Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust is a light and creamy no-bake dessert made with freshly sliced bananas, caramel sauce, buttery graham cracker crust, vanilla pudding mix, and whipped cream – perfect as a summer treat or a family dinner dessert.
In addition to this being a no-bake recipe, learning to how to make banana cream pie with pudding mix and a ready-made graham cracker crust makes it even easier to assemble this luxurious dessert from scratch. You can always use homemade caramel sauce and my simple homemade graham cracker crust to up the flavor factor.
Another of my favorite desserts with similar flavors is this easy banana pudding trifle. It’s really simple, but seeing all of the layers through the dish is amazing. If you are a fan of a cream cake or pie, try our No Bake Eclair Cake or our Chess Pie; both are quite delicious.
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🍌 Ingredients:
- Graham Cracker Crust – I’ve used a 9-inch pie crust that can be bought or made from scratch with melted butter and graham cracker crumbs. You can also use another crushed cookie pie crust for this dessert.
- Caramel – Layered over the crust beneath the pie filling and also for topping. You can use a jar of caramel sauce from the store, but the flavor is so much better when you make it yourself. You can use an easy brown sugar caramel sauce or make a true dark caramel sauce with granulated sugar.
- Bananas – 2 large bananas are sufficient for this dessert pie and provide a delicious amount of banana flavor.
- Lemon juice – Use freshly squeezed lemon juice or bottled juice in a pinch. This helps to keep fresh bananas from turning brown.
- Instant vanilla pudding mix – Banana pudding mixture could also be used for this dessert pie.
- Whole milk – Full-cream milk is best for flavor but you could use low-fat instead.
- Vanilla extract – Use a high-quality extract.
- Heavy whipping cream – This homemade whipped cream helps create a fluffy cream topping for this banana cream pie and adds body and airiness to the banana cream pie filling.
- Powdered sugar – Lightly sweeten the heavy cream while whipping.
- Chopped pecans – For garnish. Toasted coconut is another great option.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Garnish homemade banana cream pie with fresh banana slices, chopped pecans, and drizzle with a little bit of caramel sauce.
Substitutions and Variations
- Crust: Golden Oreos, vanilla wafers, or other sweet cookies could be used to make banana pie. You could also use a regular pie crust, or my oil pie crust recipe.
- Topping: Additional garnish ideas for this caramel banana cream pie could include coconut flakes, a sprinkling of crumbled cookies or some milk chocolate shavings!
- Banana pudding mix: You could easily omit the sliced bananas from this cream pie and instead, use a banana pudding mix in place of the vanilla pudding mix.
- Lower sugar: Reduce the overall sugar content in this easy banana cream pie by opting for a low-sugar or sugar-free banana pudding box mix.
- Miniature: You could turn this classic banana cream pie into mini versions by using mini pie pans. You would need to use graham crackers, sugar, and butter to make your own crusts, or grab mini store bought graham cracker crusts.
- Cheesecake filling: use my banana cream cheesecake recipe.
- Banana pudding pie: omit the caramel and use banana pudding mix in place of the vanilla.
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: Spread the caramel in the bottom of the pie crust using a rubber spatula.
Step 2: Slice the bananas and toss in a small bowl with lemon juice. Layer over the caramel sauce.
Step 3: In a medium bowl, whisk the pudding mix, vanilla extract, and milk until thick and smooth.
Step 4: To a large bowl, add the heavy cream and powdered sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Reserve one cup of the whipped cream for the top of the pie. (If you want to be able to decorate more, whip until stiff peaks form for the topping so it holds its shape.) Fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture.
Pro Tip: Remove any fresh slices of banana from the top of this cream pie when storing leftovers and only add freshly sliced banana just before serving; otherwise the bananas will start to turn brown from oxidation!
Step 5: Add the banana filling on top of the sliced bananas.
Step 6: Chill for 30 minutes in the freezer.
Step 7: Pipe whipped cream on top, sprinkle the chopped pecans, and drizzle with caramel.
SERVE: Top with additional banana slices just before serving.
Recipe Tips for Banana Cream Pie with Pudding
- While you could make use of store-bought caramel sauce for this recipe, why not make your own from scratch?
- You can use a store-bought pie crust but for best results, follow my simple Graham Cracker Crust recipe that’s assembled in a standard 9-inch pie pan and baked in the oven or set in the freezer. Making a few pie crusts ahead of time to store in the freezer adds convenience when it comes to making dessert pies in the future.
- If you’re making this cream pie ahead of time and storing it in the refrigerator or the freezer, I suggest that you leave the sliced banana garnish off till you are ready to serve it. This will help prevent brown and soggy banana slices.
- While I’ve used vanilla instant pudding mix for this recipe, I haven’t specified any brand preference so go ahead and use whatever you’re used to or whatever is accessible. Make sure it is instant pudding.
- Cool Whip is a great alternative to fresh whipped cream, especially if you intend to make this cream pie ahead of time as it tends to have a longer shelf life than fresh whipped cream and it stores better in the freezer.
- It’s important to store your cream pie in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in the refrigerator to prevent it from absorbing any other odors from foods or condiments in the fridge.
Fun Fact
While the exact origin of the banana cream pie is somewhat unknown (some suggest the Midwest’s love of pies leading the way), bananas themselves only started to be incorporated into pies towards the end of the 19th century when the fruit went from being deemed exotic to commonplace, finding its way into more and more household kitchens and sweet pie recipes.
Recipe FAQs
Store any leftover caramel banana cream pie, covered, in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
You will also be able to store leftovers in the freezer for up to 1 month. When freezing, you may want to remove any banana slices left on the pie, as these will become soggy and discolored when the time comes to defrost the leftovers. You can always add freshly sliced bananas to your frozen pie before serving.
Absolutely! Since this pie freezes well for up to one month, it’s a great dessert to make in advance.
Fully assemble your homemade pie and store it in the freezer without the banana slice topping. When you’re ready to serve, simply thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then top it with freshly sliced bananas.
Since this classic banana cream pie recipe has a soft and creamy texture, I suggest flash-freezing it for 2 hours before wrapping it in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. This will help prevent the pie from sticking to the wrapping.
As a good rule of thumb, any sweet pie containing dairy ingredients should not be left out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours, and if it’s a hot day, then for an even shorter amount of time.
It’s best to return this caramel banana cream pie to the refrigerator immediately after serving should you have any leftovers.
More Pie Recipes for Warmer Months
If you tried this Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients
- 1 9” graham cracker crust
- ⅓ cup caramel plus more for topping
- 2 large bananas
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 5.1 oz. box of instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Spread caramel sauce in the bottom of a baked graham cracker crust.
- Slice bananas into ¼” thick slices and toss with lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Whisk together pudding mix, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and thickened.
- Whip heavy cream and powdered sugar together until soft peaks form. Reserve 1 cup of whipped cream for topping the pie.
- Gently fold the remaining whipped cream into the pudding until fully combined.
- Gently pile pudding filling on top of the caramel and bananas in pie crust.
- Chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Top with swirls of reserved whipped cream, drizzled caramel, and chopped pecans.
- Chill in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Top with additional banana slices just before serving.
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Comments & Reviews
Kim says
I’ve made this 3 times now, It ‘s a family favorite!
Stefanie says
Thank you so much, Kim! Yum, I think I need to make it again,too.