If you are a banana cream pie lover, then today is your lucky day! I am a big fan of pies, but to be honest, I almost never actually make them at home—it just always seems like so much work!
I did, however, make this no-bake banana cream pie as I wanted to see how easy it felt compared to making a pie from scratch (and if it would be as good!), and I have to say, it was so easy and so delicious that I’m totally sold on the no-bake pie idea!
Related: 30+ Easy No-Bake Desserts, Easy No-Bake Key Lime Pie, Apple Pie and 40+ Easy Picnic Food Ideas. And try our classic Banana Bread.
You can make a few tweaks to make it even easier (or add a little more effort in spots) to adjust it to your taste and time level, but either way, I know it will be delicious!!
With a little more effort, you can change the flavor a bit by using a ready-made refrigerated or frozen pie shell instead of a graham cracker crust.
You’ll have to bake that crust and let it cool completely first, so technically it won’t be a no-bake pie anymore, but it’s still a good option if you don’t love a graham cracker crust.
When it comes to the pudding, you can use either banana cream or vanilla pudding depending on how banana heavy you want the flavor to be. I love banana pudding so that was an easy choice for me.
I’m not a Cool Whip person myself, but if that’s your jam and/or you don’t feel like whipping up fresh whipped cream, you can totally sub in a whipped topping like that for your pie.
My daughter was so excited to watch me make this pie and even more excited to eat it when it was set! We all dug in once it was ready, and O.M.G. it was so freaking good!!
It really surprised me that something that good and polished looking came out of such little effort and it’s totally something I would make for a gathering or a dinner now that I know how quick, easy, and delicious it is.
Also, if you don’t love the look of the tin foil that a ready-made crust comes in, you can always pop the whole thing into a cute pie pan like mine and use a gold pie server, making it look more official instantly.
Maybe some pretty dessert plates as well?? Are you a fan of the no-bake pie yet? If so, what’s your favorite to make? xo. Laura
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Ingredients
- 1 pie crust (graham cracker for super easy or a pie shell you bake for an extra step)
- 2 cups milk (cold)
- 1 box instant banana cream pudding (3.4 ounce)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups whipping cream (measure out 2 cups then whip) you can also use Cool Whip if you prefer the taste of that)
- Nilla Wafer cookies
- 2 bananas (ripe )
Equipment
- mixer or hand blender
- whisk
Instructions
- Take your pie crust and line the bottom with sliced bananas (should take about one banana to cover bottom).
- Pour 2 cups of whipping cream into a bowl and beat on high with a hand mixer (or mix in standing mixer) until soft peaks form when you pull up a paddle. Set aside.
- Pour your pudding mix into a bowl and add the milk and vanilla. Whisk to combine for 2 minutes and then fold in 1 1/2 cups of your whipped cream gently until combined.
- Pour the pudding mixture over the layer of bananas in the pie crust and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Gently add the rest of the whipped cream to the top of the pie and spread out to cover the top of the pie.
- Stick Nilla Wafers all around the edge of the pie.
- Place in fridge for 2 hours to fully set. Decorate with fresh bananas right before serving and enjoy!
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I made this yesterday and it was really good! I will be making it again. However, my turned out runny like some other people here. My theory is that if you’re using cool whip then maybe try using 1.5 cups of milk instead of 2. Next time I make it I’m either going to use cool whip and less milk, or 2 cups of milk and homemade whipped cream.
This looks so yummy! I want to make it with my kids for Easter brunch.
So do you use just 2 cups of cool whip then
Delicious!!
The pies sound delicious
This turned out perfectly and tasted so good. Definitely going to make this again. Thanks! 🍌 🥰
Love this recipe. Didn’t have banana pudding so I used vanilla instant. It was delicious. Actually I thought it was better than my homemade vanilla cream pie version. Thank you.
I made this!
Delicious and easy!
It calls for two bananas. Instructions say it should use one banana to cover bottom of pie shell. Then the instructions never tell you what to do with the other banana. Do you alternate a layer? I see you decorated the top of the pie. However that looks like about a third of a banana.
Easy and delicious but never set up even after over four hours in the fridge. Would it work to freeze it?
Suggestions, use 2 cups heavy cream with the pudding of your choice keep layering with bananas and vanilla wafers. Best banana pudding pie ever!
I made this 2 days ago and the flavour is perfect but it didn’t have much consistency as the picture shows. Its a little melty, any ideas about what could have gone wrong?
Hmm, I’m not sure! Maybe it didn’t have enough time to set? It’s not a super firm pie, but it shouldn’t be runny…
Laura
I used 1 1/2 cup milk. I find that 2 cups of milk makes it runny.
Sub Sweetened condensed milk in place of the milk. Even better!
“Are you a fan of banana cream pies?” Oh man. My heart is racing. One variation (because I can’t help myself) is a parfait: Layer graham crackers, pudding, and bananas in a tall glass. Top with whipped cream. So fancy.
Yum!!
Laura
My mom made this on occasion when I was a kid, over forty years ago. Nice to see this recipe is still popular. She used home baked cookies.
I love this idea. My husband is diabetic so I’ll skip the wafers and use sugar free pudding. The parfait glasses will help with portion control.