This Best, Easy Banana Cream Pie Recipe is a delicious, homemade no bake pie made with a graham cracker crust, vanilla jell-o instant pudding, Cool Whip and bananas. The active time to make it is about 10 minutes. I've been making this for over 10 years and it's always a crowd favorite at any gathering.
Banana Cream Pie is a true classic. It's perfect to go at your Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert table, and is light enough to also be a great summertime dessert. I have a brother who requests this recipe for his birthday "cake" each year.
It's so smooth and creamy and has the perfect amount of banana flavor. This pie perfectly highlights bananas in the best way possible. The yummy graham cracker crust goes so well, so that you're in heaven with each bite.
When it comes to banana cream pie, there are a few key points to keep in mind. First and foremost, this delectable dessert features a creamy custard filling infused with the delightful flavor of ripe bananas. It's important to note that the quality of ingredients greatly impacts the overall taste and texture, so opting for fresh, ripe bananas is crucial, along with a high quality pudding mix (or even use your favorite from scratch recipe).
Additionally, the balance between the sweetness of the filling and the natural tang of the bananas is what sets a great banana cream pie apart. Lastly, serving this timeless treat chilled allows for the perfect consistency and enhances the overall enjoyment. Whether you're planning a family gathering or a special occasion, including banana cream pie on the menu is sure to delight your guests and leave them wanting more of this classic dessert.
We recommend you try some of our other favorite banana recipes like Banana Pumpkin Muffins and Banoffee Pie (a delicious pie featuring bananas and dulce de leche). Add some of our other no bake pies to your dessert table such as OREO Pie, Reese's Peanut Butter Pie, or Chocolate Cream Pie.
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Ingredients
- graham crackers - we recommend using a graham cracker base for banana cream pie. The graham crackers deliciously compliment the flavors and textures of the bananas and pudding.
- butter - we use salted butter for this recipe. The slight salty flavor perfectly compliments the sweetness of this pie. We don't include any sugar in our graham cracker crust as the filling is plenty sweet.
- Cool Whip - any brand should work fine. We have not experimented using Light, so can't recommend using a light one. Be warned, if you use Light, it may change the texture of the pie. Make sure the Cool Whip is completely thawed before use. About 4 hours in the refrigerator or overnight should do it.
- Vanilla Pudding - banana cream pie is so much better when made with vanilla pudding versus banana. Banana pudding has a weird chemical banana flavor that we feel takes away from the deliciousness. The vanilla pudding perfectly compliments and accents and highlights the banana.
- Milk - the milk is to make the pudding. We use less milk than for the typical pudding recipe so that it's thicker and stands up better. We use 2% milk and recommend 2% or whole milk. Skim milk is too watery and can alter the texture of the pie.
- Bananas - the highlight of this dish. Use fresh bananas for best results. I like to use bananas where the green on the peel is either very faint or has just disappeared and brown spots are just starting to appear. For a stronger banana flavor, use riper bananas.
What We Love About This Recipe:
Quick and Easy - many of our recipes on this website are quick and easy, but I really appreciate how quick and easy this one is to make. It's perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas or even a bbq or birthday, because I can whip it up really quick, place it in the refrigerator and forget about it.
Kid Friendly - obviously kids love to eat it, but my older kids can make this on their own with no help! This is greatly appreciated when things are crazy or busy.
Versatile - there are a lot of fun ideas in our variations section about ways to make these fun and different with just a couple easy tweaks. I also love the versatility of it as it is for all the occasions it's good for.
Great for a Party or Neighbor Gift - I've made a bunch of these before and taken them around for neighbor gifts during the holidays. They are so easy to make and always a huge hit. It looks fancier than it is.
How To Make Easy Banana Cream Pie
1. Thaw Cool Whip in refrigerator 4+ hours. Crush graham crackers. For a more compact crust that doesn't fall apart, food process until most of the graham crackers are in a fine crumb. I like having mostly fine crumbs, but a few larger crumbs for the best texture. Stir in melted butter then press into the bottom and up the edges of a pie plate. Slice 2 bananas and place on top of the crust.
2. Mix the COLD milk and the pudding mix together in a mixing bowl using a whisk. Whisk until thick, around 2-3 minutes. Using cold milk will yield better results than milk that has been sitting out for awhile.
3. Fold the 4 oz Cool Whip (making sure it's completely thawed) into the pudding mixture. Mix only until combined, no longer and fold gently. Pour the pudding and Cool Whip mixture on top of the bananas and crust and chill at least 3 hours, until ready to serve.
4. Decorate. I have found decorating like the picture above to be the easiest way that looks good. Toss bananas in a small amount of lemon juice. Use homemade stabilized whip cream for best results, but canned whip cream will also work. Place little mounds of whip cream all the way around, then place banana rounds between each mound.
Tips and Tricks
This can be made ahead of time and frozen, if desired. Thaw for about an hour in the refrigerator before serving. Don't thaw too long or the pie will begin to weep.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator (3 days) or the freezer (2 months).
Toss the chopped bananas that are used for decorating lightly in lemon juice. This will prevent them from oxidizing as quickly and will delay how quickly they turn brown.
Variations
- Chocolate/ Black Bottom - Make a small package of your favorite Jell-o chocolate pudding using ½ cup less milk than the package calls for. Place it on top of the pie crust, then press the banana slices into the chocolate pudding. Finish making the pie as directed.
- Strawberry - Strawberry Banana is a popular flavor and great in a pie flavor! We recommend slicing up ½ pound of strawberries and layering them on the bottom with the bananas. Make the filling as directed, then top with another ½ pound strawberries on top.
- Caramel - Use our yummy homemade caramel sauce and drizzle ¼ cup on top of the bananas, then make as directed. Drizzle more caramel on top when serving.
- Coconut - stir in 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut into the pudding mixture. Make and serve as directed. Top with additional coconut, if desired.
- Blueberry - place one cup of washed and dried blueberries on top of the bananas on the crust. Make as directed then top with more washed and dried blueberries on top.
- Double Layer - Smooth the remaining 4 oz Cool Whip over the top of the pudding for a yummy double layer version.
Substitutions
- Dream Whip - you can substitute dream whip for the Cool Whip. Simply make Dream Whip according to package directions and use instead of the Cool Whip.
- Gluten Free - make this gluten free easily! Use gluten free graham crackers instead of regular.
- Dairy Free/ Vegan - this can be made vegan and dairy free with a little bit of effort. Use plant based butter for the crust, then use your favorite vegan vanilla pudding recipe and top with a layer of coconut cream whipped cream or marshmallow fluff.
- Marshmallow - Replace the Cool Whip with marshmallow fluff for a sweet and fun option. This makes the pie a little gooier, but still delicious.
- Vanilla Wafers - Use 1 ½ cups crushed vanilla wafers instead of graham crackers. Top with more vanilla wafers.
How To Serve
Serve this for dessert. In the summertime it makes a great dessert for a pool party, barbecue, or get together. It's perfectly light and summery tasting during the warm months. It also works great for Christmas. In the winter months we love how the creaminess and richness is accented. Over the holidays make it as a quick and easy yet tasty pie for your dessert table.
The quickest, easiest, most delicious banana cream pie can be made in just 10 minutes. Make a graham cracker crust then line it with 2 sliced bananas. Make a large box of Jell-o vanilla pudding and mix in some Cool Whip. Place on top of the bananas. Top the whole things with more bananas and whipped cream.
It can be made ahead and frozen. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours before eating. Eat within 12 hours of thawing for best results, as it will begin to weep into the crust, making it soggy and less desirable.
Always store in the refrigerator. For best results, eat within 3 days of eating. After 3 days the crust will start to become soggy and the filling will start to separate. It won't "go bad" for 5 or more days.
When made right, it is smooth and creamy and tastes like fresh bananas and vanilla. It has a slight caramel-y taste due to the buttery graham cracker crust and the vanilla pudding.
Recipe
Easy Banana Cream Pie
Equipment
- 1 pie tin
Ingredients
Graham cracker crust:
- 1 package graham crackers crushed
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter
- No sugar in this crust! The pie is sweet enough already
Filling:
- 5.1 oz package vanilla pudding
- 2 ¼ cups cold milk
- 4 oz. Cool Whip half of an 8 oz. container Cool Whip, thawed in the refrigerator for four hours
Other:
- 3 Bananas
- Canned whip cream for decorating if desired
Instructions
- Mix the crushed graham crackers in the bottom of the pie plate with the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides.
- Make the vanilla pudding. Whisk the milk and pudding mix together in a bowl for 4-5 minutes until thickened.
- Fold half the container of cool whip into the pudding.
- Spread a layer of sliced banana rounds onto the crust. If not using bananas on the top of the pie for decoration, use the rest of the bananas here.
- Then spread pudding mixture over the top.
- Refrigerate for 3 or more hours.
- Finally, decorate the top. You can use a can of whipped cream and the rest of the bananas. If decorating with bananas on top paint them with a light layer of lemon juice to keep from browning.
- Serve and Enjoy!
JC
Easy easy easy. I needed a last minute pie, and this one was perfect. Everyone loved it too.
Jed
I have never like banana cream pie until this recipe!
Nicole
Our family loves this banana cream pie recipe with pudding. It's so fast and easy to make. Perfect for any last minute gathering.
Angel
This is so good! Great last minute dessert! My kids devoured it. And so simple to make too! My go-to Banana Cream Pie recipe from now on!
Beth
This is so easy and my family gobbled it up in one day. Thanks!
Jen
Banana cream pie is one of my favorite pies. This recipe was perfect and I loved how fast it was!
Andrea
Holy cow! This is super easy to make. This will definitely be a go-to when I need a dessert in a pinch. Yummy!
Gail Montero
Love your stunning presentation of this delicious classic! You just made my family very happy with this! They gobbled it up and the recipe was so easy and fast. My new go to recipe.
Anjali
My husband loves banana cream pie - I made this for him recently and he said it was one of the best he’s ever tasted!
Tara
We devoured this pie!! So creamy and flavorful.
Katy
This was great I used Banana Pudding the added whipped cream really gave it lightness.
Nicole
Yum, that sounds great, we'll have to try it that way too!
JH
My families most requested pie! I don't know how you did it, but I never liked banana cream pie until this recipe. It's so easy and the vanilla pudding base is a winner. I have now made it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Pie day, and making it today for Easter!