It’s mac and cheese night! This meal is the ultimate comfort food and has a rich and creamy consistency. If you are stuck wondering what kind of dessert would go with this meal, you’ve come to the right place.
We are sharing our top picks of desserts you can pair with mac and cheese without feeling like your stomach might burst. All of the desserts feature citrus fruits to make your night end on a light and refreshing note.
Best Milk Substitutes for Mac and Cheese
Easy Lemon Cupcakes
You can whip up this recipe in just under 30 minutes. Here’s what you’ll need:
- (1) 12 oz. can of Diet 7 Up (room temperature)
- (1) 15.25 oz. box of lemon cake mix
- ½ cup of unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3 cups of powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice (can do ½ milk ½ lemon juice if you want less lemon flavor)
- ½ tsp of vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 18 muffin liners and set aside. Get a medium-sized bowl and pour in the cake mix. Slowly whisk in the soda until all the lumps are gone in the batter. Fill each muffin liner about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. You’ll know it is ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean.
While the cupcakes are cooling, cream together the butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. You can add a little more lemon juice or milk to thin it down or add powdered sugar to make the frosting thicker. Frost each cupcake after they are cooled and enjoy.
This dessert will certainly add a hint of yummy citrus to finish off your mac and cheese dinner. We love how simple it is to put this recipe all together.
Coconut Lime Tarts
This recipe has 12 total servings, enough to feed a large group of friends or family members. You will need:
- 12 premade cooked and cooled tart shells
Lime curd filling
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- Zest from 1 or 2 limes (about 1 ½ Tbsp)
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter (cubed)
Whipped coconut cream
- 2 cans of full-fat coconut milk (refrigerate cans for a full 24 hours)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ to ⅔ cup of sifted powdered sugar
Add all the ingredients for the lime curd (except the butter) and whisk them together in a small pot. Cook on medium heat and stir continuously until it thickens (about 4 or 5 minutes). Remove the pot from the heat and add butter. Stir the butter until it is melted and incorporated into the curd. Set aside and allow it to cool to room temperature.
To make the whipped coconut cream, bring the coconut milk cans out and get rid of the coconut water then scoop out the cream into a stand mixer. Beat the coconut cream until it has a smooth and fluffy consistency. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix it again until the cream can form stiff peaks.
Slowly stir in ¾ cup of the whipped coconut cream into the curd. Spoon in the filling into all the tarts and allow them to set completely in the fridge. Refrigerate the coconut cream while you are waiting for the tarts to set. Divide the rest of the coconut cream between the tarts and garnish with toasted coconut and lime zest.
This recipe takes a lot of time to prepare, but it results in a delicious tart dessert. If you don’t want to serve individual tarts, you can certainly combine it into its own big lime tart to cut down a bit on the prep work.
The rest of the desserts we found are delicious frozen desserts you can serve with mac and cheese. Any of these choices will surely satisfy your sweet tooth.
Fruity Sherbet
You will need a half-gallon of pineapple sherbet for this dessert. Soften the sherbet and put it in a large bowl. Fold in 16 ounces of frozen (partially thawed) raspberries and 2 medium bananas (diced). You can also add a ½ teaspoon of almond extract. Cover and freeze for at least 3 hours.
You can mix it up and add whatever frozen berries you would like, and maybe even substitute the diced banana with kiwis instead.
Frozen watermelon smoothies
These are perfect for summertime. You will need 4 cups of seedless watermelon (frozen), 5 cups of ice, 1 cup raspberry sorbet, 1 cup fresh lime juice, and ½ cup of powdered sugar. Use a blender to crush all the ice and blend the ingredients until smooth. This mix will serve 4 people.
Lemon Pie Pops
This makes about 16 to 20 5 ounce ice pop molds. Have your molds ready and set aside. To make the ice pop mix, you will need 2 (14 ounces each) cans of sweetened condensed milk, 2 Tbsp lemon zest (from 2 to 3 medium lemons), 1 cup fresh lemon juice (from 7 medium lemons), and 1 cup of chilled heavy cream.
Whisk together the condensed milk, zest, and juice. Beat the heavy cream in a separate bowl. Make sure it can hold stiff peaks then fold in the cream into the condensed milk mixture. Spoon your mixture into each mold, filling until about ¼ inch from the top. Tap the molds to eliminate air bubbles. Insert popsicle sticks and allow the pops to firm up for about 5 hours before serving.
These creamy pops are yummy at any time of year. If you want to substitute limes, grapefruit, or oranges instead of lemons feel free to do so.
Check out the best Popsicle molds on Amazon here.
We hope you enjoyed our top picks of desserts you can serve with mac and cheese. Bon appetit!
