Banana Split Ice Cream Pie

In a last ditch attempt to salvage summer, A-Tooch whipped up an easy and delicious favorite – ice cream pie. Think birthday party ice cream cake with your own choice of ice cream flavors and ingredients.

The funny part about making an ice cream pie is that you literally melt ice cream down and smush it into a pan to form your pie, then resolidify. The beauty is all in the ingredients and layers you build in. One of my all time favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavors is Banana Split, which inspired the theme in this ice cream pie.

Banana Split Ice Cream Pie

3 cups vanilla bean ice cream (I use Edy’s Slow Churned)
1/4 cup walnuts, finely diced
2 bananas, sliced
1/4 cup strawberries, sliced
6 oz. chocolate pudding
1 1/2 cups whipped topping (I use Cool Whip Lite)
Drizzle of chocolate syrup

While you’re slicing and dicing your fruits and nuts, allow the ice cream to sit out and soften (*important to note, you’re not looking for soup here, a mashed potato consistency is best). Spread the ice cream in the bottom of a round pie pan. Layer strawberries on top, pressing firmly into the ice cream.

Mix chocolate pudding with whipped topping and spread evenly over layer of strawberries. Place sliced bananas on top of the pudding mixture. Top with drizzle of chocolate syrup and walnuts. For good measure, I also topped my ice cream pie with a cherry

While this is fairly quick to assemble, it does take a while to solidify so plan ahead if you’re prepping for your dinner party. This also keeps well in the freezer, but you’ll need to let it sit out 5-10 minutes to soften on next serve or you’ll break your hand trying to slice through those frozen berries and bananas.

Next round I’ll try whipping up my own ice cream from scratch — I’m thinking a strong coffee flavor with a layer of crushed up oreo cookies