Banana Cream Ice Cream Pie Recipe

One of my favorite desserts to make in the middle of summer is this Banana Cream Ice Cream Pie! A cool and refreshing dessert that gives you all of the flavors of a traditional banana cream pie but made even better by combining two desserts into one!

With this recipe you no longer have to make the difficult decision between eating pie and ice cream. You can have them both at once with this delicious dessert!

Best of all it is an easy recipe that requires only 5 ingredients. Even the novice baker can make this recipe turn out perfect on the first try.

And that is a good thing because once you serve it to your family and friends they are going to want you to make it over and over again. It is that good!

In fact, my husband who loves all different varieties of pie, has now claimed this as the best pie that he has ever had!

Banana Cream Ice Cream Pie Recipe

*Specific measurements and complete recipe instructions are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to continue to read the tips and tricks to making this recipe below.

Ingredients

• 1.5 quarts vanilla ice cream
• 2 cups crushed vanilla wafers (approximately 50 wafers)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 bananas
• 1 teaspoon banana extract
• 8 ounce container whipped topping, thawed

Instructions

The first step in making this banana cream ice cream pie is to prepare the crust. Although you can use a traditional graham cracker crust, I prefer to make this pie using a different pie crust.

Instead of using crushed graham crackers, I use vanilla wafers instead. They are the perfect compliment to anything made with bananas.

For a traditional 9 inch pie plate you will need about 50 vanilla wafers to make 2 cups of crumbs for the crust. Although you can crush them by hand, it is much easier and quicker if you use a food processor. (I use this Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Capacity Food Processor).

Pulse the wafers until they become a mixture of fine powder and small crumbs. Remove one tablespoon of the crumbs and set aside. These crumbs will be used as a topping once the pie has been assembled.

Then place the remaining crumbs in a bowl and pour melted butter over the top.

Stir until the all of the crumbs are moistened. Then place the mixture into the pie plate and press them firmly together to form a crust.

Be sure to press them not only on the bottom of the dish, but up the sides as well. Then place the pie plate in a preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is firm and set.

Remove the pie plate from the oven and let the crust cool completely. Trust me, you don’t want to rush the process or the banana cream ice cream pie will become a soupy mess.

Option To Use A Store-Bought Crust

However, if you are in an absolute rush and want to make this dessert a complete, no-bake recipe like my No Bake Lemon Cheesecake, then by all means, buy a pre-made graham cracker crust.

Although, if you do choose to go that route, just be aware that you will have leftover pie filling. The store-bought crusts are smaller and not as deep as the one made from scratch.

Therefore you could consider make two smaller pies instead, which isn’t a bad thing either!

Prepare The Filling

While the pie crust is cooling, remove the ice cream from the freezer to soften.

Then in a large bowl, mash 3 bananas with a fork. You want the bananas mashed with just small bits of bananas visible.

Once the ice cream is softened and easily able to be scooped from the container, add it to the bowl with the bananas.

Then add the banana extract and stir until well incorporated. Depending on how soft your ice cream is, you may have to use some muscle power to get the ingredients mixed well.

Now pour the ice cream mixture into the completely cooled crust and spread it out evenly. Then spread the whipped topping over top of the banana cream ice cream pie filling.

Next, take the remaining banana and slice it into thin rounds. Then place the banana slices randomly on top of the pie. Sprinkle the top of the pie with the reserved vanilla crushed wafers.

Freeze The Pie

Now here is the hard part. You have to freeze the pie before you can eat it. Place it in the freezer for at least 1 hour before serving. This will give the pie plenty of time to firm up.

Just before you are ready to serve remove the pie from the freezer and slice. Because this is a very thick pie, I prefer to cut it into 16 small pieces.

However, you can also cut it into the traditional 8 larger slices if you prefer. Regardless of how you serve it, everyone is going to love this Banana Cream Ice Cream Pie!

If there are any leftovers cover the top of the pie loosely with plastic wrap. Then store the pie in the freezer. *I prefer to slice the entire pie the first time serving it so that you can easily grab a piece from the freezer whenever the craving hits you.

Gluten Free Option

It is easy to make a gluten free version of this Banana Cream Ice Cream Pie. By far the best gluten free vanilla wafers to use is made by Kinnikinnick. (See affiliate product link: Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers).

I have found these cookies both at my local Wal-Mart and Kroger stores in the cookie aisle. However you can sometimes also find them in the speciality gluten-free aisle as well.

Although the remaining ingredients listed are naturally gluten-free it is always best to check to ensure that your specific brand contains no gluten.

Enjoy! Mary

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