Easiest Pineapple Parfait Dessert
My mom has been making this 4-ingredient, no-bake angel food cake dessert for about 30 years. It never gets old, it tastes like summer, it’s ridiculously easy, you don’t need a mixer, and you don’t have to turn your oven on. Big scores. It’s the kind of dessert that you can keep eating and eating because it’s fluffy, light, airy, and refreshing. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Rather than make it the traditional way, which involves slicing an angel food cake into thirds and layering with the lush-scious filling, I chopped the cake into pieces and assembled the dessert in parfait glasses. Or use a large trifle bowl. Simply stir together a box of instant vanilla pudding with a large can of crushed pineapple, stir in whipped topping, add the cake pieces, add to glasses, and top with fresh berries. If you don’t use pudding mix or whipped topping, I can’t comment on how to make this dessert. It’s for those of us who love our (no)baking shortcuts.
Ingredients in Angel Food Cake Pineapple Parfaits
To make the pineapple and angel food cake parfaits, you’ll need just four basic ingredients:
Crushed pineapple (in juice) Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix Whipped topping (like Cool Whip) Angel food cake (store-bought or homemade)
How to Make Angel Food Cake Pineapple Parfaits
Angel food cake and crushed pineapple is a simple combination, but it’s absolutely delicious! Here’s how the pineapple parfait dessert is made:
Can I Use Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding?
No, you must use instant vanilla pudding! Cook and serve pudding has to be heated, whereas the instant pudding will thicken after being mixed with the crushed pineapple and its juices.
Can I Use Homemade Whipped Cream?
Possibly, but I’ve only tested the recipe using whipped topping since that’s what my mother has used for 30+ years. I worry that homemade whipped cream would lose its volume quickly and become watered down.
Can I Use Fresh Pineapple?
Possibly, but you’d need to either chop it finely or pulse it a few times in a food processor to crush it. If you experiment with fresh pineapple when making this pineapple angel food cake parfait, leave me a comment below letting me know how it turned out!
Tips for Making Angel Food Cake Pineapple Parfaits
Angel food cake: Normally I think homemade is best, but angel food cake is easy to overbake so I typically just buy a cake at the grocery store bakery and call it a day. However, you can absolutely make this dessert with angel food cake using your own recipe! Crushed pineapple: Use pineapple that’s packed in juice, not in syrup. And save all that juice! Pudding mix: Do NOT prepare the instant pudding mix as it instructs on the box. Mix it directly into the crushed pineapple. The pudding will set up as the parfaits chill in the fridge.
More Easy Pineapple Desserts:
ALL OF MY PINEAPPLE RECIPES! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Pineapple Poke Cake with Pineapple Glaze — Fast, easy, one-bowl, no mixer, from-scratch cake that’s easier than a mix! The glaze soaks into every inch and you’ll be in juicy pineapple heaven!
The Best Pineapple Upside-Down Cake – So soft, moist and really is The Best! A cheery, happy cake that’s sure to put a smile on anyone’s face!
Tropical Escape Soft Pineapple Crumble Bars – Sweet, soft bars with big pineapple chunks that taste like a tropical vacation!
Hummingbird Cake — A super SOFT and moist cake with bananas, pineapple, coconut, cream cheese frosting, and pecans!! Makes a huge cake that’ll feed a crowd!
Pineapple Coconut Bars — Eat your piña colada rather than drinking one with these fast, EASY, no-mixer bars that taste TROPICAL!! Pineapple, coconut, white chocolate, and cherries!!
