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.

  3. 5 stars
    Mine came out perfect, not sure where the other people went wrong here. Great instructions and great taste. I added more bananas because I had 4 that were ripe but other than that it was great.

  4. 5 stars
    I followed the instructions exactly and this pie was FANTASTIC!! So creamy and delicious! It was a total hit at the party I went to. They couldn’t believe I made the filling from scratch, and I couldn’t believe how easy and quick it was!

  5. 4 stars
    My friends raved about this pie! And we all had seconds! I thought it was good, but very much dominated by the pudding, which was sweet. I wish I had put in more bananas as they got lost in the pudding. I agree with the others about the pudding. I’ve made similar pudding pies and it definitely needed higher heat and more than 5 minutes to reach the initial gentle boil. I also cooked it a bit longer on medium until it started getting even thicker. Watching the video helped to know what consistency was appropriate for the pudding.

    I’ll give it four stars because I can’t give it 3.5. I think it’s a great tasting pie, but from my experience and the comments, the pudding instructions if followed blindly won’t work. If you have experience making puddings, you can adjust as necessary.

  6. I’ve made many banana cream pies over the years and this one was by far the worst end result! I’m not blaming the recipe but for the life of me I don’t know what I did wrong.

    When I went to serve it to our dinner guests, the custard went VERY soft and flowed everywhere. It was firm and set when I put it in the thoroughly cooled pie crust… we all laughed about it and named it banana cream crumble. Any ideas what could have gone wrong?!

  7. I was wondering when I make thus pie instead of the slices of bananas in between layers of custard. Could I not just add mashed up bananas to the custard for a more flavourful tasting pie.

    1. You can…I’m not sure texture sounds appealing…but it would work fine. If you’re looking for a boost of banana flavor you could add banana imitation extract.

  8. This recipe FAILED me BIG TIME !! I always like to read any reviews and/or tips from others who try new recipes and go from there. Trying this particular recipe twice proved to be a disaster. After two days in the frig., it never did set up. One another day when I don’t promise a fabulous Banana Pie to ANYONE which might make me look like a fool, I may try this one more time.

    1. I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you. One piece of advice if you do try again is that the filling really should thicken in step 8 before you ever remove it from the heat and stir in the butter! If you get to that point and cook it and it just won’t thicken, you should add a little cornstarch slurry or an extra egg yolk (tempering it) to the filling. Once it thickens follow the remaining steps and add to your pie shell. I hope that helps!

  9. 1/4 cup of cornstarch is nowhere near enough, I use about half a cup and it turns out much better I also use a 2-2 eggs and egg yolks

  10. To everyone who is having consistency issues, or pudding running after: It is because there is a starch dissolving enzyme in egg yolks, and if you do not hold the pudding at a boil it allows the egg yolks enzyme to dissolve the starch away thus losing the thick custard-like texture.

    1. That should be added to the notes. I imagine it might also have something to do with whether you’re cooking on a gas stove or an electric stove.

  11. I have made this pie for a while and everyone loves it!
    But this will be my first time making a day ahead. Wonder if I can add the banana layer or not?

  12. 5 stars
    This is my hubby’s favorite pie and the first time I made one from scratch. He said it is the best one he has ever eaten and I agree! So delicious!

  13. 3 stars
    I’ve made this recipe three times now, and it never sets. I tried adjusting time, heat, cooling and setting time and it never sets. I like the flavor but will be looking for a different recipe.

  14. I’ve made this pie twice. My family loved it, but the consistency was off. I followed the recipe step by step the first time and tried changing it a little the second time. both times the pie did not thicken enough, it turned out to be more like a very tasty banana pudding, definitely not a pie.

  15. I made this with graham cracker crust, sweetened with a generous tbsp of granulated sugar, and a smidge less sugar in the custard. Recipe works perfectly, and the cook time for thickening of the custard is pretty close. Maybe +2 minutes. I can see how too much cooking would create the wrong texture. My advice: Make two. With a wife who doesn’t really like cream pies and two teen boys, she loved it anyway and the boys “evened” up the remaining pie until they’d eaten most of it in three hours time. Next time will try flavoring the custard with overripe bananas and see if I can adjust to get the desired texture of the custard again.

  16. 4 stars
    Flavor is amazing, but I had an issue with the consistency. It was very thick while cooking, but after chilling it has become very thin. I’m not sure what went wrong. I’ll probably make ice cream with it.

  17. I’m wondering if you could add something to make the custard have a banana taste instead of vanilla flavor. I love vanilla but think I would like a banana custard. thanks!

    1. I took out 1/2 of the milk and added that amount of liquefied banana then before refrigeration added 1 small banana cut into small chunks.

  18. Just wondering, what you recommend replacing the cornstarch with when people have a corn allergy? Thanks, Gail

  19. I’m making the crust in advance. Do you recommend refrigerating the baked crust until it’s filled with custard?

    1. You don’t need to refrigerate the baked crust–Once it’s cooled I would leave it covered at room temperature.

  20. I read the recipe wrong& used only egg whites, will it still be good to eat? My bad. Read too fast. It’s not yellow, but thick.
    Please let me know soon. As he’s ready to eat it & I didn’t tell him I goofed on the recipe. 🤦‍♀️

  21. 5 stars
    Excellent pie. Turned out perfect. I doubled the recipe and I’m glad that I did. Everyone loved the pie. I followed the directions exactly, other than it took longer to thicken. This is definitely a new family favorite!!

  22. 5 stars
    My boyfriend’s favorite is banana cream, so I make this for him for his bday. I have used this recipe several times and it turns out so delicious. My vanilla is from Mexico and it makes the custard more tan than a nice yellow, but who cares when it tastes so good. Thank you for the recipe. ?

    1. 5 stars
      oh my god then make your own nilla wafers instead of making someone else feel like shit, such an unnecessary comment

  23. We had nice thick custard until we added the vanilla and it was like milk after an hour in the fridge. I tried to save it by cooking it again, but the eggs cooked up so it lost the silky texture…added some more cornstarch as a last ditch effort…not excited about it. I wish I had the same luck others had but can’t understand what the difference is!

    1. 4 stars
      I had the same issue. I reheated and brought to a gentle boil. Added cornstarch in water and this thickened the custard. I sat the mixture outside to cool and my dog ate it ! It wasn’t meant to be. She gives it 5 stars (she at it all).

    2. The flavor is amazing, but mine also was like milk! I guess I’ll put it in the freezer and have some “ice cream pudding pie” lol

  24. Lauren, another amazing success! I made this pie for Christmas instead of a cake, as Banana Cream Pie is my husbands favorite dessert. They are difficult to find in bakeries, but even when I have been fortunate to find them, they often taste as if they are made with boxed pudding (and the crusts are soggy). I had never made one before, but every recipe that I have tried from your site has become an instant favorite of ours, and I make many of them several times each month. I followed the recipe to the letter, and it came out so PERFECTLY that my daughter is requesting the Banana Cream Pie for her birthday, INSTEAD of a cake! 🙂 Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! My entire family is very grateful to you and all of your hard work to bring these recipes into our home. You are indeed, a blessing!

    1. That is absolutely amazing–no greater compliment, thank you!!!! Sounds like many happy birthdays to come <3 Thanks for following XOX

  25. Is the custard supposed to be this when you put it in the crust or will it thicken up in the fridge afterwards?

    1. Hi Bria,
      The custard should be pretty thick (see step 4 of the directions). It will set up even more in the crust as it cools.

    1. An egg yolk is the yellow part of the egg. The white is the clear part of the egg.The egg yolk separated from the white is essential as the yolk is what thickens the pudding (which is why yours was watery). Hope you get to try it again 🙂

  26. 5 stars
    My 14 year old daughter made this (I supervised). It was delicious! Read the comments where some people had trouble making it but we did not. Followed the recipe and it came out perfect. Brought it to work for a pie contest – not really a contest – we just wanted to eat some pie! Brought one small piece home for my husband who said “You are making this again, right???” Thank you. It was soooo good!

  27. 5 stars
    Just finished making this! Can not wait to dig in tomorrow!!! I believe mine will finish setting appropriately ?. I didn’t read the vanilla correctly, I only put in a teaspoon. While cooling in the fridge I was reading the comments and saw someone thought the tablespoon was too much?!? Oops! It tasted great with just the teaspoon but since it hadn’t cooled much I just added another teaspoon. Thanks for the recipe!!! Can’t wait to try some of the others!

    1. I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think I would. I don’t think it would hold up as it thawed (the ingredients may water and separate.)

    1. I’m so sorry that happened. Make sure in step #4 the mixture gets cooked until it thickens.
      Then as you add tempered eggs it should thicken even more. By the time it cools, it should be thickened.

  28. If you are preparing the pie 1 day before it is being served should u still not put the bananas in the middle?

    1. I’m sure that would be fine. Just toss them in a little bit of lemon juice before adding them 🙂

  29. I’m curious as to the banana flavor if this pie, is it strong? My husband is used to pies that used banana pudding mix but I don’t want to make mine that way. Is this too far of a stretch?

    1. Hi Katelin, one of the things I appreciate from this from-scratch version is that it doesn’t have that strong “artificial” banana flavoring like the store pudding mix, (I think it’s WAY better) and it holds together better to. If you think you’d miss that stronger banana flavor you could always add a tiny bit of banana extract 🙂 Hope you get a chance to try it!

  30. 5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe twice now and I feel like I have to come back to comment and tell you how great it is. I’ve never had such great success with homemade banana cream pie before! It’s my husband’s favorite but I really don’t like the flavor of the box pudding. This recipe is really amazing!

  31. I tried this recipe twice and both times were spectacular failures! I used the exact amounts of ingredients both times and cooked it per instructions. It thickened when cooking, but returned to liquid state after chilling!
    My first thought was that maybe the corn starch had gone bad. Nope! Corn starch has an indefinite shelf life, as long as it is kept in dry, a sealed container. I thought the only other possibility might have been the quantity of vanilla extract called for in the recipe. At the time, I thought one tablespoon was way too much, but I added it as called for. Perhaps the greater quantity of alcohol in the extract interfered with thickening chemistry.
    Has anyone made this recipe successfully using one table spoon of vanilla extract? I wonder if the correct quantity should have been one teaspoon rather one tablespoon?

    1. I had the exact same experience where it was thickened when cooking on the stove, then turned into a watery gravy after cooling in the refrigerator. I have no idea why the recipe didn’t work for me either.

    1. Hi Susanna, 2 percent milk would work, you will just loose a tiny bit of the creaminess factor. 🙂 Enjoy!

  32. 4 stars
    I attempted this and my custard isn’t very custardy. I have let it cool, but it still won’t sit right. I followed the recipe the the letter and don’t know what I did wrong. I am still in the process of making it, so is there anyway I can save the custard?

    1. 4 stars
      I made the same mistakes, I’ll try your tips for my next attempt. And I also think I’ll cut in half the sugar, way too sweet.

    1. Hi Tracey, any of those would be great as a substitution 🙂 I’d love to hear how you like it!

  33. 4 stars
    I made the banana pie that came out perfect.
    However the whipped topping for some odd reason turned into butter.
    I don’t know what went wrong.
    This is my first time for making this.

    1. Hi Don, the whipped cream will do that if it’s beaten for too long. Next time stop beating it when it’s stiff enough to “hold a peak” when you pull the beaters up, but still very light and fluffy.

  34. 4 stars
    I attempted this recipe this past weekend and after two tries I’m ready for a third. The fails were my fault, but I really thought the mixture was way too sweet.

    Try #1: I failed at tempering the eggs and ended up with a yucky, eggy mess (though the filling set up nicely). I did notice that 1 1/4 cups of sugar made the filling WAY too sweet (I recommend cutting it down to a cup or even a little less)
    Try #2: I was so concerned with tempering the eggs, I didn’t let the mixture set up long enough and ended up with delicious pudding, but not a good pie filling

    I think if I cut the sugar back, let the mixture thicken up more and use even better vanilla (I used McCormick pure vanilla extract) then I’ll have it down.

  35. 5 stars
    What size pie plate do you use and how do you measure the size of the plate?
    Outside bottom, inside bottom, inside top???

    Thanks.

  36. 5 stars
    This is the best recipe I’ve found for banana cream pie. My whole family loved it! This will be the only recipe for banana cream pie I will use from now on. Thanks so much, Lauren. Beautifully worded instructions made it very clear what to do.

    1. Thank you so much Lacey–what an amazing compliment! I’m so happy you loved it and thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂

  37. 5 stars
    I love this pie recipe! I am not even a big banana fan but my husband requested this pie for Easter. I made it and we all loved it! Followed the directions to a T and it turned out great. I have tried your lemon sour cream pie and your triple berry pie and they are family favorites as well. Thanks so much!

  38. 5 stars
    I’ve always struggled with banana cream pie (when you cut it and remove a piece and the center collapses). I tried this recipe and it was exactly what I’ve always hoped for. Held together. Great flavor. My new go to recipe. THANKS!

  39. 3 stars
    Even reducing the sugar down 1/4 cup, it was still too sweet for me Also I’m thinking maybe the cooking time should have been increased because it tasted a little “powdery.”

  40. 5 stars
    An absolutely great Banana pie recipe. I’ve made this several times in the last couple months for my elderly father whom I take care of. He says it’s quickly becoming his favorite over Lemon Meringue. However, I haven’t made him your version of Lemon Meringue. Do you have one? I’ll sure give it a go. Thanks so much,
    Charles L. McClain, Jr.

    1. Thanks so much for sharing! I love hearing that your father loved it. I am a huge lemon pie lover and have several lemon pie recipes, including lemon meringue! Yum. Here’s the link for the lemon meringue https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/lemon-meringue-pie/ (and you can use the search bar near the top of my website to search “lemon pie” if you’re interested in any of the other recipes. Lemon sour cream is my favorite! https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/lemon-sour-cream-pie/

    1. That should work. Depending on the size of your spring form pan, you may need to make an extra 1/2 of the recipe (or at least of the crust). Sounds like fun! Happy Thanksgiving.