Name: Banana Cream Pie
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1/4 cup cornstarch; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 5 egg yolks; 2 cups whole milk; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 3 tablespoons butter; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup heavy cream; 1/4 cup powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 baked and cooled pastry shell; 2 bananas, peeled and sliced

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This banana cream pie is rich, luxurious, and packed with banana flavor. It’s as good as any bakery pie, and it’s quite easy to make!

A banana cream pie, with a banana in the background

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Banana cream pie is one of my all-time favorite desserts. There’s something about it that’s just so magical to me. It’s loaded with rich and decadent custard, but the banana flavor is so tropical. The consistency is soft and smooth, and it melts in your mouth. It’s just a perfect dessert in my book. So it was important for me to make sure that I had a good banana cream pie recipe, so I could make it at home anytime that I was craving this amazing sweet treat.

This recipe is fantastic. The texture ends up perfect every time, and the flavor of the banana really shines through. Despite looking and tasting like something you’d find at a fancy bakery, it’s actually a pretty straightforward recipe to follow, and it doesn’t require very much work. So the next time you’re craving banana cream pie, skip the bakery and make it yourself!

Why You’ll Love This Decadent Homemade Pie

I love to make this recipe. Here’s what makes it so special.

Bakery quality. This is one of those desserts that you can serve to your friends and they’ll have no clue that you made it from scratch. In fact, they probably won’t even believe you when you tell them that you did. That’s how good this pie is.
Easy to follow recipe. Making this pie takes a little bit of effort. There are a lot of steps involved, and it takes a fair amount of time. But the recipe is surprisingly easy to follow.
Great for parties. This is one of the recipes that I love to make when I’m hosting or attending a party. As I said before, everyone who eats it will be totally impressed that you made it. But more importantly, it’s a really easy recipe to scale up. You can make 3 or 4 banana cream pies using about the same amount of time and effort as it takes to make 1 pie.

Ingredients needed

Here are all the ingredients you’ll need to make this melt-in-your-mouth banana pie. Make sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of the page to see the exact amounts for each of the ingredients.

For the Filling:

Sugar
Cornstarch
Salt
Egg yolks
Milk – Use whole milk for the best results.
Cream
Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter.
Vanilla – Try to always use 100% pure vanilla extract.

For the Topping:

Heavy cream
Powdered sugar
Vanilla

For the Assembly:

Pastry shell – You’ll need to bake and cool the pastry shell before starting this recipe.
Bananas

How to Make Banana Cream Pie

Here’s how to make this perfect dessert.

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the cornstarch and sugar to a bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the eggs. Put the egg yolks and vanilla in the bowl with the dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth.
Heat the dairy. Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan and heat until bubbles form around the edge and it nearly starts to boil.
Temper the eggs. Drizzle the hot milk and cream into the egg yolk mixture, while constantly whisking.
Cook. Heat the mixture over a stove on medium heat while whisking, until it forms a pudding-like consistency.
Add butter. Take the mixture off of the heat, and stir in the butter until it is fully melted and the mixture is perfectly smooth. Let the mixture cool, while occasionally stirring.

A bowl with sugar, cornstarch, eggs, and vanilla

Chill. Cover the filling with plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Assemble the first layer. Add a small amount of the custard filling to the bottom of the cooled pastry crust. Then place sliced bananas over the top of the custard.

A mixing bowl with banana cream pie filling in it, covered in plastic wrap

A layer of sliced bananas at the base of a pastry shell

Add the rest of the filling. Pour the rest of the custard on top of the bananas, and spread it around evenly.
Make the whipped cream. Beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, then add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat again until the whipped cream forms stiff peaks.
Spread on top. Put the whipped cream on top of the pie and spread it evenly.

A spatula spreading banana cream pie filling into a pastry shell

A spatula spreading whipped cream over the top of a banana cream pie

Serve. Garnish the pie with more banana slices and serve.

Tricks and Tips

Here are some tips to help you make the best possible banana cream pie.

Room-temperature eggs. I always like to use room-temperature eggs when I make desserts. When eggs are cold, they don’t mix very well with other ingredients. Using room-temperature eggs makes for a smoother and silkier custard.
Add the milk slowly. The most critical part of this recipe is when you add the warm milk and cream to the eggs. If you add the dairy too quickly, the eggs will scramble, and your recipe will be ruined. Be very careful when adding the milk, and pour it very slowly while constantly whisking. Once a bit of the milk has been mixed with the eggs, you can start to pour the mixture more quickly.
Strain. If you do end up with a couple pieces of scrambled egg in your mixture, you can pour it through a strainer before moving on. This only works if it is a very small amount and not mostly scrambled eggs.
Chill before eating. I really like to eat my banana cream pie cold. When you put the pie in the fridge, it firms up and the flavors get to meld a little bit. So I like to put the pie in the fridge after I make it, and let it sit there for an hour or two before eating it. I think it tastes a lot better.

What to Serve It With

Since this dessert is so sweet and decadent, you don’t need to serve it with any other foods. But I enjoy having a nice drink while I eat a slice of this pie. Here are a few drinks that go well with this treat.

How to Store Leftovers

Leftover banana cream pie will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just make sure that you store it in an airtight container, or cover it with plastic wrap.

Can You Freeze Banana Cream Pie?

You can freeze this dessert, though the texture won’t be quite as good after you thaw it. If you plan to freeze it, you really want to do so before you top it with whipped cream. The whipped cream does not hold up well to freezing. Place the pie in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then top with whipped cream to serve.

A slice of banana cream pie on a plate with a fork, with a banana in the background

More Easy Pies to Make

Can’t get enough pies? Me neither! Here are some more of my favorite recipes.

Yield: 8 servings

Banana Cream Pie

This banana cream pie recipe is rich, indulgent, and super smooth. It's packed with banana flavor, and fairly easy to make.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes