Icebox Banana Pudding Pie
This easy, no-bake dessert is the perfect conclusion to a summer barbecue.
Summer may be the season of fresh berry and stone fruit crisps, galettes, and pies, but it’s also the brief moment when baking’s dark horse—the refrigerator—steps into the limelight. No-bake desserts and icebox pies are perfect for hot, lazy days when you want something sweet but can barely bring yourself to turn on the stove, much less the oven. This take on a banana pudding is your answer.
Crushed Nilla Wafers make a graham cracker-like crust you can assemble right in the Pie Dish, while the custard-y filling (comprising of instant pudding, whipped heavy cream, and coconut milk) is rich, not too sweet, and vaguely tropical—the perfect backdrop for the sliced ripe bananas.
Icebox Banana Pudding Pie
This easy, no-bake dessert is the perfect conclusion to a summer barbecue.
Rhoda Boone, Culinary Director
Whip coconut milk, pudding mix, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl with a hand mixer or in bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment until well combined. Chill at least 20 minutes.
Add cookies to a resealable plastic bag and gently crush with a Rolling Pin or wine bottle until they are pea-size pieces. Transfer to bottom of a Pie Dish.
Melt butter in a Butter Warmer over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Pour melted butter over crushed cookies and mix cookies and butter with your fingers until well-combined and sandy in texture. Press mixture into bottom of Pie Dish with a flat-bottomed measuring cup or a glass. Chill until ready to assemble.
Whip cream to soft peaks in a large bowl with a hand or electric mixer or in bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Add a third of pudding mixture and gently whip to combine. Add another third, and then last third, gently whipping after each addition to combine. Fold mixture by hand with a rubber spatula, making sure there are no streaks of cream.
Arrange a third of bananas on top of cookie mixture. Top with half of pudding mixture. Add another third of bananas, and top with remaining pudding mixture. Decorate top of pie with remaining bananas, blueberries, and raspberries, if using. You can enjoy right away, but it’s best to chill pie for at least 1 hour and up to 24.
To serve, use a large spoon to scoop banana pudding into individual Side Bowls.
