People love lasagna, but many times they don’t know what desserts go with it! There are plenty of desserts that would go perfectly with this Italian dish! Here are some excellent yummy options that will make your meal complete.
In this article, we’ll share some tips and tricks on how to pick the perfect deserts, along with an overview of 13 great options. Desserts add just one little final touch to make your meal complete, so it’s important to choose carefully.
1. Gelato
Gelato is one of my favorite desserts, both in flavor and texture. It’s soft and creamy with a high-fat content that gives it an incredible silky-smooth feeling in your mouth when you eat it.
It is a decadent Italian dessert made with different ingredients depending on the area of Italy you’re in. It’s often served after dinner, and it compliments Italian cuisine very well due to its rich, creamy flavor profile.
2. Tiramisu
Tiramisu has a creamy texture that makes it perfect for people who love their dessert on the sweeter side of things. It’s made from espresso-soaked ladyfingers, which gives it a fantastic coffee flavor.
Italian desserts are famous worldwide because many of them have been passed down through generations. This particular one is no exception either since it was invented right here in Italy about 40 years ago.
3. Florentine Cookies
Florentine cookies are a great addition to lasagna, and they’re also a straightforward recipe. Also known as florentine biscuits, are a simple and quick dessert to prepare. These simple, crispy cookies are made with just a few ingredients, and the flavor is delicious.
They are also easy to transport if you need to take them somewhere after they’re baked.
4. Vanilla Ice Cream
Lasagna is usually served hot, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it cold as well with some ice cream on the side. Vanilla would be the best choice in this case due to its mild taste, which enhances other flavors very nicely without overpowering them.
The vanilla flavor and creamy texture make for an ideal match with lasagna’s fantastic sauce made from Italian tomatoes mixed up with various spices such as oregano, basil, or thyme.
5. Panna Cotta
Panna cotta is an Italian dessert that translates to “cooked cream.” Most recipes call for simple cooking methods and only a few ingredients, making it the perfect go-to when you’re craving something sweet.
Panna Cotta is made with heavy cream, sugar, and gelatin and can be served with fresh fruit or a berry sauce to add flavor and flair. If you’re looking for a great Italian dessert option that’s perfect for summertime picnics, look no further than panna cotta.
6. Cannolis
No Italian meal is complete without cannolis on the table. This sweet pastry comes from Italy, but there are many variations around the world today, so be sure to check out what they have at your local bakery or grocery store.
Homemade Cannolis are made by rolling a thin cylinder of fried pastry around a homemade filling. The dough is then dusted with powdered sugar and often flavored as well.
Cannolis are typically filled with sweetened ricotta, mascarpone, or cream cheese. These fillings can be mixed together to create unique flavors like orange cannoli, pistachio cannoli, chocolate chip cannoli, and more!
Sometimes the shell is dipped in melted chocolate before being filled.
Homemade Cannolis make great desserts for birthday parties because kids will love decorating their own shells while adults enjoy mixing up all different kinds of flavor combinations that everyone can sample.
Cannolis might not seem like much, but once you try them, you’ll be coming back for more very soon-and they’re also great served cold if need be.
7. Sorbet
Sorbet is an excellent option since it’s light and delicious, making it perfect for the warmer months when you don’t want to have anything heavy.
It fits lasagna perfectly because both dishes rely on contrasting flavors. In contrast, vanilla ice cream enhances its taste. Sorbet helps cleanse your palate in-between bites so that you can enjoy every single flavor component of this beautiful Italian dish.
8. Cappuccino
An Italian classic, Cappuccinos are the perfect way to end your lasagna dinner.
Cappuccinos are creamy, sweet, and caffeinated – all of which make them the ideal accompaniment for any Italian meal. They’ll give you an energy boost after a long day at work or school so that you can get off your couch and do something with the deliciousness in front of you.
9. Coffee With Biscotti
Coffee with Biscotti is a classic pairing that goes back hundreds of years in Italy, and it’s easy to see why this combination works so well together. Coffee adds an earthy component that enhances the flavors within the coffee while its bitterness acts as a great contrast against all of the sugar found in biscotti.
So next time you are craving something sweet after lasagna, try out our tried-and-true Italian dessert combo for yourself!
10. Limoncello Cake
Limoncello Cake is a delicious Italian-inspired cake with an American twist. A spicy, lemony bundt cake is the perfect way to end any meal. For an Italian classic Limoncello cake recipe, check out this YouTube video featuring Giada De Laurentiis:
This Italian dessert is an excellent addition to any coffee or tea party, and it pairs wonderfully with both iced and hot beverages. And when you enjoy a Limoncello Cake, you’ll discover that there’s no cake quite like this.
Related Does Cake Need to Be Refrigerated? | How to Store All Types.
11. Chocolate Cake
Chocolate cake is an absolute classic that’s perfect for any Italian meal. It’s rich, moist, and delicious, so you’ll have your whole family begging for more. It can be served with ice cream or gelato to take it up a notch, but if not, the chocolate sauce on top is always great by itself.
12. Lemon Drop Cookies
Lemon Drop cookies are a great addition to any Italian meal, as they’re super light and lemony with the right amount of sweetness. They make for an excellent after-dinner treat, especially if you have guests over or while watching movies at home with family members.
These Lemon Drop cookies are quick to make and take under 30 minutes from start to finish. The dough is thick enough to roll into balls or scoop out using an ice cream scooper, which means less time waiting for the dough to chill between batches.
These little gems come together quickly, which makes them perfect for last-minute guests. It also means you can whip up another batch without much effort if all the first ones disappear before their serving date.
If these didn’t fit well with lasagna, then I don’t know what would!
Lemon Drop cookies also pair well with gelato, so be sure to give that a try next time you stop by your local bakery. If none is available, they’re still just as tasty on their own.
13. Amaretti Cookies
Amaretti Cookies are a great Italian dessert that you can enjoy after your meal. They’re crunchy and sweet, with an almond taste to them which makes for the perfect combination.
They are made by crushing almonds into fine crumbs and then mixing them with other ingredients. Amaretti Cookies are an excellent after-dinner treat that you can enjoy before, during, or even after your meal.
Thanks for stoppin’ by!
For more, don’t miss The 5 Best Substitutes for Egg in Lasagna.
Anne James has a wealth of experience in a wide array of interests and is an expert in quilting, cooking, gardening, camping, mixing drinks (worked as a professional bartender), and making jelly.
Anne has a professional canning business, has been featured in the local newspaper as well as on the Hershey website, and has been her family canner for decades. Anyone growing up in the South knows that there is always a person in the family who has knowledge of the “old ways,” and this is exactly what Anne is.
With over 55 years of experience in these endeavors, she brings a level of hands-on knowledge that is hard to surpass. Amazingly, she doesn’t need to reference many resources due to her vast wealth of experience. She IS the source.
Anne wants nothing more than to pass on her extensive knowledge to the next generations, whether that be family or anyone visiting her website, her YouTube channel, or preservingsweetness.com.