The most incredible (and easy) Banana Cream Pie recipe with homemade custard filling that holds together perfectly, layered inside a Nilla wafer crust. You’ll never use a box pudding mix again! 

You can browse all of my delicious pie recipes, and be sure to try the Key Lime Pie, Apple Pie, Pecan Pie, or a Lemon Sour Cream Pie.

A slice of homemade Banana Cream Pie on a plate, ready to enjoy.

What I love about this pie:

  • The Filling: To make a truly excellent Banana Cream Pie, the pudding NEEDS to be made from scratch! This recipe if flavorful, holds together, and so velvety smooth.
  • Nilla Wafer Crust really shines in this pie, and reminds me of banana pudding. If you prefer something else, you can use a graham cracker or traditional pie crust.
  • Make Ahead: you can make this beautiful pie 1-2 days in advance, but I recommend reserving the bananas for topping on individual pie slices while serving, rather than inside the pie.

How to make Banana Cream Pie:

Prepare Crust: Add Nilla wafers to a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs (or crush them in a resealable bag, using a rolling pin). Add cookie crumbs to a bowl and stir in melted butter. Press mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9” pie plate. Bake crust for 10 minutes, and then allow to cool completely.

Two images showing the ingredients for a homemade graham cracker crust in a mixing bowl, then after it's combined and pressed into a pie dish.

Make Filling: Mix egg yolks and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth. Set aside. Whisk in sugar, salt, and milk in a large, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it comes to a simmer.

Two images showing egg yolks and cornstarch in a bowl before and after it's combined.

Temper Eggs: Spoon a big ladleful of simmering milk out of the pot, then very slowly whisk the milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour a slow steady stream, to temper the eggs (warm them up slowly, without scrambling them).

Egg yolks being tempered before adding to a pot of milk to make homemade Banana Cream Pie.

Cook Pudding: Pour the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan, whisking to incorporate. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat, until the mixture has thickened (thick enough to coat the back of a spoon).

An easy banana pudding in a stainless steel pot.

Strain: Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract. Strain pudding through a fine mesh sieve into a storage container. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pudding to prevent a skin from forming then cool for 30 minutes.

Homemade banana pudding being pressed through a fine mesh strainer before using in a pie.

Layer Pie: Slice bananas into the bottom of the Nilla wafer crust, into an even layer then pour pudding over the top. Cover with plastic wrap again, so a skin doesn’t form, and refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours.

Homemade banana pudding covering up some of the bananas in the bottom of a pie dish with a graham cracker crust.

Whip Cream: Add heavy cream and powdered sugar to a mixing bowl and whip until peaks form. Smooth whipped cream over the top of the old fashioned banana cream pie, or pipe around the edge. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4-6 hours before serving.

The best Banana Cream Pie recipe, ready to slice and enjoy.

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:

To Make Ahead: Nilla wafer crust can be made several days in advance, stored at room temperature or in the freezer. Banana Cream Pie can be made 2-3 days ahead, but I recommend adding the bananas while serving the pie, and not placing them inside, so they don’t get brown.

To Freeze: Don’t add bananas, but otherwise make as instructed. Allow the pie to cool completely then wrap in plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

More Homemade Pies:

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Recipe

A slice of homemade Banana Cream Pie on a plate, ready to enjoy.
Prep 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Refrigeration 4 hours
Total 5 hours 45 minutes
Save Recipe

Ingredients
 
 

Nilla Wafer Crust:*

  • 2 cups Nilla wafers , crushed, (about 60 cookies)
  • cup butter , melted

Filling:

Whipped Cream Topping:

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add Nilla wafers to a food processor and pulse until crumbs (or crush them in a resealable bag, with a rolling pin). Add cookie crumbs to a bowl and stir in melted butter. Use the back of a measuring cup to press mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9'' pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before adding the custard filling.
  • Banana Pudding: Mix egg yolks and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth. Set aside. To a large saucepan, add sugar, salt and milk to a large, heavy saucepan and whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it comes to a simmer.
  • Spoon a big ladleful of simmering milk out of the pot, and very slowly whisk the milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour a slow steady stream, to temper the eggs (warm them up slowly, without scrambling them).
  • Pour the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan, whisking to incorporate. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat, until the mixture has thickened (thick enough to coat the back of a spoon).
  • Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract. Strain pudding through a fine mesh sieve, into a storage container. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool for 30 minutes.
  • Slice bananas into the bottom of the nilla wafer crust. Pour pudding over the top. Place a small piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding, so a skin doesn’t form. Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours.
  • Whip Cream: Add heavy cream and powdered sugar to a mixing bowl and whip until peaks form. Smooth whipped cream over the top of the pie.
  • Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours before serving.

Notes

Crust: You could also use a regular pie crust, or graham cracker crust.
Make Ahead Instructions: Nilla wafer crust can be made several days in advance, stored at room temperature or in the freezer. Banana Cream Pie can be made 2-3 days ahead, but I recommend adding the bananas while serving the pie, and not placing them inside, so they don’t get brown.
Freezing Instructions: Don’t add bananas, but otherwise make as instructed. Allow the pie to cool completely then wrap in plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 5gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 219mgPotassium: 247mgFiber: 1gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 511IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 106mgIron: 0.3mg

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I originally shared this recipe November 2017. Updated November 2019 and November 2023.

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Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 2 stars
    What size of pie pan is used? I didn’t know if it is the standard size or bigger.

    Thanks for all of the great and delicious recipes.

  2. 1 star
    Terrible recipe.. don’t bother.. it was thick when it was warm then it cooled and was like soup.. very disappointing.. all that work for nothing

    1. 4 stars
      Followed the directions perfectly. It was my first attempt at ever making a banana cream pie. Added a little more corn starch for good measure based on the previous reviews and made sure it was whisked pretty thick. The custard filling set up pretty well. After I plated it, it started to run a little bit. 4.5/5 stars. Overall taste was fantastic. One of the better banana cream pies I’ve had. Great recipe.

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