This Easy Pistachio Ice Cream Dessert is a cool, creamy frozen treat made with a buttery Ritz cracker crust, pistachio pudding, and vanilla ice cream. Topped with whipped cream, pistachios, and chocolate toffee candy bars, it’s the perfect make-ahead dessert for St. Patrick’s Day, spring gatherings, and summer potlucks.
Pistachio Ice Cream Dessert just screams Spring!
You will enjoy this beautiful, refreshing dessert all spring and summer long. It’s one of my favorite desserts for entertaining. It’s super easy to make and can be made up days ahead of time. And with the lovely green color from the pistachio pudding mix, it’s perfect for Saint Patrick’s Day!
Why This Pistachio Dessert Is So Popular
I absolutely love everything about this dessert. From the buttery salty crust, pistachio flavor, creamy vanilla ice cream to the incredibly delicious toppings…..freshly whipped cream, chopped pistachio nuts and loads of chocolate-covered toffee candy bars! One of my favorite candies! Yum! Yum!
With all that combined, you have a perfect sweet & salty, creamy, crunchy amazing dessert on your hands.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Cool, creamy dessert that’s perfect for spring and summer
• Delicious pistachio flavor with a buttery cracker crust
• Easy make-ahead dessert for parties and potlucks
• Beautiful light green color that’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations
• Simple ingredients and very little prep time
• Always a crowd favorite — everyone asks for the recipe
What You’ll Need to Make Easy Pistachio Ice Cream Dessert
(Be sure to see the full printable recipe below this post)
Crust
- Crushed round buttery crackers (such as Ritz)
- Butter
Filling
- Cold whole milk
- Instant pistachio pudding mix
- Vanilla ice cream, softened
Topping
- Whipped cream or whipped topping
- Chopped pistachios
- Chocolate-covered toffee candy bars (such as Heath chocolate bars)
How to Make This Delicious Pistachio Ice Cream Dessert
This recipe starts out with a Ritz’s Cracker crust which is something completely different. Most desserts of this kind have a graham cracker or Oreo crust, but the salty, buttery flavor of the crackers compliments all the other flavors so well. When you taste it, I know that you will agree too. Of course, you could try it with graham crackers or the Oreo crust too.
1. To make the crust, you’ll need two cups of crushed Ritz crackers and 1 stick of melted butter. Mix all together and press the crumb mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and bake for about 6 to 7 minutes at 350 degrees.
2. While the crust is cooling, In a large bowl, whisk together ¾ cups of cold milk with a 3-ounce package of pistachio pudding mix. I prefer to use whole milk. The higher fat content really makes a difference in the taste. It’s much richer! Hey, we aren’t counting calories in this dessert so we might as well make it the best we can. Agree?
3. Next, gently fold the softened vanilla ice cream into the pistachio pudding. 
4. Once combined, pour the pistachio ice cream over the cooled crust. Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours or until firm.
5. For the topping, I used whipped heavy whipping cream. To me, there is nothing as good as freshly whipped sweetened whipped cream, but you can use a frozen whipped topping as well. Don’t let whipping heavy cream intimidate you. It really is easy to do. I’ll include how make the fresh whipped cream in the recipe. I added chopped pistachio nuts to the topping this time and what a great decision that was! It added even more pistachio flavor and a more crunch too.
6. Now, for my favorite part, the Heath bars! These chocolate-covered toffee candy bars are the final finishing chocolatey crunchy touch. I like to crumble lots on top. You can’t get enough of them. That’s it!
Tips for the Best Pistachio Dessert
• Allow the vanilla ice cream to soften slightly so it mixes smoothly with the pudding.
• Use a premium brand of vanilla ice cream. It’s hard to be Blue Bell vanilla ice cream or Mayfield.
• Make sure the crust has cooled completely before adding the filling.
• Freeze the dessert long enough for clean slices.
• For extra pistachio flavor, sprinkle a few chopped pistachios into the filling mixture as well.
Entertaining Tips
This dessert is perfect for:
• St. Patrick’s Day parties
• Church potlucks
• Family gatherings
• Easter dinner
• Spring and summer cookouts
You can even garnish the top with a few extra pistachios and chocolate pieces just before serving to make it look extra special.
Storage Tips
Store this dessert covered in the freezer.
It will keep well for up to one week, making it a great make-ahead dessert for entertaining.
For best texture, let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before slicing.
Easy Frozen Pistachio Ice Cream Dessert with Buttery Ritz Cracker Crust (Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day)
I hope you enjoy this fabulous recipe. Please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest @aletiadupree.
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Pistachio Ice Cream Dessert
Prep Time: 20 minutes- Cook Time: 2 Hours
- Total Time: 2 Hours
Yield: 8 to 9 Servings
Category: desserts
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This fabulous frozen dessert is a cool, refreshing treat with a delicious pistachio flavor that’s topped with whipped cream, chopped pistachio nuts and chocolate-covered toffee candy bars!
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups crushed round buttery crackers, such as Ritz’s
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Filling
- ¾ cup cold milk, whole milk
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
- 1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
Toppings
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream or (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping (thawed if using frozen whipped topping) or the real cream in the can works too
- ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, only if using heavy whipping cream
- 1 (12-ounce) bag miniature milk chocolate-covered English toffee bars, (Heath Bars), chopped into small pieces
- ½ cup chopped pistachios (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press into an ungreased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool completely.
- In a large bowl, whisk together milk and pudding for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft set.
- Fold in softened ice cream. Stir until pudding mixture is completely incorporated. Pour over cooled crust. Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until firm.
- After ice cream mixture has firmed up, spread with whipped cream or serve each individual slice with a generous dollop of whipped cream and top with chopped pistachio nuts and candy pieces.
- To make the fresh whipped cream, pour 2 cups of the heavy whipping cream into chilled mixing bowl (NOTE: a cold chilled bowl and mixing beaters helps make the whipping cream whip up faster.) Beat on high speed until cream starts to thicken. While beating, slowly add confectioners’ sugar and continue beating on high speed until soft peaks form and cream is thick. (NOTE: be careful not to over beat or cream will go flat.)
Notes
Do ahead/Freeze Tip: This dessert will freeze up to 2 months.
