No-Bake Caramel Banana Dessert
Everyone loves this easy simple dessert. Graham cracker crumb crust, bananas, vanilla pudding with caramel and pecans all topped with whipped cream. So easy and so good. This recipe does require time to chill so plan accordingly.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 390kcal
Equipment
- 9x9 glass baking dish or casserole
Ingredients
- 1-½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tbsps sugar
- 6 tbsps butter melted
- 1 pkg instant vanilla pudding
- 1 cup milk (unfortunately, plant-based milks do not work here! Use 1% of 2% milk. )
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 2 tbps icing sugar
- 2 bananas large, just ripe, not overly ripened
- ¾ cup caramel sauce your favourite brand. I used Smuckers
- ½ cup pecans chopped and toasted
Toppings
- ¼ cup caramel sauce for layers and topping
- ¼ cup pecans for topping
Instructions
- Make the cookie crust. In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x9 glass baking dish.1-½ cups graham cracker crumbs, 2 tbsps sugar, 6 tbsps butter
- Cover the graham cracker crust with ¾ cup of caramel sauce and ½ cup of pecans. Chill for 30 minutes.¾ cup caramel sauce, ½ cup pecans
- While the crust is chilling: Whip the cream with a stand mixer or using a hand-held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside half of this cream for the filling. To the remaining half of the whipped cream, add 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and whip again to incorporate this will only take a few seconds. Once fully mixed, transfer to a small bowl and cover. Chill this half of whipped cream to finish the dessert later.2 cups whipping cream, 2 tbps icing sugar
- In a large bowl combine the instant pudding mix with 1 cup of milk. Whisk together until smooth, creamy and thickened. This will take about 2 minutes. Gently fold the unsweetened half of the whipped cream into this pudding mixture until just combined and no longer streaky.1 pkg instant vanilla pudding, 1 cup milk
- Assemble the dessert. On top of the caramel and pecans, layer sliced bananas. Completely cover the caramel and pecan layer with the banana slices. Bananas will overlap. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of caramel sauce over the bananas. Cover the banana layer with the pudding mixture. Cover and chill at this stage for at least 3 hours. (You can chill the dessert overnight if needed).2 bananas
- To finish the dessert spread remaining sweetened whipped cream over the top of the pudding. Drizzle some caramel sauce over the whipped cream. I like to use a teaspoon and gently push and swirl some of the caramel into the whipped cream. Sprinkle the top with pecans and more caramel if desired. The dessert is ready to be served or could be chilled for anothe several hours.¼ cup caramel sauce, ¼ cup pecans
Video
Notes
This is a slumpy dessert - it will not serve in neat squares or pieces. And I'm all for it! Nutritional information is based on 12 evenly sized servings. To help things along, I like to cut the dessert through to the crust, 3 cuts one way and 2 cuts the other way, for 12 pieces. Cutting through the crust will help serving pieces to be approximately the right size.
Nutrition
Calories: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 248mg | Potassium: 198mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 824IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 1mg
