No-Bake Banana Split Cake

This no-bake dessert is always a crowd pleaser! From its buttery graham cracker crust to its layers of sweetened cream cheese, bananas, strawberries, pineapple, chocolate, and nuts, this banana split cake is a delicious way to celebrate summer.

If you’re looking for a dessert that represents summer, this is it! It’s a no-bake effort that will be your go-to dessert for picnics, potlucks, and backyard BBQs. It has all the elements of a banana split except for the ice cream, but I promise, you won’t miss it! It’s still a cool and refreshing dessert because it needs to be refrigerated, so you’ll enjoy a chilled sweet treat with all the delicious flavors, fruits, and nuts you love from a traditional banana split.

Why You’ll Love This No Bake Dessert

• It’s super easy and requires no special cooking skills
• It uses common pantry ingredients
• You can assemble it in 10 minutes
• It feeds a crowd
• It can be made the night before

Ingredients Needed

• Crust
  Graham Crackers – this ingredient forms the base of the crust
  White Sugar – helps sweeten the crust
  Butter – melted butter helps hold the crust together
• Creamy Filling
  Cream Cheese – softened
  Confectioners sugar – needed to sweeten the cream cheese when mixed
• Layers And Toppings
  Bananas – sliced evenly. Slice them right before you layer them to keep them from turning brown.
  Strawberries – sliced or diced. If sliced, you can lay them evenly right on top of the banana slices.
  Pineapple – crushed from a can. Drain well before layering.
  Whipped topping – thawed
  Chopped peanuts – garnish for the top
  Chocolate syrup – for drizzle on the top
  Maraschino cherries – drain well before adding, whole, as a garnish for the top

How To Make Banana Split Cake

1. Pulse graham crackers, along with sugar and melted butter in a food processor or high-speed blender to create the crumbs for the crust.
2. Press the crumbly mixture into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and refrigerate until set and chilled.
3. In a medium bowl and using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar until well blended.
4. Carefully spread the cream cheese mixture over the chilled crust.
5. Place sliced bananas, in an even layer over the top of the cream cheese mixture.
6. Place sliced strawberries over the banana layer.
7. Place the well-drained crushed pineapple over the strawberry layer.
8. Add the layer of whipped topping.
9. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.
10. Garnish with chopped nuts and cherries.
11. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Serve cold.

Tips For Assembling The No Bake Banana Split Cake

Even though it takes just minutes to assemble this cake, taking care with each layer will help this dessert look amazing when you cut into it and as well as hold up once it’s out of the refrigerator. Here are my tips for assembling this no-bake cake.

• Slice the bananas evenly. Try to get them all the same size so when you add them on top of the cream cheese mixture they’ll be level across the top. Also, place them as close together as you can. Slightly under-ripe bananas will hold up better than the browned ones. Save those for banana bread!
• As with the bananas, try to slice the strawberries as evenly as possible to get them the same size. Place them as close together as possible when layering to cover the bananas completely.
• Drain the can of crushed pineapple very well. Any liquid left in there will drip down through the strawberries and bananas layers and pool on the cream cheese before eventually making its way to the crust. Minimize that by draining the pineapple to remove as much juice as possible. Save the juice for a smoothie!
• Chill well. You can make this dessert the night before or on the morning of an event. Make sure it gets at least 4-6 hours in the fridge to be well-chilled and set before slicing it for serving.

Variations

• Crust: Change out the graham crackers for chocolate Oreo sandwich cookies for a chocolate crust.
• Tropical Twist: Add shredded coconut in the layers or on top for a tropical theme that pairs perfectly with the pineapple and bananas.
• Drizzled Toppings: Switch out the traditional chocolate sauce for a strawberry or caramel sauce.
• Nuts: any chopped nut, such as pecans, walnuts, or almonds will be amazing in this dessert.
• Sprinkles: add your favorite sprinkles for a colorful topping.
• Candies/Cookies: Crushed cookies or candies are always a sweet garnish for the top.
• Chocolate: mini chocolate chips or shaved chocolate would be awesome as a garnish.
• Cherries – optional, but it wouldn’t be a banana split without this finishing touch, right?

How To Store

Keep this no-bake cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Any leftovers can be tightly covered and kept refrigerated for 2-3 days. Any longer and the crust becomes soft and soggy due to the liquids from the fruits in the layers. The bananas will also become mushy the longer it sits. So, enjoy this delicious dessert as soon as it’s been assembled and chilled while it’s in its best and most tasty form!

This no-bake cake is not freezer-friendly for all the reasons mentioned above.

Related No Bake Desserts

No-Bake Oreo Cookie Delight

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Lasagna

No-Bake Italian Cream Cake

Coconut Cream Tart Pies

Easy No-Bake Cheesecake

28 Best No-Bake Desserts

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