My mom has been making this Caramel Crunch for years. It’s a family favorite across the board. A buttery, crunchy crust, topped with vanilla ice cream, drenched in caramel sauce and topped off with more buttery crust. It’s AMAZING!
I will never forget the first time I had this Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Dessert many, many years ago. We were at a family party at my Aunt & Uncle’s house and my Aunt Cathy had made this dessert. Let me tell you, it was love at first bite for all of us.
My mom got the recipe that night and has been making it ever since. It is definitely a family favorite and anyone I have ever made it for asks for the recipe. It really is that good. I think I can honestly say it is one of my all time favorite desserts and it’s not even CHOCOLATE!
It’s funny to watch and hear the reactions of my siblings when we’re at my parent’s for a family dinner and my mom brings out the pans of caramel crunch. She pretty much becomes the hero for the day because we all LOVE this stuff.
Just make this once and you will see what I mean. It will become a family favorite, I promise.
Caramel Crunch
- Total Time: 5 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 12-15 servings 1x
Description
My mom has been making this Caramel Crunch for years. It’s a family favorite across the board. A buttery, crunchy crust, topped with vanilla ice cream, drenched in caramel sauce and topped off with more buttery crust. It’s AMAZING!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup chopped nuts (optional, I always leave out)
- 1 cup melted butter
- 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
- 1 jar 15-17 oz caramel sauce (Mrs. Richardson’s is my favorite)
Instructions
- Combine flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, melted butter and nuts. Spread onto large cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want this mixture to be a light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Spread a little more than half of the baked oatmeal mixture onto the bottom of a 9×13 pan.
- Pour the entire jar of caramel sauce evenly over crumb mixture. Carefully and evenly spread softened ice cream over caramel. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.
- Freeze at least 4-5 hours or overnight. The longer the better.
Notes
If you want the ice cream layer to be a little thicker, feel free to use a little more ice cream. Since they changed the size of ice cream containers, it’s no longer a “true” half-gallon, so the ice cream layer is not as thick as it used to be. I would have actually used more ice cream this time, but I only had one container. But trust me, it is delicious whether it has a thick or thin layer of ice cream.
- Prep Time: 5 hours 20 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Category: Desserts
Just for the record, this is the best dessert known to man!
This is definitely my favorite dessert as well. So delicious!
Do you put crumb mixture that was baked in cookie sheet into the 9 by 13 pan? Or are you using what’s been baked in the cookie sheet as the crumb topping?
Hi Annette! Just like the instructions say, you bake the oatmeal crumb mixture on a cookie sheet, let it cool, then take a little more than half of that mixture and put it in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Then you pour the caramel sauce over the oatmeal mixture, carefully spread the ice cream on next and then sprinkle with the remaining oatmeal mixture. Hope that helps.
So does the oatmeal have to be powdered or just regular oatmeal?
You just use regular oatmeal. I’ve used both old fashioned and quick oats, either one works fine.
The best ever dessert I’ve ever eaten.
Lynda, I am so happy you made this dessert and love it. This is an all-time family favorite and has been for years! I definitely need to update the photos for this
one!
Amazing! This is a very unique recipe of caramel I found online.
★★★★★
How long will this recipe keep in the freezer? Thanks.
Hi Alexis! This recipe will keep for at least a month or two in the freezer as long as it is covered and wrapped really well. It ever lasts long at our house though.