Banana Pudding Pie

I took my ridiculously delicious Banana-y Banana Pudding recipe, that I think is better than Magnolia Bakery’s version, and turned it into a pie! It’s like a Banana Cream Pie but BETTER because it uses real banana pudding instead of plain vanilla pudding.

My complaint about most banana puddings and banana cream pies, other than they’re too sweet, is that they’re typically made with box mix vanilla pudding and sliced bananas. It’s an imposter and not actual pudding made from real bananas. This recipe is a lot of work but I promise that it’s totally worth it!

The crust is made with my Salty Vanilla Wafer Cookie recipe. I made a mistake the first time I made them and used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon. The result was a Salty Vanilla Wafer that wasn’t great to eat on its own as a cookie but worked GREAT with banana pudding to give it a hit of salt to balance the sweet.

Bananas about Bananas? Make this Strawberry Banana Bread or Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

Looking for Pie-spiration? Tips for Perfect Pie Crust, Dark Chocolate Meringue Pie, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, Salty Honey Pie, or my award-winning Seville Orange Marmalade Pie

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Banana Pudding Pie

Move over Banana Cream Pie, this made from scratch pie is filled with banana pudding -- milk steeped with ripe bananas -- layered with sliced bananas and whipped cream topping in a salty vanilla wafer pie crust for the perfect balance of sweet and salty. A Baking With Chickens Original Recipe

Time to Prepare: 1.5 hours, plus at least 4+ hours total of banana milk chilling time

Makes one 9-inch pie

Creamy Banana Pudding adapted from Serious Eats

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups of milk (any percentage, whole milk will give you a richer, creamier flavor)
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 empty vanilla bean pod
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves (half of 1/8 teaspoon)
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon gelatin

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make Banana Milk: Combine 1¾ cups milk, mashed bananas, and vanilla in a medium pot and bring to simmer over medium heat. Stir with a spatula to prevent burning along the bottom. When milk comes to a simmer, remove from heat, cover, and let stand until cooled to infuse the banana flavor, at least 4 hours. Refrigerate overnight and up to 24 hours for a stronger banana flavor. While the banana milk steeps overnight, make the Salty Vanilla Wafers Pie Crust.

banana milk on stove and empty vanilla wafer pie crust

Salty Vanilla Wafer Cookie Pie Crust adapted from Well Floured

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 large egg
5 tablespoons melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and a scant 1/2 tablespoon salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the 4 tablespoons of softened butter and ½ cup sugar. Add the 1 tablespoon vanilla and egg.

3. Gradually add the flour, and mix just until combined. Chill dough for at least 10 minutes to prevent cookies from spreading too much while baking.

4. Roll in 1 teaspoon size balls, and place on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet

flatten the balls slightly, and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor, crush the cookies into fine crumbs. Save at least one cookie or extra crumbs to use for decoration on top of the pie.

6. In a large bowl, mix 1¾ cups of cookie crumbs and 5 tablespoons of melted butter with a spoon until well mixed. If you have a large pie pan, you may need more cookie crumbs and more butter to make your crust.

7. Spray a 9-inch round pie pan with non-stick spray or grease lightly with butter/oil. Press the cookie crumb butter mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan. Use the flat side of a measuring cup to press down and compress the mixture.

8. Bake the pie crust in the oven for 10-12 minutes to set and get a nice toasty flavor. Set aside to cool.

Make the Banana Pudding Custard:

1. Strain the banana milk through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium sized bowl. Press gently on the banana mash to get as much liquid out as possible. Save the banana pulp to use in muffins, pancakes, smoothies, or dog treats.

2. Using the same medium pot that the banana milk was in, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/16 teaspoon ground cloves. Whisk in the 5 egg yolks, then whisk in the banana milk.

Optional: If the banana milk mixture looks grey in color and not a luscious golden yellow from the egg yolks, you can add a scant ⅛ teaspoon of turmeric or a tiny drop of yellow food coloring to help the custard look more yellow instead of grey. This is just for aesthetic purposes.

3. Place on stovetop and warm over medium-low heat, whisking gently until custard is steaming hot, about 5 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon gelatin and whisk to dissolve. The gelatin will help the pudding set more firmly and hold its shape as pie slices.

4. Increase heat to medium and continue cooking and whisking constantly until custard thickens from a foamy liquid into custard, about 5-8 minutes longer. You’ll see and feel the foamy liquid subside and transform into a thick custard that will coat the back of a spoon. When it begins to bubble like hot lava, set a timer and continue whisking for 90 seconds to cook off the egg proteins.

5. Take it off the stove and pour the pudding through the fine-mesh sieve into a medium sized bowl to strain out any cooked egg chunky bits to ensure that you have a smooth pudding.

6. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap pressed on top of the pudding to prevent forming a “skin.” Set aside to cool to room temp.

Assemble the Banana Pudding

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe bananas, sliced
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream, cold
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Layer sliced bananas closely together on the bottom of the cookie pie crust.

2. Pour cooled room temp banana pudding mixture on top of the bananas. Bang the pie pan on the counter a few times for the pudding to settle to the bottom and around the banana slices. Smooth the top with a spatula.

3. Whip ½ pint of cold heavy whipping cream until you get medium peaks. Add 1 teaspoon powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, whip until it turns into stiff peaks. Do not overwhip or it will break and you’ll end up with sweet vanilla butter.

4. Dollop and spread the whipped cream on top of the banana pudding. Crumble extra cookie crumbs on top of the whipped cream.

ALTERNATIVE FILLING: You could also chill the pudding in the fridge until cold and fold the whipped cream into the pudding until incorporated, then fill the pie with the pudding and whipped cream mixture for a lighter pie filling.

5. Chill for at least 3-4 hours before serving. Store in the fridge covered.