Can I share a secret with you guys? Just because something is labor-intenseive or 100% homemade doesn’t mean it’s the best. Making great food doesn’t have to be hard, and sometimes shortcuts are delicious. Let’s stop being martyrs here. I used to think the same way you did. I used to make everything absolutely from scratch. And there are a lot of things I only make from scratch, but if there’s a better, easier way of doing them, I ususally do that instead.
Take, for example, banana cream pie. I used to make it with homemade pie crust and homemade pudding that literally took an hour of stirring over a hot stove. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but my sister-in-law Emily’s recipe for banana cream pie is awesome. It tastes JUST LIKE Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding (Like, the Magnolia Bakery in New York City). And it’s a million times easier than homemade. But you purists out there are questioning me–“Jello pudding? Pre-made graham cracker crust? No stinking way.” To which I say, “Yes way.” Live on the edge here, take it to Easter dinner this Sunday, and be prepared for everyone to love you. Because hey, food is the best way to win friends and influence people! 🙂
The trickiest part of this recipe is the pudding, which isn’t THAT tricky, but you just need to make sure you’re getting two things right: make sure it’s instant pudding and that is the 3.4 oz. package (the 4-serving size.)
If you want to play around with flavors, that’s totally fine–I always use vanilla because I hate artificial banana flavor and the vanilla pudding will take on the banana flavors from the bananas, but you can get wild and crazy and use butterscotch, cheesecake, chocolate–wherever your pretty little brain takes you.
You’re also going to need heavy whipping cream, bananas, 2 8-serving graham cracker pie crusts (you could also use chocolate or Nilla wafer if the Spirit moves you), sweetened condensed milk, and powdered sugar.
In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, cold water,
and sweetened condensed milk.
Mix well and place in the refrigerator to chill for a few minutes. In another bowl, whip 1 cup of whipping cream until soft peaks form.
Slice the bananas (probably 4-5 small bananas or 2 large bananas) and layer them on the bottom of the crusts.
Be sure and save the plastic domes that come with the pie crusts–you’ll need them later!
Set aside. Remove pudding from the fridge and gently dollop the whipped cream on top of the pudding.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until well-combined.
Now divide the mixture between the two pies.
Prepare sweetened whipped cream with the remaining whipping cream and 1/3 c. of powdered sugar and spread it on top of the two pies.
Place the clear plastic shells back on the pies and allow to chill for several hours. This is actually really important–I tried eating it right away once and the pie wasn’t banana-y at all and the moisture hadn’t absorbed into the crust, so the crust just fell apart.
And there you have it–the best AND the easiest banana cream pie you’ll ever have or need!
Banana Cream Pie
Servings pies
Ingredients
- 1 3.4- ounce package INSTANT vanilla pudding
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 14- ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 8- serving graham cracker or cookie crusts
- Lots of bananas 4-5 small bananas or 2-3 large ones
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, cold water, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix well and place in the refrigerator to chill for a few minutes. In another bowl, whip 1 cup of whipping cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
- Slice the bananas (probably 4-5 small bananas or 2-3 large bananas) and layer them on the bottom of the crusts. Be sure and save the plastic domes that come with the pie crusts--you'll need them later!
- Set aside. Remove pudding from the fridge and gently dollop the whipped cream on top of the pudding. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until well-combined.
- Now divide the mixture between the two pies. Rinse the pudding bowl and beaters and set aside for later.
- Place the clear plastic shells back on the pies and allow to chill for several hours. This is actually really important--I tried eating it right away once and the pie wasn't banana-y at all and the moisture hadn't absorbed into the crust, so the crust just fell apart.
- If possible, immediately before serving, combine the remaining heavy cream and 1/3 cup powdered sugar in the bowl you mixed the pudding in and beat with an electric mixer on high until soft peaks form. Spread over the pies. (If you can't do this immediately before serving, it's okay to do the whipped cream step after you put the pudding mixture in the shells.)
Notes
Chunky Monkey Variation:
Blend 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter into the pudding/water/sweetened condensed milk mixture (before you fold in the whipped cream). Continue as directed but place in a chocolate cookie crust. Sprinkle with honey roasted peanuts just before serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
Questions & Reviews
That was one delicious banana pie! It was a toss up between this one and the key lime pie for me. This one was definitely really good!
Can you make this the night before or will the bananas go brown?
Can I make this on a Wednesday night and serve it on Friday?
Can I make this a day in advance/night before?
For SURE! In fact, I’d recommend it. 🙂
One more question…what size pie crusts? 9″ or 10″?
Either, or.
I’m so glad I found your recipe! My mom died suddenly & banana cream pie was the only dessert she knew how to cook -she was truly a tomboy & never bothered with girly things including cooking. Anyway I was truly missing her & since she died while I was young, she never got to teach me to cook her recipe. I used the recipe on the pudding box but it never turned out right, but this one did! I used entire package banana pudding with 8 ounces of sweetened condensed milk (that I previously added a can of water to); with half of a pint of heavy whipping cream. No water or sugar, I was afraid of the pie becoming too sweet or soupy & it turned out nice & thick just like I hoped for. This isn’t exactly like hers but it did make me feel a bit closer to her thanks so much.
I just accidentally used cook and serve Jell-o and its super thin! Is there anyway of salvaging this? Help please quick!
I’m sorry! 🙁 Once you use cook and serve, you’ve gotta start over. 🙁
This is going to sound like a dumb question but, when you say mix the pudding mix, water & sweetened condensed milk…do you mean just mix with a spoon until the dry ingredients are incorporated or beat with a mixer like you would with normal pudding?
Beat it!
This was amazing & so easy to make. I highly recommend this recipe!
We absolutely adore this pie. It’s super easy and sooo yummy! I do have one question, though… Can you freeze it? We have a small family and by the time we get through the first one, the second one is usually on the verge of yuck.
I’ve never frozen it, but we’ve had readers say it was great frozen, so you could try!
Just wondering wondering, how far in advance can you make this pie?
i made one banana creme & one peanut butter (no bananas) with this recipe. I used a lg box of pudding & upped the milk & whipped cream a bit. For the peanut butter pie I used one cup pb, a chocolate crust, & topped with mini Ghiradelli chocolate chips. They were both so good & easy! The banana was especially good the next day. There was a small scuffle between my husband & oldest son over the last pc of PB pie:)
How would I half this recipe to make just one pie? Please help ASAP!
Delicious! We had this tonight! Thanks for sharing all your yummy recipes! We are fans of you!
I’ve made this pie twice and followed the recipe to the T both times and BOTH times it just wouldnt set despite refrigerating overnight. THe whole pie was just so runny and I really don’t know what I did wrong. 🙁 It’s really upsetting because the cream tastes so good but it’s just like eating soup out of a graham cracker crust.
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG??!?!
Are you using instant pudding and not the kind you have to cook? That’s the only thing I can think of. How frustrating!
oh poo you’re right. =[ I just used the pudding boxes I had sitting in my pantry without checking if it was the one you have to cook. All I checked was the flavor and serving size.
oh well :\
better luck next time I guess.
*sighh*
…third times a charm.
#1 I made this recipe for my boyfriend the first time I cooked a dinner for him when we were dating. He fell in love with it. The only change I made was that since I didn’t have a “pie pan” I made it in a 9×13… So I needed to figure out a crust. I dug in my Grandma’s old cookbooks and paired your banana cream pie filling with a macadamia nut shortbread crust… and HELLO can you say HEAVEN!!
#2 All the initial comments on this post talking about UNCLE BOB!! Awww… my dad was an Uncle Bob 🙂
I am just wondering if I can use 1 cup milk instead of 1 cup water in the pudding mixture? wouldn’t the milk make it richer and more creamy?
Sure! Although it’s already pretty rich and creamy. But it wouldn’t make it worse. 🙂
It does not take an hour of stirring over a hot stove to make a scratch Banana Cream Pie.
My double thick all scratch pie, from the Martha Belle lard crust to the Grandma Lena sweetened whip cream top, takes three repeat plays of Barry White’s All-Time Greatest Hits CD, plus a little more. You can only request this pie once a year at our house, for your birthday. It is a true labor of love. But, as Barry says, “Baby, you can feel the love, and you can taste the love.”
Big Hint: Use Pillsbury Softasilk cake flour to make things smooth as silk.
My sister fed this to me tonight and in no time at all, there was absolutely no evidence of any pie on my plate. at. all. Yum-o-riffic!
…now I want to try one Chunky Monkey style, and instead of adding the peanuts, add some Reese’s PB cups, roughly chopped. Oh yeah!
OMG I MADE THIS PIE.WITH FRENCH VANILLA PUDDING AND IT’S WAS AWESOME. I ALSO ADDED VANILLA EXTRACT TO THE WHOPPING CREAM AND POWDER SUGAR AND I SWEAR THUS PIE WAS JUST OUT OF THIS WORLD AMAZING .. THANK U FOR THIS EASY RECIPE.. FIRST TIME MAKING IT AND EVERYONE ENJOYED IT.
I made this with Banana pudding and a Nila wafer crust (I baked it so it wouldn’t get soggy), and it was the first pie to go at Thanksgiving! And that is saying a lot since my in-laws are known for their pies! Thank goodness there was 2 of them! I have also tried this with Chocolate pudding, for choco cream pie, and the cheesecake pudding for a cheesecake pie and they also come out tasty!!
I make it basically the same way with instead Banana pudding, I’m curious now how the vanilla would taste, but afraid to loose my banana flavor, have you tried the Banana pudding instead?
I came across your site today and was quite impressed. I plan to make your banana cream pie and have a question. (You may think it is dumb, but here goes.) I only want to make one pie so would I cut each ingredient in half? *Don’t laugh*
*Not laughing.* Banana cream pie is never a laughing matter. 🙂
No, really, I’ve thought about doing this before so I only make one pie. The thing that has always held me back is the pudding–it’s so hard to accurately divide the pudding in half, you know? But you sound like you’re a brave woman, so I say go for it. 🙂
If I want to make one banana cream and one chunky monkey version out of the one recipe for the filling would I still mix in 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter? Thanks!
Honestly it’s been so long since I made that, I’m trying to remember! lol I’m almost sure that was for one pie. I would start with 1/4 cup and add another 1/4 cup if it needs it!
Hi Girls!
Just thought I would tell you that I used this pudding recipe combined with another of your recipes – the coconut strawberry lime shortcake to make trifle.
I can’t believe what a hit it was at our dinner. My husband especially couldn’t stop commenting on it.
I used the little coconut donuts that you can get at Walmart for the cake part, just break them up a bit; your vanilla pudding with sweetened condensed milk; the sliced strawberries mixed with lime juice and sugar; and cool whip instead of whipping my own (I was in a hurry).
I just layered them all in a pretty bowl and topped it with the coconut that was left in the bottom of the donut container.
The only bad part of all of this is that it disappeared so fast.
Thanks for all of your great ideas!!
I meant thanks for clarifying that Patty.
Thanks for clarify that Patty, I’m such a rookie at cooking, lol…
Lupe, no you don’t make the pudding first – just add the mix with the condensed milk and water.
my husbands FAV pie! I too have slaved for hours making homemade pudding and the works, instant pudding is great and I recently tried a cooked Organic pudding and it was as good as homemade with just a tad more time than instant! Premade graham crusts are not for me though, homemade ones are SO easy and taste SO much better! give a package of graham crackers a whirl in the food processor while you’re melting butter, press it in the pan and bake for 10 minutes, how easy is that?!? I’m going to have to give this a try with my homemade crust 😉