Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Banana Cream Pie is one of my all time favorites. Nothing beats that creamy, vanilla pudding filling, banana goodness, and fluffy whipped cream piled on top. The addition of a graham cracker crust just puts this whole recipe over the top. I like the addition of brown sugar to the custard and crust for an extra caramel-like flavor.
Homemade Banana Cream Pie is easier to throw together than you might think. You start with a homemade graham cracker crust, make a brown sugar banana pudding, layer that into the crust with the banana slices, and then top the chilled pie with homemade whipped cream! This is one of my favorite desserts and it’s always a crowd pleaser.
Ingredients for this Banana Cream Pie Recipe:
For the Graham Cracker Pie Crust:
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Brown sugar
- Unsalted butter, melted
For the Banana Filling:
- Ripe bananas, sliced (ideally use bananas with a few brown spots.)
- Brown sugar
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Whole milk
- Egg yolks
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
For the Whipped Cream Topping:
- Heavy whipping cream
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
Supplies needed:
- Medium saucepan
- Medium bowl
- Pie dish
- Food Processor (to crush graham crackers, optional.)
- Rubber spatula
The Process
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter for the crust. Press the mixture into a pie dish, forming an even layer along the bottom and sides. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the bottom of the pie crust is lightly golden. Allow to cool completely.
- In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt for the filling. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture to temper the eggs. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture.
- Cook, stirring constantly, for an additional 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Arrange the fresh banana slices in the cooled graham cracker crust. Pour the filling over the bananas, spreading it evenly. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or until set.
- Before serving, prepare the whipped cream topping. In a mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Spread or pipe the whipped cream on top of the pie.
- Garnish with additional banana slices or crumbled graham crackers, if desired. Slice and serve chilled.
Tips and FAQ:
- Use ripe bananas for the best flavor and texture.
- For best results, make sure the pie is completely chilled before adding the whipped cream topping to prevent melting.
Can I make this pie ahead of time?
Yes, you can prepare the pie up to a day in advance and add the whipped cream topping just before serving. Cover the pie with plastic wrap (you want it to touch the custard so it doesn’t form a skin,) and place in the fridge until ready to serve- up to 3 days.
Can I use store-bought whipped topping instead of homemade whipped cream?
Yes! While homemade whipped cream is my personal fave, store bought is fine in a pinch.
Can I use Pudding Mix instead of making my own?
While a vanilla pudding mix may seem like a time saver, I don’t reccommend using pudding mixes for this pie. The from scratch pie filling really steals the show here.
Prefer a classic pastry crust? If you are wanting a traditional pie crust, sub out my Perfect Pie Crust recipe for the graham cracker crust- just make sure to fully bake it ahead of the time as you don’t bake banana cream pie.
For a peanut butter chocolate version of banana cream pie check out this recipe.
Other recipes you may like:
Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Classic Banana Cream Pie with a toasty brown sugar twist!
Ingredients
For crust:
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 7 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For Filling:
- 2¼ cups whole milk
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 ripe bananas, sliced
- For topping:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the crust:
- In a 9 inch pie dish, combine the crust ingredients with a fork until well combined. Use your hand or a spoon to spread the crust into the dish, pressing it up the sides and onto the bottom.
- If you choose to bake it, preheat oven to 375F and bake for about 7 minutes or until slightly brown. Otherwise chill for 1-2 hours before adding the filling.
For the Filling:
- In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt for the filling. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture to temper the eggs. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture. Stir constantly until very thick and bubbling like lava.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.
- Spread sliced bananas on the bottom of the crust. I put two bananas into the pie and then sliced one for the topping. You could do that or put them all inside.
- Top with the pudding mixture and cover with plastic wrap.
Chill overnight or for several hours until set. - Whip cream to stiff peaks and spread on top of the chilled pudding. Garnish with banana slices and more graham cracker crumbs if desired.
Hugo is 3 1/2?? WHAT !! Time flies. This pie sounds like perfection.
I have to be honest, I’m not usually big on bananas BUT this sounds too good to pass up.
This sounds fabulous, but I never buy whole milk. Could I sub half-and-half, or a mix of 2% and half-and-half?
Yes totally!
Looks great. Since we eat with our eyes first, having the bananas on top is part of the appeal but how are they kept from turning brown? Thank you, in advance, for your response.
Omggggg this pie is SO. FRIGGIN. GOOD. It’s dangerous – my boyfriend and I finished it way too fast and he even licked the plates!!
A few questions:
My pudding was a bit clumpy (but still delicious). Any ideas what caused this and how I can prevent it from happening the next time? Believe me, there will be many more next times haha
Just how thick should the pudding be before you take it off heat? I was worried about overcooking/burning the pudding so I took it off heat when it started bubbling like what you’d see in scary movie swamps, but my pie was soupier than yours looked, even after sitting in the fridge overnight.
Final comment: I usually add extra salt to recipes because I LOVE sweet and salty, but I think your recipe is plenty salty as is. Just a heads up for folks like me that there’s no need to add extra salt :)
I am so sorry I am so late on responding to this comment. Trying anyway in case anyone else has this question:
The pudding should coat the back of a wooden spoon and when you run your finger down the back it should make a line that stays there.
If the pudding is clumpy it may be because the egg wasn’t tempered. But You can always blitz it with an immersion blender to smooth it a bit!
I wanted to love this so badly…I made this for my dad’s birthday celebration. The filling itself was good, but the crust was inedible. I do not understand the amount of salt for the recipe. I measured out exactly one teaspoon, and it was standard salt. I also used unsalted butter. I’m so disappointed because it honestly ruined the crust and it was so embarrassing. If you want to make this recipe, I wouldn’t even add any salt. It was very unnecessary.
I am so sorry this happened. I realized recently that different types of salt are much saltier in recipes. For example pink sea salt is about 4x saltier than regular table salt. I have adjusted the recipe and again- really sorry!
This is delicious but you have to get past that it’s just not a very attractive color. It literally is brown. So don’t leave off the whipped cream!!!! And we did toasted coconut on top instead of more bananas. Other than that it’s absolutely yummola!
PLEASE revise the directions in your recipe so that others don’t end up throwing away the entire batch of pudding!
When you “Jump to recipe”, in order to print the recipe, the directions to temper the egg yolks differ greatly from the directions within the post. ( In the printed version the instructions say to mix the egg yolks together with the cornstarch, and then temper the cornstarch/yolk mixture with some of the simmered milk. When I added this back to the pot, my pudding ended up a lumpy mess! I read the directions in the post,
which instructs you to add the cornstarch to the pot of milk before bringing it to a simmer.
I started over, doing it this way, and the pudding turned out the way it should be.)
Hi! thanks for pointing that out. I do make the pudding both ways and I prefer the yolk/cornstarch combo. But I’ll make sure the recipe is consistent.