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Your family’s new favorite, easy dessert! This 5-ingredient ice cream sandwich cake is a no-bake treat that’s ready with just 10 minutes of prep. Just layer ice cream sandwiches with Cool Whip and all of your favorite toppings — chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, sprinkles, M&M’s, and more — then re-freeze, slice, and serve. Bring on summer!
How to Make Ice Cream Sandwich Cake | 1-Minute Video
If you’re not much of a baker, then this is the dessert for you! It’s perfect for those of us who always seem to need a crowd-pleasing potluck dish to serve to family and friends, but we don’t always have time to whip up a homemade cake from scratch. With layers of store-bought ice cream sandwiches and whipped topping, you can assemble this no-bake easy ice cream cake in about 10 minutes. Mix up the flavors or add different toppings — once you know how to make ice cream sandwich cake, the options are endless! Kids and adults love this simple dessert.
Ingredients
- Ice cream sandwiches: you will need approximately 24 ice cream sandwiches for this 9 x 13-inch cake. I use vanilla ice cream sandwiches, but you can pick your favorite flavor.
- Chocolate syrup and caramel syrup: add extra flavor to the ice cream cake, making it taste just like a sundae! I like Hershey’s brand chocolate syrup and this Smucker’s caramel syrup, but other varieties of hot fudge sauce and caramel sauce will work.
- Frozen whipped topping: such as Cool Whip. Just make sure to thaw it in the refrigerator before trying to spread it on the cake. You can whip your own cream at home, as you would do for this icebox cake, if you prefer.
- Toppings of choice: I’ve shown mini M&M candies here, but you can add almost any toppings that you prefer. See the notes below for other suggestions.
How to Make Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
Regular blog readers know that I’m a big fan of quick-prep, family-friendly recipes, so it’s no surprise that Stephanie sent me this idea via email a couple of weeks ago. One look at her instructions and I knew that it would be a winner in our house! After one taste, I knew that I better share it with all of you, too!
- Arrange 12 ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch dish. As you can see from the photo below, you will need to cut the last ice cream sandwich in half in order to get it to fit in the pan. Trust me — this doesn’t have to be perfect (it will still taste amazing)!
- Allow the ice cream sandwiches to soften a bit, and then use the back of a spoon (or your fingers) to gently press them down a little bit. You can skip this step if you’re using a particularly deep pan.
- Top the first layer of ice cream sandwiches with a layer of whipped topping, drizzle with chocolate and caramel syrups, and sprinkle with toppings of choice (I used mini M&M’s and sprinkles here).
- Repeat the layers once more, using the remaining Cool Whip to “frost” the top of the cake.
- Freeze the homemade ice cream sandwich cake for at least 1-2 hours or overnight, until firm.
Storage
Wrapped tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, this easy ice cream cake will keep in the freezer for up to 1 week. This simple no-bake dessert is so easy that you truly cannot mess it up!
Recipe Variations for Ice Cream Cake with Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwich Cake: Use Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches for a combination of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream in your cake. You can garnish the cake with sliced fresh strawberries just before serving and sprinkle with chocolate chips. A drizzle of strawberry syrup would also be a good swap for the caramel.
- Magic Shell: instead of the chocolate syrup, drizzle the top of the cake with Magic Shell topping.
- Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich Cake: instead of the M&M’s, make the ice cream cake with ice cream sandwiches and a layer of coarsely crushed Oreo cookies (in lieu of the M&M’s or other toppings). You can also use Cookies and Cream flavored ice cream sandwiches or chocolate ice cream sandwiches.
- Birthday Cake Ice Cream Sandwich Cake: put a birthday spin on this fun dessert! You can purchase Blue Bunny Birthday Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches at many grocery stores and Super Target stores. Use rainbow sprinkles as a fun topping, too.
- Toppings: I used mini M&M’s (which are a favorite at my house), but Stephanie also suggested coarsely crushed Oreos, Heath toffee bits, chopped candy bars (such as Snickers or Milky Way), chocolate chips, crushed waffle cones, chopped peanuts (or other nuts like almonds or pecans), Reese’s pieces or Reese’s peanut butter cups.
- Sprinkles: Garnish with different colored sprinkles to match the upcoming holidays. For instance, one reader suggested using red, white and blue sprinkles for Memorial Day or July 4th, or you can pick rainbow sprinkles for a birthday party!
Tips for the Best Ice Cream Sandwich Cake Recipe
- Use a very deep baking dish, if possible. I’ve shown a deep lasagna pan here. If your dish is deep, you don’t need to press down on the first layer of ice cream sandwiches — just skip that step.
- Thaw the whipped topping in the refrigerator overnight before you plan to assemble the cake. Do not thaw the whipped topping on the counter at room temperature, or the texture will be runny.
- Allow the ice cream sandwiches to soften slightly so that you can gently press them down as you’re creating the layers. This will help them fit in the pan!
- Prepare the cake at least 1-2 hours in advance of when you plan to serve it. The cake needs adequate time to firm up in the freezer again before you slice into it.
More Easy Dessert Recipes to Try
- One-Bowl Buttermilk Chocolate Cake
- Oreo Poke Cake
- Chocolate Bundt Cake (using cake mix!)
- Quick and Easy Banana Pudding (no-bake!)
- Lemon Bundt Cake (starts with a box of cake mix!)
- Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (no-bake!)
- Old-Fashioned Icebox Cake
- Bisquick Peach Cobbler
- Rustic Peach Galette
- Easy Blueberry Cobbler
Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
Ingredients
- 24 ice cream sandwiches
- 16 ounces frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed in the refrigerator
- Chocolate syrup
- Caramel syrup
- Topping of choice: such as mini M&M’s, sprinkles, crushed Oreo cookies, toffee bits, chopped nuts, chopped candy bars, chocolate chips, etc.
Instructions
- Layer 12 ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch dish. You may need to cut the last ice cream sandwich in half in order to get it to fit in the bottom of the dish.
- Allow to soften for a few minutes and then use a spoon to gently press the ice cream sandwiches down a little bit. You can skip this step if you're using a very deep pan!
- Spread half of the whipped topping over the ice cream sandwiches. Drizzle with chocolate and caramel syrups. Sprinkle with desired toppings.
- Top with another layer of 12 ice cream sandwiches. Spread remaining whipped topping over the ice cream sandwiches. Drizzle with additional chocolate syrup and caramel syrup, if desired. Sprinkle with additional toppings.
- Freeze for about 1-2 hours (or overnight) to give the cake time to firm up before slicing and serving.
Video
Notes
- Use a very deep baking dish, if possible. I’ve shown a deep lasagna pan here. If your dish is deep, you don’t need to press down on the first layer of ice cream sandwiches — just skip that step.
- Thaw the whipped topping in the refrigerator overnight before you plan to assemble the cake. Do not thaw the whipped topping on the counter at room temperature, or the texture will be runny.
- Allow the ice cream sandwiches to soften slightly so that you can gently press them down as you’re creating the layers. This will help them fit in the pan!
- Prepare the cake at least 1-2 hours in advance of when you plan to serve it. The cake needs adequate time to firm up in the freezer again before you slice into it.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in June, 2018. The photos were updated in June, 2022.
Came out delicious!! We used crushed oreo cookies so I didn’t use the caramel. One thing I would have done differently was put a layer of crushed oreos before the first layer of ice cream sandwiches. Everyone ranted !!
I’m so glad that it was a hit, Michele. Thank you!
I made this once before and it was so delicious! Planning to make it again and wondered if I could use fresh whipping cream instead of frozen kind? Have you tried this?
Hi, Patti! I haven’t tried it myself, but the fresh whipped cream should work great!
Could I make this a couple days in advance?
Hi, Kendra! Absolutely! I’d say it’s fine for at least 2-3 days in advance (if not more). 🙂