Layers of sweetened cream cheese, coconut cream pudding and homemade whipped cream come together on a pecan shortbread crust in this creamy dessert that’s perfect for any summer celebration!
I recently purchased some coconut cream pudding from Amazon (because I needed it for a recipe and couldn’t find it at my local store). But of course, I had to buy six boxes of coconut cream pudding!
These Coconut Cream Pie Bars are one of the many delicious ways I’ve come up with to use my supply of coconut cream pudding mix. I’m starting to think that having a stash of instant coconut pudding isn’t such a bad thing after all.
These bars start with a baked pecan shortbread crust, although I imagine you could also do a graham cracker crust, or shortbread minus the nuts. Then there are creamy layers of sweetened cream cheese, coconut pudding, and whipped cream.
It’s a cool, creamy dessert that’s especially perfect for the warmer summer months. I promise these bars will be a hit at any backyard barbecue or potluck you’re invited to this summer.
If you’re not a fan of coconut, don’t worry. This dessert could be made with almost any kind of instant pudding–vanilla, banana and chocolate are all fantastic options!
I sprinkled my bars with some finely chopped pecans. But a bit of toasted coconut would be another great garnish. Or you could go all out and use pecans and coconut!
My family loved this dessert! My husband is a huge fan of any kind of cream pie like dessert, so it came as no surprise that the entire 9×13 pan was gone in a bout 24 hours.
But that’s okay, because I still have several boxes of coconut cream pie pudding mix to use, and this dessert was so easy to put together, I’m already looking forward to making and eating it again.
Be sure to save this recipe for Coconut Cream Pie Bars to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Flour
- Pecans
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Instant coconut cream pudding
- Milk
- Heavy cream
- Sugar
Coconut Cream Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup butter melted
For the bars
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 3.5 oz. packages instant coconut cream pudding mix
- 2 cups milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix ingredients for crust until well combined. Press into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until just golden. Chill until cold.
- Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Refrigerate while you prepare the whipped cream. In a medium bowl, beat the the heavy cream and sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate while you prepare the pudding. Refrigerate the remaining whipped cream.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together the pudding mix and milk. Spread over cream cheese layer and chill until set.
- Spread the remaining whipped cream over the pudding layer. Garnish with chopped pecans or toasted coconut, if desired.
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