This banana cream pie recipe is a quick version of an old-fashioned favorite.
A flaky pie crust is filled with layers of sliced bananas, velvety vanilla custard, and crowned with whipped topping!
As Easy As Pie
Banana cream pie is a staple in my kitchen (along with a classic apple pie). Banana cream pie can certainly be made from scratch with eggs (either just yolks or whole eggs); however, we love this version because it’s so easy and has a nice thick texture.
Crust for Banana Cream Pie
This banana cream pie recipe can be set in a traditional pastry pie crust or a no-bake graham cracker crust.
Graham Cracker Crust: A graham cookie crust doesn’t require baking. Store-bought graham crusts tend to crack as the pie is served, so I suggest making a homemade graham crust; it takes about 5 minutes. This crust can also be made with vanilla wafer crumbs.
Pastry Crust: If using a pastry crust (either homemade or frozen from the store), you will want to blind bake the pie crust (bake it empty in the pie pan).
How to Make Banana Cream Pie (shortcut recipe)
- Bake the crust and cool completely if using pastry.
- Prepare the filling stir together pudding mix & milk, and fold in whipped topping (per the recipe below).
- Fill the crust with sliced bananas and top with the banana cream filling.
- Chill 4 hours or overnight, decorate with whipped cream and bananas.
Quick Tips
- When blind baking pastry, poke the crust with a fork to avoid bubbles.
- If desired, this can be served in a no-bake graham crust (see notes)
- Choose vanilla pudding; it really lets the fresh bananas’ flavor shine (banana pudding can overpower the fresh flavor).
- Ensure the bananas are completely covered with the filling so they don’t brown.
To Store Cream Pies
Once the crust is finished, this banana pie recipe does not need to be baked. It tastes best when served chilled, refrigerate at least 3 to 4 hours uncovered before serving! If storing longer than 4 hours, lightly cover with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerator: You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days; if you keep it too long, the bananas may get a bit weepy, but it’ll still taste great!
More Banana Recipes We Love
Did your family love this Banana Cream Pie? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Easy Banana Cream Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 single pie crust baked and cooled
- 2 bananas plus extra for decorating
- 2 cups cold milk
- 2 boxes instant vanilla pudding mix 3.4 ounces each
- 2 cups whipped topping such as Cool Whip, thawed and divided
Instructions
For the Pastry
- If making a pastry crust, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Roll the pie crust into a 12-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the pastry and fold the edges under. Crimp as desired. Poke the bottom of the crust with a fork.
- Cut an 11-inch circle of parchment paper and gently place in the pie crust and fill it with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for crust 15 minutes, remove the parchment and beans/weights and then bake for an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Cool completely.
For the Filling
- Slice the bananas and arrange over cooled pie crust.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the vanilla pudding mix and cold milk until smooth. Let rest for 3 minutes to thicken. Fold in 1 cup of whipped topping.
- Spread the pudding mixture over the bananas. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Top with remaining whipped topping and decorate with banana slices and caramel or chocolate shavings if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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For all of you who have loved and made the original from-scratch version, you can view and print the original from-scratch banana cream pie recipe here or you can print the easy banana cream pie listed above.
Made this for my boyfriend and his family on his birthday at his request and everyone loved it! Really easy and came across no issues. Super creamy and rich too, thanks for sharing!
I haven’t made this yet but plan to for my finances birthday Thursday! Can I use cook and serve vanilla pudding instead of instant?
Hi Kristin, this recipe has only been tested with instant pudding. I don’t think it would work quite the same with cook and serve pudding.
2 6.8 oz pudding mix ? Do you mean one 4.6 oz? I bought the cook and serve and it requires 3 cups of milk.
Sorry for the confusion Peter, this recipe uses instant pudding mix (not cook and serve). You will need two boxes, 3.4oz each for a total of 6.8oz.
Easy and yummy! My go to for when I’m craving something sweet
I like the recipe because it’s something easy and simple to make
Easy and delicious. I took a prepared graham cracker crust and the ingredients to a weekend at the cabin, it was a big hit. Nice to have a go to on short notice-going to try it with chocolate instant pudding next.
Very easy to make came out great
I made this recipe and was looking forward to something a little different. The recipe calls for “2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix (3.5 oz each). That would mean 7 oz. I was using Jello instant vanilla pudding mix. I was not aware that there is something other than Jello instant vanilla. I bought enough of Jello Instant vanilla pudding mix to equal 7 oz. and mixed with 2 cups of cold whole milk which is what the recipe instructs. This was so thick that I had to keep adding milk. I thought maybe i missed something or misread the directions. On the Jello instant vanilla mix package calls for 3 cups of cold mix for just 1.5 oz. of the instant mix. I needed to add more milk just to mix the 7 oz. of the instant mix. This ended up making enough pudding for 2 pies. So please help me understand what I did wrong?
Each box should be about 3.4oz and when adding the milk, the mixture is intended to be very thick. The whipped topping is then folded in. If you add additional milk, the filling will not set up enough to be sliced.
If I am using a frozen pie crust, should it be a regular pie crust or a deep dish pie crust?
We use a regular pie crust for this recipe, Rhonda. Enjoy!
Have been loving your recipes for years — thank you! I want to make the pie using real 35% cream. How long should I whip the cream so that it holds up? Thanks very much…
In place of the whipped topping? You can follow this post here on how to make whipped cream for more information on that!
Yummy!!! A hit at my house!
Very easy, thank you
This was my 1st banana cream pie and I made it for my woman’s birthday. I thought it came out great. She ate 2 pieces that night and said she loved it! I used the no bake crust with vanilla wafers instead of the graham crackers. The only change I made was using French vanilla pudding instead of plain vanilla (the store was out of vanilla). It still was delicious!!! Thank you for the recipe!!!
I am really liking using the recipe on this apps
Normally I avoid “easy” recipes but I thought I’d try this. Honestly this was not only easy to make but it was delicious. The taste and texture is equal to traditional recipes but without all the prep. I highly recommend this recipe.
I don’t know what I missed in following the directions. I missed the two boxes of vanilla pudding with two cups of cold whole milk. I whisked these two ingredients together for 4-5 minutes. Nothing thickened. I even folded in the whip cream, thinking that this would help thicken things. It did not.
Please advise me as to what I did wrong. :-/
Hi Suzanne, I’m not sure what would have went wrong. Did you use the correct size (3.5oz each) of pudding? A hand mixer instead of a whisk may thicken it up a bit better too.
Susanne did you use the pudding that needed to be cooked?
Hi! Thank you for the recipe. Quick question, (sorry if it’s been answered) if I use already made crust, do I need to bake the crust beforehand? (sorry first time making banana cream pie)
Thank you!
Hi Pina, you will want to bake and cool the crust before adding the filling to it. You can also opt for a no-bake crust like a graham crust if you prefer.
amazing! Super easy to follow instructions
hmmm? i think youre gma and my gma were good pal neighbors or something
this pie was a complete disaster ,made 12pies and not one set
had to put in freezer