You’ll go bananas for these easy-to-make no-bake Creamy Banana Cheesecake Bars! Simple, delicious, and comforting, they’ll be gone in a snap! Plus they won’t heat up your kitchen!

Creamy Banana Cheesecake Bars

Two years in a row now one of my daughters has asked for Banana Pudding for her birthday dessert. We’ve always let the kids choose what kind of dessert they’d like, no one has to have birthday cake, the choice is up to them. 

Banana Pudding threw me for a bit of a loop. I’d never had it myself, let alone made it for my kids. Apparently, she’d seen someone make it on the Food Network, and it looked good to her. Mystery solved, I made a huge pan of this magical dessert and it was devoured. Delicious indeed, so yummy that we decided it should be saved for special occasions since it is so luscious and amazing. 

So that’s not to say we can’t have a quicker version which only involves a few minutes of prep and only a few ingredients. Creamy Banana Cheesecake Bars are my every day, “hey, no problem” I can whip this up recipe which will cure banana pudding type hankerings. 

Essentially this recipe is simply a no-bake banana cheesecake. You can make it on a pie plate and have traditional slices, but I prefer the simplicity of square pieces. The crust of this particular recipe consists of crushed Nilla Wafers, as opposed to graham crackers. 

This recipe is nice and easy, the only thing you’ll need to remember is that it requires approximately 4 hours in the freezer with an additional 1-2 hours to thaw time prior to cutting. Begin the process of making this dessert early in the day, so you can enjoy it at the appropriate time. 

What ingredients do you need to make this dessert?

• Nilla Wafers
• Brown sugar
• Butter
• Cream cheese
• Sugar
• Instant Banana Pudding 
• Cool-Whip
• Milk
• Garnish: whipped cream, banana slices, Nilla Wafers

Some tips for making Creamy Banana Cheesecake Bars:

• Allow adequate time for this no-bake dessert to set up. Begin early in the day if serving after dinner.
• This was made in an 8×8 square baking dish. You can use a round pan also.
• No food processor? Simply use a resealable storage bag and a rolling pin to crush the Nilla Wafers.
• Refrigerate leftovers.

Simple steps involved in making this recipe:

Line an 8×8 square baking dish with parchment paper, and set it aside. Using a food processor, add Nilla Wafers and pulse until the wafers are reduced to crumbs. Add brown sugar and melted butter, and mix well.

Pour the Nilla wafer mixture into your baking dish and press down to form your crust. Place this in the freezer while you prepare your cheesecake.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese for about a minute, until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and pudding mix to the bowl, and mix again until well combined.

Add Cool-Whip, mix to combine. Slowly add milk, mixing between each addition.

Pour cheesecake mixture over the crust, and smooth out the top with a spatula. Freeze cheesecake for about 4 hours. Before serving, thaw for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. Garnish with whipped cream, banana slices, and Nilla Wafers if desired.

Love bananas? We have some other great recipes for you to try:

• Bananas Foster Dessert Waffles
• Cinnamon Sour Cream Banana Bread
• Bananas Foster Colada
• Chocolate Banana Cookies

We have even more easy to make dessert options:

• Cake Mix Cherry Cobbler
• Reese’s Pieces Cake Mix Cookie Bars
• Air Fryer Chocolate Cake
• Loaded Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

Yield: 12 servings

Creamy Banana Cheesecake Bars

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You'll go bananas for these easy-to-make no-bake Creamy Banana Cheesecake Bars! Simple, delicious, and comforting, they'll be gone in a snap! Plus they won't heat up your kitchen!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Freezer Time 4 hours

Thaw Time 2 hours

Total Time 6 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 1/4 cups Nilla Wafers
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Cheesecake

• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3-ounce package Banana Cream instant pudding 
• 1 1/2 cups Cool-Whip non-dairy topping
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Instructions

For the crust:

1. Line an 8x8 square baking dish with parchment paper, and set it aside.
2. Using a food processor, add the Nilla Wafers and pulse until the wafers are reduced to crumbs. Add brown sugar and melted butter, and mix well.
3. Pour the Nilla Wafer mixture into your baking dish and press down to form your crust. Place this in the freezer while you prepare your cheesecake.

For the cheesecake:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese for about a minute, until light and fluffy.
2. Add the sugar and pudding mix to the bowl, and mix again until well combined.
3. Add Cool-Whip, mix to combine.
4. Slowly add milk, mixing between each addition.
5. Pour cheesecake mixture over nilla wafer crust, and smooth out the top with a spatula.  
6. Freeze cheesecake for about 4 hours. Before serving, thaw for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.
7. Garnish with whipped cream, banana slices, and Nilla Wafers if desired.
   

Notes

• No food processor? Use a resealable storage bag and a rolling pin to crush the Nilla Wafers.
• Refrigerate any leftovers.
• You can substitute Nilla Wafers with graham crackers if desired.