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With a homemade graham cracker crust and a creamy, no-bake filling, this frozen Chocolate Cream Pie is the ultimate make-ahead dessert!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Graham cracker crust: Use a store-bought crust if you prefer, no problem.
Step-by-step instructions
- To make the graham cracker crust (or substitute a store-bought crust), preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, or in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, finely crush graham crackers.
- In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Pour into a 9-inch pie plate.
- Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crust evenly and firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Bake until golden brown and fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely, at least 1 hour.
- In a large bowl stir together sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract. Add cocoa powder and milk in alternating batches, a few tablespoons at a time, until evenly incorporated. Gently fold in whipped topping. Pour into cooled crust and smooth the top with a spatula. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until serving. Thaw for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Drizzle individual pieces with chocolate syrup if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 1 delicious pie with 8 slices.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the freezer.
- Make ahead: Yes, please! This pie needs to freeze for at least 4 hours, but you can freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
- Chocolate crust: An Oreo cookie crust would be delicious here.
- Whipped cream: Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.
More cool desserts
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Banana Split Recipe
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Cold Desserts
Fried Ice Cream
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Chocolate Cream Pie
With a homemade graham cracker crust and a creamy, no-bake filling, this frozen Chocolate Cream Pie is the ultimate make-ahead dessert!
Ingredients
For the graham cracker crust (see note 1):
- 9 graham crackers
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed
- Chocolate syrup for decorating, optional
Instructions
To make the graham cracker crust:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, or in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, finely crush graham crackers. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar.
- Pour into a 9-inch pie plate, using the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crust evenly and firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Bake until golden brown and fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely, at least 1 hour.
To make the filling:
- In a large bowl combine sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract. Stir until evenly blended. Add cocoa powder and milk in alternating batches, a few tablespoons at a time, until evenly incorporated.
- Gently fold in whipped topping until well-combined. Pour into cooled crust and smooth the top with a spatula. Freeze at least 4 hours or until serving (up to 1 month in advance). Thaw for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Drizzle individual pieces with chocolate syrup if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Graham cracker crust: Use a store-bought crust if you prefer, no problem.
- Yield: This recipe makes 1 delicious pie with 8 slices.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the freezer.
- Make ahead: Yes, please! This pie needs to freeze for at least 4 hours, but you can freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
- Chocolate crust: An Oreo cookie crust would be delicious here.
- Whipped cream: Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 242kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 198mgPotassium: 115mgFiber: 2gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 378IUCalcium: 42mgIron: 1mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
So I 1st had this pie at a friends home. Her pie was dense dark chocolate and was delicious. She gave me the recipe which I made and my pie was much thicker and more a mousse look. The recipe calls for 8oz of Cool Whip. She made her pie with one 8oz cup of Cool Whip, I measured out 8oz of Cool Whip which was just about a whole container. Both pies were delicious but what amount of Cool Whip is correct? I love that either way was delicious!
Hi Dana, thank you so much for your question. I’m sorry that the recipe isn’t clear. It should have said 1 (8-ounce) container of frozen whipped topping, since it should be by weight, not volume. I’ve updated the recipe card to reflect that. Since your friend only used 1 cup (volume) of Cool Whip, it would make sense that the filling was thicker. I’m so happy that both ways came out delicious! In this case, I would say whichever way you prefer is the right way! I’m so sorry about the confusion again, and please write with any more questions. Take care! – Meggan
No room in freezer so I improvised and added about 3 TB of instant chocolate pudding to the cool whip prior to folding in. Worked like a charm…set up nicely and had a nice chocolately flavor. To finish it off I made ganache for drizziling and whipped up some cream with about a tsp of chocolate pudding to stabilize and piped onto the pie. Give it a try…it works.
Thank you, pjo! Adding it to my list to try out! – Meggan
Would this recipe fill a 10″ deep dish graham cracker crust?
Hi Jackie, I don’t think it will. A regular pie pan has a volume of about 4 cups, while a deep pie pan has a 7-cup volume. Sorry about that! – Meggan
Everyone absolutely loves this pie! I will be making this again soon.
Hi Melony, happy everyone loved it! Take care! – Meggan
Can i use homemade whipped cream instead of frozen?
Hi Azaylia, I haven’t tried it myself, but I don’t see why not! What a great idea, I’m putting it on my list to test. Take care!- Meggan
DELISH!!! 💜
Easy to make. I used a pre-made Graham cracker crust and I substited with coconut milk. I drizzled with melted chocolate, 70% cacao, because chocolate syrup has has too much refined sugar.
Hi Tess, so glad you loved it and were able to adjust the recipe to your liking! Take care! – Meggan
Hello, I am making this pie for family in town this weekend. I bought the graham cracker crumbs for ease but I’m not sure how much to use. Do you know how much 9 crackers yields? Thanks
Hi Jamie, it should be about 1 1/4 cups. Enjoy! – Meggan