A Tin Roof Sundae is loaded with layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, gooey marshmallow sauce and chocolate sauce, and plenty of Spanish peanuts for a deliciously salty crunch! This is one of our favorite ice cream desserts!
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I’ve got one last iconic Nebraska recipe to share as part of Nebraska Week here on House of Nash Eats! This one is perhaps lesser known, but so delicious that it’s well-worth including in my American Eats series to represent my home state.
The classic “tin roof sundae” was created in the tiny town of Potter, Nebraska at the Potter Sundry back in the 1930’s and became so well-loved that ice cream companies like Blue Bunny, Turkey Hill, Breyer’s, and even Baskin-Robbins have created tin roof ice cream recipes using these flavors.
There’s not much to the recipe and as long as you have all the ingredients on hand, it only takes a minute or two to throw a tin roof sundae together.
The combination of chocolate, vanilla, marshmallow, and skin-on Spanish peanuts is perfection and hearkens back to simpler times. You can almost close your eyes and picture yourself at an old-fashioned soda fountain digging into a tall ice cream glass filled with gooey toppings and scoops of cold ice cream. I can’t recommend this one enough!
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Chocolate ice cream – Dreyer’s makes my favorite straight chocolate ice cream. This post isn’t sponsored by anyone, but I’m always asked so I thought I would share.
- Vanilla ice cream – Costco’s Kirkland Signature vanilla ice cream is hands down my favorite store-bought vanilla ice cream. We always have a carton or two of this in the freezer for dessert emergencies.
- Chocolate sauce – Ghiradelli makes my favorite chocolate sauce, which I actually prefer over hot fudge sauce for this particular sundae, but you can’t go wrong with good ol’ Hershey’s syrup either.
- Marshmallow sauce – You can make your own marshmallow topping or just pick up a jar of Smucker’s marshmallow topping from the grocery store.
- Spanish peanuts – It’s important that you get skin-on Spanish peanuts for this “recipe”. Cocktail peanuts and dry roasted peanuts just aren’t the same.
How to Make a Tin Roof Sundae
- Scoop 1-2 scoops of vanilla ice cream into a bowl or a tall glass. We have a few tall soda glasses or milkshake glasses that are perfect for making sundaes that look like they came from an ice cream shop.
- Drizzle a generous amount of chocolate sauce over the vanilla ice cream. Just eyeball it or “measure with your heart” as we like to say.
- Add 1-2 scoops of chocolate ice cream on top of the vanilla and chocolate sauce.
- Drizzle a generous amount of marshmallow sauce (bonus points if it is a little warm), then sprinkle with a generous handful of Spanish peanuts over the top.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
I recommend placing your dessert cups on a small plate so you can pour the marshmallow sauce without worrying about it dripping down and making a mess. One of my favorite parts is scraping up the spilled sauce and peanuts from around the base of the soda glass to make sure I get some with every bite of ice cream!
Recipe FAQ’s
You can always customize a recipe to your liking by adding other toppings like whipped cream, caramel sauce, or even a cherry on top. But a classic tin roof sundae is pretty much just what you see here.
No one is quite sure what the truth is behind the naming of this ice cream sundae, but legend has it that its creator, Harold Dean “Pinky” Thayer, named it after the tin ceiling panels in the Potter Sundry in Potter, Nebraska, where he made them. Or another story goes that the sound of the peanuts hitting the plate sounded like raindrops hitting the tin roof of the store.
More Ice Cream Dessert Recipes
- Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
- Homemade Fried Ice Cream Recipe (Without Frying!)
- No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
- Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
- Easy Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie
Ice Cream
How to Host an Ice Cream Sundae Bar
Ice Cream
Homemade Marshmallow Sauce
Ice Cream
Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Tin Roof Sundae Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-2 scoops vanilla ice cream
- 1/4 cup chocolate sauce
- 1-2 scoops chocolate ice cream
- 1/4 cup marshmallow sauce
- 1/4 cup skin-on Spanish peanuts
Instructions
- In a tall soda glass or milkshake glass, add two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle generously with chocolate sauce.1-2 scoops vanilla ice cream, ¼ cup chocolate sauce
- Scoop 1 to 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream on top of the vanilla ice cream, then drizzle with marshmallow sauce. Sprinkle with a generous handful of peanuts before serving.1-2 scoops chocolate ice cream, ¼ cup marshmallow sauce, ¼ cup skin-on Spanish peanuts
I need to find some tin roof ice cream here in Jackson Mississippi. Can’t find it anywhere. Can you help me?
Unfortunately, no, sorry! I would love to make that flavor one day but haven’t gotten around to it yet!