I’ve made banana pudding in every possible way but this banana pudding pie is something special. I switch it up by caramelizing the bananas then I layer in homemade banana pudding on top of a wafer crust and top with torched meringue. It feels elevated but still old school enough to serve at the cookout. Get at it.
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Video Tutorial
How to Make Banana Pudding Pie
Step 1: Set aside 30 vanilla wafers; pulse remaining vanilla wafers in a food processor 8 to 10 times or until coarsely crushed. Stir together crushed vanilla wafers and 1/2 cup melted butter until blended. Firmly press on bottom, up sides, and onto lip of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool 30 minutes or until completely cool.
Step 2: Cook brown sugar, cinnamon and 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbly. Add banana slices; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat. Arrange caramelized banana slices evenly over bottom of crust.
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Step 3: Prepare Vanilla Cream Filling. Whisk together 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of flour, 2 large eggs, 4 egg yolks, and 2 cups of milk in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 8 to 10 minutes or until it reaches the thickness of chilled pudding. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will be thick enough to hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted.) Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Use immediately. Spread hot filling over bananas in pie plate.
Step 4: Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add remaining sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves. Spread meringue evenly over hot filling, sealing the edges. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and let cool 1 hour on a wire rack or until completely cool. Chill 4 hours.
Banana Pudding Pie Recipe
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 30 vanilla wafers
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
For the Caramelized Bananas (Optional)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 large bananas sliced
For the Vanilla Cream
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
For the Pie Crust
- Pulse vanilla wafers in a food processor 8 to 10 times or until coarsely crushed. (Yield should be about 2 1/2 cups.) Stir together crushed vanilla wafers and melted butter until combined. Firmly press on bottom, up sides, and onto lip of a 9-inch pie plate.
- Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.
For the Bananas (Optional)
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbly.
- Add the banana slices and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring gently until warmed and coated. Remove from heat then arrange caramelized banana slices evenly over bottom of crust.
For the Vanilla Cream
- In a heavy saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, eggs, egg yolks, and milk. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 8 to 10 minutes or until it reaches the thickness and consistency of chilled pudding. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will be thick enough to hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted.) Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Use immediately while hot so the meringue will adhere properly.
- Spread hot filling over bananas in pie plate or directly into the crust if you aren't using bananas. (Filling will be about 1/4 inch higher than top edge of crust so that's normal)
For the Meringue
- Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add remaining sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves. Spread meringue evenly over hot filling, sealing the edges.
- Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and let cool 1 hour on a wire rack or until completely cool. Chill 4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Crust Trick: To get your crust super even, use a measuring cup to press down and around your wafers in the plate.
- Go ripe but firm: You want that sweetness but not the bananas need to not be so soft that they turn into absolute nothingness.
- Make without Bananas: If you are one of my boos that loves banana pudding without the bananas, just leave them out.
- Whip Room Temp: Room temp egg whites will whip up much higher than cold egg whites.
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I’m a little bit confused about step 5. It makes it sound like you are making whipped cream or meringue when you mention lifting the whiskey and having soft peaks; is that correct? Will there be soft peaks? I’m looking forward to trying out your recipes.
I’m not sure about the question regarding whiskey? Can you clarify.
Meringue is similar to making whipped cream. Get eggs room temp and beat on high, adding 1/4 tsp Cream of tartar at the start helps too. Then add sugar a little at a time it should get very thick just like whip cream, and when you lift the beater, it should be soft peaks. You will then bake it to make the meringue firmer and to Cook it
This looks wonderful and I have a question. It looks like there are wafers between the pudding and the meringue. Is that correct?
We retested this recipe recently and removed the extra nilla wafers in the center of the pie so there would be more focus on the creamy filling. You can of course change this if you would like but you would need additional nilla wafers for this.
I need help! I’m trying to make this beautiful pie TODAY as a surprise for my son. BUT…I am having some sort of issue logging in and am unable to view the video. In the printed recipe it says,” Set aside 30 vanilla wafers; pulse remaining vanilla wafers in food processor 8 to 10 times or until coarsely crushed.”
It never says in the rest of the recipe what to do with the 1st 30 wafers!
Can anyone shed any light on this???
PLEASE help! Thank you!!!
“Wafered in Wilmington!”
Hi Cris, please take a look at the recipe again. I cleaned up anything that may have been confusing. I hope this helps.
Simply incredible! I’m not even a fan of all things banana, but this sounded so good I had to try it. Made it last Thanksgiving and it’s just out of this world!
Fantastic recipe. I added a splash of cream and vanilla to the caramel but otherwise followed the recipe. Had it for Fathers Day dinner and got rave reviews. Love this better than plain banana pudding, love the crust and the caramel. WIl make this again and again.
Yay! So happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it!
The nutritional value you post is that the entire pie in this case