Impressive Desserts Made with Instant Pudding

Everybody loves a little dessert after a delicious meal. You might not have thought you had the time to whip up a tasty treat, though, especially not on busy weeknights. Fortunately, if you have a box of instant pudding or two and a little bit of time, you can create a sweet and satisfying dish to top off any meal perfectly. Here are some impressive desserts made with instant pudding.

Chocolate Toffee Pie

One of the best features about desserts made with instant pudding is that they typically require little to no cooking or baking. Such is the case with this no bake pie. Rich chocolate and buttery toffee are blissfully combined in this dessert that is easy enough to make for a typical family dinner yet fancy enough to serve to guests. Feel free to swap the toffee for your favorite candy bar.

Ingredients
2 3.9 oz. packages chocolate instant pudding
2 cups milk
8 oz. thawed whipped topping
2 1.4 oz. toffee bars, such as Heath or Skor
1 chocolate cookie piecrust, either store bought or homemade (find a recipe here)

Directions

Combine pudding mix, milk and half of the whipped topping in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Cut or crush candy bars into small pieces. Reserve 1/4 cup of the candy. Mix the remaining candy into the pudding mixture. Pour pudding mixture into the piecrust. Spread remaining whipped topping onto the pie. Sprinkle with remaining candy pieces. Chill until ready to serve.

Chocolate Banana Parfait

The search for something that would satisfy my husband's love of fudge bomb pops, a chocolaty banana ice cream truck confection, led to the discovery of these individual desserts made with instant pudding. While they look delightful divvied up into single serving dishes, you can make a large parfait for dinner guests to dip into as well, if you prefer.

Ingredients
9 graham crackers, original flavor or chocolate
1 1/2 cup crushed pecans
1/4 sugar
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
2 3.9 oz. packages chocolate instant pudding
3 cups milk
5 medium bananas
8 oz. thawed whipped topping

Directions

Crush graham crackers in a food processor or place in a heavy zip-top bag and crush with a rolling pin. Combine crumbs with pecans, sugar and margarine in a medium mixing bowl. Beat cream cheese in a separate bowl until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk and stir well. Mix in instant pudding and milk. Stir until thoroughly combined and smooth. Slice bananas into 1/2 inch thick slices. Spoon a layer of the crumb mixture into the dessert dishes, followed by a layer of bananas and a layer of pudding. Repeat until the dishes are full. Top with a dollop of whipped topping. Chill until ready to serve.