Friday Pie-Day: Banana Split Pie

Confession: I have never before eaten a banana split. However, THIS PIE… I have assembled and partaken, and people must be on to something. Maybe one day I will eat a banana split, but until then, this pie will have to do.

Of the 49 different pies I've made in the past 4 years, this was one of the funnest pies to put together. There were so many layers, but they were all so simple. Also, since this pie is frozen, it is easy to make in advance.

Here are the ingredients you will need.

Begin by coating the graham cracker crust with some chocolate magic shell. As you can see, I did not measure out 3 tablespoons… I just poured until I felt like stopping. Then I actually used my finger to spread it out over all the graham cracker for an even coating. (OK, so the real reason I used my finger was so I could lick it off when I was done.)

This is what it looked like hardened after 5 minutes in the freezer.

But while it was getting frozen, I was working on 2 other things: toasting the walnuts (just bake at 350 for 5 minutes) and slicing the bananas (toss with lemon juice so they don’t turn brown).

The bananas were a little slimy from the lemon juice, but they looked lovely arranged in the bottom of the pie crust.

I thought I was supposed to put nuts INSIDE the pie, so, there they went. You can never have too many nuts.

I had never even heard of pineapple topping for ice cream before, but it was a welcome addition. It sorta reminded me of a jam.

Next came the strawberry ice cream. Our grocery store’s brand had chunks of real strawberry in it – could it get any better?! I had the ice cream sitting out the entire time so it could be softened and easier to scoop.

Finally, everything was covered with whipped topping.

And this is how it went in the freezer. We left ours in overnight, but you could probably just do an hour or two and it would be fine. Or you could make it a month in advance – your call.

But wait! There’s more! A drizzle of chocolate syrup adds visual interest to the presentation.

I also sprinkled more walnuts on top.

And of course, no banana split would be complete without the cherry on top!

Or in this case, 8 cherries – one for each slice of pie!

This was definitely one of our prettiest pies, and the taste was pretty great too!

Our pie was so frozen (even after being removed from the freezer 15 minutes before slicing) that the entire thing lifted out of the pie pan!

But once it was finally sliced, we could see all the layers hidden beneath the beautiful topping.

Actually, I think the layers were quite beautiful (and tasty) too!

This pie was well worth the minimal effort it took to create and was a family favorite.

Banana Split Pie (recipe from Taste of Home)

3 T. chocolate hard-shell ice cream topping

1 graham cracker crust (9-inches)

2 medium bananas, sliced

½ tsp. lemon juice

½ cup pineapple ice cream topping

1 qt. strawberry ice cream, softened

2 cups whipped topping

½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted

chocolate syrup

8 maraschino cherries

1. Pour chocolate topping into crust; freeze for 5 minutes or until firm.
2. Meanwhile, place bananas in small bowl; toss with lemon juice. Arrange bananas over chocolate topping. Layer with pineapple topping, ice cream, whipped topping, and walnuts.
3. Cover and freeze until firm. Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before cutting. Garnish with chocolate syrup and cherries.