Banana Cream Pie

Silky, creamy, and full of fresh banana flavor.

Side view of a slice of banana pie on a plate

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Why It Works

  • Covering sliced bananas with layers of pastry cream helps prevent the fruit from browning. 
  • Refrigerating the assembled pie until it’s thoroughly chilled infuses the pastry cream with banana flavor and ensures clean slices.

I’ve made and consumed lots of pies, from lattice-topped fruit pies to baked custard pies and fruit tarts, but I have to admit I hadn't made all that many banana cream pies until I decided to develop this recipe. Now, after eating many, many slices of many different banana cream pies, I can safely conclude that life is far better with banana cream pie.

Recipes for banana cream pie first appeared in the late 19th century. One of the earliest iterations, which was published in 1901 in the Woman’s Exchange Cook Book, asks the cook to fill a baked pie crust with sliced bananas and powdered sugar then transfer the pie to the oven to soften the fruit. Five years later, a recipe in The Blue Ribbon Cook Book calls for a combination of sliced bananas and vanilla custard. That version, which remains popular to this day, is what I’ve stuck to for my recipe: a buttery pie crust filled with alternating layers of thinly-sliced ripe bananas and a rich vanilla pastry cream, and topped with sweetened whipped cream. 

For the pie crust, I stuck with Stella’s extra-flaky rendition, which stays tender and crisp thanks to a 1:1 ratio of flour to butter. I also made a version with a graham cracker crust, but found that I much preferred Stella’s crust; its buttery flavor is a better match for the filling of bananas and custard. 

With the custard, I tried versions of the pie with both pastry cream and banana pudding. My testing showed a clear preference among tasters for the vanilla-bean infused pastry cream and its light yet rich flavor. While the creamy banana pudding was a treat on its own, its cooked banana flavor overshadowed the fresh bananas in the pie.

A single slice of banana cream pie on a dark plate on a purple background

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

For the bananas, I call for layering thinly sliced rounds both on the bottom of the crust and in-between layers of pastry cream. It’s important to slice your bananas only when you’re ready to assemble the pie to prevent enzymatic browning, a series of chemical reactions that occurs in some foods when their cut surfaces are exposed to air. In addition, I discovered that tightly sandwiching them between layers of pastry cream kept any browning at bay, likely due to a lack of oxygen. However, once you cut into the pie, the bananas that are exposed to air will begin to brown. While this will affect their flavor and texture slightly, the effect is minimal, since only a portion of the banana slice is exposed.  

Making banana cream pie—any pie, really—takes time. I like to spread the prep out over the course of several days. I will cook the pastry cream and store it in the refrigerator, make and blind bake the pie crust and hold it at room temperature, then assemble and chill the pie. Once it’s ready to serve, I pile on butterscotch-y brown sugar whipped cream (which can also be made ahead of time). If you want, you can garnish the top with toasted coconut, chocolate shavings, or a drizzle of caramel, any of which would be welcome additions.

Recipe Details

Banana Cream Pie

Prep 20 mins
Chilling Time 3 hrs
Total 3 hrs 20 mins
Serves 8 to 10 servings
Makes 1 pie

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Starting in the center of the blind-baked crust, set down a single banana slice, then arrange concentric circles of banana slices around it in a single, even layer until you fully cover the bottom of the crust. 

    4 image collage of an overhead view of a pie crust being filled with a layer of sliced bananas

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  2. Using a small offset spatula, spread half of the pastry cream in an even layer on top of banana slices (banana slices should be fully covered). Repeat layering process with remaining bananas and cream. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until filling is cold and set, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day. 

    4 image collage. Overhead view, from top left: cream being added to top of banana layer; a single banana slice on top of the cream; a full layer of banana slices added to the pie; plastic wrapped pie resting on a baking tray.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  3. When ready to serve, top pie with whipped cream. Slice into wedges with a chef’s knife, carefully slide a pie server under the crust, making sure it reaches all the way to the tip of each wedge, and serve.

    Angled view of banana cream pie, showcases off layers of crust, pie, and whipped cream

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Special Equipment

Small offset spatula.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Covered tightly with plastic wrap, banana cream pie can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
289 Calories
13g Fat
38g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories 289
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 17%
Saturated Fat 5g 27%
Cholesterol 49mg 16%
Sodium 287mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 38g 14%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 13g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 3mg 17%
Calcium 86mg 7%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 256mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)