Pies with a cream or custard base might seem too heavy during a warm spell in the weather, but this Banana Cream Pie is light and delicious. It’s perfect all year long!
There is just nothing better than a homemade pie, complete with a from-scratch crust. Prep and baking only take about an hour, but you’ll want to make this a day ahead of serving so it has time to chill and set. Add a tall glass of ice-cold milk, some whipped cream, and one of my favorite Cozy mysteries and you have the perfect late summer evening.
I know that scratch baking a pie can seem intimidating at first, but you can’t go wrong with this recipe.
How to Make Banana Cream Pie from Scratch
Prep time: 25 minutes (+ time to chill)
Baking time: 40 minutes
Yields 8 slices
Pie Crust Ingredients
- 1½ c. all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- ½ t. salt
- 2/3 c. vegetable shortening
- 3-6 T. ice-cold water
Pie Filling Ingredients
- 2 c. whole milk
- 1 c. heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ c. granulated sugar
- ¼ t. salt
- ¼ c. cornstarch
- 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin
- 2 T. unsalted butter
- 2 t. real vanilla extract
- 4-6 ripe bananas, sliced
Optional, to serve
Whipped cream and sliced bananas
Directions
- 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!
Notes
You can also use a pastry wheel decorator tool to crimp the crust edges together. This is a great tool for beginners, but even seasoned home cooks love it for its ease of use.
Use pie weights to blind bake the pie crust. This will keep the crust from rising in the pie pan and give you plenty of room for the delicious filling.
How to Make Banana Cream Pie from Scratch
Banana cream pie is delicious, easy to make, and a real crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
Pie Crust Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for rolling
- ½ tsp salt
- 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
- 3-6 Tbs ice-cold water
Pie Filling Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 eggs large
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 oz. package unflavored gelatin
- 2 Tbs unsalted butter
- 2 tsp real vanilla extract
- 4-6 ripe bananas sliced
Optional, to serve
- Whipped cream
- Sliced bananas
Instructions
-
Place top oven rack in the center position and pre-heat your 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 it out.
-
Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 20-25 minutes.
-
Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely before transferring it 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!
Recipe Notes
You can also use a pastry wheel decorator tool to crimp the crust edges together. This is a great tool for beginners, but even seasoned home cooks love it for its ease of use.
Use pie weights to blind bake the pie crust. This will keep the crust from rising in the pie pan and give you plenty of room for the delicious filling.
Answering Your Questions
- How long will it keep? This article from Still Tasty recommends no more than 3 or 4 days in the fridge. Why? The cream base will break down and get watery over time. But this recipe is so good, you might not even have any leftovers!
- How do you keep the bananas from browning? Spritz them with a very light spray of lemon juice. Too much and you’ll change the taste of the bananas so keep it light.
- Should I use leftover (over-ripe) bananas for this recipe? My recipe calls for ripe bananas – not green, obviously – but I wouldn’t want to use completely brown bananas either! Save those for banana bread.
Looks divine, and I’d bet you could infuse the cream and strain it beforehand to add flavors!
Yes, for sure!
might just have to try this one. thanks
Huh, never thought of doing a heated banana cream pie! Normally I do cold with pudding and a graham cracker crust. This looks delicious and great notes to help pinch this together nicely, thanks!
This looks delicious. I love banana desserts.
This dessert looks scrumptious! I love desserts with bananas, I need to try this recipe.
Looks amazing! Will definitely have to try making this.
This looks delicious!
Banana cream pies are one of my favorites! I’ve never tried to make one though, as it always seemed too tough
I haven’t had banana cream pie a long time. And I have never made it from scratch. But I am really looking forward to trying this recipe!
This pie reminds me of a pudding dessert my Mom used to make. The recipe for this pie makes it sound so good.
OMG this looks and sounds amazing
That looks A-MAZ-ING!!!!
Yummm! Your banana cream pie looks amazing!
This sounds amazing. I am going to try it, I love banana cream pie but have never made one myself.
Really awesome banana themed treat, a great popular dessert!
This look amazing… I will have to try this!
Looks amazing! Will have to try to make this.
Looks amazing. Will definitely give it a try.
Oh my goodness how have I not heard of this sooner?? I’m fixing this asap!
My boyfriend loves banana cream pie, I can’t wait to try this
looks very inviting
This sounds just delightful, thanks for sharing with us.
This is one of my absolute favorite things in the world.
We used to use coconut pudding for the base so that adds an extra dimension of flavor.
ill be sure to try it , and hope that it looks that good
THX
I love Banana Cream Pie and this doesn’t seem as if it would be too difficult to make. This is next on my list to try. I’m going to plan it for my mother’s birthday as she loves it also.
I think this recipe has a mistake – I used 1 oz of gelatin and you could of bounced it off the floor. It was uneditable and was thrown out. One envelope of Knox gelatin is 1/4 of an ounce. Maybe that is what you meant. I would love to know your thoughts and I will try again. Respectfully, Dawn
That’s probably it! I got the recipe from someone else, so she probably did mean 1 envelope rather than one ounce. I’m going to edit it now. Thanks for letting me know!