Easy No-Bake Banana Cream Pie From Scratch

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Easy No-Bake Banana Cream Pie made completely from scratch! Silky, creamy filling piled into a buttery crust — no oven needed. The perfect fuss-free dessert everyone will love.

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Thanksgiving in America is rolling around soon and that means it’s time to gather your loved ones around and enjoy special food.

In my opinion, one of the dishes that is definitely the definition of bringing people together is a pie. Everyone waits for a slice of the pie, and the enjoyment that everyone shares is unmatched!

Everyone adores a crispy pie crust, a sweet filling, and the toppings! I was never a pie eater before coming to Canada, but now I really see the appeal!

No-bake banana cream pie with whipped cream topping in a glass pie dish, with bananas in background.

This pie is extra special because we’re going to make all our components from scratch. This will be the classic Banana Pie you know and love but with a special flavor twist to the custard. Keep on reading to see how we do it! To make your Thanksgiving extra special, then be sure to put your heart on a plate by preparing this No-Bake Banana Cream Pie as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Get started on your cooking journey for free today by signing up to my email newsletter, plus all my latest recipes will be sent straight to your inbox!

To get a visual representation of everything discussed here, be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! If you’re not already, it would mean a lot to me if you could please subscribe to my YouTube channel and don’t forget to press the bell button so you’re notified when all of my video recipes are live! Let’s get started!

No-bake banana cream pie with graham cracker crust and whipped cream topping in glass pie dish.

What Is a Banana Cream Pie?

This is a dessert that will be one of your new favorites, guaranteed! As you can guess from the name, this pie is banana heaven topped with a fluffy whipped topping. Here are the components:

Crust: We’re going to make our very own pie crust here that’s flaky and oh so tasty!
Custard: This custard is going to be made from scratch as well. We’ll add some warm spices to balance out the sweet and make this custard cozy for the holidays with a slight Indian touch!
Bananas: We’ll add a layer of sliced bananas to bring the banana delight!
Whipped cream: The topping we all love! Topping your pie with whipped cream really completes it, and you’ll just love that extra smoothness combined with the sweetness of the bananas, the aromatic and creamy custard, and our incredible crust!

Slice of banana cream pie with golden crust and thick whipped cream filling on a white plate, whole pie in background.

Why You’ll Adore This Banana Cream Pie Recipe!

All components are made from scratch!
Super creamy and full of banana goodness!
Easy to follow process from start to finish.
An Indian-flavoured custard making this a unique fusion cream pie.
Freezer-friendly making this an amazing make-ahead dessert!
Enjoy it cold or at room temperature!

Questions You May Have!

Why Is My Custard Not Smooth?▼

When the custard mixture, along with the mixed in egg-cornstarch mixture starts to get heated, you need to ensure to whisk constantly to get a smooth creamy texture. And if you keep up with this technique until the custard has thickened, you are guaranteed to get a smooth custard. However, if you heat it for too long and are not as diligent with whisk properly, cleaning the sides, then you risk curdling the eggs. You can try to save the custard if this happens by running the lumpy custard through a fine mesh sieve.

Banana cream pie with graham cracker crust and whipped cream topping in a glass pie dish, with bananas in a bowl behind it.

How Do I Make Sure that the Pie Sets?▼

Make sure to refrigerate the custard in the pie crust for at least 24 hours. Before serving, you can even place it in the freezer for an hour or so to slightly firm up the custard.

How Do I Prevent the Pie Crust From Getting Soggy?▼

Once the pie crust is done baking, remove crust and then allow it to cool down completely. And once cooled, only then spread the bananas and the cooled down custard. This prevents the condensation from warm ingredients and helps the crust to stay crispy.

Slice of no-bake banana cream pie with whipped cream topping on white plate, pie dish visible in background.

Tools Needed

Ingredients for No-Bake Cream Pie

The full instructions to save for later and all ingredient quantities can be found in the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD by scrolling to the bottom of this post or by pressing the “Jump to Recipe” button. You can also use the recipe card to scale the recipe based on the number of pies you want to make and how many bananas you have on hand so that no inch gets missed!

Ingredients for no-bake banana cream pie arranged on a gray surface, including flour, bananas, butter, eggs, cream, and baking powder.

For the Pie Crust

Shortening: Shortening has been the magic touch to my pie crust! You’ll want to cut it into cubes.
All purpose flour: The base of the pie crust.
Baking powder: For the pie crust to rise.
Cold water
Salt

For the Cream Pie

Milk: For our custard. I’m using full fat milk so that it is really delicious and creamy.
Heavy cream: To add that extra richness to the custard.
Vanilla bean pod: Split and its seeds scraped.
Cinnamon stick: This will add a little bit of wintery goodness to the custard.
Cardamom pods: Lightly crushed.
Saffron strands: These add a little bit of a yellow tinge and an incredible aroma to the custard.
Sugar: Key sweetener for the custard!
Cornstarch: Mixed with egg yolks to thicken the custard.
Egg yolks: Mixed with egg yolks to thicken the custard.
Butter: I recommend unsalted butter so that you have more control over the seasoning of the custard.
Salt: Add to taste.
Bananas: Ripe bananas that are sliced. Make sure that they are not overripe or else they will be mushy.
Whipped cream: To give the pies their final garnish.

How to Make the Creamiest No Bake Banana Cream Pie Recipe

For the Pie Crust

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder.

Flour, salt, and baking powder combined in a glass bowl with a pastry cutter beginning to mix in shortening.

Measuring salt with a measuring spoon over a wooden bowl containing flour mixture for pie crust.

Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Cubed cold butter being added to a mixing bowl for pie crust dough preparation.

Hand mixing flour, salt, and shortening in a glass bowl until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Gradually add cold water, mixing until dough just comes together.

Hand mixing cold water into pie crust dough in a glass bowl until ingredients combine.

Hand mixing pie crust dough in a glass bowl with a spatula, showing crumbly mixture texture.

Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Pie dough shaped into a disk and wrapped in plastic wrap, ready for refrigeration.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll out dough and fit into a 9-inch pie dish.

Hands kneading yellow pie dough on a floured surface with a red bowl visible.

Rolling out pie dough on a floured surface with a wooden rolling pin.

Hands fitting rolled pie dough into a 9-inch pie dish for banana cream pie crust.

Hand pressing pie dough into a fluted pie dish with a fork visible inside the crust.

Prick the bottom with a fork, line with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights.

Fork pricking holes into unbaked pie crust fitted in a yellow pie dish.

Pie weights being poured onto parchment paper lining a pie crust in a white pie dish.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until edges are golden. Remove weights and parchment and bake for an additional 10 minutes until fully baked. These times may vary based on your oven. Allow the pie crust to cool completely.

For the Custard

In a medium saucepan, heat milk, vanilla bean (pod and seeds), cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and saffron over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes.

Splitting a vanilla bean pod to reveal seeds for infusing into milk for custard.

Straining spiced milk through a fine mesh sieve into a saucepan for banana cream pie custard.

Straining spiced milk through a sieve into a saucepan for custard filling.

Milk heating in a saucepan with vanilla bean pod, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and saffron strands visible.

Milk heating in a saucepan with vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and saffron just beginning to simmer.

Stirring hot milk with spices in a saucepan during custard preparation for banana cream pie.

Strain out the spices, then return the milk to the saucepan.

Straining infused milk through a fine mesh sieve to remove spices.

Infused milk being poured into a saucepan after straining out spices for banana cream pie filling.

Add sugar and salt, and stir until dissolved.

Strained spiced milk being poured into a saucepan with sugar and salt.

Hands straining milk through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl to remove spices.

Milk being poured from a white pitcher into a black saucepan containing a cream-colored liquid mixture.

In a separate bowl, whisk cornstarch and egg yolks until smooth.

Pouring tempered egg yolk mixture into a white bowl during custard preparation.

Bright yellow custard mixture being whisked in a white bowl during preparation of banana cream pie filling.

Slowly pour about ½ cup of the hot milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs.

Tempering egg yolks by slowly pouring hot milk into cornstarch and yolk mixture while whisking.

Tempering egg yolks by slowly pouring hot milk into cornstarch and egg mixture while whisking with a whisk.

Pour the tempered yolks into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and reaches a low boil, about 1-2 minutes.

Pouring hot milk into a saucepan while whisking to temper egg yolks for banana cream pie filling.

Cream custard mixture in saucepan being stirred with whisk over stovetop heat.

Remove from heat and stir in butter until smooth. Let the filling cool slightly, then refrigerate for 2-3 hours until fully set.

Custard filling cooking in a saucepan with a whisk stirring the creamy yellow mixture containing butter pieces.

Whisking vanilla custard in a saucepan over heat until thickened for banana cream pie filling.

For the Cream Pie

Arrange a layer of sliced bananas on the bottom of the cooled crust.

Hands slicing banana rounds on a wooden cutting board for layering in a cream pie.

Hand arranging sliced bananas on the bottom of a pie crust in a glass pie dish.

Pour the chilled filling over the bananas, smoothing the top.

Banana cream pie with golden crust filled with creamy custard filling in a glass pie dish.

Smoothing creamy banana cream pie filling in a golden pie crust with a spoon.

Add another layer of sliced bananas, followed by a layer of whipped cream on top for garnish.

Hands arranging sliced banana rounds over creamy custard filling in a graham cracker crust pie.

No-bake banana cream pie with sliced bananas arranged over custard filling in a pie crust, ready for refrigeration.

Whipped cream being spread over banana cream pie filling in a graham cracker crust.

Refrigerate the assembled pie for another hour to allow it to firm up further before serving.

No-bake banana cream pie with golden graham cracker crust topped with white whipped cream piping.

Serve and enjoy!

No-bake banana cream pie with golden crust and creamy white filling in a glass pie dish.

A slice of no-bake banana cream pie with graham cracker crust and thick cream filling being lifted onto a white plate.

Tips for a Pie to Remember!

Crumbling the flour with shortening is an essential step in making a pie crust that is light, flaky and crusty. The crumbling process helps to separate the dough into several layers which helps in achieving a flaky texture. It also breaks down the gluten into smaller strands and prevents the flour from absorbing too much water - this helps to stop the development of too much gluten and prevent a crust that is stretchy and elastic.
Don’t scorch the milk, make sure to keep a close eye on the temperature and keep stirring the milk to prevent it from burning and tainting the flavors in the custard.
The same applies when preparing the custard, even heating and constant stirring is needed to avoid scorching or curdling the custard. Be swift as you mix the hot milk mixture with the egg-cornstarch mixture to temper correctly and whisk constantly to prevent curdling.
To get a super smooth texture in the final thickened custard, run it through a fine mesh sieve before cooling down the custard.

Banana cream pie with golden graham cracker crust topped with fluffy whipped cream peaks.

Variations

Pie crust: If you want, you could switch up your pie crust by making an Oreo crust using crushed Oreos or a graham cracker crust. If you’re in a time crunch, you could use a store-bought crust. However, I have used a store-bought crust before and I really encourage making your own - it is so much tastier! As I mention in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!, setting realistic expectations is key to ensure success. If you’re really uncomfortable with making pie and you’re overwhelmed by all the steps we have here and you need to urgently make the pie right before Thanksgiving, then don’t worry about it! Perhaps use a store-made pie crust this time around but prepare your own custard. As you get more comfortable, then you can make your own pie crust!
Custard: If in a pinch, you can prepare Bird’s custard, the custard which I grew up on. Some recipes also use banana jello pudding mix. Again, if you can make the time to prepare your own custard, then I would strongly recommend it!
Whipped cream: I used a can of whipped cream here to save some time. Typically, though, I love to make my own whipped cream! Using a whipped cream dispenser can help give you professional results, so if you want to learn about how to use a whipped cream dispenser for the airiest and fluffiest cream over your pie, then check out my complete guide here. The combination of chocolate and bananas is heavenly, so you could even make Chocolate Whipped Cream!
Garnish: You could do some shaved chocolate using a microplane over the cream, add mini peanut butter cups, chocolate chips or M&Ms. You could also drizzle some Cafe Mocha Sauce or Caramel Sauce on top of the cream!

Can I Make This Pie ahead of time?▼

Yes, you definitely can! That’s why I highly recommend this pie for special occasions because you can prepare this dessert before the rest of your meals that would need to be freshly made for the occasion. Take out a day or two before your event to make this pie and have dessert taken care of!

Storage Instructions

You can keep the pie in the fridge if you will enjoy it within 3 to 4 days. However, the whipped cream will eventually lose its airiness, so you may need to apply a fresh layer. Otherwise if there are leftovers or you want to enjoy the pie later, be sure to store the pie in the freezer. It will stay good for not longer than 1 month, but be sure to prepare the pie for the freezer before freezing. Avoiding adding any fresh fruit prior, and wrap tightly to avoid any excess air that may cause spoilage. Adding a layer of foil paper can also help prevent the chances of freezer burn.

To store the pie, you can either place the pie in the pie dish directly in the fridge and cover with plastic wrap. Alternatively, you can put individual slices of pies in an airtight container.

Slice of no-bake banana cream pie with whipped cream topping on a plate, whole pie in background

If you liked this recipe please let me know in the comments. Tag your post on social media using #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!

Recipe by Anadi Misra