Looking for a quick and easy Summer dessert recipe? Try out delicious No Bake Summer Berry Icebox Cake !
After such a great response from No Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake, my brain started churning with other similar ideas.
Summer is so close and the hot temperatures, are already in full swing where I live, and I have NO desire to crank up my oven. That’s where this No Bake Summer Berry Icebox Cake comes into play!
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There’s very little preparation involved in this recipe, which makes it great for hot summer days or for crazy busy days (fighting off the million to-dos running through your head to catch a few precious hours of sleep, sounds familiar?). You can throw it together whenever you have time (even the day before is fine) and it will be ready and waiting for you in the refrigerator when you want a sweet treat!
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The wonder of the No Bake Summer Berry Icebox Cake is that you layer graham crackers, cream cheese pudding mix, fresh berries – since it’s fresh berry season, I couldn’t resist adding the strawberries and blueberries to this dessert. They’re pretty, they make it look fancy, and it just feels like “summer.”, drizzle the white chocolate over the top and stick it in the icebox, aka the refrigerator. After a few hours, the crackers absorb the moisture from the fruit and pudding and develop a cake-like texture. You can have your cake without even baking! 
If you’re looking for another light and refreshing summer dessert idea, check out this Red White Blue Cheesecake Swirled Bars
No Bake Summer Berry Icebox Cake
Ingredients
- 19 oz graham crackers
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 3.4 oz packages Vanilla Instant Pudding
- 2-1/2 cups cold milk
- 12 oz Cool whip or homemade whipped cream
- 3 cups fresh strawberries sliced
- 1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
- 2 oz white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Beat cream cheese and dry pudding mixes in large bowl with mixer until blended.
- Gradually beat in milk.
- Gently stir in Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream, reserving 1/2 cup.
- Spread a thin layer of cool whip in a 9x13 pan just to coat the bottom.
- Layer 5 graham crackers across the center of the pan, then 2 more, breaking them as needed to fit around the top and bottom edges.
- Spread a layer of pudding mixture over grahams and top with a layer of blueberries and sliced strawberries.
- Place graham crackers on top of berries, then pudding mixture, then layer of berries again.
- Repeat the graham-pudding-berries layers 1 more time (3 times total) and you should reach the top of the pan.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until the graham crackers have softened completely.
- When ready to serve, melt white chocolate chips in a bowl as directed on package and drizzle over dessert.
- You can use a spoon to drizzle it over the tops of the berries or you can put it into a small zip-top bag and snip of the corner for an easy "piping bag."
Sounds wonderful, can’t wait to try it!!
I made this it was great i used extra white chocolate,whip cream…awesome it went over great ppl even asked for the recipe..will make it again and again although if you use the best ingredients your looking at atleast 30 bucks..
It is extremely good, but I think I’ll buy canned pudding next time as I could not, for the life of me, get the filling smooth using the powdered pudding mix. I tried twice!
Other than that, it was a huge hit at a pot luck dinner!
My version – made it for a family reunion event last weekend and earned a 1st place ribbon!!
What size pan please?
it says 9 x 13, I had to look again because i missed it too!
9×13
These recipes look wonderful can’t wait to try them
This looks so good I’m going to make this for the fourth and save some for our anniversary the fifth
Fantastic ❗️❗️
are these regular graham crakers —— they look white inside not the normal brownish color. This looks delicious
This cake is a huge hit at my house. Yes, use regular graham crackers. Just layer them across the pan. Don’t worry about the gaps in between as the graham cracker softens you won’t notice. Good Luck and enjoy!
They are regular graham crackers. The pudding seeps into the graham crackers. The desert is excellent.
It doesn’t look like graham crackers like the recipe says. Looks more like ladyfingers Either way looks very good.
Cathie, they are regular graham crackers, they just swell with the moisture from the cream cheese/pudding/cool whip mixture. Hope that helps. 🙂
That cake looks awesome! I can’t wait to try it!! Just wondering though, what kind of graham crackers did you use? Those don’t look like the typical graham crackers. Thanks!
This cake looks amazing!! Can’t wait to make it! What kind of graham crackers did you use? Your picture doesn’t look like the typical graham cracker, such as Nabisco. Thanks!!
What is the 1/2 c cool whip used for.
Hi Jeanne,
1/2 cup Cool Whip used to coat the bottom of 9×13 pan, in order to make lining graham crackers easier.
Hope this help.
It says in recipe to save 1/2 cup of whipped cream….what for? It never said in instructions.
This looks delicious. Did you use graham crackers in the pictures? Looks more like vanilla wafers than graham crackers. Thanks!
Hi Lisa Ann ! Thanks for the kind words and I hope y’all enjoy it!
Yes it is graham crackers, however it is the effect of the pudding soaking into them over time that causes it to look similar to vanilla wafers.
It slices more clean while vanilla wafers dissolve and turn mushier.
Hope this help.
I make these icebox cakes using vanilla wafers instead of graham crackers. Works just the same.
Looks Great!! Going To Make This for Red/White/Blue Luncheon at work and for the Fourth, Going to put Strawberries and Blueberries on tap like American Flag. Did you use regular graham crackers, I am toying with using Vanilla Graham Crackers
Love the look of this, just wondering could you use graham crumbs instead of crackers do you think?
I’m making this for a party this weekend. Am using heavy whipping cream.
Should I sweeten it & add vanilla? Thanks. Your cake looks amazing.
I’ll rate recipe after I try it. ☺️
Congrats! This lovely dessert got our attention at this week’s Weekend Potluck and is being featured. I absolutely LOVE that chocolate drizzle across the top. Enjoy a fabulous holiday weekend. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
Hi, question, pudding mix is it 2x 3.4oz or total 3.4oz? which is 2 packs?
I’m making tonight for tomorrow gethering. Thanks
Today Friday, July 1st, 2016
Had this at a funeral yesterday! WOW!!! Fantastic!!
How do you get the pudding to be smooth?
I had the same problem?
Hi. I just made this for the first time. I beat the softened cream cheese first. Added one box of pudding, beat that into the cream cheese. Then I added one cup of the milk in, beat until smooth. Added the second box of pudding, beat it in, then the rest of the milk and beat it all until smooth. Mine was quite smooth and easily spreadable.
Yes how do you get the pudding smooth? Mine was clumpy. Still tasted good tho.
Just made this cake last night and tried it this morning, it is amazing!! Super easy and a delicious treat anyone will love!
The store is completely out of blueberries would blackberries work instead?
I think so but I don’t know for sure since I’ve never used it myself 🙂
I’m not sure about the vanilla instant pudding. Is it 34 ounces or 3.4 ounces and do I need two boxes at that size or just one? I live in Canada and the Jello pudding sizes are for one box 30 g. I bought two but I think I might need more. Thanks for the help.
Marlene
Hi. The pudding here in Canada is about 100 grams. You need two of these boxes. Buy the regular, not the fat free and sugar free. Made it this past weekend. My grandson and my daughter and her husband loved it! I used no name graham crackers. One 400 gram box was enough. It was delicious and will make again. Was in fridge by 0800 hours. Served up at about 1830 hours (or 6:30 pm) and it was just right. Crackers not mushy, but soft enough to cut.
do you think it would work with shortbread cookies, such as Lorna Doones, instead of Graham Crackers? I’m not a big fan of Graham Crackers but this recipe looks SO yummy and pretty and I really want to try it for the 4th!
does this sit well at room temp? I want to bring it for a potluck but worry it may turn to mush.
Hi Molly,
It doesn’t sit very well at room temperature for MANY hours, because it does get soggy.
Hope this help.
Made this with a friend last night and it turned out superbly well! We scattered blueberries and strawberries in the bottom two layers, and then made a flag design on the top with the berries. It really is as easy as it looks and quite delicious. Thanks for sharing!
I had a question when it says it needs whip cream does that need to be combined into the matter?
Hi looks great! Can we freeze it instead of refrigerating??
Hi Meghan,
I think so but I don’t know for sure since I’ve try it for about 30 minutes in the freezer, it becomes firm
enough that you slice it easily without fear of it collapsing, and it doesn’t take long for it to come to temperature.
Hope this help.
I am making this for the 1st time tomorrow but instead of vanilla pudding I am going to use lemon… thought it would taste great with the berries. Fingers crossed!!
Just made this! 5 hours later and mmmmm mmmmm delicious!! 7/2/2016
When I saw “icebox cake” I assumed that meant it goes in the freezer. So that’s where I put it over night. Will it still be okay to eat do you think?
I did the same thing!! It threw me off and never thought about it again. It wasn’t overnight but for 8 hours and took it out for dessert that night and it was hard to slice through. Oh well. Lesson learned. Lol! Anybody try with graham cracker crumbs? Thank you!
Just made this for a cookout later today, I can’t wait to try it! I did have some trouble with the texture of the pudding mixture. I couldn’t get the cream cheese to come out smooth. I thought I had it softened enough, but will make sure to heat it a little longer next time. Otherwise the flavor is wonderful and the chocolate drizzle adds a nice touch!
I had the same problem the first time I made this, though my family loved it anyway. The second time, I beat the cream cheese first, then alternated adding the pudding mix and milk.
Excellent idea. First time I made this I didn’t mix in this fashion. Family still love it but will be sure to use your method. Thanks for the great idea!!
Just made this dessert! Looks amazing, putting it in fridge for later tonight! Did anyone drizzle the white chocolate ahead of time because the directions say right before serving… Will it come out okay if I drizzle a couple hours ahead of serving?
Mine turned to mush? What did I do wrong?
How did you get the cream cheese and pudding mixture to blend well with the milk? Mine got chunky and never recovered lol.
The same thing happened to mine . it was watery and chunky hoping that once it sits for a while it’ll get better.
I made this for a family cookout, when I went to get a piece, it was GONE, my family loved it. My cream cheese, pudding mixture was also chunky.
I let the cream cheese come to room temp then mixed it in my stand mixer then added the pudding then SLOWLY the milk. It takes a bit to get it smooth but it will get there. Even if it has a little bit of chunkies in the mix it still tastes amazing!
Did anyone try making this with can milk? I’m just curious if it will set right.
I just made this recipe and used sugar free pudding……don’t try this! It came out like glue. I think if I had made the pudding mix with milk first then added cream cheese it may have come out better.
I made this and can’t figure out what I did wrong. Mine didn’t set up like I expected it to. It came out super runny. Still tastes good but makes a mess while cutting it and getting it out of the pan.
How many boxes of pudding mix?
Hi Kelsey,
Recipe calls for two (3.4 oz) packages.
Made this last night for a cookout tonight and it was a hit- none left to bring home. The only thing is, it was very pudding like in its consistency. From the picture, I thought it would be more solid. Maybe I beat the filling too long? Any insight to the bakers out there? Fortunately nobody minded it loved it anyway!
Love your recipes easy to make
I have made this twice — once for after-church refreshments and the second time for today’s July 4th family party. It is so delicious! I, too, had trouble getting the pudding and cream mixture to be absolutely smooth, but this does not affect the flavor.. I put it in the freezer for about an hour last time because I was short on time and then placed it in the refrigerator at church for about an hour and a half and it was delicious. Thanks for the great recipe.
Adding cream cheese to pudding mix before the milk made this turn into a lumpy mess. Is it possible that it should be the other way around?
Hi. I beat the room temp cheese first, then added one box of the pudding and beat it in, adding one cup of milk, beat till smooth. Added second box of pudding, and milk, then beat until smooth came out nice and easily spread.
We had the same problem!!
I had a hard time getting pudding smooth also. Seems like you should mix the pudding with the milk then add cream cheese. I had little pudding clumps that were yellow that did not dissolve. So, my mixture wasn’t as pudding thick as I’d like.
It was still delicious and got eaten!
I made this cake overnight and we just sliced it at a 4th of July party and it was completely MUSH. The graham crackers were soggy, so they soaked it up, but there was just so much liquid leftover! What did I do wrong?
I made this for Independence Day. Added raspberries and blackberries, and substituted cheesecake flavored pudding mix. Yummy!
Made this for Independence Day (USA). It was good, but oh, so rich!
I, too, question the type of graham cracker used. I used Nabisco, and my graham cracker layers look nothing like the photos. Mine were the same light brown throughout. What brand was used for the photos that would have a white middle?
My pudding mix and cream cheese got chunky too! I couldn’t get it smooth no matter what I tried. My cream cheese had been sitting at room temp for two hours and was soft. It seemed like the pudding powder got thick and stuck together. I threw the whole thing away. Next time I will mix some of the milk with the pudding first before adding cream cheese. Anyone else have a suggestion?
When you go to add the milk, slowly add a little at a time mixing with a blender on high for about a minute each time-should come out very smooth! Hope this helps
I made this yesterday and took it last night to a July 4th party. This cake was a hit!! People were literally licking the pan clean! Thanks so much for sharing! I will most definitely be making this again!
Hello! I made this and it was so delicious! The only problem is that it was really liquid-ey. Is there something I may have done wrong? I put it in the fridge for 4 hours. Thanks for your advice!!
This looks really good but I don’t know how good mushy graham crackers would be. Those of you that made it, how did it taste?
I love this cake. I don’t care for graham crackers. So I replaced with angel food cake. I sliced the cake in thick layers so it wouldn’t get mushy. My pudding mixture turned out great. Just need to make sure the cream cheese is softened. I only used 2cups milk. Didn’t want it to be to soggy. It turned out great. And the flavor was light and refreshing. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Is there another item I can use in place of Cream Cheese. I am allergic to a item in cream cheese. Everything that looks so good has cream cheese in it. There has to be something I can replace the cream cheese with.
This looks really yummy, and very pretty! I’ll be having this on my July 4th buffett table for sure!
Made it today with cream cheese pudding mix. Very yummy!
I made this for Father’s Day gathering and was very pleased with the outcome. I did make a few changes. I used cream cheese flavored pudding; I added about 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the pudding; and put the zest of one lemon on top to try and make it a little less sweet. I will definitely make this again!
I made this for 4th of July yesterday and it was so well liked that I’ve been asked to make it a new tradition for our 4th celebrations. I changed things up slightly for my gluten free family members and followed advice from previous comments. I used two 8X8 square pans so one could be gluten free with GF graham crackers. For the other pan, I used Honeymaid graham crackers and they looked exactly like the pictures when we served. After reading the above comments, I mixed the cream cheese well then alternated the pudding (cream cheese flavor) and the milk with no lumps. Hope this helps.
I have made this with Strawberries and Blueberries several times and it was delicious. I was wondering if anyone has made it with fresh peaches? Thanks!
Easy to make. Turned out great! Used low fat cream cheese & light whipped topping so it was probably low cal & healthy
I made this the past 2 years for my son’s birthday on 4th of July. It is SO delicious. He loves it and people at our neighborhood 4th of july potluck can’t get enough of it! They rave about it and i hear people say, Who made the cake???!!!! It’s so addicting, i feel like naming it crack-cake lol. I want to make a similar version that would be more Thanksgiving themed, simply because everyone loves it so much. But I’m not a big fan of pumpkin. Any suggestions?
I have made this dessert twice. Very easy to make. & has been a big hit both times. I also had problems getting the cream cheese smooth when mixing with the dry pudding but did not affect the taste. I think cutting back on the milk by about 1/2 cup may also help in making the layers more solid. The layers were soft but still stable, not mushy as some others have stated. The graham wafers will become soft especially if it is made 24 hrs in advance but again not mushy.
Can the chocolate drizzle be put on the day before also and then refrigerated?
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! Like others, I too ha d shard time getting the pudding and cream cheese to be smooth, so thank you to others who suggested mixing the pudding and milk first. I will definitely try that next time! I was just wondering if this recipe can be frozen? And if so, how long will it keep in the freezer? We have a ton left over and hate to throw it away.
Made this for the 2nd time today – this time I used one – 5 oz. pkg. of instant pudding + 2 – 3.4 ozs. of instant pudding +
4-4.5C of milk + one 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese + one 13 oz. can of Redi-Whip sprayed into the pudding mixture & then folded in — my 9×13 dish is deeper than a regular one so that’s why I wanted there to be more actual pudding than the first time I made it. It’s a keeper :)) My first recipe of yours to try, will be trying out some more of them fer sure 🙂
What a great recipe. I made this for a bar b q yesterday and it was a hit. I did only use 1 1/4 cup of milk and put in a whole can of sweetened condensed milk in the mixture. I did not use any white chocolate but i drizzled what was left of the sweetend condensed milk over the top instead and it was so good. I did freeze it for 4 hours because i needed it that evening but it turned out great. I am pregnant and will definatly make a smaller one for me and the husband. Or just me.
This dessert is a classic. I make it all the time and have people ask me for the recipe. I think people like it since its a lighter dessert and has fruit. I always let the cream cheese soften a lot, then mix with the pudding, then gradually add in the milk a little at a time blending it with a blender and it takes out all the lumps. I use 2 containers of cool whip because I like a lot, I put a good amount on the bottom of the pan then add the rest to the pudding mixture. I also use 2 containers of strawberries and 1 of blueberries- I like a lot of fruit. I’ve never added the chocolate on top and its still amazing. Great recipe!
This recipe is a classic. I’ve made this several times and everyone always asks for the recipe-probably because its a light dessert with fruit. Some people have mentioned a problem with having it lumpy- what I do is make sure the cream cheese is very soft, add it to the pudding mixing well, then I slowly incorporate the milk adding very little at a time using a blender to mix it on medium speed for about a minute each time-comes out very smooth. As for it being runny are you using enough Graham crackers -if so next time I would add less milk. The more crackers and fruit used the more things the pudding mixture can soak into-plus if your fruit has a lot of water on them they will make it runny too. I add 2 containers of strawberries 1 of blueberries, and 2 containers of cool whip, plus extra crackers-comes out amazing! I’ve never added the chocolate on top but thats because I feel its great without and one less step for me. Hope this helps!
Just commenting to let you know that the ads on your blog are so overbearing that the website crashed three times. I understand and revenue is important but this is a bad look.
My stepmom makes something very similar to this but she uses cake and puts it in a bowl. If it’s as yummy as hers it will be a hit with my husband!
I made it today and felt like there wasn’t enough pudding mix for three layers. Maybe I used too much. Only made it to two layers.
Just made this for a party today and there were no left overs! Everyone came back for seconds. Perfect light and refreshing summer dessert.
I made this for a 4th of July celebration and decorated the top in a flag pattern. The pan was so full I couldn’t fit the top on my Pyrex dish! Everyone really liked it. I will definitely make again.
I made this for a July 4th celebration and arranged the fruit in a flag pattern on top. It was too tall for me to cover up in my Pyrex dish and prompted me to purchase a deep dish 9×13 baking dish! This is delicious. It’s the fruit equivalent to Eclair cake!
2suggestions:
-wash and dry berries so they don’t “bleed” into pudding mix
-make sure cream cheese is room temperature so it doesn’t leave lumps in the mix
Guests did rave about it, though. I would definitely make it again!!
Great summer dessert, very easy and quick to make, would recommend it!
Made this dessert for a family gathering. Thought it would be a nice recipe for the 4th weekend. It was a hit and definitely will make again. Might even become a 4th of July tradition.
I’ve been making this for a few years and everyone loves! One tip that I’ve learned helps with the clumping with the cream cheese and pudding mix, I used my food processor instead of my mixer. Added the dry pudding slowly and the milk slowly.
Really good! Was a big hit at our 4th of July shin dig! I wouldn’t change a thing!
Excellent dessert! Made for 4th of July! Delicious and perfect for a hot summer day! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. I used white choc instant pudding because that is what I had. I have always wanted to make a ice box cake and this recipe did not disappoint!
Made this recipe was so easy to do.It tasted delicious! Got lots of compliments!
This was delicious. Next time I’m making it with lady fingers or Lorna Doones.
This looks so good! What a great dessert to make in the summer!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
This was a hit at a gathering I went to! Cool Whip is one of my favorite food groups . It’s like the Boston cream pie one but I have a friend that can’t have chocolate so I was happy to find this! Oh and I love berries although I am sure you could use other fruit. It’s a must try if you haven’t
I made this using sliced pound cake! Was delicious…
I just made this and it looks nothing like the picture. Not sure what went wrong with it. Put it in a plastic 9×13 pan and saw after refrigerating it went down in size and made a cap in the pan. I do want to make this again but with 3 instant pudding to fully fill the top layer
I’ve never had a better dessert in my life. This was absolutely incredible, using the changes mentioned in comments and some of my own. 1: I thinly sliced pound cake instead of grahams. I did use one layer of grahams only as the top layer as a family sized pound cake will run out by the very top. 2: I reduced the milk by 1/2c as many mentioned. 3: I used cheesecake & white chocolate pudding instead of the vanilla. 4: I missed the pudding with milk first and whipped the cream cheese first before adding the pudding mix to the cream cheese. These changes resulted in the absolute most divine cake that held up beautifully in the fridge as leftovers for days.
Made this today with a can of coconut cream instead of cool whip to make it less sweet and it was so good! Still almost too sweet, so I’m glad I made the sub.
Delicious, BUT …. To get the pudding mixture smooth, Beat the cream cheese, adding milk a little at a time. Then add the pudding mix and beat again.
The first time I made this I beat the cream cheese until smooth and then added the pudding to the smooth cream cheese. It immediately became lumpy, like many others stated above. Since I was halving the recipe, I put the lumpy cream cheese/pudding mixture aside and used the second half of my cream cheese. I again started by beating the cream cheese until smooth (the cream cheese needs to be at room temperature before you beat it). This time, I slowly mixed in the milk.. The milk/cream cheese mixture was ver thin. I very slowly added in the dry pudding mix, while beating the whole time. This time the cream cheese mixture was nice and smooth. I followed the rest of the recipe as stated above and it turned out beautifully.
This was really delicious, but thanks to the previous comments I prepared the filling in a different way. I beat the two packs of pudding with only 2 cups milk, and then in a separate bowl I beat the cream cheese, that I had left at room temperature for several hours. Then I blended the cream cheese with the pudding and finally stirred the cool whip and everything came out really smooth. I did a flag design on top because it was 4th of July.
This was absolutely delicious however we have about 1/2 of the pan leftover. Can that leftover be frozen for a future time? Thank you!
This is delicious! Can it be frozen for future use?
excellent cake made for 4th on July everyone loved !!!
This was AMAZING!! I made my own whipped cream from scratch. Everyone raved about it! We had it at a church dinner and it went Quick!!! Thank you!
Made two of these, first time as written. Second time I chopped the strawberries and put the drizzle on after cutting. MUCH better. Frosting doesn’t crack, and I was able to make neater cuts without having to cut thru the strawberries. Recipe s definitely a keeper.
It turned out well, but the mixture was lumpy. I think the next time I make it I will just make the vanilla instant pudding and add the cool whip, eliminating the cream cheese.