Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Pie ~a.k.a. Green Dragon

Mint chocolate chip ice cream, Oreo cookies, and Butterfinger candy bars combine to create an ice cream dessert beyond words. Four ingredients are all you need to make this dessert that will become a new favorite. 

Why I love this dessert so much

Green Dragon is a family favorite, not just my family’s favorite. There’s a camp in Northern Michigan that is very special to our family. We used to stay there for a week every Summer, and our kids would also spend a week at kids’ camp. Green Dragon is always served for dessert on the last night of camp. Over the years, I’ve heard rumors that a cook or two tried to switch up the dessert on the last night of camp, and that was the last of them!  True story. So you see, this Green Dragon dessert is serious business. I recently was with friends, and we discussed our St. Patrick’s Day menu. I said you need to make Green Dragon ice cream pie, and one of my friends said that’s a weird combination of flavors. I told her, you make this pie, and I promise you you will be forever asked to bring it to every family function from here to forever. And you know what? She texted me the Monday after St Patty’s Day and said, “You were right!”. So now I think it’s time to make this legendary dessert. 

Gather these ingredients

How to make Green Dragon

First, this dessert can also be made in a 9×13-inch rectangle baking dish; the exact amounts for that can be found in the recipe card below.

Set the mint flavor ice cream out and let it get soft at room temperature. Place cookies and candy bars into a food processor and pulse until you get a uniform fine crumble.

Melt butter and drizzle it in with the cookie/candy bar crumbs. Give the mixture a few pulses until the butter is evenly distributed and starts to come together. This will take 30 seconds at most. 

Reserve 1 cup of the cookie crust.

Dump the remaining cookie crust mixture into a 9″ freezer-safe pie dish and press it into the bottom and up the sides of the pan to form an even cookie pie crust. Place the pie shell in the freezer for 30 minutes before moving to the next step.

Remove the pie shell from the freezer and spoon softened ice cream into it, creating a nice dome-shaped pie. The ice cream should not be so soft that it is sloshing; you want it to still hold its shape. Smooth out ice cream so it fills in all the empty spaces.

Take the remaining 1/3 of the cookie crumble and sprinkle it on top of the pie. You can get creative and make a pattern of some sort, or you can simply sprinkle it evenly over the top. Return the pie to the freezer for a minimum of 1 hour before serving. Cut into eight pieces. 

If you like you can serve this ice cream pie with cool whip or whip a cup of heavy cream until it form stiff peaks and dollop it right on top.

FAQs

• Why is this called Green Dragon? This recipe goes back to the Conference of Covenant Women’s Cookbook from 1936-1976! Apparently, there is a similar dessert made with peppermint ice cream called Pink Elephant. So that’s all I could find out. If you have more information about the origins of how this dessert was named, comment below. This, however, is not Grasshopper pie; that is a very different dessert!
• What if I don’t have a food processor? Before I had a food processor, I would place cookies and candy bars in a sturdy ziplock bag and smash them with a rolling pin. 
• Could I use a pre-made Oreo pie crust? You can do whatever you want, honey! However, I would stick to the recipe. This homemade Oreo crust with butterfingers is thicker and a large part of this dessert’s flavor. The crust is one of my favorite parts of this dessert!
• I don’t like mint ice cream. What ice cream could I substitute? I made this with coffee ice cream, and it was excellent. Vanilla ice cream is always a safe bet. Give whatever your favorite ice cream flavors are a try and let me know how it turns out! Serve it with hot fudge sauce or chocolate syrup. 
• What Makes Green Dragon Pie Different from Grasshopper Pie? There are plenty of variations of grasshopper pie, and you could certainly consider Green Dragon Pie a fun twist on the classic. What sets this pie apart is the irresistible combination of a thick Oreo cookie abd crushed Butterfinger candy bars crust. While traditional grasshopper ice cream pie typically features a minty filling in a simple cookie crust, this version adds extra chocolate, crunch, and peanut-buttery sweetness, making it a richer, more decadent dessert that’s uniquely its own.

Tips & Variations

• Tip 1: Mint chocolate chip ice cream pie is the perfect make-ahead dessert. You can make it up to a week in advance by wrapping it tightly in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and storing it in your freezer.
• Tip 2: Garnish the pie with mini chocolate chips or Andes mints. Place an unwrapped mint sticking out of each piece of pie. Serve with a can of whipped cream, or make your own whipped cream and add a drop of green color for fun!
• Tip 3: If shaping the Oreo cookie crust feels tricky, work with the crumbs one cup at a time. Start by pressing a layer firmly into the bottom of the pie plate, then gently work the crumbs up the sides of the pie pan. Add another cup of crumbs and repeat until the entire crust is formed. Don’t be afraid to make it thick—the best chocolate cookie crust tastes like a giant Oreo cookie surrounding your pie!
• Tip 4:To help move along the process of your ice cream softening you can put hot water in a bowl and set the tub of frozen ice cream down into the hot water.
• Tip 5: Before serving allow the ice cream pie to sit out for 30 minutes or more because it will be impossible to slice into it right out of the freezer. 

This delicious mint chocolate chip ice cream pie is the perfect summer dessert! I’m sure your whole family will ask for this dessert on repeat. It will for sure be a new favorite around your table as well. Please take a second to rate this recipe below in the recipe card, share on your socials using the buttons at the beginning of the post, and PIN straight from the recipe card. Thanks so much! From my table to yours with love, Sheila