I am someone who has to have dessert after dinner every night.
I don’t know how it started, but it’s impossible to stop. Plus, it’s a little scoop of ice cream or a couple of cookies. It’s not like I’m clearing out the dessert section at Home Town Buffet.
…though don’t put it past me.
But trying to eat dessert when I’m trying to eat healthier is hard. Berries aren’t dessert for me. Fruit just is so not dessert. It’s fruit, it’s sweet, but dessert it is not. And drinking hot cocoa to “fix my chocolate cravings” doesn’t do it. Plus, hot cocoa in this heat? I’d sooner wear a bikini to the mall… and trust me, no one wants that. NO ONE.
But then I remember things like root beer floats and I’m like, I can get down on this. Root beer plus ice cream equals deliciousness; it’s simple math. And then I saw that I could make this into pie and I thought it was just genius.
This pie tastes exactly like a root beer float. Like, to the T. And you can make it lower-cal, which rocks my dessert-loving socks, so it’s perfect. Creamy, sasparilla-y, ultra deliciousness.
Take that, dessert.
*adapted from Taste of Home
Root Beer Float Pie
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup good quality root beer
- 1/2 cup milk I used 1%, but skim may be used
- 1 (3.4-ounce box) instant vanilla pudding mix sugar free may be used
- 1-2 Tbsp root beer extract start with one Tablespoon and add more if you prefer a stronger root beer flavor. If you want a really light root beer flavor, only use a couple teaspoons and adjust from there
- 1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip Free thawed
- 1 prepared graham cracker crust
- Cherries and whipped cream for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the root beer, milk, root beer concentrate and pudding mix for 2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Fold in the Cool Whip until mixture is uniform and combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust and freeze for approx. 8 hours or overnight. Once frozen, cut into slices and garnish with whipped cream and cherries, if desired. Store pie in freezer.
This pie tastes phenomenal straight from the freezer: it’s creamy, dreamy, icy and just totally fab. The root beer flavor is so strong in this pie which makes me nostalgic for my childhood days in the summertime sippin’ on some A&W. If you prefer a more subtle flavor of root beer, omit the concentrate – it’s what gives this pie that true, old-fashioned root beer flavor we all know and love!
I hope you enjoy!
xo, Hayley
Stephanie @ PlainChicken says
YUM! I love a good root beer float. Can’t wait to try the pie version!
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks so much Stephanie! <3
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
The perfect summer pie! Love root beer floats!
thedomesticrebel says
Me too! Thanks Jessica!
Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg says
Oh my! I’ve had rootbeer float muffins, but this pie looks outstanding. Gimmie a big slice! 🙂
thedomesticrebel says
RBF muffins?! That’s crazy! I want one!
Lisa | Sweet 2 Eat Baking says
Ummm, I’d have dessert for dinner every. single. day. if it weren’t for the fact that I’m at that age where I just can’t eat everything in sight anymore. Boo hoo.
But I’d definitely make an exception for this pie because, Helloooo, it’s a root beer pie!
Lisa | Sweet 2 Eat Baking says
I’d have dessert for dinner every. single. day. if it wasn’t for the fact I’d blow up like a balloon.
But heck, I’d make an exception for this because helloooooo, root beer pie! ‘Nuff said.
And girl, your blog hates me. I’ve had to go on my phone to comment because every comment I make goes to spam. Can you check I’m not blacklisted or something – I keep trying to comment then lose them all. 🙁
thedomesticrebel says
I promise you’re not black listed. I’m so sorry my blog is giving you troubles! Wish I could give you some pie to make it up to you!
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
I also am a need a dessert girl too! Why do I forget about Root Beer Floats? They are so neglected and now I want one or a slice of this amazing pie!
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks Julie! We need to bring back the root beer float!
Liz says
Ooh, when I show this to my daughter, I know she’s going to want it for her birthday “cake”!!!
thedomesticrebel says
She’ll love it!
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
I totally need something sweet after dinner! Love this creative pie twist on a root beer float! This looks so creamy and delicious!
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks Kelly!!
Lorr says
Where does one get root beer concentrate, please?
thedomesticrebel says
I find mine at Walmart or the local grocery store near the extracts on the baking aisle 🙂
Donna says
Thank you for this recipe! I made the pie yesterday, froze it and had it tonight for dessert and it was amazing and so perfect for this hot California weather!
thedomesticrebel says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Donna!!
Jade says
Could you use homemade whipped cream in the pie instead of cool whip? My husband is going to die over this!
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Jade! Sorry for the late reply. I wouldn’t recommend using fresh whipped cream in place of the Cool Whip only because fresh homemade whipped cream isn’t as stable as Cool Whip is, and I don’t think the pie would set up properly. Sorry!
Lisa says
I’ve just put this together and it’s in the freezer now, but my pie is waaaaay darker than yours. I searched other root beer float pie recipes, and they all use 1-2 teaspoons of the root beer concentrate instead of 2 Tbsp. Was this measurement correct? I’m serving it at a birthday dinner tonight!
thedomesticrebel says
I wanted a really strong root beer flavor in mine, so I used the Tablespoons. I’m sure yours will taste great!
Patty says
I was very disappointed in this pie. 2 tbsp of root beer concentrate is WAY too much which makes me wonder if that was a typo and it should have been 2 tsp. Regardless, as much as I love root beer this was strong & overpowering-simply not pleasant.
thedomesticrebel says
Patty, I’m so sorry you didn’t care for the pie! I found that only a couple teaspoons wasn’t strong enough for me, which is why I suggested a couple Tablespoons. I will edit the recipe to let people know to add it to their taste!
Sally says
This was a big hit at our 4th of July dessert contest… No ribbon but people were asking for the recipe.. Yum yum..
thedomesticrebel says
Sally, that makes me so happy! Yay!
Yolanda says
I haven’t tried this yet but i am already loving the way you think!! Be blessed and thank you for the wonderful recipes!
thedomesticrebel says
Yolanda, I hope you enjoy it! Have a fabulous day!
Alyssa says
Hayley, it’s awesome! I cannot wait to try this. I bet it makes the house smell divine and tastes incredible!
Liz says
This pie is excellent! I ordered the rootbeer extract from Etsy. It was very refreshing on a hot day summer day.
Allison says
Fun easy pie to make. I used a gluten free pre-made graham cracker crust and 2% milk. We didn’t have root beer extract so I reduced 1/4 c. Root beer in a saucepan down to a syrup and used that to boost the root beer flavor. At 4 hours in the freezer it was a creamy yet slightly freezy texture.
Peggy T says
I couldn’t find rootbeer extract locally and didn’t want to wait for an online order. I put about a cup of rootbeer in a small saucepan on the stove and boiled it down to make about 2 tablespoons of rootbeer syrup. Worked pretty good as a substitute. I might double that the next time for more rootbeer flavor..
Bob Geyer says
Turned out very good for my very first pie at age 67. You can use the sugar free root beer flavoring that’s used to flavor bottled water.
How would you convert this recipe to a chocolate pie? Would you use chocolate powder?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Bob! I’m so glad you enjoyed making your first pie! Do you want it to be chocolate and root beer flavored? If so, just replace the vanilla instant pudding mix with chocolate instant pudding mix. Voila!
Bob Geyer says
I was just thinking that a chocolate pie made this way would be very good. Didn’t really want to use chocolate pudding. A lot of times the chocolate pudding doesn’t taste like real chocolate and has an off flavor.