Creamy Vegan Banana Cream Pie (Gluten Free Option)
If you’re a lover of banana and whipped cream, then you have to give this vegan banana cream pie a go. From the homemade flaky vegan pie crust to the deliciously decadent from-scratch cream pudding layered with fresh banana slices, you’d think this is an old-fashioned banana cream pie.
It’s like a delicious dairy free banana cream pudding in pie form. The creamy custard layer is entirely dairy free, eggless, and refined sugar free, yet my entire family (full of vegans and non-vegans alike) LOVES this pie. So I have no doubt that yours will too.
Want something even easier than pie? Try my salted caramel vegan banana pudding recipe!
Plus the crust is so flaky and perfect, you’ll never buy store bought again (although if you’re in a pinch, you can definitely find a good vegan pie crust in the refrigerated section!).
Many people think that banana cream pie is one of the harder pies to make, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, with these step-by-step instructions, you’ll be a pro at making vegan banana cream pie in no time.
Vegan Banana Cream Pie Video
How to make the best vegan banana cream pie that everyone will love (overview)
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
To make a vegan banana cream pie, we can essentially break it down into three major parts: the pie crust, the banana cream filling, and the assembly.
All of the measurements of ingredients and fully written out instructions are found down below at the bottom of this post in the recipe card. However, I wanted to go over the basics here. We’ll add in a few key notes about the recipe (and not overwhelm the recipe card with too much info!).
If you want to skip making the pie crust, that’s not a problem. There are many good vegan pie crusts on the market. You could also swap in a vegan graham cracker crust, like the one I developed for Forager Project! Or you can also try my vegan oat flour crust. However, if you want to try your hand at making pie crust, then definitely read on!
The pie crust is very simple. It consists of just flour (gluten free flour as needed), arrowroot starch, baking soda, vegan butter, maple syrup, and water. I use salted vegan butter, which eliminates the need for adding in the salt. You can make this vegan banana cream pie entirely nut free as well simply by using a nut-free vegan butter, such as Flora Plant Butter.
For the crust, you can make the dough by hand or use a food processor (which I find easiest). The key is keeping your wet ingredients cold (i.e. the vegan butter, maple syrup, and water). Room temperature will yield a really sticky dough that will still work but will be harder to handle at first and take longer to chill. I recommend pouring a glass of water. Then place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or putting ice in the water.
For more vegan pie crust tips and tricks, see my entire vegan pie crust post!
The only note here is that instead of par-baking the crust, like we would for apple pie or pumpkin pie, we’re fully baking the pie crust here. This should be about 18-20 minutes at 425F. You want the crust to be lightly golden.
Now let’s assemble this vegan banana cream pie:
- While the crust is baking, prepare the coconut cream custard filling.
This is another area that people often find tricky, but it really isn’t. The trick that I’ve learned to create a really smooth and delicious custard is removing part of the boiling coconut cream mixture (about 1/3 cup) and mixing it separately with the arrowroot or cornstarch. Then once it’s mixed, I add it back to the sauce pan. This helps to prevent any clumping of the custard.
- Keep whisking on medium-low heat.
The custard will begin to thicken to this texture.
- Now, stir in the vegan butter and vanilla extract.
This helps make a super silky smooth custard filling.
- Then assemble the banana cream pie!
Once the custard has cooled slightly, and the pie crust is cooled, we’ll assemble the pie. People have a few different takes on this. The banana cream pie that my grandma always made usually had filling first, then banana, then more filling, then more banana. Some people do all banana on the bottom then filling, others do the reverse…it’s really whichever you prefer! Once you’ve assembled the pie, you’ll chill it in the fridge for 2-3 hours. This allows the custard to fully set and not be a runny mess!
- Once chilled and set:
we can decorate the banana cream pie! A classic old-fashioned banana cream pie usually has whipped cream. We’ll use my coconut whipped cream recipe, and top with more bananas. You can also top with dairy free chocolate shavings and/or even toasted coconut (really a lovely flavor combo!). Serve and enjoy!
Why is my banana cream pie runny?
If you find that your cream filling is not thickening to the consistency of a pudding, it might be that your arrowroot starch or cornstarch is no good. Make sure that you’re using arrowroot or cornstarch that is still active and has been properly stored. With pantry ingredients especially, it’s easy to go a few months without testing them and not realize that they’ve gone bad.
Another reason might be that you used coconut milk instead of cream. Coconut cream is much thicker and will yield a much creamier pudding. This is similar to heavy cream in old fashioned banana cream pie.
How do I keep my bananas from turning brown?
If you’re worried that the bananas might brown on top while setting, you can lightly toss the banana slices in 1 tsp lemon juice before assembling. The acidity will prevent the reaction from taking place. Then your bananas won’t brown (although they’re still fine to eat if they do!).
How to store leftover banana cream pie:
If there are any leftovers of your vegan banana cream pie (honestly, there might not be!), then you can easily store the pie. I slice the pie, then store the slices in an airtight container or baggies in the refrigerator or freezer.
Refrigeration: the banana cream pie should last about 2-3 days.
Freezer: the banana cream pie will last about 3 months.
You’re just going to love this creamy and decadent vegan banana cream pie as much as I do! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment down below as well as a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so that others may find the recipe.
As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!
Happy banana cream pie eating!
More vegan pie recipes you’ll love:
Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie (No Tofu nor nuts!)
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
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Creamy Vegan Banana Cream Pie (Gluten Free option)
- Prep Time: 40
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 60 + 6 hours chill time
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This incredibly creamy and decadent vegan banana cream pie is just as amazing as the classic, with sweet notes of coconut and the ultimate creamy custard filling. The perfect dairy free, gluten free, and eggless pie that everyone will love!
Ingredients
Banana Cream Pie Filling:
- 400 mL coconut cream (1 13.5 ounce can), room temperature
- 2/3 cup (150 mL) unsweetened dairy free milk
- 1/4 cup (35 grams) arrowroot starch or cornstarch
- 1/2 cup (160 grams) maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp turmeric, optional (for color)
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 serving vegan coconut whipped cream
- 4 large bananas
- 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all purpose flour or GF 1:1 baking flour
- 1/4 cup (36 grams) arrowroot starch or cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) cold salted vegan butter, cubed
- 1 tbsp (20 grams) maple syrup or agave, cold
- 4–6 tbsp chilled water
Instructions
- Prepare the pie crus first. In a large food processor, pulse together the flour, arrowroot starch, and baking soda. Add in the cubed cold vegan butter, and pulse until it’s a crumbly sand mixture. Then remove the lid of the food processor, and add in the maple syrup. Cover again and run the food processor on medium speed. As the pie dough is forming, add in 1 tbsp of chilled water at a time until the mixture forms a thick dough ball. Form the dough into a round flat disk and place the disk onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Wrap the dough and place into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 425F, and lightly grease a 9″ pie dish with cooking oil.
- Once your dough is chilled, lightly flour a large piece of clean parchment paper, and place the dough disk into the middle. Lightly flour the dough and a rolling pin. Roll the dough out to be about 11″ in diameter and between 1/8-1/4″ thick. Carefully flip the pie dough in the pie dish, and gently lift and work the pie dough so that it rests on the pie dish and doesn’t pull down. This will prevent your crust from sinking (stretching the dough makes it more likely that the dough will sink). Shape the edges of the pie crust as you’d like and place the pie dish into the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
- Bake the pie crust. Poke a few holes on the bottom of your crust, or use pie weights, and place the crust into the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly golden. We want the crust fully baked here, as the remainder of the pie will not be baked.
- While the pie crust is baking, prepare the cream filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dairy free unsweetened milk and the arrowroot until there are no more clumps. Set aside. Then in a medium saucepan, heat the coconut cream, maple syrup, and vanilla extract (and turmeric if desired). Bring the pan to a light boil on the stove top at medium-high heat. Pour in the dairy free mixture as you continue to whisk. Continue to whisk gently until the mixture thickens, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the vegan butter immediately. Whisk until it’s completely melted into the custard. Allow the coconut cream pudding to cool.
- Remove the pie crust from the oven. Allow the pie crust to cool for 10 minutes. Then assemble the banana cream pie.
- Assemble the vegan banana cream pie: pour half of the coconut cream mixture into the pie crust. Top with 2 bananas, then pour the remaining mixture on top. Top with the remaining banana slices. Cover the pie dish and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours to set. You want the pudding to be nearly, if not fully, set.
- Once the banana cream pie has set, you can top with coconut whipped cream, more banana, and even some toasted coconut flakes or chocolate shavings if desired!
Notes
Gluten free: to make this pie crust gluten free, use a gluten free 1:1 baking flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill. You can also use my vegan gluten free oat flour pie crust.
This looks delicious! I am not a big fan of coconut thought Are there any substitutions for the coconut cream?
Hi Christan! If you try a thick oat milk (such as Forager Project’s oat milk), you’ll get a very similar texture! It won’t set as much as this one, but it will still be lovely!
This was so good!! Everyone loved it and called it the perfect banana cream pie. The only changes I made were using my own pie crust and putting 1/8 tsp salt into the pudding. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Taste delicious even with the improvises made!
Easy recipe!
I’m solely Organic GF DF SF (in lieu of used raw honey & little maple syrup).
I don’t follow recipes very well & unintentionally whipped up my bananas so I folded into coconut crème base! (LoL)
Still it turned out a winner!
Thank you 🙂