New York Banana Cream Pie (+Video)
This Banana Cream Pie recipe starts has a homemade Nilla wafer crust, creamy pudding filling, sliced bananas and a delicious whipped topping. Perfection!
NEW YORK BANANA CREAM PIE
It was at Pies-n-Thighs restaurant during a trip to New York that we had this delicious little dessert. They called their pie, Banana Cream Pie, but it’s not what we, in the south, think of as a traditional Banana Cream Pie that is thick and fluffy with a huge meringue topping. No, this was a little more dense and had a small dollop of whipped cream on each slice – kinda similar to my Southern Banana Pudding Pie (but faster to make.) It was absolutely heavenly.
CAN I USE HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM?
Of course! Anytime you see whipped topping in a recipe, you can substitute with homemade whipped cream. Just keep in mind that homemade whipped cream doesn’t stay stable as long as Cool Whip whipped topping. It starts to break down and turn a bit liquid-y so you wouldn’t want to make this too far in advance if you are using fresh whipped cream.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- Nilla wafer crumbs
- sugar
- unsalted butter
- cream cheese
- sugar
- whipped topping (COOL WHIP)
- bananas
- cold milk
- instant banana cream pudding mix
HOW TO MAKE NEW YORK BANANA CREAM PIE:
Spray a 9-inch pie dish (or round baking pan) with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350f degrees. In a small bowl, combine vanilla wafer crumbs and sugar.
Then stir in melted butter
Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of prepared baking dish. Note: Sometimes it helps me to use a flat-bottomed glass to press it into the pie dish. There will be some slight shrinkage as this bakes. Bake at 350° for about 8 minutes and let cool completely.
In a small bowl, whisk together cold milk and pudding mix until combined. Let stand for 2 minutes to thicken slightly.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth (scrape down sides of bowl if using a stand mixer).
Stir in half of the whipped topping (COOL WHIP)…
..and then stir in the thickened prepared pudding
Arrange the banana slices onto the cooled crust
Top with banana cream filling.
Finally, spread the rest of the whipped topping evenly on top and spread smooth.
Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until set
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Originally published: May 2017
Updated & republished: May 2019
New York Banana Cream Pie (+Video)
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ¾ cups Nilla wafer crumbs, measured after crushing
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
For the filling:
- 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 8 ounce tub frozen whipped topping (COOL WHIP), thawed
- 2-3 ripe bananas, sliced
- 1 ¾ cups cold milk
- 3.4 ounce package instant banana cream pudding mix
Instructions
- Spray a 9-inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350f degrees.
- In a small bowl, combine vanilla wafer crumbs and sugar; then stir in melted butter. Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of prepared baking dish. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes and let cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk cold milk and pudding mix until combined. Let stand for 2 minutes until slightly thickened.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer until smooth. Fold in HALF of the whipped topping (COOL WHIP) and the prepared pudding.
- Arrange the banana slices into the bottom of the cooled crust. Top with the banana cream filling.
- Spread the rest of the whipped topping on top.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until set.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I made this last night and took out to my dads today. It was WONDERFUL!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️ I’ve got one piece left…
This pie is amazing. I have been making it for YEARS since you first posted it! It’s my most requested dessert. I made 2 to 4 every holiday and people request them for their birthdays as well. I’m making 2 right now, one for home and one to share at work!
Pie is good. Would also be good with store bought Graham crust.
Can u use almond milk
Hi Maile, I am not really familiar with baking with almond milk. I am sorry. If you do try it, I’d love to know how it turns out for you!
I just made this right now with my boyfriend and it looks like its going to be amazing, it is chilling in the fridge now. Thank you for the recipe!!
This was fabulous!!! i just had my first piece and I can’t tell you how happy I am that is actually turned out. Thank you!
this pie was fabulous. it wasn’t too heavy and very easy to make. I recommend this over any other cream pie,coconut included!
The recipe was great; however, the crust was hard. I did not cook the crust for the full 8 minutes. Why would the crust harden. How to prevent it?
oops, I meant cut down or eliminate the sugar in the “crust”. I left out the word crust 🙂
I made this last night and having the first piece today. I find it a bit too sweet. I would cut down the sugar or eliminate it altogether. Most crust recipes made with graham crackers call for 1 or 2 Tablespoons of sugar which I think would be enough for this as well. I also only used 1/4 cup sugar in the cream mixture and was still very sweet.
I also forgot to spray the pie plate with pan spray and it was very difficult to get out, my fault! Make sure you dont miss that step! Lol
Other than that this is a very good, quick and easy dessert to make. Thank you so much!
I hope you answer soon as I’m currently making this. I put my crust in for 8 minutes and when I pulled it out it was still soft so I put it in for another 8. Mistake?
Tara, it will seem soft when it first comes out of the oven but as it cools it sets up firm.
I made this and won 1st place at a work pie contest. I also made home made whipped cream and used the sprite tip for the bananas I used to decorate (very cool tip!) One caution would be to use really good blenders to make the filling and topping. I made it a second time without my cuisinart and vitamix and the taste was great, but the consistency wasn’t as good.
This was a HUGE hit at our family’s Annual Pie Night {Thanksgiving Eve}. Rave reviews!! I simplified just a bit by using a pre-made graham cracker crust. {I brushed this crust with melted butter and baked at 350 degrees for 6 minutes, then allowed to cool completely.}
Please help. My pie does not set like in the photo. Let me know what I am doing wrong. It tastes wonderful.
Hi Tanya – it’s really hard to say since I’m not there with you as you made it. It definitely needs time to cool all the way. Also, did you make sure to use the instant banana pudding? I know sometimes folks pick up the cook and serve by accident and that will never set up because it’s meant to be cooked first. :/
Made this tonight and it turned out AWESOME!!! The only thing I changed in the recipe is, I made my own homemade whipped cream, because I’m not a fan of cool whip and I thought it turned out really yummy..
I also saved a little time and made the crust with the filling, the night before and the next day I made more, of the homemade, whipped cream, for the topping. Then I took crumbs of the nilla wafer cookies, and crumbled them on top and then decorated, around the pie, By alternating a couple of banana slices and then one wafer cookie .
My family LOVED this pie and I will definitely be making this again!! Oh and FYI: THANK you Cissy Sims, for your tip about dipping the banana slices in sprite, I did it and not only did it totally work-out well, it did not alter the taste at all to me !!! I am also one of those who do not like putting lemon juice on my banana slices, so the sprite tip was great!!
Wow, that Banana cream pie looks amazing in those pictures!!!! Thank you for sharing this great recipe with us. Definitely going to be my next summer dessert!!!
Do you do anything special to the bananas to keep them from turning brown? I have tried banana cream pies only to have the bananas turn dark brown.
Hi Pam, no I don’t do anything. There are tricks you can do like adding powdered vitamin C or other some sort of acid (like lemon juice) but I don’t like how it changes the flavor of the bananas. The bananas hold up pretty well in this because the pudding seals out some of the air and keeps them from turning brown too quick. 🙂
Dip in sprite
Can you freeze the pie after you make it? For how long approximately. Looks good.
Hi Britton! I haven’t tried to freeze this yet but I don’t see why you couldn’t as long as you protect it well from freezer burn. I doubt it would be much good past a month in the freezer. 🙂
Sounds almost like my banana pudding recipe but just in pie form. Lol.
So question … what did the “thighs” in the title of the restaurant stand for? Just curious.. I’ve only been through NYC in between airports and am just dying to go and eat eat eat. Ha.
Gina – they do fried chicken there! I gotta admit – it was some pretty doggone good chicken! 🙂
Can I put bananas on top of the pudding