Mint Oreo Ice Box Cake - An easy no-bake dessert that is jazzed up for St. Patrick's Day but can be served any day!
I'm sure that this time of year all the actual Irish are mortified at how we Americans tint everything green and cook foods that WE think are Irish. Well, guess what?
I'm no different. Ha. I'm the biggest offender. I have some Irish in my bloodline, that makes it okay, right?
Remember my Baileys Irish Cream Brownies? No? Let me remind you. I made boxed brownies but I subbed Baileys Irish Cream for the water and then, the best part was that I made an easy Baileys infused ganache to top them. Ganache is such a fancy word but it's actually something that is really easy to make. Head over and check them out if you haven't yet.
Well, after the brownies, I wanted a dessert that was a bit more kid friendly. Since the kids were home on winter break, it had to be super easy because these kids don't give me any free time. I immediately thought it had to be a no-bake dessert and that's when I thought of an ice box cake.
Ice Box cakes, in case you aren't familiar are usually a wafer cooker and whipped cream. Sometimes people throw a layer of pudding in there.
I didn't have any wafer cookies but I did have some minty oreos. That's close enough, right?
This was so easy. All I did was put a layer of Oreos in a pan. I then put a layer of vanilla pudding (which I tinted green) and then some whipped topping. Then I repeated that. At the end of course I added some fun green sprinkles. My kids love sprinkles. What kid doesn't?
The hardest part of this dessert is that after it's assembled, it has to sit in the fridge. That's where the name "ice box" comes from.
But the wait is worth it.
Need some more St. Patrick's Day dessert ideas besides this Mint Oreo Ice Box Cake?
Give these a look:
St. Patty's Cream Cheese Brownie Bites
Printable Recipe Card
Mint Oreo Ice Box Cake
Ingredients
- 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding
- 2 cups milk I used 1% but 2% or whole is fine - just not skim
- green food coloring
- 32 mint Oreo cookies
- 8 oz whipped topping
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes, just until soft set. Stir a few drops of food coloring into pudding. Add more, 1-2 drops at a time until desired color is achieved.
- Place 16 cookies in a single layer in an 8x8 pan or dish. Pour/spread half of the pudding mixture over cookies. Top the pudding layer with half of the whipped topping.
- Repeat layer with remaining ingredients. Place in refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours. Overnight would be best.
- Garnish with sprinkles or colored sugar before serving, if desired.
LaurieH says
What about using white chocolate pudding and adding a little mint extract? Too much? I don't use mint extract much so i'm not sure that would work. Opinion?
foodyschmoody says
I'm sure that would work, just be careful with the mint extract. It can be strong. I wouldn't add more than one or two little drops. There is actually quite a bit of mint flavor just from the oreos themselves so you might want to use regular oreos if you use the extract.
Alicia says
Do not put the cookies on the pan first! Put the chocolate on and then the cookies. Tired of people that can't write instructions properly!
foodyschmoody says
I wonder, did you make this recipe or did you rate it on your opinion before even trying it? I'm not sure what chocolate you think should go first, as this recipe does not call for chocolate. As sure as you are tired of people not writing instructions properly, I am also tired of people judging recipes without actually trying them. This recipe was written exactly as I made it and it worked out just fine for me.