20 Festive Red, White and Blue Recipes to Celebrate 4th of July
Have a taste of patriotic pride.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a day more patriotic in the good ol’ U.S. of A than the 4th of July. It’s America’s birthday! Almost everyone has the day off, there’s tons of fireworks and festivities, and of course, there’s lots of food. If you’re planning on attending a potluck or throwing your own party, don’t forget to make some festive red, white and blue recipes to show your pride!
Most of the ideas you’ll find here are 4th of July desserts, since the colors of the flag are easy to duplicate with sweet treats, though you’ll find a festive cocktail and some waffles for a patriotic breakfast. You can go natural with blueberries, strawberries, cherries, or raspberries, or you can just have fun with some food coloring and sprinkles! There are even a few recipes that use a combination for an extra pop of color.
If you want to go traditional, you should definitely make a flag cake. You’ll find two such 4th of July cakes from Ree Drummond on this list, plus a pie version if you want to switch things up a bit this year. You’ll also find plenty of cookies, some frozen treats to beat the heat, and so much more. These red, white and blue recipes will add so much fun to your 4th of July festivities, no matter how you decide to celebrate!
4th of July Cake
Ree has been making Ina Garten’s classic recipe for years. “The decoration is nice and splashy, but the real appeal of this cake is the cake itself. It's beyond rich, dense, and out of this world, and those dadgum berries actually fool you into believing you’re consuming a healthy dessert,” she says.
Get Ree’s 4th of July Cake recipe.
Red, White, and Blue Fireworks Cookies
Sure, they look festive but wait until you take a bite. These buttery cookies are dipped in candy melts then sprinkled with popping candy that fizzles like a tiny fireworks show in your mouth!
Red, White, and Blue Giant Ice Cream Sandwich
Why choose between ice cream and cookies when you can have both? You basically make two giant M&M cookies and sandwich creamy vanilla ice cream and lots of sprinkles in between.
Get Ree’s Red, White, and Blue Giant Ice Cream Sandwich recipe.
Red, White, and Blue Berry Dessert
Get double the color by using both Jell-O and fresh berries in the red and blue layers. Making the stripes is easy thanks to store-bought pound cake and a sweetened cream cheese filling.
Red, White, and Blue Popsicles
July is always bound to be hot, so cool off with homemade popsicles. The red layer is made with fresh strawberries, the white layer is a creamy honey-vanilla yogurt, and the blue layer has blueberries (plus a little food coloring to amp it up).
Get Ree’s Red, White, and Blue Popsicles recipe.
No-Bake Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Bars
You don’t even have to turn on the oven and you still get cheesecake—that’s worth a celebration right there! Layer it on a chocolate cookie crust and add some festive colors, and you’ve got yourself a perfectly festive dessert.
Get Ree’s No-Bake Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Bars recipe.
Stars-and-Stripes Cereal Treats
Cereal treats are as American as you can get! And now you can make them even more festive with colorful candy melts, white star sprinkles, and popsicle sticks for a grab-and-go treat everyone will love.
Get Ree’s Stars-and-Stripes Cereal Treats recipe.
Flag Pie
Two fillings make this pie extra colorful and flavorful. Under pie-crust stars is a blueberry filling, and under the stripes is a raspberry-plum filling. Then all you need is a scoop of vanilla ice cream for serving.
Get the Flag Pie recipe.
Red, White, and Blue Cupcake Cones
Do you remember cupcake cones from back in the day? It’s time to bring your childhood back to life and make them extra festive with patriotic sprinkles. Who will love them more: the kids or the adults?
Get Ree’s Red, White, and Blue Cupcake Cones recipe.
Red, White, and Blue Trifle
It’s easy to build this sky-high trifle. Start with a store-bought pound cake and layer it with a fluffy whipped cream mixture and fresh berries. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries would all work.
Get the Red, White, and Blue Trifle recipe.
American Flag Cake
You don’t have to only use berries on a flag cake. You can get a similar look by making the stars and stripes with sprinkles instead! The trick is to use strips of parchment paper for clean lines.
Get Ree's American Flag Cake recipe.
July 4th Ice Cream Sandwiches
You can make handheld ice cream sandwiches, too! Make sugar cookies decorated in patriotic sprinkles. Then when they cool, layer store-bought vanilla ice cream in the middle. You can make them in advance, too, so you just pull them out when you’re ready to serve.
Get Ree's 4th of July Ice Cream Sandwiches recipe.
Red, White and Blue Waffles
Begin your holiday with a filling and festive breakfast! From-scratch buttermilk waffles are topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream. You can serve with butter and syrup, too.
Get the Red, White and Blue Waffles recipe.
Red, White and Blue Cocktail
Try this summery twist on the margarita made with tequila, grenadine, and fresh watermelon. Use a star cutter to create a garnish out of honeydew melon and add blue sprinkles to the rim for an extra festive touch.
Get Ree’s Red, White and Blue Cocktail recipe.
Frozen Yogurt Bark
Here’s a healthier snack option that’s just as tasty! Greek yogurt is lightly sweetened with honey, then swirled with strawberry and blackberry preserves, and topped with fresh berries, toasted coconut, and crunchy sunflower seeds.
Get Ree’s Frozen Yogurt Bark recipe.
Berry Chantilly Cake
If you love the viral Whole Foods cake, you can make it at home from scratch. The fresh berries mixed with the creamy mascarpone filling make it quite patriotic and very tasty as well.
Get the Berry Chantilly Cake recipe.
Cherry Delight
With a buttery vanilla wafer crust, fluffy cream cheese center, and cherry pie filling as the top, this dessert looks just like the stripes on the flag. And even more delightful? You don’t have to bake a thing!
Get Ree’s Cherry Delight recipe.
Red, White, and Blue Strawberries
It’s still strawberry season in many places, so make the most of them. All you have to do is dip them in white chocolate and blue candy melts for an easy and festive treat. Add some sprinkles because you can!
Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
Red velvet feels so quintessentially American, doesn’t it? And cream cheese frosting most certainly is, so it feels particularly appropriate to sandwich them together for the 4th. You can add some blue sprinkles, too!
Get Ree’s Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies recipe.
Strawberry Icebox Cake
Another no-bake treat is this fun classic. Instead of cake, you use graham crackers for the layers. Slices of strawberries and cream turn it into a striped treat that is reminiscent of the flag.
Get the Strawberry Icebox Cake recipe.
Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad
Cookout Sides Beyond Potato Salad and Coleslaw
Chipotle Black Bean Veggie Burgers
Blackberry Cheesecake Bars
