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Home » Desserts » Banana Split Lush

Banana Split Lush

August 31, 2014 by Melissa 51 Comments

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This decadent Banana Split Lush is very similar to a banana split icebox cake my Mom used to make for us when we were kids. Layers of cream cheese, pineapple and banana slices all drizzled with chocolate and lots of colorful sprinkles. Add a layer of strawberries if you like, and lots of toasted nuts. Top it all off with whipped cream and maraschino cherries then step aside.

Banana Split Lush

Banana Split Lush

Who doesn’t swoon at the thought of a huge banana split filled with creamy ice cream, sliced bananas, tropical pineapple, strawberries, hot fudge, walnuts, whipped cream and maraschino cherries?  Or, any combination of the aforementioned.   I must admit it does make my heart flutter and screams summertime.This variation on my favorite lush desserts is a fantastic way to enjoy all of the things we love about banana splits without melting ice cream. It works perfectly for picnics, office parties, potluck meals or special family gatherings.  It’s lush and decadent but super easy to make.  It’s a make ahead wonder that is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth and garner “oohs” and “aahs” from the people who eat it.
step-by-step pictures how to prepare banana split lush

 

Classic Potluck Desserts

This stunning dessert is ideal for entertaining, picnics and potluck parties. It’s one of those luscious layer desserts that are always a big hit and a true crowd pleaser. Easy to make, serve and even easier to eat. Other banana treats you may enjoy is this collection of 18 Creative Ways To Use Overripe Bananas and festive Pina Colada Banana Bread perfection with a cup of coffee or tea.

 

 

Banana Split Lush

Dessert perfection!

Banana Split Lush

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Helpful Kitchen Items:

  • White Oblong Baking Dish
  • Hand Mixer
  • Offset Spatula
  • Silicone Spatula

 


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5 from 5 votes

Banana Split Lush

Prep Time25 mins
Cook Time18 mins
Chill time4 hrs
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana-split-lush
Servings: 16 pieces
Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

  • 2 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans divided
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 2 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple drained
  • 4 medium bananas sliced
  • 2 3.4 oz boxes white chocolate or cheesecake instant pudding
  • 3 cup milk
  • 1 16 oz whipped topping or 4 cup fresh whipped cream divided
  • hot fudge sauce slightly warmed
  • 16 maraschino cherries with stems
  • sprinkles

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread 1/2 cup walnut pieces in a single layer and toast for 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool. Spritz the bottom only of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
  • In a medium mixing bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, granulated sugar and melted butter. Press firmly onto the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden and set. Cool completely.
  • Whip together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, drained pineapple and 1 cup whipped topping. Whip for 2 minutes until fluffy and evenly combined. Spread evenly over the crust.
  • Top with a layer of banana slices.
  • Whip together both boxes of instant white chocolate pudding with 3 cups of cold milk for 2-3 minutes until thickened but still pourable. Pour over the bananas.
  • Frost the top with the remaining whipped topping. Drizzle with chocolate fudge and garnish with the remaining toasted walnuts and maraschino cherries. Decorate as desired.
  • Chill for at least 4 hours before cutting to allow the layers to set.

Notes

Add a layer of strawberries, if desired.
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!

Banana Split Lush

Banana Split Lush

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Hi, thanks for stopping by to visit my website My name is Melissa, I’m a busy Mom, author, recipe developer, photographer, food writer and blogger. I’m passionate about creating delicious dishes to share with family and friends!
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Comments

  1. Linda says

    August 31, 2014 at 9:49 pm

    What a WOW dessert Melissa!

    Reply
  2. Melissa says

    August 31, 2014 at 10:53 pm

    Thank you Linda!

    Reply
  3. Melissa says

    September 1, 2014 at 1:51 am

    Hi Laureen, I sure hope so. Thanks for stopping by!

    Reply
  4. Laureen King says

    August 31, 2014 at 11:15 pm

    My family will love this dessert!

    Reply
  5. Diann Scruggs says

    April 21, 2015 at 6:46 pm

    Nice hubby will love this Thanks

    Reply
  6. Jacqui says

    June 9, 2015 at 12:08 pm

    For the banana split lush, can you frost the top with cake frosting or could I use cool whip? Keep in mind I have to transport this to a b-day party with a 3 hr drive. I will decorate the top with whip cream, cherries and nuts once I get there. Thank you for your feed back. Have to make this Thursday nite 5/11/15

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      June 9, 2015 at 12:59 pm

      Hi Jacqui, for this dish there isn’t any actual cake in the recipe so traditional icing won’t work. You might want to check out my Birthday Cake Cheesecake Poke Cake or my Hawaiian Poke Cake either would be a fantastic option for your needs. Just pop upright into a cold bag for your journey.

      Reply
  7. Andrea says

    July 20, 2015 at 7:10 am

    Hey Melissa! Y

    Your cake looks delicious! I also want to try it this week for the birthday of a friend, I just have on problem: I am from Italy and there we use different measures. Could you explain to me what “22 [8] oz cream cheese” means? What stands the “[8]” for?
    I know how much an oz in grams is, I just have a problem with the “[8]”.

    Thank you very much!
    andrea

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      July 20, 2015 at 9:14 am

      Hi Andrea, thank you for visiting from beautiful Italy! You will need the equivalent of 1 pound of cream cheese for this dessert. 2 [8 oz] cream cheese. If you prefer mascarpone cheese can be used instead in the same amount. Happy baking I hope you enjoy this luscious dessert.

      Reply
  8. dorothy says

    April 15, 2016 at 11:18 am

    can i make this without the nuts of any kind my guys cant have any kind of them but would still like to make this thank you

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      April 15, 2016 at 1:03 pm

      Sure, just leave them out or serve them on the side for the nut fans to sprinkle on top.

      Reply
  9. Yvette says

    April 16, 2016 at 11:29 pm

    If you use real whipped cream do you whip it first before mixing with cream cheese ..and does it hold up for the topping ?

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      April 17, 2016 at 2:29 pm

      That’s such a great question. Real whipped cream doesn’t hold up quite as well it’s just the nature of it. If you want to make this in advance, use prepared whipped topping,

      Reply
      • Bonnie says

        May 26, 2016 at 11:32 pm

        I use a whipped cream stabilizer called whip it and it’s the most amazing stuff ever. Add it to your homemade whipped cream and it will stay fluffy!

      • Melissa says

        May 27, 2016 at 8:19 am

        Great tip!

  10. Judy Mouse says

    April 16, 2016 at 11:41 pm

    I noticed the strawberries are missing, is that right?

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      April 17, 2016 at 7:13 am

      I didn’t include strawberries in this recipe but, you may if you like.

      Reply
      • Ashley says

        May 29, 2018 at 10:46 am

        At what place in the order would you add the strawberries? With the pineapples?

      • Melissa says

        May 29, 2018 at 12:08 pm

        Sure, I don’t think there’s a wrong place to add them.

  11. Dolores Boyd says

    April 18, 2016 at 9:19 pm

    Please tell me how to send an e-mail. It did not work for me.

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      April 18, 2016 at 9:24 pm

      You can email me at [email protected]

      Reply
  12. Marcia Michalitsianou says

    April 19, 2016 at 7:30 am

    The dessert sounds really fabulous, Melissa. I have only one problem and that is I live on a Greek island where we don’t have ready access to many things, one of them being Instant Pudding, let alone a White Chocolate version ! Just about the only thing I’ve ever seen is a Greek vanilla instant pudding. I wonder if I could melt some white chocolate and whip it into the vanilla instant pudding. What do you think ?

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      April 19, 2016 at 8:19 am

      Hi Marcia, your island sounds amazing! I think that would be a terrific adaptation, great idea. Let me know how it goes and thanks so much for visiting.

      Reply
  13. kathy taylor says

    April 22, 2016 at 9:56 pm

    Does the bananas turn brown in this dessert?

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      April 23, 2016 at 1:45 pm

      Bananas will eventually turn, yes. Making it the day you want to serve it or the day before they will do fine.

      Reply
  14. Donna Giblin says

    April 27, 2016 at 2:58 pm

    do you happen to have any pictures of what a cut piece looks like. This looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      April 27, 2016 at 4:36 pm

      I don’t, sorry.

      Reply
  15. Susan says

    May 14, 2016 at 12:17 am

    I have let my banana slices soak in the juice from the pineapple for about 5 minutes then drained and used them in another dessert recipe. It might work for this one also if you don’t want to use lemon juice to soak them so they won’t turn brown.

    Reply
  16. Virginia Stewart says

    June 22, 2016 at 9:51 pm

    Ausome how can I get all your recipe? my grand daughter loves to bake

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      June 22, 2016 at 9:59 pm

      You can print them from here or take a peak at my cookbook available on QVC or Amazon. Welcome!

      Reply
  17. Mary W says

    June 24, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    What are your thoughts on freezing this dessert?

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      June 24, 2016 at 3:03 pm

      While I haven’t frozen this particular dish, desserts in general do freeze well. I would recommend that you wait and finish the top garnishing with cherries just before serving and thawing in the refrigerator, of course.

      Reply
      • Mary says

        June 24, 2016 at 6:38 pm

        Thanks. I make a meal twice each month for senior members at church. I like recipes I can prepare in advance and this one caught my eye as a cool summer dessert.

  18. Valerie says

    March 24, 2017 at 11:27 pm

    I am wanting to make this and was wondering if you could use ice cream instead of cream cheese as most in my family do not like it

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      March 25, 2017 at 8:05 am

      Only if you plan to freeze it.

      Reply
  19. Teresa says

    April 11, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    Making tomorrow!

    Reply
  20. Mandy says

    July 7, 2018 at 9:36 am

    5 stars
    This was delocious! I would definitely advise using a different crust. Re made it twice, it’s just very hard with all the butter and sugar. Very good, but cut through pan and cut up the table slicing it. Everyone just went without crust. Would maybe use 3 cups graham to 1/4 or 1/2 a stick of butter. Will be making this again!

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      July 7, 2018 at 12:57 pm

      This isn’t designed to be made in a disposable pan and I highly recommend you make this in a real baking dish or pan as stated in the recipe directions. It wasn’t the crust but, very difficult to cut a baked crust in a disposable pan there’s just no firm foundation plus the thin pan causes things to overbake quite easily.

      Reply
  21. Paige says

    July 8, 2018 at 7:21 am

    5 stars
    Made this for the 4th of Juky. It came out amazing. I added a layer of strawberries on top of the bananas and it was great. A huge hit at my party. I will definitely make this again. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      July 8, 2018 at 8:45 am

      Love it, I’m so happy you enjoyed this one, thank you!

      Reply
  22. Sharon says

    July 29, 2018 at 6:23 am

    I’ve made this twice and the second time it didn’t really firm up in spite of being in the refrigerator for over 4 hours.

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      July 29, 2018 at 7:41 am

      If you had already made it once with success, did you do anything different the second time? It should set-up with no problem if made as directed.

      Reply
  23. Kim says

    September 2, 2018 at 4:33 pm

    I can’t find the White Chocolate pudding. What do recommend in its place?

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      September 2, 2018 at 8:37 pm

      Cheesecake flavored instant pudding works great, too.

      Reply
  24. Angie says

    February 5, 2019 at 3:35 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe! tasted excellent only thing I will do different is add the whip topping and cherries when I reach our destination. Kinda melted on me so looked better at home than when we arrived but didn’t hurt the taste. 🙂

    Reply
  25. Nahla Altabbaa says

    February 5, 2019 at 10:35 pm

    This one of the best dessert I ever made.

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      February 6, 2019 at 9:25 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  26. Cindy says

    April 14, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    5 stars
    So delicious !! Went over great at church potluck today.

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      April 14, 2019 at 1:20 pm

      Wonderful, thanks!

      Reply
  27. Sharron says

    April 26, 2019 at 1:27 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Banana Split Cake says:
    December 12, 2018 at 10:20 am

    […] Decadent Banana Split Lush  from Melissa’s Southern Kitchen is made with layers of cream cheese, pineapple and banana slices all drizzled with chocolate and lots of colorful sprinkles. Add a layer of strawberries, if you like and lots of toasted nuts. Top it all off with whipped cream and maraschino cherries then step aside. […]

    Reply

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hello,my name is Melissa and I'm the Creator of Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen. Cooking, baking, developing recipes and kitchen tips is my passion. I love sharing my dishes and connecting with people through the food that I create.

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