No Bake Banana Split Dessert is a classic! It layers a graham cracker crust, cream cheese-based filling, bananas, pineapple, strawberries, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate & a cherry on top!
Each year, around Easter, I start to get a hankering for this no bake banana split dessert, which is peculiar to me, because I can only remember eating it once or twice ever, and that was at least 10 or 15 years ago. For some reason, it has stuck in my mind and I associate it with Easter. It’s quite possible that my mom made it for an Easter dessert a couple of years in a row, and then moved on to something else. A few years ago I finally asked my mom if she had the recipe for the “banana split dessert thing” that she made a long time ago, and she was able to dig it up for me. It took me approximately 2.2 seconds to assemble what I needed and I’ve been enjoying it at least a couple of times a year ever since!
First things first, let me break this banana split dessert down for you. Most importantly – it’s entirely no-bake. Absolutely no oven time is required, which makes it perfect for the summer when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen, and also perfect for when you need a quick dessert that you can throw together in very little time. Poof! Done!
Now, for the layers… It starts off with a graham cracker crust, topped with a cream cheese-mousse, and then layers of banana, pineapple, strawberries, and finally whipped cream, nuts, chocolate, and cherries on top! Talk about the ultimate banana split.
Now, a strange thing happened when I ran through the recipe the first time, and I had to do a double take. The layer above the graham cracker frosting consisted of butter, powdered sugar, and 2 eggs. EXCEPT… the eggs weren’t heated like a custard, and this dessert isn’t baked, so they’re just in there, raw. ::shudder:: I couldn’t do it, so after thinking through some workarounds, including a pastry cream layer or making it with pudding, I finally decided to use the filling from another of my favorite old-school desserts – the Strawberry Pretzel Salad.
I went full steam ahead with that, and it works absolutely brilliantly in this recipe. Don’t wait for a special reason to make this dessert, and certainly don’t wait years in between. Any ordinary day is special enough for this incredibly easy no bake banana split dessert.
NO BAKE BANANA SPLIT DESSERT
yield: 12 TO 16 SERVINGS
prep: 30 MINUTES
total:
4 HOURS 30 MINUTES
A classic! Layers of graham cracker crust, cream cheese filling, bananas, pineapple, strawberries, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate & a cherry on top!
INGREDIENTS:
For the Crust:
2 cups (198 grams) graham cracker crumbs
½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the Cream Cheese Layer:
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
8 ounces Cool Whip
For the Fruit & Toppings:
3 to 4 bananas, sliced
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained well
16 ounces strawberries, hulled and sliced
8 ounces Cool Whip
½ cup (57 grams) walnuts, chopped
Chocolate syrup
Maraschino cherries
DIRECTIONS:
Each year, around Easter, I start to get a hankering for this no bake banana split dessert, which is peculiar to me, because I can only remember eating it once or twice ever, and that was at least 10 or 15 years ago. For some reason, it has stuck in my mind and I associate it with Easter. It’s quite possible that my mom made it for an Easter dessert a couple of years in a row, and then moved on to something else. A few years ago I finally asked my mom if she had the recipe for the “banana split dessert thing” that she made a long time ago, and she was able to dig it up for me. It took me approximately 2.2 seconds to assemble what I needed and I’ve been enjoying it at least a couple of times a year ever since!
First things first, let me break this banana split dessert down for you. Most importantly – it’s entirely no-bake. Absolutely no oven time is required, which makes it perfect for the summer when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen, and also perfect for when you need a quick dessert that you can throw together in very little time. Poof! Done!
Now, for the layers… It starts off with a graham cracker crust, topped with a cream cheese-mousse, and then layers of banana, pineapple, strawberries, and finally whipped cream, nuts, chocolate, and cherries on top! Talk about the ultimate banana split.
Now, a strange thing happened when I ran through the recipe the first time, and I had to do a double take. The layer above the graham cracker frosting consisted of butter, powdered sugar, and 2 eggs. EXCEPT… the eggs weren’t heated like a custard, and this dessert isn’t baked, so they’re just in there, raw. ::shudder:: I couldn’t do it, so after thinking through some workarounds, including a pastry cream layer or making it with pudding, I finally decided to use the filling from another of my favorite old-school desserts – the Strawberry Pretzel Salad.
I went full steam ahead with that, and it works absolutely brilliantly in this recipe. Don’t wait for a special reason to make this dessert, and certainly don’t wait years in between. Any ordinary day is special enough for this incredibly easy no bake banana split dessert.
NO BAKE BANANA SPLIT DESSERT
yield: 12 TO 16 SERVINGS
prep: 30 MINUTES
total:
4 HOURS 30 MINUTES
A classic! Layers of graham cracker crust, cream cheese filling, bananas, pineapple, strawberries, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate & a cherry on top!
INGREDIENTS:
For the Crust:
2 cups (198 grams) graham cracker crumbs
½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the Cream Cheese Layer:
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
8 ounces Cool Whip
For the Fruit & Toppings:
3 to 4 bananas, sliced
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained well
16 ounces strawberries, hulled and sliced
8 ounces Cool Whip
½ cup (57 grams) walnuts, chopped
Chocolate syrup
Maraschino cherries
DIRECTIONS:
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter with a fork, stirring until all of the crumbs are evenly moistened. Dump the crumbs into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Refrigerate while you prepare the next layer.
- Read full recipe here : NO BAKE BANANA SPLIT DESSERT