Banana Cream Pie Recipe
There’s something special about a homemade banana cream pie. With its flaky crust, silky vanilla custard, layers of fresh bananas, and billowy whipped cream, it’s the kind of old-fashioned dessert that never goes out of style. Whether you’re making it for a holiday gathering, Sunday dinner, or simply because you’re craving a slice of comfort, this classic banana cream pie is always a crowd-pleaser.
Unlike shortcuts made with instant pudding, this homemade banana cream pie features a rich, from-scratch custard that comes together with simple pantry ingredients. The result is a creamy filling with fresh banana flavor that’s worth every minute.
Homemade vs. Store-Bought Pie Crust
One of the great things about banana cream pie is that it works well with either a homemade or store-bought pie crust.
A homemade buttery pastry crust offers classic flavor and a flaky texture that’s perfect for holidays and special occasions. If you’re short on time, a refrigerated pie crust is an excellent shortcut that still produces delicious results.
Want to change things up? Try one of these tasty alternatives:
- Graham cracker crust
- Vanilla wafer crust
- Shortbread cookie crust
- Oreo cookie crust for a chocolate twist
Ingredients
For this delicious banana cream pie, you need the following ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Vegetable shortening
- Whole milk
- Heavy cream
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Salt
- Cornstarch
- Unflavored gelatin
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla
- Bananas
- Whipped cream
How To Make Banana Cream Pie
- Place top oven rack in the center position and pre-heat oven to 400°F.
- Use a stand or hand-held mixer to prepare the pie crust. Add the flour, salt, and shortening in a medium-size bowl and mix to combine.
- Add the ice-cold water a little at a time, until the dough clumps together and can form a ball.
- Roll the pie crust dough out on a lightly floured surface. You want to form a circle large enough to fit your pie pan, which should be about 9 inches in diameter. You can get fancy, if you’d like, and crimp the edges of the crust to make it look pretty.
- Pre-bake the pie crust in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s best to line the pie crust with some parchment paper and pie weights or dry beans. This will help to keep the crust from forming air pockets. Bake the pie crust for 15 minutes.
- Once the crust has cooled, remove the pie weights/beans and parchment paper. I recommend placing the prepared pie on a rimmed baking sheet before adding the filling and baking.
- To make the filling, combine the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, salt, corn starch, and gelatin in a large saucepan. Stir until well blended and heat over medium-low heat while whisking often. When the custard has thickened and becomes difficult to stir, turn the heat off and stir in the butter and vanilla. Set aside. Remove the custard base from the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Set it aside.
- Slice the bananas into uniform pieces and place them on the pie crust. Go ahead and make two layers, because the more bananas, the merrier, right?
Pour the custard on top of the bananas and use a spoon or spatula to smooth it around. You want to make sure all of the bananas are covered.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Chill the pie for a few hours or overnight for the best results.
Delicious Variations
Love classic banana cream pie? Try one of these fun variations:
- Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
- Salted Caramel Banana Cream Pie
- Coconut Banana Cream Pie
- Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie
- Banana Cream Pie with Meringue
- Mini Banana Cream Pies
If you’re anything like me, you never turn down a good pie. One of my all-time favorites is my Mini S’mores Pies, but the pie love definitely doesn’t stop there. You might also fall for my Strawberry Pie with Cream Cheese, the classic Pecan Pie, the dreamy No-Bake Coconut Pie, or the rich and silky No-Bake Mocha Pudding Pie.
Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients
Method
- Place top oven rack in the center position and pre-heat oven to 400°F.
- Use a stand or hand-held mixer to prepare the pie crust. Add the flour, salt, and shortening in a medium-size bowl and mix to combine.
- Add the ice-cold water a little at a time, until the dough clumps together and can form a ball.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch diameter. Fold the dough in half and then in half again and transfer to a 9-inch diameter deep-dish pie plate. Press the dough down into the pie pan. Trim if there is more than ½ inch of excess dough hanging over the edges. Fold the edges of the dough under, and then crimp together with your thumb or a fork.
- Line the pie crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dry beans. Blind bake (aka “pre-bake”) the crust in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove the crust from the oven and remove the dry beans or pie weights. Set aside.
- To make the filling, combine the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, salt, corn starch, and gelatin in a large saucepan. Stir until well blended and heat over medium-low heat while whisking often. When the custard has thickened and becomes difficult to stir, turn the heat off and stir in the butter and vanilla. Set aside.
- Slice the bananas and line the bottom of the pie crust with two layers of sliced bananas. Pour the custard over the bananas and smooth the custard out throughout the pie.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- When the baking time finishes, remove pie from oven and cool completely before transferring to the refrigerator. Chill for a few hours or overnight before serving.
- To serve, top with whipped cream and additional banana slices, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
When you’re ready to serve it, garnish it with whipped cream and additional banana slices.
FAQs
Yes. Because this pie has a custard base, it is very important to refrigerate it. It will last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Note: bananas naturally turn brown when exposed to air. To help minimize the banana slices from browning on the top, squeeze some lemon juice over them before placing them on the pie.
Do not freeze this banana cream pie.
Absolutely! Depending on the depth of the Graham cracker pie crust, you might be able to make two pies with this pie filling recipe.
You can, but homemade custard gives this pie its rich, old-fashioned flavor and creamy texture.
Absolutely! In fact, making it a day ahead gives the custard plenty of time to chill and set, making the pie even easier to slice.
Last Bite
Whip up this silky-smooth banana cream pie, settle in with a slice (or two), and then swing back around and leave a comment below… telling me how you topped it, who swooped in for seconds, and whether you had to hide your leftovers.
Here’s a lesson for ya: always proofread your comments BEFORE you post! I just read the comment I posted a minute ago and it sounds so mean. I’m going to try again. This time I’ll be more thorough and hopefully won’t sound so harsh.
I was so excited for this pie. I didn’t know custard could be so easy to prepare. Other recipes make it so complicated. The custard was so delicious when it was still warm that I couldn’t wait for the pie! But unfortunately the pie wasn’t good. I thought it was weird that a custard recipe called for gelatin, especially since it also calls for cornstarch as well. When it was time to serve it, it had set up and was very firm, even firmer than the bananas. Nobody liked it and it ended up in the trash. It calls for 1oz of gelatin, but that’s too much. Maybe 1/4 oz (one envelope) instead of 1 oz (four envelopes). I’ll probably try it again using less gelatin (or none at all), and it will probably be excellent. After all, the custard was really good 😋
I really appreciate you coming back again to comment and I really hate that it did not turn out well. I looked online after you left your comments to check other recipes for the amount of gelatin and others have 1 1/2 teaspoons. I have updated the recipe to reflect a lesser quantity and will re-make the recipe with the corrected amount just to make sure that it works (and because I don’t want anyone else having a banana pudding pie that is crap).
I am going to send you a personal email, too.
I threw this pie in the garbage. I thought it was weird that a cream pie called for gelatin and I was right. It ruined an otherwise delicious custard. I was so excited for this pie, but after it was cooled and ready to serve it had set up and was so firm. The custard was firmer than the bananas in the pie. It would’ve been delicious without the gelatin. Just leave that out of it!
Thanks for your comment. I am sorry that the results were not to your liking. I will test the recipe in the near future without using gelatin and see how it turns out.