How to Host an Allergy-Friendly Holiday Dessert Table (Without Baking)

If you’re hosting this year, your brain is already juggling:

Who’s vegan?
Who’s allergic to dairy or eggs?
Does anyone have nut allergies?

You want one dessert table where everyone can say yes—without spending three nights in the kitchen.

Here’s how to build an allergy-friendly holiday dessert table using Southern Roots Vegan Bakery, so you can skip the baking and still have a spread that looks (and tastes) intentional.

Everything we make is dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and soy-free.

Step 1: Pick your “centerpiece” dessert

Start with the thing that makes everyone go, “Ooooh, what’s that?”

Great options:

  • Naked Cake
    Moist, dense cake layers in Strawberry, Funfetti, Lemon, Chocolate, Red Velvet, or Carrot, stacked with our homemade signature buttercreams—silky, smooth, and just sweet enough.
    An 8" three-layer cake serves 8–10 people.
  • Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, or Apple Pie (San Antonio local delivery only)
    Cozy, familiar, and ideal for the “I just want a slice of pie” guests.

Place your centerpiece on a cake stand or elevated plate so it anchors the table.

Step 2: Add easy-grab favorites

Now you need things people can grab as they walk by with coffee or cocoa.

Donuts (baked, not fried):

  • Vanilla – soft, classic
  • Lemon – bright and citrusy
  • Red Velvet – rich and festive
  • Pumpkin Spice – warm spices, holiday in a bite

The crumb is tender and moist, the glaze shiny, and they look gorgeous lined in rows.

Cookies:

  • Chocolate Chip
  • Oatmeal Raisin
  • Double Chocolate Chip
  • Sugar Cookie

Chewy centers, lightly crisp edges—the kind people “just sample” and then come back for.

Plan on 1–2 donuts or cookies per person, depending on the crowd.

Step 3: Make it clear everyone can eat

A small sign does a lot of emotional heavy lifting.

On a folded card or little frame, write:

“All desserts are dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and soy-free.”

For the parent of a kid with allergies, that one line is a deep breath. For your plant-based or health-conscious guests, it’s a quiet moment of “Oh, they thought of me.”

Step 4: Leftovers (on purpose)

The best dessert tables leave you a little something for later:

  • Donuts reheat beautifully with a quick 10–15 seconds in the microwave.
  • Cookies are ideal with next-morning coffee.
  • Cake slices stored in an airtight container stay moist for days.

So if you’re between “just enough” and “a little extra,” lean into extra. December has plenty of moments that deserve an easy sweet bite.

You don’t have to be the person covered in flour at midnight to host well.

Build your dessert table from Naked Cakes, donuts, cookies, and pies, and let Southern Roots Vegan Bakery handle the baking—so you can actually enjoy the people around your table.

Today, our menu is built around the treats people reach for first and reorder again.

Cake Donuts

Cookies

Naked Cakes

Dense, hearty layers with homemade buttercream, in flavors like:

Pies (local only)

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