Graham crackers soak up the surrounding ingredients leaving you with a pillowy, cookie-like flavor and soft texture that pairs extremely well with smooth banana pudding and whipped topping.
16ounceCool Whipthawed, plus more if you wish to pipe a swirl on top for decorating
14.4ouncegraham crackers1 box or 3 sleeves
4largeripe bananas
Instructions
Beat cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
Pour in milk, while whisking or beating on low speed.
Add pudding mix and vanilla extract and whisk until mixture thickens.
Fold in half of the Cool Whip.
Spread a spoonful of the pudding mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.
Place a single layer of graham crackers to cover the dish.
Spread about 1/3 of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers.
Top pudding layer with a layer of freshly sliced bananas.
Continue layering graham crackers, pudding, and banana slices to make three layers total.
Top the final banana layer with the remaining Cool Whip.
Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to set up.
Garnish with graham cracker crumbs, a whipped cream swirl, and/or fresh banana slices.
Notes
Do not add whipped cream swirl or banana slice on top until just before serving or the bananas will turn brown. You can rub a little lemon juice on banana slices to maintain their color, but this will change the flavor a bit.
You will have a couple spare graham crackers after assembling the icebox cake. These can be crushed by placing them in a plastic baggy and rolling over them with a rolling pin.
*Whipped cream or Cool Whip for the swirled garnish is not included in the recipe quantities.*
Store, covered with plastic wrap or an air-tight lid, in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The bananas will not thaw well if frozen, so this is not a good one to store in the freezer.