32 of the Best Icebox Cake Recipes to Serve at a Summer Party

Banana Split Icebox Cake

Make a banana split that feeds a crowd with this easy icebox cake! The cake itself is made from layers of tangy vanilla cream, crushed pineapple, graham crackers and, of course, sliced bananas. From there, go nuts with your favorite ice cream toppings. Add sprinkles, chopped nuts, whipped cream, cherries or anything else that belongs on an indulgent banana split.

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Icebox Cake

If you’ve never tried your hand at making an icebox cake before, there’s no better way to start off than with the classic. This four-ingredient recipe has been around since the 1930s. It was invented as a novel way to turn a package of chocolate wafer cookies into a crowd-pleasing dessert.

Frozen Mocha Marbled Loaf

No ice cream maker? No problem! If you have an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, you can make this elegant “ice cream” cake with rich, creamy swirls of vanilla, coffee and chocolate, all on top of an easy two-ingredient Oreo cookie crumb crust.

Giant Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich

Icebox cakes are normally no-bake desserts, but this supersized ice cream sandwich is worth turning on the oven. To save time, this recipe calls for ready-to-bake peanut butter cookie dough to make the sandwich layers—but if you can’t find the dough at your grocery store, whip up this three-ingredient peanut butter cookie dough instead.

Creamy Strawberry Icebox Cake

The strawberries you’ll find at farmers markets this summer are truly something special, and any recipe that includes them should be simple enough to let the fruit shine. This six-ingredient icebox cake balances the sweetness of ripe summer strawberries with a slightly tangy Greek yogurt-spiked whipped cream.

Creme de Menthe Squares

If you’ve got a soft spot for chocolaty after-dinner mints, you’ll love this creamy three-layer dessert that can be made without heating up your kitchen. Use the microwave to make the Oreo cookie crumb and minty marshmallow layers; the decadent chocolate layer requires no cooking at all thanks to instant pudding.

Ice Cream Cookie Dessert

This decadent dessert is like one big ice cream sundae that everyone can share. It’s easy to make the recipe your own—use any flavor of ice cream you like and sprinkle the top with more than just crumbled cookies. Add sprinkles, chopped nuts or even crushed up candy bars!

Double-Chocolate Toffee Icebox Cake

This icebox cake delivers double the chocolate with only five ingredients, including crushed Heath bars for a buttery toffee crunch. And for the candy obsessed, you’ll be happy to know that you can make this recipe using whatever chopped up candy bar your heart desires, or miniature candy pieces like M&M’s.

Nutty Caramel Ice Cream Cake

Butter pecan—once a stalwart of old-fashioned ice cream parlors—is no longer one of the most popular flavors in the freezer section. To people who know of its luscious butterscotch-y flavor with crunchy bits of roasted pecans, this is nothing short of madness! This classic flavor deserves a massive comeback, and this easy cake—which mixes butter pecan ice cream, store-bought pecan shortbread, chopped up toffee bars and creamy caramel sauce—may do the trick.

Ice Cream Cake

It doesn’t need to be your birthday to enjoy this sprinkle-filled birthday cake made with boxed cake mix, whipped topping and ice cream. There are countless flavor combinations you can use for this ice cream cake recipe. How about coffee ice cream and devil’s food cake, or maybe strawberry ice cream with yellow cake mix? They all sound amazing.

Mango Almond Icebox Cake

This tropical icebox cakes take a few cues from tiramisu, drizzling store-bought ladyfingers with sweet almond syrup and layering them with sliced almonds, mango, crispy meringue cookies and a rich cream made by whisking heavy cream and cream cheese with chunks of frozen mango.

Freezer Strawberry Shortbread Dessert

Think of this easy freezer dessert as the frigid first cousin of the Midwestern classic Strawberry Pretzel Salad. The secret ingredient to amp up the strawberry flavor in this recipe: frozen strawberry daiquiri mix. This recipe contains no alcohol, but for a more adult party, you could easily jazz up that daiquiri mix with rum.

Grasshopper Pie

With the bright green color, you can probably guess where the name grasshopper comes from. This six-ingredient icebox dessert reminiscent of the classic grasshopper cocktail mixes chocolate-covered mint cookies in a fluffy cream cheese mixture.

Strawberry Ladyfinger Icebox Cake

In Italy, they know that strawberries and balsamic vinegar are a match made in heaven. This American icebox cake proves that when it comes to baking, we should listen to Italians! Though you can use any brand of balsamic vinegar to make this incredible dessert, now’s the time to use a top-shelf bottle if you have one.

Fresh Raspberry Icebox Cake

Fresh, juicy summer raspberries practically cry out to be eaten with cream, so why not turn those perfect partners into something special? This icebox cake adds ultra-thin ginger cookies for a subtle spicy bite, and a touch of fresh lemon zest helps that fresh raspberry flavor pop. And let’s not forget about the luxurious mascarpone cheese whipped cream!

Pina Colada Icebox Cake

Summers don’t feel complete unless you’ve had at least one pina colada. If your summer plans aren’t bringing you poolside or down to a warm, sandy beach, bring the tropical experience to your kitchen with this cool icebox cake.

Rhubarb Icebox Dessert

Raspberries are the star of summer. They’re light, sweet and juicy. These flavors perfectly contrast with this tart rhubarb dessert. Layered with a soft marshmallow filling, this make-ahead recipe is a labor of love.

Macaroon Ice Cream Torte

You can make this stunning five-ingredient macaroon ice cream torte up to two months ahead of serving, so it’s the ultimate make-ahead dessert! However, we’re doubtful you’ll be able to get through two whole months without sneaking a bite.

Icebox Cookie Cheesecake

You don’t need to turn on the oven to make a cheesecake that will knock your socks off. As long as you have a springform pan, an electric mixer and a freezer, you can make this rich no-bake cheesecake studded with crushed Oreo cookies.

Easy Four-Layer Chocolate Dessert

OK, so there’s a tiny bit of baking involved in the recipe for this drool-worthy dessert, but having a buttery walnut shortbread base layer is worth turning on the oven. If you’d rather skip the baking, replace the flour with crushed up graham crackers, mix with the walnuts and melted butter, and refrigerate for a no-bake crumb crust.

Frozen Grasshopper Torte

If you love mint chocolate desserts, then this frozen grasshopper torte will make you jump for joy. This tri-level dessert has a crumbly Oreo cookie base, a center of store-bought vanilla ice cream and a fluffy, minty marshmallow whipped cream topping. Fold in finely chopped chocolate to turn it into a mint chocolate chip masterpiece.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert

It’s hard to go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate, and this recipe makes the irresistible combo twice as nice: in addition to a chocolate cookie crust, a chocolate pudding layer and an easy peanut butter cheesecake mousse, it also has a layer of chopped up peanut butter cups in the middle.

No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake

Love Oreos? This no-bake Oreo dessert elevates this perfect cookie into a rich dessert.

Banana Split Supreme

Every great banana split goes overboard with the toppings. This recipe calls for crushed pineapple, crumbled cookies, maraschino cherries and more, but why stop there? Add whatever ice cream toppings you love, and don’t be shy about it! After all, going overboard is part of the beauty of a banana split.

Creamy Mocha Frozen Dessert

Light as a feather, this cool, satisfying mocha dessert is delicious and impressive to serve. To make this icebox cake nut-free to accommodate people with allergies (or for people who aren’t keen on nuts), replace the pecans with extra crumbled-up cookies.

Coconut-Pineapple Sherbet Torte

Besides pineapple, almost any citrus or tropical-flavored sherbet will work in this recipe, like lemon, lime or mango. Layers of crumbled oatmeal cookies add bold brown sugar flavor, but can easily be replaced with any sort of crushed up cookies.

No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

Have you ever wanted more out of your blueberry lemonade? This eggless cheesecake is light, airy and perfect for a summer afternoon. The lemon-blueberry filling is so refreshing and creamy that there’s always room for this dessert.

Easy Ice Cream Sundae Dessert

In this recipe, vanilla ice cream and homemade chocolate sauce are layered on top of a buttery vanilla wafer crust, with extra crumbled cookies on top. But vanilla wafers are just the beginning! Any kind of cookie—whether store-bought or homemade—will work in this recipe, making the possibilities truly endless.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Mousse Cheesecake

With distinctive layers of chocolate, peanut butter mousse and silky ganache, this rich cheesecake is meant for a special occasion. People usually reserve their most impressive recipes for the holidays, but isn’t the start or end of summer an occasion worth celebrating? For a non-cake lover’s birthday, this rich cheesecake would surely be a hit.

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cheesecake

Pistachios are a classic cannoli topping, as are chocolate shavings. You can choose which one to put on this no-bake cannoli cheesecake that takes that same whipped ricotta filling and gives it a new shell.

Layered Lemon Dessert Squares

This no-bake take on lemon squares turns a classic bakery treat into something anyone can make, regardless of their skill level in the kitchen. This recipe can also be easily adapted into orange or Key lime squares by using store-bought (or homemade) citrus curds.