Paleo Banana Cream Pie
Easy and healthy Paleo Banana Cream Pie that tastes just like the classic! Completely dairy free, gluten free, nut free, and with a vegan option. Topped with a coconut whipped cream!
Originally published May 30, 2019, updated August 14, 2019.
Banana cream pie has got to be my all-time favorite dessert ever since I was a little kid. Okay, okay, so ice cream was really close in that race, but seriously, banana cream pie was always a go to for birthdays or summer desserts!
So naturally, I realized I didn’t have a banana cream pie at all on my blog, and I just had to make my own version!
Let me tell you, this is the ultimate banana cream pie recipe. Literally, my mom, brother, boyfriend and his family freaked when I brought this over.
It’s insane. Remember those strawberry shortcakes I told you about, how not one of my little brother’s friends realized they were Paleo?
This is the same deal, but better. My little brother said this was better than Hillstone’s banana cream pie, so that’s really saying something.
The best part? You’d never know that this pie is gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, Paleo, and nut free.
And ya know, banana cream pie, and more specifically Paleo banana cream pie, really isn’t hard to make, it just takes a little time and patience because you’re absolutely going to be tempted to eat while you make it ha!
Healthy Banana Cream Pie Ingredients
It’s crazy how something that’s completely dairy free and grain free can resemble the real deal. It’s all in the ingredients, man! For this healthier banana cream pie, you’ll need just a few ingredients:
- Cassava Flour Pie Crust: this is my favorite pie crust that I’ve made. I detail all of the ingredients and instructions in my Paleo cherry pie recipe, but for ingredients, you’ll need cassava flour, cold water, ghee/butter, egg, maple syrup, and a little baking soda! Cassava flour is actually one of my favorite Paleo flours to use because you could swap in almond flour if you’d like or if you’re not interested in keeping this pie gluten free, you can absolutely use regular all-purpose flour at a 1:1 ratio!
- Coconut cream + milk: yes, both coconut milk and coconut cream!
- Arrowroot powder: arrowroot replaces cornstarch in more traditional pudding recipes, and it’s just perfect for making a Paleo vanilla pudding nice and thick!
- Maple syrup: I honestly prefer the taste of maple syrup, and I feel like it helps to maintain a more creamy color of pudding rather than tan, that would be yielded with using coconut sugar.
- Bananas: well, you can’t have banana cream pie without bananas!
- Vanilla
- If not doing the vegan version: egg yolks
Tips & tricks for making Paleo Banana Cream Pie
Making the ultimate banana cream pie recipe sounds quite intimidating, but only to the taste testers who didn’t make this 😉 It’s truly quite easy, and I’m going to walk you through how!
Let’s start with the Paleo vanilla pudding (vegan option listed in the directions), then the coconut whipped cream, and finally, we’ll put it all together.
How to make Paleo vanilla pudding
Now, I know that a vanilla pudding, let alone a Paleo vanilla pudding, seems very intimidating, but it’s actually quite the opposite once you start! And quite frankly, it’s way more delicious and sweet when you make it yourself rather than buying a vanilla pudding mix.
And if my 20 year old little brother can attest to that, you know it’s good!
SO let’s get to it. Making the vanilla pudding.
Start by beating the egg yolks and maple syrup together for about 5 minutes in a large bowl, yielding a very fluffy mixture. Add in arrowroot powder and vanilla extract, beat again on high, and then set aside for a few minutes while you heat the coconut milk and cream together.
In a medium-large saucepan, bring the coconut milk and cream to a warm temperature together, just before it begins to boil (keep watch on the pot…I know they say not to, but trust me, you don’t want too hot coconut milk!).
Next, you’re going to temper the coconut milk into the egg mixture slowly and carefully. Basically, you’ll pour a little warmed coconut milk into the eggs at a time, all while simultaneously beating the eggs together on medium speed. Wait a few seconds before adding some more coconut milk. Then continue tempering the eggs until all of the coconut milk is in there.
Now that the eggs have been tempered, pour the egg and coconut milk mixture back into the original saucepan and turn the heat on medium. Continually stir the coconut milk while on the heat for about 7-10 minutes. You can stir slowly so that you don’t wear out your hand!
Once it’s fully cooked, it should start to really thicken but not quite be the full texture that you think of for a vanilla pudding. Remove from the stove, cover, and place into the fridge for about 4 hours. Then we’ll put it all together!
How to make Paleo vegan coconut whipped cream
The coconut whipped cream is probably the easiest part of the whole pie!
Scoop out your coconut fat from a can of coconut milk and place the coconut fat into a large bowl, saving the water in case you need a little for texture.
Beat the coconut fat with a hand mixer until it begins to whip. Add in the maple syrup, vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of coconut water at a time if you need it, until it forms a fluffy whipped cream.
Now we’re ready to assemble our healthy banana cream pie!
Assembling the pie
Start by taking your already baked and cooled pie crust and layer the bottom with banana coins.
Next, spoon the Paleo vanilla pudding on top of the banana coins until it’s fully covered. Now take your coconut whipped cream, and you can either plop it on top or if you want to get fancy, pipe it onto the vanilla pudding.
Layer with any extra banana coins, and voilà! You have a beautiful and healthy Paleo banana cream pie that no one will know is any different than the classic version!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!
Banana cream pie is seriously one of my absolute favorite desserts, so I hope you get to try it out. If you do, let me know what you think in the comments below, and of course, I’d absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest!
Happy baking, pudding-making, and whipping!
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
Paleo Banana Cream Pie
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 7 hours
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: freezing
Description
Easy and healthy Paleo Banana Cream Pie that tastes just like the classic! Completely dairy free, gluten free, nut free, and with a vegan option. Topped with a coconut whipped cream!
Ingredients
Cassava Flour Pie Crust:
- 1 cup cassava flour
- 1/3 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3 bananas, sliced
Coconut Vanilla Pudding: (see note for vegan option)
- 1 12-ounce can coconut cream
- 1 12-ounce can coconut milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Coconut Whipped Cream:
- 1 12-ounce can coconut cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Instructions
To prepare the the pie crust:
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Follow instructions for preparing the crust of my Paleo cherry pie.
- Once the crust is placed into the pie dish, do not fill with the banana slices. Instead, place the pie crust into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is lightly golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let chill while preparing the vanilla pudding and coconut cream. Save the banana slices for assembly.
To prepare the coconut vanilla pudding:
- Beat egg yolks and maple syrup together for 5 minutes on high in a large bowl. The mixture should be slightly fluffy.
- Add in arrowroot powder and vanilla extract. Whip again and then set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, heat the coconut cream and coconut milk until it is warm, just before it bubbles. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Remove from heat and begin to temper the egg mixture with the coconut milk by pouring a little coconut milk into the egg mixture bowl, beating the eggs on low-medium speed. Slowly continue this process, adding a little bit more at a time so as not to cook the eggs.
- Once your coconut milk has been completely added to the egg mixture, pour the pudding mixture back into the saucepan and turn the heat on medium.
- Continually stir the pudding in the saucepan while it’s cooking, about 7-10 minutes. It should thicken to pudding texture.
- Remove from the stove and cover. Place in the fridge to refrigerate for 4 hours.
To prepare the coconut whipped cream:
- Prepare the coconut whipped cream right before assembling the banana cream pie.
- Your can of coconut cream should have been refrigerated overnight. Scoop out the coconut fat that has now separated from the water, and place the fat into a large bowl. Save the water in case you need it for texture.
- Begin to beat the coconut fat on high speed with a hand mixer until it becomes whipped.
- Add in maple syrup and vanilla extract, then beat again. You can add in 1 tbsp of coconut water at a time to make the consistency smoother.
- Next, begin to assemble your banana cream pie!
To assemble the banana cream pie:
- Add sliced bananas from just 2 bananas into the bottom of the cooled crust.
- Pour coconut vanilla pudding over the bananas.
- Spoon coconut whipped cream over the coconut vanilla pudding.
- Add sliced bananas from 1 banana to top and serve!
Notes
Vegan option for coconut vanilla pudding: follow along with the key lime pie filling ingredients and instructions, without the lime
It was amazing…. I had to freeze my pie so it kind of set. I followed the instructions to a T. I’m not sure what happened. I also added a layer of chocolate ganache made with left over coconut water from the coconut cream to make the whipped cream. So tasty. Totally recommend.
Aw I’m so happy to hear it!! That can occasionally happen if the arrowroot powder isn’t full activated. But I love the idea of the chocolate ganache! Thank you so much for sharing!
I made this last year for Thanksgiving and making again for this year. It’s so fresh and the perfect amount of sweetness without being too sweet. I also made extra pudding as a treat for the kiddos.
Thank you for the great recipe! The crust was best flavor I’ve had. A couple of tricky parts…I used coconut oil for the crust. After I took it out of the fridge it broke apart. I added some coconut oil to my hands and a little more water. Next time I’d (personally) skip the refrigerator part. Maybe it’s different with butter? The pudding was a little on the thin side. Next time I’d add a little cornstarch. Appreciate your time with this and posting it!