You'd never guess this vegan banana cream pie was made without eggs or dairy! Made with a silky banana cream pudding, coconut whipped topping, and sweet banana slices piled into a flaky crust, it's rich, creamy, and so decadent!
I find that folks generally fall into two camps when it comes to pie preferences: some folks prefer fruity pies like peach pie, cherry pie and apple pie, while some are more partial to pies with creamy fillings, like chocolate pie, coconut cream pie and custard pie.
Well today I'm here with a recipe that should make everyone happy! This vegan banana cream pie has it all: creamy pudding and fluffy coconut whip topping, with sweet fruity bananas layered in between everything. It's basically the ultimate pie, and it's absolutely delicious.
Serve this baby up for pretty much any occasion, any season, and you'll have a happy crowd of pie eaters on your hands.
Jump to:
Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegan pie crust. You can use a homemade vegan pie crust like my easy vegan pie crust or coconut oil pie crust, or a store-bought one. And if you're using store-bought, you have the option of using a pre-made pie shell or pie dough that you roll out yourself. So many options! Wholly Wholesome and DuFour are a couple of good vegan brands to try if you go with premade.
- Full-fat coconut milk. This is the type of coconut milk you buy in cans. Don't use light coconut milk or the type in cartons for this recipe.
- Silken tofu. Some brands of silken tofu come in different levels of firmness. Any of them will work for this recipe, but I recommend going with firm if you have the option.
- Sugar. Make sure the sugar is organic. Non-organic sugar may be processed using animal bone char in some parts of the world, including the United States.
- Cornstarch.
- Cinnamon.
- Salt.
- Ground turmeric. This is optional, and just used to give the pudding a yellow color that would be supplied by eggs in a non-vegan recipe.
- Vanilla extract.
- Bananas. Use bananas that are ripe, but not overripe. You want them to be nice and yellow (a little green at the ends is okay), with no or few brown spots.
- Coconut cream. This is also sold in cans, right near the coconut milk. If you can't find it, just buy a couple more cans of coconut milk, chill them overnight, then open and pour off the liquid. What's left will be coconut cream.
- Maple syrup.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by preparing your pie crust. Unless you're using a pre-shaped pie shell, you'll need to roll it out and drape it in a pie plate. Poke some holes in the bottom and crimp the edges.
Blind bake your crust. Line the inside of the crust with a sheet of foil (parchment paper works too), and fill it with pie weights, or, if you don't have them, dried rice or beans. Bake the crust until the edges are lightly browned.
Make the pudding while the crust bakes/cools.
Use a blender or food processor to blend the vanilla pudding ingredients: coconut milk, tofu, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and turmeric.
Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and slowly heat it up over medium heat, whisking the entire time. It should thicken up very quickly upon coming to a simmer. Take it off of heat once it does, then whisk in the vanilla.
Slice up one of your bananas and arrange the slices in the bottom of the pie crust. Try to get them in a single layer and avoid piling them on top of each other if you can.
Spread half of the pudding over the banana slices, top the pudding with another sliced banana, then spread the remaining pudding over the second banana layer.
Cover the pie and place it in the fridge to cool and set.
Tip: You can place a layer of plastic wrap over the pie, directly over the filling to prevent a skin from forming.
Make the coconut whipped cream when the pie is just about finished setting. You'll need your coconut cream to be chilled. Crack open both cans and drain any liquid that has separated out. Place the remaining solids into a large mixing bowl and beat then with an electric mixer until fluffy, which should just take a minute or two.
Beat in a little maple syrup to sweeten your coconut whipped topping.
Once the pie has fully chilled, take it out of the fridge and spread the coconut whipped cream over it. Top it all off with one more sliced banana and optionally a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Shelf-Life & Storage
Vegan banana cream pie will last in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days.
The banana may begin to turn brown, which is why I recommend either making the pie on the day of serving it, or waiting until just before serving to place the final layer of banana on top. The inner layers of banana won't brown as quickly, but they will brown. You can give them a light spritz or brush with lemon juice to slow this process down.
More Vegan Banana Recipes
Still got bananas to use up? Try one of these!
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust, homemade, such as my vegan pie crust (half batch) or coconut oil pie crust (full batch) or store-bought (unbaked)
For the Banana Pudding
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 6 ounces silken tofu (about half of a 12.3 ounce package)
- ½ cup organic granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch ground turmeric, optional, for color
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For Assembling the Pie
- 3 medium bananas (Note 1), divided
For the Coconut Whipped Topping
- 2 (13.5 ounce or 400 ml) cans coconut cream (Note 2), chilled overnight in the fridge
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
For Topping
- Ground cinnamon, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Roll the pie dough to a circle of 11 to 12 inches in diameter, then carefully transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the dough so it conforms to the inside of the plate. (Note 3)
- Trim any excess dough from the edges of the crust, then crimp the edges using a fork or your fingers.
- Use a fork to poke a few holes in the bottom and sides of the crust, then line the inside of the crust with foil and fill it with pie weights, dried rice or beans.
- Bake the pie crust until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Place the pie crust on a cooling rack when it comes out of the oven.
- While the pie crust bakes, place all of the pudding ingredients except for the vanilla into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan. Place it over medium heat and slowly heat up the mixture, whisking it the entire time, until it comes to a simmer.
- The pudding should thicken within less than a minute after coming to a simmer. Remove it from heat once it does, then stir in the vanilla.
- Let the pudding cool for a few minutes. Slice up two of your bananas in the meantime.
- Once the crust and pudding have cooled a bit, the pie is ready to be filled. It's okay if they're not completely cool — warm is fine.
- Arrange one sliced banana in an even layer in the bottom of the pie crust. Pour half of the pudding over the banana. Smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Arrange the second banana in an even layer over the pudding, then spread a second layer of pudding over the second banana.
- Cover the pie and place it into the refrigerator to chill and set, at least 4 hours.
- When the pie is just about cool, make the coconut whipped topping. Open the cans of coconut cream. Place the solids into a large mixing bowl, discarding any liquid that has separated out.
- Use an electric mixer on high speed to beat the coconut cream until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup and beat until it's fully mixed in.
- Once the pie has set, spread the coconut whipped cream evenly over the pudding. Slice the remaining banana and arrange the pieces on top. Optionally top the pie with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
- Use bananas that are ripe, but not overripe. They should be bright yellow with no (or very few) brown spots.
- Full-fat coconut milk can be used if you can't find coconut cream. Make sure it has separated when you open it (chilling it should cause this) and discard the liquid. The remaining solids are coconut cream.
- You can skip steps 2 through 4 if using a preformed pie shell.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
I have researched lots of recipes for vegan banana pudding and tried my own method using silken tofu with aquafaba. This did not work with the aqua faba as it does so nicely with making chocolate mousse. The Coinnesaurus recipe looks like what I'm trying to acheive-a creamy texture. The coconut cream plus the silken tofu is the right match for that. Plus the little bit of corn starch to help it gel and thicken to a pudding consistency. Other recipes called for boxed pudding mixes that contain too many chemicals or else pretty much just a box of corn starch. I have great success with your recipes. Love your website! Thanks!
Alissa -Greetings from Vermont,
I am hoping I can substitute gluten free pie crusts for these delicious
pies. Thank You
Absolutely! You can use a store-bought one or make your own. Here's a recipe I have bookmarked: https://healthiersteps.com/recipe/gluten-free-vegan-pie-crust/ I haven't tried it, but I find Michelle's recipes are always pretty solid. Enjoy!