip scones are one part dessert one part breakfast treat and the family might just love being able to use them either way!
Sugar Cookie Bars
During the holiday season, you could sprinkle festive sprinkles over these sugar cookie bars for a touch of Christmas but during the rest of the year just plain sprinkles would do perfectly, too.
OREO Blondies
These easy bake OREO blondies are the perfect dessert bar to bring instead of brownies or cookies because they combine the best of both worlds!
Strawberry Cheesecake Dip
Give the family a much-needed break from all the chocolate and deliver a container of this easy strawberry cheesecake dip with fresh fruit for dunking. Gingersnap cookies are a delicious dipper, too.
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Hello Dolly Bars
Layered with coconut and chocolate, my hello dolly bars are easy to prep and bake and could be delivered right in the 9x13-inch pan you bake them in.
Freezer Friendly Apple Crisp
In the fall, if you really want to treat your loved ones you should prep a batch of my freezer friendly apple crisp. You could split it into two 9x9-inch baking pans and have one to bring to the family and one to keep for yours. Or give them the full 9x13-inch batch if you know they have a lot of people on hand helping out.
Fresh Cherry Crisp
In the summertime, my fresh cherry crisp with a container of ice cream is the way to go. Just like the apple crisp, it is freezer-friendly and could be split and shared or given all in one glorious pan.
Shortbread Pecan Pie Bars
It doesn't need to be Thanksgiving time to enjoy these chewy shortbread pecan pie bars. You could deliver them with whipped cream for a sweet touch.
Peach Dumplings
Ok, trust me on this one. If you're delivering a dessert in July or August, please try baking these easy peach dumplings in a disposable baking pan and deliver them with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. They are so juicy and delicious and the crispy topping is comfort food at its best.
Peach Bread
Another great "breakfast or dessert?" option is my fresh peach bread that works as an after-dinner treat, an afternoon pick-me-up, or a breakfast pastry with coffee.
Swedish Chocolate Balls
Perfectly pop-able, these no-bake Swedish chocolate balls are bite-sized balls of rich chocolatey goodness that are great for small nibbles. Warning, they do have some coffee in the mix and you should let the family know in case the kids or a nursing mom is going to enjoy them.
Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies
Soft and fluffy pumpkin butterscotch cookies would be a huge hit any time in the fall. They are a cross between a cookie and a muffin and one of the more delightful desserts on my entire site.
Irish Shortbread Cookies
If you've never baked shortbread from scratch, this Irish shortbread cookies recipe is going to totally win you over. Bake them in a 9x13-inch pan and score them while they are still warm. You can break them apart and deliver them in the container you prefer.
Rich and buttery, they are soothing and delicious with a cup of tea.
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Bars
Easier than pumpkin pie to bake and deliver, these rich pumpkin gooey butter cake bars can be cut into fingers and delivered on a plate or tray or left right in the 9x13-inch baking pan they're made in.
Classic Strawberry Shortcake
You could bake up my classic strawberry shortcake biscuits, prep the strawberries, and grab the whipped cream container and deliver deconstructed dessert for them to assemble when they're ready.
Blueberry Lemon Muddy Buddies
Finally, if you just want to offer up a simple little nibble, try making a batch of my blueberry lemon muddy buddies. They could use this as an easy treat after dinner but it works as a meal train snack, too.
More Meal Train Tips
Are you in charge of setting up a meal train for a loved one? Be sure to review my meal train etiquette tips, they're a good reminder for the entire group.
If you're helping a friend through a season of illness or loss, you'll definitely want to read about how to feed a family who is grieving.
And as you're planning what to bring, you'll love my 30 clever meal train recipes and easy meal train side dishes that travel well.
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