Banana Cream Pie Bars are a delicious no bake dessert! They start with a cookie crust, a homemade cheesecake filling, and banana pudding, all topped with a creamy whipped topping!
These banana cream pie bars are what dreams are made of. If you love banana cream pie, you will love these, because they have all the same layers and more! Just look at all those yummy layers.
These bars are made with a Nilla Wafer cookie crust (but you could use graham crackers if you prefer). The whole dessert is no bake, all the way down to the crust. Which means you don’t have to heat up your oven at all for this one, but you still get a delicious dessert. Perfect for those hot summer days!
This dessert is really no hassle, and made in only about 15 minutes or less. The only hard part is waiting 3-4 hours while it all chills and sets in the fridge!
After the crust, you’ll make a homemade cheesecake filling. Its only 3 ingredients, so you’ll need cream cheese, sugar, and whipped cream. Top that with an instant pudding mix from the store. You’ll only mix it with 1.25 cups of milk instead of the 2 cups as called for on the box to make sure the pudding is nice and thick and sliceable. I also fold in some whipped cream to make the pudding layer extra creamy.
It’s all topped with the remaining cool whip and then placed in the fridge to chill. Only a couple hours later and you’ll have one of your new favorite desserts!
You can sprinkle some crumbled cookie on top, or a slice of banana when you’re ready to serve it all up. (If you add the banana before it’ll turn brown, and the cookies won’t stay crispy).
You all know how much I love banana cream desserts, from my original banana cream pie, to caramel banana cream pie, to banana cream pie cookies, banana pudding cupcakes and banana cream icebox cake. And these banana cream pie bars are definitely a new favorite.
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Banana Cream Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the Cookie Crust:
- 3 cups Nilla Wafers
- 4 TBS butter (melted)
For the Cheesecake Layer:
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cup Cool Whip
For the Pudding Layer:
- 3.4 oz instant banana pudding
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup Cool Whip
For the Cool Whip Layer:
- 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip (remaining from an 8oz container)
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
For the Cookie Crust
- Grind up Vanilla Wafer Cookies in a blender, until a fine crumb is reached.
- Mix crushed cookies and melted butter in a small bowl.
- Pour into the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 pan, lined with foil, for easier cutting and clean up.
- Place in the fridge for 10 minutes.
For the Cheesecake Layer:
- Beat cream cheese until smooth.
- Add in sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Fold in the cool whip.
- Spread layer evenly over the top of the cookie crust.
For the Pudding Layer:
- Add pudding mix to a large bowl, and pour in milk.
- Whisk for about 2 minutes until pudding starts to thicken.
- Fold in 1/2 cup of Cool Whip
- Pour pudding over the cheesecake layer and smooth top.
For the Cool Whip Layer
- Carefully spread remaining Cool Whip over the top and spread till smooth.
- Place in the fridge for about 3 hours before serving.
- Carefully lift edges of foil to remove the whole dessert, before slicing to make easier removal. Enjoy!
Video
Beata Brzeski says
Can you make this on a layer of white sponge cake?
Any white cake?
Aimee says
Are you thinking instead of the graham cracker layer? I think you could do it on top of a thin baked cake. I think it might be topsy if you do too thick of a cake though.
Cindy says
This is a super quick and easy dessert to make! It is a very refreshing summer dessert and my whole family loved it! My crust was a a little crumbly so I think next time I need to add a little more butter. Even with a crumbly crust me 22 yr old son have our a 10/10. That’sa definite winner!
Aileen Sanchez says
how many servings does this make ?
Aimee says
It makes a 9inch pan with so it depends how big/small you cut the slices out to be about 12 per pan.
Sarah says
Hi. How far in advance can this be made? And can whipped cream be used or only cool whip?
Thanks!
Aimee says
You should be fine using homemade whipped cream instead of cool whip, though I would definitely sweeten it some since cool whip is quite sweet. I think the bars should be fine being made 3-4 days in advanced, but I can’t guarantee they won’t start to get a bit mushy, especially if you add a layer of fresh bananas. You could try freezing them to get a couple more days out of them, but I’d still avoid the bananas till the end.
CC says
Can I bake the crust??
Aimee says
I’m not sure why you would need to?? But if you want to bake it for 5 to 10 minutes it should be fine. You’ll have to let it cool completely before adding the cheesecake layer.
Sherry says
I made this, i love no bake cheese cake deserts. I used my 9 by 13 trusty cake pan. I wish i would have doubled the recipe. I looked up 50+ recipes. I wish someone would have told me to double it. It is so good there needs to be more- alot more. The way to make it better is to make more…. Time to make a poke cake, because the banana cream pie bars are gone. Thank you for the recipe. next time i will make more. All the desert recipes make me hungry
Aimee says
Haha sorry Sherry. It is one of my favorites as well. Hope you’ll make it again and double it next time 😉
Tina says
Did you add the sour cream? The video shows sour cream… Which is not mentioned in the directions or ingredients
Aimee says
Sorry for the confusion Tina! The video is being corrected but I can’t reupload it on fb. It should just be the whipped cream/cool whip that is listed in the recipe, the video had it listed wrong!
Meas says
Can I use graham crackers instead I don’t like vanilla wafers
Aimee says
Yes!! You’ll want about 1 1/2 cups when they’re crushed up. I think its about 12 full graham crackers.
Linds says
Would it fit into a 9″13″ pan?
Aimee says
I would double the recipe for a 9×13 pan.
Linds says
Thanks.and about how many nilla wafers in 3 cups?
Aimee says
I’m not sure. I didn’t count how many cookies, sorry!
Dianna Christensen says
Looks great. Do you stir in the 1/2 c. Cool whip into the pudding layer?
Aimee says
Yes! Sorry, did I leave that out?
Kate | And They Cooked Happily Ever After says
mmmmm these look like little squares of banana heaven!!!!
Ellen says
Whoa, this sounds like the perfect dessert, especially for summer!