What Desserts Should You Make For Labor Day? Shaunda’s Sweet Picks

Beautiful Soul, we’ve handled the mains and sides. Now let’s discuss the part of the Labor Day table I personally believe deserves its own planning committee: Dessert. 

But even I don’t think you need a dessert table overflowing with six different choices. My Labor Day rule is much easier:
Choose one nostalgic dessert and one easy dessert. (Or just choose one.)

That’s enough to give everyone something sweet without turning your holiday weekend into a baking marathon. And I’ve already narrowed down the choices.

Shaunda’s Labor Day dessert collection

Labor Day sits in one of my favorite little culinary moments of the year. Summer isn’t quite finished, but fall is starting to peek around the corner. So my dessert table can have juicy peaches, pineapple, and banana pudding sitting right alongside a warm Southern apple pie.

And nobody needs to mention pumpkin yet, LOL! 

And if I’m choosing where to start? Pass me the peach cobbler.

Featured dessert: peach cobbler

Peach cobbler belongs in this Labor Day rotation because it lets us hold onto one of summer’s best flavors for just a little longer.

And Beautiful Soul, I’ve already handled the next question:

What kind of peaches should you use?

Fresh?

Yes.

Canned?

Yes.

Frozen?

Yes.

I’ve worked through all three options so you can choose according to what’s in your kitchen, what’s available at the store, and how much prep you feel like doing.

Choose your peach cobbler

I’ve already thought this through…

Here’s how I’d choose:

Have beautiful ripe peaches? → Use fresh.

Want the easiest pantry-friendly option? → Use canned.

Summer peaches are gone—or you’d rather skip peeling them? → Use frozen.

The goal isn’t to prove anything by choosing the most labor-intensive version. The best peach cobbler is the one that works for the season, your kitchen, and the amount of time you actually have.

Put some vanilla ice cream beside it and carry on!

Banana pudding

Now we’re talking nostalgia! Banana pudding is one of those Southern desserts that doesn’t need a holiday invitation, but it certainly knows what to do when it gets one.

And once again, you have options.

Want Grandma’s old-fashioned banana pudding? I’ve got you.

Need an easy no-bake banana pudding that lets the refrigerator do the work? I’ve got you there, too.

Choose your banana pudding

👩🏾‍🍳 Make-It-Your-Way

This is exactly why I give you more than one way to make some of our classics. Choosing the convenient method doesn’t mean the occasion—or the memories attached to the food—matter any less.

Sometimes you want to make the old-fashioned version. Sometimes you need dessert chilling in the refrigerator while you handle everything else.

Choose the version that fits the day you’re actually having.

Southern apple pie

Here’s our delicious little bridge between summer and fall. Apple pie gives the Labor Day dessert table just enough cozy-season energy without rushing us into autumn before we’re ready.

Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream and enjoy that buttery, flaky crust and spiced apple filling… And again, nobody needs to mention pumpkin yet!

Pig pickin’ cake

If peach cobbler and banana pudding are bringing the nostalgia, pig pickin’ cake can be your lighter, easygoing summer pick.

Mandarin oranges and pineapple give this Southern favorite its bright, fruity flavor, while its cool, fluffy texture makes it especially good for a warm-weather gathering. Basically? Sunshine on the dessert table!

One more easy option… If pig pickin’ cake is invited, its lil cousin might as well come, too!

🥄 Shaunda says: Pick two and stop.

Here’s where I’m going to save you from yourself! You do not need to make all of these.
Remember my rule? Choose one nostalgic dessert + one easy dessert. (Or just choose one.)

Try:

Peach cobbler + pig pickin’ cake
Warm and nostalgic + cool and fruity.

Pig pickin’ cake + ambrosia salad
A sunny Southern country classic + its cool, fluffy little cousin. (Baby, they came to the cookout together!)

Old-fashioned banana pudding + an easy peach cobbler
A family-table classic + a shortcut that saves you some work.

Southern apple pie + no-bake banana pudding
Warm and cozy + cool and make-ahead.

Or forget my combinations and choose the one or two desserts your family would miss if they weren’t there.

Once you’ve picked them, stop looking for recipes. Your dessert menu is done!
(Dessert planning committee adjourned, LOL.)

🎧 Listen while you cook

And if you’ve chosen the nostalgic dessert that needs a little more kitchen time, I’ve already thought about that, too.

Take a seat at the table and get inside our often hilarious friend-group chat with The Soul Food Pod while you bake!

Listen to The Soul Food Pod →

Explore Shaunda’s Labor Day kitchen

Dessert is handled. Keep building your Labor Day without starting over:

❤️ Tap the heart at the top of this post to save it to your favorites on The Soul Food Pot!

Come cook with me

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