Desserts/ Pie

Banana Cream Pie with Nilla Wafer Crust – From Scratch!

Banana Cream Pie ((from scratch)) with a Nilla Wafer crust. This REALLY is an easy pie to make!  No need to buy that artificial, box pudding mix stuff ever again.  I included step-by-step directions, and pictures, to make this as fool proof as possible too. 

Before you make the crust, make sure you take your cream, milk and eggs out of the refrigerator and let those ingredients come to room temperature.  Doing this step first will set you up for success later.  I took my cream, milk and eggs out of the fridge about 2-hours before I started making my pie.

 

After your cream mixture has turned to pudding, you are going to put a piece of plastic wrap DIRECTLY on top of the pudding, to prevent a skin from forming.  Let pudding sit and cool before adding it to the pie crust.

While your pudding is cooling, get your crust from the refrigerator or freezer.  Slice two bananas and add the bananas on top of the crust.  Go ahead and add a little sprinkle of cinnamon on top too….for some extra flavor.

Once your pudding has cooled, you can use a metal strainer to strain the pudding to make sure it is super creamy.  I used my fine metal strainer and the back of a spoon to push the pudding through the strainer and directly on top of the banana in the pie tin.  Not totally necessary to strain the pudding unless you notice chunks in your pudding.

Banana Cream Pie with Nilla Wafer Crust

Print Recipe
Serves: 10-12 Cooking Time: 10-minutes

Ingredients

  • NILLA WAFER CRUST:
  • 1-1/2 cups Nilla Wafer crumbs
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • BANANA CREAM PIE FILLING:
  • 1-3/4 cups whole milk, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 4 egg yolks, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon banana extract (optional for a more banana flavor- or add another 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 4 ripe bananas
  • ground cinnamon

Instructions

1

PREPARE THE CRUST: Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Spray a pie tin with baking spray and set aside.

2

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the Nilla Wafer crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to the melted butter and stir until combined. Dump mixture into the pie tin and use the back of a spoon to firmly press the crumbs to the bottom and sides of the pie tin.

3

Bake in 350-degree oven for 10-minutes. Remove from oven and let crust cool on the counter for several minutes. Once cool, place in refrigerator or freezer to fully cool and set.

4

PREPARE BANANA CREAM FILLING: In a small bowl, add the egg yolks and cornstarch. Beat with a fork until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

5

In a medium sized sauce pot, add the milk, cream, sugar and salt. Heat on medium heat and use a firm whisk to whisk the mixture until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, continue to cook the mixture on medium heat, whisking occasionally, until mixture comes to a gentle simmer. Once the mixture has reached a gentle simmer, use a measuring cup to remove a cup of the hot cream mixture. SLOWLY stream in the one cup of hot cream mixture into the egg yolk-cornstarch mixture, whisking the mixtures together.

6

After the two are thoroughly mixed, slowly stream the tempered egg yolk-cream mixture back into the hot cream mixture on the stove and continue cooking the mixture.

7

Continuously whisk the mixture on the stove until the mixture is thick and big bubbles begin bursting at the surface.

8

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract, banana extract and butter. Whisk until the butter has melted and ingredients are combined. Immediately place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the warm pudding, to prevent a skin from forming. Set aside to cool for 20-30 minutes.

9

PREPARE PIE: Remove the pie crust from the freezer or refrigerator. Slice two bananas into 1/4-inch thick rounds and place the banana pieces on top of the pie crust, covering the pie crust evenly. Sprinkle with a touch of cinnamon.

10

Once pudding has cooled, pour pudding directly on top of the bananas, spreading the pudding evenly in the pie shell. Option to use a fine metal strainer to pour the pudding into first. Hold the strainer over the pie and use a spoon to push the pudding through the strainer and onto the pie crust.

11

Immediately place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pie to prevent a skin from forming. Place pie in the refrigerator to set.

12

Once ready to serve, slice the remaining two bananas and spread banana slices evenly across the top of the pie.

Notes

Pie is best eaten within 2-3 days. Store loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Add your bananas right before serving.  I used a small heart cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes for the border of the pie.  Fancy.

Yum.  Banana-rama.

XOXO,

Kelly

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7 Comments

  • Reply
    heather (delicious not gorgeous)
    February 27, 2017 at 10:05 AM

    normally banana cream pie is a bit too creamy, without enough crunch or interesting texture, for me. but the nilla wafer crust sounds so crunchy and crispy and perfect! and homemade banana pudding sounds so impressive (:

    • Reply
      Kelly
      February 27, 2017 at 12:34 PM

      Thank you Heather! It really is easier to make than people think!! As long as you follow the steps 🙂 I’m not much of a cream pie person (I am with ya on the texture part of it), but the crunchy crust gives it a nice contrast!! XOXO 🙂

  • Reply
    Donella
    February 27, 2017 at 10:11 AM

    This looks incredible… like a pie that my grandma used to make. I know the hubs will love this one!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      February 27, 2017 at 12:32 PM

      Hi Donella! Thank you!! My husband is a HUGE banana cream pie lover too. He keeps asking me to make this for him, since I made this to give to a friend of mine and he didn’t get to try any hehehehe. XOXO 🙂

  • Reply
    Laura Dembowski (@piesandplots)
    February 27, 2017 at 12:50 PM

    Homemade pudding is the best and it really is easy to make. Even better when it’s in a pie 🙂

    • Reply
      Kelly
      February 27, 2017 at 1:26 PM

      I totally agree Laura! And being that your blog is Pies and Plots, I am considering you an expert on that! XOXO 🙂

  • Reply
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