This Amaretto Almond Cream Pie preps in 15-20 minutes, and doesn’t require an oven! It’s minimal work, no bake, and boasts a short, unfancy ingredient list. So luxurious, lush, and downright dreamy, you would never know this Amaretto Almond Cream Pie uses a few short-cuts.
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This Amaretto Almond Cream Pie is my favorite of any no bake pie recipe on the blog. I seriously mean it. Except my Gma’s No Bake Peanut Butter Pie recipe. That one is always excluded from the discussion as it will reign supreme forever, but out of every other no bake pie recipe, this Amaretto Almond Cream Pie is my personal favorite.
It is simply exceptional. It wins on every level for me. 1. Texture, 2. Flavor, and 3. Effort.
I said this about my No Bake Coconut Cream Pie, and it applies here too: you would never know this Almond Cream Pie is a pudding pie at its core. Indeed, you would never know that the roots of this pie are a number of short-cuts… a store-bought crust, Cool Whip, instant pudding mix, etc.
It is so lush and creamy. It’s light and mousse-y enough to be suitable for a refreshing, summer dessert, but still rich and ultra-satisfying. So very lush and rich. I can’t get enough.
Also, it’s substantial! Not quite a mile-high, but very nearly, and that shortbread crust is packed to the brim. No shortage of filling here.
Next up is the almond and amaretto flavor theme. I am a bit of a sucker for both of those things in the first place, so this Amaretto Almond Cream Pie really shines for me for that reason.
The bones of this recipe are really just vanilla-based, but then you can swap and tweak in so many ways. When you add almond extract, a generous dose of Amaretto liqueur, and a solid smattering of toasted, slivered almonds on top, it really drives home the almond/Amaretto makeover.
While the maraschino cherries are really just meant to be a garnish, they certainly complement Amaretto, so definitely don’t dismiss them as just a cute finishing touch.
Altogether, this Amaretto Almond Cream Pie preps in 15-20 minutes, so it’s a short work stint, and has a relatively brief ingredient list. Everything is easy to find and accessible. The end result is an easy, minimal work, quick-to-prep pie.
If you want to crank this up a notch or two and make it more fanciful, there’s a few ways to elevate it. Here are my tips and recommendations —
Amaretto Almond Cream Pie variations and substitutions:
- Rather than purchase a store-bought, prepared crust, use a homemade crust — whether you have a favorite pastry crust recipe, or whether you make a shortbread cookie crust from scratch. Easy enough: Combine 2 cups shortbread cookie crumbs with 1/3 cup finely ground almonds (optional), 2 tbsp. granulated sugar, and 4-5 tbsp. melted butter, stirring until crumbly. Press into a small pie plate, and voila.
- Swap the Cool Whip or prepared whipped topping with fresh, homemade whipped cream. For each 8 oz. whipped topping in a recipe, use 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream with 1 tbsp. powdered sugar. In a mixing bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, beat cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. It takes only takes 2-3 minutes. It is a huge upgrade from store-bought whipped topping! HUGE. Worth it every time.
- The bones of this recipe are versatile. You could use any flavor of pudding and any flavor of booze, and those two ingredients in the recipe can be swapped to create endless combinations. Don’t forget to play with extracts too. A few examples:
- Substitute chocolate pudding for vanilla pudding, and swap Kahlua for Amaretto.
- Substitute coconut cream pudding for vanilla pudding, and swap Malibu rum for Amaretto.
- Substitute lemon pudding for vanilla pudding, and swap Limoncello for Amaretto.
I have a bunch of easy no bake pies at this point, here’s some other ideas:
- No Bake Pistachio Cream Pie
- No Bake Pecan Cream Pie
- No Bake Banana Split Pie
- No Bake Biscoff Cheesecake
- No Bake Nutella Cheesecake
If you love almond and Amaretto things, a few recipes to scope out:
- Cherry Almond Amish Sugar Cookies
- Iced Almond Cookies
- White Chocolate Cherry Almond Shortbread
- Cherry Almond Bread
- Almond Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
- Raspberry White Chocolate Almond Bars
Almond Amaretto Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 2 3.4 oz. boxes instant vanilla pudding mix
- 3/4 cup cold whole or 2% milk
- 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1/2 cup Amaretto liqueur
- 12 oz. container Cool Whip or whipped topping thawed, divided, note that this is a larger container than the smaller, standard 8 oz. size
- 6 oz. prepared shortbread or graham cracker crust 9 oz. crust will also work
- 1 cup toasted slivered almonds optional garnish
- 12 - 16 maraschino cherries blotted dry, optional garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together instant vanilla pudding mix and milk until smooth.
- Add sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, and Amaretto, whisking until smooth.
- Gently fold in 2/3 container (eyeball it) of Cool Whip, or approximately 8 oz. Only just fold it in -- do not overmix or Cool Whip will deflate.
- Spread evenly into prepared crust. It will be full, but it will all fit. Just keep piling it in, especially toward the center.
- Top the pie filling evenly with remaining Cool Whip.
- Press 12 - 16 maraschino cherries around the edges of the pie, about 1 inch apart.
- Sprinkle top of pie evenly with toasted almonds.
- Chill til firm, at least 4 hours.
- Store covered in refrigerator for up to 1 week.
