No Bake Chocolate Lasagna {No Cool Whip}
This No-Bake Chocolate Lasagna is rich, creamy, and absolutely irresistible. And perfect for those days you don’t want to turn on the oven!!
When life gives you a lasagnera, you make a lasagna! A decadent, layered No Bake Chocolate Lasagna to be exact!
Easy Chocolate Lasagna
My brother-in-law was in town for the weekend, so I wanted to whip up a fabulous, chocolate dessert. It’s no surprise that my husband’s brother is also a chocoholic. It’s in the genes.
All the dessert lasagna recipes I’ve come across are made with instant pudding and Cool Whip. Even though I’m certain I could inhale one of those semi-homemade versions, Cool Whip does not agree with this aging body. It’s not worth the headache for a few yummy bites, so I had to get creative. Besides the box of chocolate graham crackers, this dreamy, no-bake chocolate lasagna is made from scratch.
How to Make a No-Bake Chocolate Lasagna
- It’s super simple to prepare this No-Bake Chocolate Lasagna. Line the bottom of your dish with chocolate graham crackers, top with the whipped cream and homemade custard mixture and repeat, ending with a layer of graham crackers followed by a coating of glossy chocolate ganache.
- Don’t worry about getting perfect slices, just scoop out a serving with a spoon and relish every single morsel.
- As always, a berry or two and a sprig of mint can jazz up any dessert!
- Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight to allow the graham crackers to soften.
This no-bake chocolate lasagna was an unmitigated success!! I know you’ll love it, too.
Make Your No-Bake Dessert Recipe in a Lasagnera
My inspiration for this exquisite no-bake chocolate lasagna was this stunning, Italian-made Lagostina Lasagnera pan. The gorgeous cherry and stainless steel lid makes it a breeze to take your savory or dessert lasagna to a dinner party, picnic or pitch in. With a heavy, durable 18/10 stainless steel construction and ergonomic handles, it’s perfect for baking up all sorts of pasta dishes and casseroles, too.
The bonus lid is so elegant, I can see giving it as a wedding or holiday gift. It will be one of those family heirlooms that everyone will want. Check out Williams-Sonoma to purchase one for yourself or as a gift.
Scroll down to see how you could win a Lagostina Lasagnera of your very own! Make sure to answer the Rafflecopter question in the comments to enter. The giveaway is now CLOSED.
More Lasagna Recipes:
- Peanut Butter Lasagna from Spend with Pennies
- Cheesy Taco Lasagna from Chelsea’s Messy Apron
- Mexican Lasagna from The Slow Roasted Italian
- Chocolate Lasagna (another version with a chocolate cookie crust, plus cream cheese and chocolate pudding layers)
- Spinach Lasagna
- Milk and Cookies Lasagna
- Ricotta Lasagna
- Plus More Dessert Recipes
No Bake Chocolate Lasagna Recipe
A dreamy layered no-bake dessert!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
- 5 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 packets Whip-It, whipped cream stabilizer, optional
- 2 3/4 cups heavy cream, divided
- 1 14.4 ounce box of chocolate graham crackers
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 5 tablespoons light corn syrup
Instructions
Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large saucepan. Slowly whisk in milk, then heat to a boil, whisking, over medium heat. Lower heat and continue to whisk till mixture thickens and large bubbles appear. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Put custard into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cool in fridge for about 2 hours.
After about 2 hours, place one layer of chocolate graham crackers along bottom of your Lagostina Lasagnera (or a 9 x 13-inch baking dish). Use smaller pieces to fill open spaces.
Whip 2 cups of cream with Whip-It until stiff peaks form. Fold about 1/3 of whipped cream into cooled custard. When well combined, fold the rest of the whipped cream into custard.
Top graham crackers with half of the custard-whipped cream mixture. Layer with more graham crackers, then top with the rest of the filling. Place a 3rd layer of graham crackers over filling and refrigerate while making the chocolate topping.
Microwave chocolate, corn syrup and remaining 3/4 cup of cream for about 60 seconds. Whisk and microwave again till all chocolate is completely melted. Whisk mixture until smooth and allow to cool about 10 minutes. Pour over graham crackers, and using offset spatula, smooth to cover top of dessert. Chill at least 6 hours before serving.
Notes
The Whip-It is a whipped cream stabilizer. It will prevent the whipped cream from getting watery and adds a little more firmness to the filling. It will not make the filling firm enough to make perfect slices, so don't worry if you don't have any on hand.
Inspired from a Cook's Illustrated Eclair Cake recipe.
Chocolate graham crackers are sometimes difficult to locate. I found a store brand and they worked just fine.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 296Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 183mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 1gSugar: 28gProtein: 4g
Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.
100 Comments on “No Bake Chocolate Lasagna {No Cool Whip}”
This was so easy to make! Everyone raved over it!!
WOW! This taste to good! We love to make no bake treats and this is one of them!
Everyone at my house was really impressed! It was a huge hit!
I was thrilled with how easy this was! It tasted so creamy and so good too, I will be making this again!
This is so good and loved that it was no bake!
Hi Liz,
I am a bona fide maple addict. Can you recommend an icebox cake recipe that uses maple flavoring or maple syrup?
Thank you!
Hi, Scott,
I googled maple icebox cakes to see if one of my bogger friends had a good recipe, but there’s not much out there as you probably know. This recipe from the Cooking Channel looks promising: https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/maple-waffle-icebox-cake-3416890 (https://web.archive.org/web/20231129181708/https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/maple-waffle-icebox-cake-3416890). I think I’d use graham crackers to layer between the maple cream instead of those waffle cookies. Hope this helps!
ahhh such a gorgeous dessert lasagna-and I love that it uses actual cream instead of cool whip!
What are you doing to us Liz:):):) There’s no way we’ll lose a few pounds and resist the temptation to make this:):):) Definitely a MUST-TRY recipe for everyone. Amazing work.
xoxoxo
I love zucchini and chocolate.
I would use this amazing pan for my Banana Split No Bake Cake!
My friend makes a cake called a twinkie cake, made with Twinkies and whipped cream and vanilla pudding and cherries. It is so good!
Yum! Looks delicious! Mmmmm!!!
I would make this awesome chocolate lasagna for my chocolate crazed husband.
Today’s pin. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/330381322656714829/
I would make my lasagna from a recipe I adapted to fit what my family loves. This is a great pan, thanks for the giveaway and sharing your yummy recipe.
id make a spinach veggie lasagna
i would make baked mac n cheese.
I would make lasagna!
Traditional vegetable lasagna would be on my list to make…but maybe baking a large chocolate cake would be good too!
I would make spinach artichoke chicken lasagna
I would make a delicious sunday church bake casserole in this pan!
I pinned today. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/330381322656698609/
I would make baked mac and cheese
I think that I would make Shepard’s Pie.
I would make lasagna!
I’d make something savory like eggplant or zucchini lasagna.
I would make a traditional lasagna recipe!
That is a gorgeous pan! I would make Eggplant Parm!
My pin today. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/330381322656665593/
I would like to make a sausage and spinach lasagna.
I would make a 3 cheese meat lasagna.
I would make jambalaya in this beautiful pan and I am convinced that you can slice anything perfectly.
https://pinterest.com/pin/229472543497510638/
Today’s pin. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/330381322656650216/
I would make a Reeces Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer Cake.
I would make a baked ziti in this pan. We love this filling meal and often make it on the weekends.
I would of course make our meaty recipe lasagna in this beautiful pan. I’d try your recipe also and maybe try a double batch of brownies in it because the lid would be perfect for keeping them fresh for a couple of days. That’s about as long as they last around here!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/229472543497504992
I would make a baked mac and cheese in it!
my pin today. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/330381322656635892/
I pinned here, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/330381322656625195/
baked spaghetti is what id make
I soooo love your recipes, Liz. Would love to sit down and enjoy a meal with your family!
My pin today, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/330381322656613205/
How does Whip It compare to stabilizing with gelatin? I love the texture of the chocolate! And – weird coincodence – I happen to have chocolate grahams in my cupboard.
Jeff, I find that gelatin doesn’t always dissolve perfectly. Whip it is a powder and mixes in nicely. I haven’t compared side to side, but gelatin may make whipped cream a bet firmer.
What a gorgeous pan! I would make a lasagna!
Today’s pin https://www.pinterest.com/pin/330381322656599520/
I would use it for all my baking fun!
I would make a traditional lasagna recipe!
I would make my homemade mac n cheese, with sweet onions and lots of bacon.
Its great to see one of these recipes made without pudding and cool whip as we have neither in the UK. Looks lovely as usual Liz.
Vegetarian lasagna…yum yum 🙂
I love veggie lasagna, so that is the first thing I would make.
Such an awesome pan! I want this chocolate lasagna right now!
Think this would be the perfect pan for my family’s fav mac & cheese.
Yummy!
I would make baked spaghetti
Oh wow, anything, my chicken & stuffing casserole, baked mac & cheese, lasagna… thank you for the chance!
My kind of lasagna! Love this, Liz!
This no bake lasagna looks amazing!
I would make a savory dish with Italian sausage and mushrooms.
This is such a neat dessert and what an amazing giveaway!
Liz this looks wonderful. Since we all have a sweet tooth in my family I’m sure we’d have no problem polishing this off.
As for the pan, it is beautiful. I’ve never heard of the company but will definitely check them out when I’m in WS next time.
I have made the one that has the cool whip in it, my family loves it. But I think that this homemade version would be so much better. Everything is better when it is homemade.
I would make lasagna with spicy cajun sausage and my homemade tomato sauce, with basil and lots of cheese.
I’d love to use it for a vegan lasagna.
Beautiful pan. Desert looks good too!
I would make oven baked macaroni and cheese, with that golden brown layer of cheese on top.
Can’t wait to try this recipe sounds amazing! That lasagna pan is absolutely gorgeous!
That looks like a BEAUTIFUL pan! And my family goes crazy for desserts like this. Must. Make. Soon!!
This looks amazing, of course!
I would definitely use this for traditional lasagna but then I would love to try this chocolate lasagna or maybe a pumpkin type lasagna dessert! Yummy! Saw your post on IG so I came over to enter. Love this pan.
Liz,how much powdered sugar do you use in the cream? I would make this recipe. The grandkids love anything with whipped cream
Hi, Kitty,
I checked my notes and although I was going to add 1/2 cup powdered sugar, I felt the custard was sweet enough without it and ended up not adding any. Thanks for catching that error in my recipe directions! Have fun making this!
I’d make a beautiful eggplant lasagna in that gorgeous pan
Looks divine! The pan is awesome too!
I just put on 5 pounds looking at your photos!!! What an awesome dessert!
Looks fantastic and I want the pan.
I want this pan and I want to make this chocolate lasagna. Come to Momma!
This looks so yummy! I would love to make it in this pan.
Well yum! My kind of lasagna!
Is there something you’d recommend using in place of corn syrup?
Hi, Vanessa,
You could try agave, cane syrup or Lyle’s golden syrup. I wouldn’t use honey due to it’s stronger flavor.
Here’s an article from epicurious: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-substitute-corn-syrup-article (https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-substitute-corn-syrup-article)
Oh I’m pinning this one – a must make next time I have a family gathering (before Thanksgiving!) Sometimes I can’t find the chocolate grahams – so I load up when they’re available.
Looks like a delicious and fun dessert.
Like you, I would link the pancreas. Thanks for sharing so many yummy recipes.
That was suppose to say….lick the pan clean!!
Cool whip is good but nothing beats home made whipped cream. This chocolate lasagna looks dreamy, Liz! I can see why it was such a big hit. I love the lasagna pan. It’s gorgeous!
The pan is mighty special but that “lasagna” is divine. GREG
Love that pan!!! Looks delish!
I would make spinach artichoke chicken lasagna with this pan!
I’m drooling not just over this lasagna, but also over the pan. GORGEOUS on both counts! Although the chocolate lasagna probably tastes better 🙂
this sounds so good! Yum. Love the pan, it is beautiful.
This pan calls for grandma’s lasagna! What a beautiful pan!!
This looks heavenly and I know it was well received by everyone. What a great pan to make it in!
Definitely something savory and autumnal, maybe with butternut squash or pumpkin sauce, red onion, mushrooms, greens and tons of sage!
oh now that looks over the top delicious I would love a pan like this!
Wow this sounds ridiculously great!!!