Vegan Banana Cream Pie
This vegan banana cream pie recipe features a golden cookie crust, tasty vegan vanilla pudding, fresh-sliced bananas, and coconut cream whipped topping. It’s layers of deliciousness in every bite. This is a family favorite dessert everyone will love!
This vegan banana cream pie happened because I asked the question on the Namely Marly Facebook Page, “What’s your favorite pie recipe that you’d like to see veganized?”
There were several responses, but the one I really picked up on was Banana Cream Pie. I absolutely love bananas so I was more than happy to take up the challenge.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- A cookie crumb crust adds buttery flavor and texture, making every bite better than the last.
- Using corn starch to make a thick vanilla cream pudding helps absorb any moisture from the bananas, preserving its shape and delicious flavor.
- Adding fresh banana slices between layers of pudding helps add banana flavor and seals the banana into the pudding, preventing them from weeping.
What You Need
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- Oreos — I used golden Oreos to make an Oreo pie crust, but you can use chocolate or lemon, or whichever flavor you prefer.
- Vegan Butter — You can buy Earth Balance or Miyoko’s or make your own homemade vegan butter.
- Sugar — You’ll need granulated sugar.
- Cornstarch
- Salt — Use either table salt or sea salt.
- Evaporated milk — I used vegan evaporated milk because it’s rich and creamy, or you can substitute a vegan creamer such as Silk Oat Creamer or Ripple Half & Half, or canned coconut milk. Any plant-based, creamy milk will work.
- Vegan milk — Here you can use soy, almond, etc.
- Silken tofu — I love using silken tofu to thicken a creamy dessert like this. Here’s more on how to buy tofu products.
- Nutritional yeast flakes — We’ll use nutritional yeast flakes to add color and flavor to the pudding. For more color, you can add a small pinch of ground turmeric.
- Bananas — You’ll need 2 to 4 bananas, depending on their size. I prefer bananas that are yellow with only a few spots. Overly ripe bananas get mushy very quickly.
- Vegan Whipped Cream — My go-to favorite whipped cream is this Coconut Whipped Cream.
Ingredient Spotlight
What Bananas are Best for Banana Cream Pie?
Using ripe bananas brings out the sweet flavor in any recipe, but for a banana cream pie, you’ll want to choose bananas that are just barely ripe. That’s because we want the banana flavor they provide without any mushiness. Besides, overly ripe bananas can weep, causing the pie to get runny. Choose bananas that are mostly yellow with a few brown spots.
How to Make Vegan Banana Cream Pie
These are the 6 steps to make this vegan banana cream pie:
- Make the golden Oreo pie crust.
- Prepare the vegan vanilla pudding.
- Pour some of the pudding into the pie crust.
- Add a layer of sliced bananas.
- Pour the remaining pudding into the pie pan and chill.
- Top with whipped cream and banana slices before serving.
Here are more detailed step-by-step instructions:
Step One: Golden Crumb Crust
This pie starts with a golden sandwich cookie pie crust. I could have used a traditional vegan pie crust, a vegan graham cracker crust, or even an oatmeal pie crust. But I loved the idea of these golden sandwich cookies as the foundation for the pie. It reminds me of vanilla wafers which I always loved combined with bananas.
- Pulse Golden Oreos in a food processor until the cookies are broken up into smaller pieces.
- Add the vegan butter and pulse again.
- Press the crust into a pie pan, pushing firmly against the side. Refrigerate for about an hour to set.
Step Two: Vegan Vanilla Pudding
This vegan vanilla filling comes together quickly. Here are the steps:
- Make vegan vanilla pudding by stirring together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Add the milk and stir until combined.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook until the mixture thickens. Do not worry about lumps.
- Create a creamy base by pulsing silken tofu, vegan butter, and nutritional yeast flakes in a food processor. Pulse for several seconds until it’s smooth.
- Add the pudding mixture and pulse again until all the ingredients are combined and any lumps from the pudding are gone. Set it aside to cool.
Step Three: Pie Assembly
- Remove the pie crust from the fridge and pour about half of the mostly cooled pie filling into the pie crust.
- Add a layer of sliced bananas.
- Pour the remaining pie filling over the sliced bananas.
Step Four: Coconut Whipped Topping
Top the pie with decorative dollops of coconut whipped topping. Here’s how to do that:
- Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag with Wilton 1M star tip.
- Make fluted dollops around the edge of the pie, leaving spaces for banana slices.
- Chill the pie by placing it in the fridge to set for at least an hour, preferably two before serving.
Sliced bananas will turn brown as they sit. I recommend placing banana slices on the pie immediately before serving.
Another favorite vegan cream pie is this Vegan Coconut Cream Pie and this Vegan Chocolate Meringue Pie.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve individual slices with drizzles of any of the following:
Reader Reviews
I made this and it was sooo good! Everybody who tried it loved it, even people who are very skeptical of vegan dishes were impressed by it.
Chiara
My husband made this pie for Thanksgiving and it is the BEST banana cream pie I’ve ever had.
Stephanie M
Marly’s Tips
Use these expert tips and tricks to make this vegan banana cream pie recipe perfect every time:
- If you have banana extract, you can add a tiny bit of that (1/8 teaspoon) to the vanilla pudding for even more banana flavor.
- Use gluten-free cookies in the crust to make this into a gluten-free banana cream pie.
- I used nutritional yeast flakes to add color to the vanilla pudding, however, you can add a drop or two of yellow food coloring or even a pinch of turmeric.
Vegan Pudding
Using cornstarch to create pudding is something I learned from my mom, but now there are so many ways to create puddings. For example, in my Vegan Chocolate Chia Pudding, I used chia seeds.
Here are other thickeners you can use to make vegan pudding:
- Cornstarch — this traditional thickener is easy to find and easy to use.
- Agar Agar — use either flakes or powder to make a lower-carb thick pudding.
- Arrowroot Starch — This is a new favorite of mine, and it’s easy to use.
- Chia Seeds — I use chia seeds to make this banana chia pudding.
- Jello Vanilla Pudding — Interestingly enough, this pudding is dairy-free as well so you can use that with plant-based milk to create a vegan vanilla pudding.
All of these will work effectively to create a nice pudding layer for this vegan banana cream pie.
Storage Tips
Bananas are produce and therefore you’ll want to eat this banana cream pie quickly. This pie will last about 3 to 4 days in the fridge. I would not recommend freezing this pie, since the quality of the banana in the pudding will deteriorate with freezing. However, if you want to eat it as a frozen pie, that would work. Simply cut it into slices and place those slices on a tray. After they’re frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe container or freezer bags.
More Vegan Banana Desserts
If you love this vegan banana cream pie, here’s even more banana recipes you’ll want to try:
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Vegan Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients
Golden Cookie Crust
- 24 golden Oreos (or any vanilla cream cookie)
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter dairy free margarine, sliced
Cream Pie Filling
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup cornstarch (see notes)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups vegan evaporated milk (See note)
- 1 cup plant-based milk soy, almond, coconut, etc, vanilla flavored
- 12 oz container of firm silken tofu drained
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter dairy free margarine
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 to 3 bananas peeled and sliced
- Coconut Whipped Topping
Instructions
For the Golden Crumb Crust
- Place the Golden Oreos in a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds until the cookies are broken up into smaller pieces.
- Add the vegan butter. Pulse again until the cookie crumbs until an even consistency develops, similar to large grains of sand.
- Press the crust into an 8 or 9" pie pan, pushing firmly against the side. It helps if you use a measuring cup to press the crust against the pan. Refrigerate for about an hour to set.
For the Banana Cream Pie Filling
- Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in the bottom of a medium-sized saucepan. Add the milks and stir until combined.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook until the mixture thickens. Do not worry about lumps. We'll take care of that in a minute.
- Place the silken tofu, 2 tablespoons vegan butter, and nutritional yeast flakes in a food processor. Pulse for several seconds until the mixture becomes very smooth. Remove the lid and push some of the contents down to the bottom and then pulse again. Add the pudding mixture to the food processor and pulse again until all the ingredients are combined and any lumps that may have formed while cooking are gone. Set this aside and allow it to cool a little.
- Once the Pie Filling is mostly cooled, remove the pie crust from the fridge and pour about half of the pie filling into the pie crust. Top this with a layer of sliced bananas. Pour the remaining pie filling over the sliced bananas. (Depending on what size of pan you used, you might have a little of the pudding leftover. Lucky You!). Place in the fridge to set for at least an hour, preferably two before serving.
- Follow the instructions in the link to make the Vegan Coconut Cream Whipped Topping.
- Once your Banana Cream Pie is set, remove it from the fridge, cover it with large dollops of the Coconut Cream Whipped Topping and add additional slices of banana on the top as well
Recommended Equipment
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
Is it shallow to say, “I love you” when someone veganizes your favorite pie recipe? (Even if it is, I don’t care.) Thank you so much for this, Marly! I can’t wait to make this for Thanksgiving. One question, though…I can’t get the culinary coconut milk here. Can I sub a can?
You’re my banana cream pie hero. That is all. 🙂
Ahh, you’re so sweet Nichole! So glad you both inspired me on this…and that you love it too!
I think I might just make it this next week. Although I don’t think I can get the culinary coconut milk here. Can I sub a can of full-fat coconut milk?
You can definitely substitute a can of coconut milk, but I highly recommend putting it in the fridge first and separate out the thinner milk. For this recipe you’d want to only use the full fat milk that solidifies in the can after refrigerating for a few hours. Don’t throw out the thinner milk though. That’s good stuff and you can use it in other recipes that call for milk or water. Let me know how it goes!
Oh my, it looks so creamy and delicious. And I bet the coconut milk really add a nice flavor.
Sometimes coconut milk can be overpowering, but it doesn’t seem to do that with this recipe. I think maybe the bananas win that war! 😉
So I have a non vegan banana pie cooling in the fridge as I type. I LOVE your photos and this very happy inducing pie!
Ahh, I hope this is an example of “great minds think alike” because I like being on the same page with you! 🙂
Great job taking a classic nonvegan recipe and making it work! The lighting is terrific which makes your pictures pop!
Thanks Betsy – I always love your kind comments…and your dessert recipes too!
Wooh, I just made this! It’s in the fridge so I haven’t tasted the finished product yet, but I tried everything separately ofcourse and it was wonderful 😀 Since golden oreo’s are not sold here I substituted Lotus Speculoos cookies, and I blended 2 bananas with the cream to make it more banana-y, because I frigging love bananas. I also added some grated dark chocolate in the middle and on top! I’m confident it’s going to be awesome 😀
IT IS AWESOME OMG
Yay! I can’t stay out of this pie either. And we had some non-vegetarian friends over last night which meant I HAD to try it on them. They loved it too. Yippee!
Judith – you just rocked my world with these adaptations! Great ideas. I think we might be soul sisters because I friggin’ love bananas too! OK. You know what I would love? For you to take a picture and send it to me!! #NamelyMarly
This is gorgeous, Marly! I will definitely be giving this a try. Love how inventive it is! And that nutritional yeast – gorgeous color 😀 Bravo!
Thanks, Dana. You made my day! 🙂
Hi all! lol! im trying to change my eating habits and want to make vegan desserts! anybody know of a good vegan site? besides this site! i stopped eating McDonalds and all fast foods! As I said I want to try vegan!
Stopping fast food is a great start, Cheryl! Check out my Recipe Finder for vegan desserts and treats!
wow that looks delicious, I am going to make that for sure, I have never seen golden Oreos over here so I will look for them, they may be on the shelves I am not much of a biscuit eater so I probably haven’t noticed but they look wonderful for the base.
If you can’t find golden Oreos nearby then feel free to substitute vanilla sandwich cookies or even graham crackers. Let me know how it goes!
this looks delicious, but wouldn’t the “oreo’s” be non vegan since their a GMO Food Product?
I will be making this for Thanksgiving. It’s just my husband and me so we will have lots of pie!! I’ll take a picture for you.
I can’t wait to see it Lisa! Happy early Thanksgiving to you!!
It looks so good. However, isn’t there milk product in the oreos? And I’m sorry to say but all the soy in our country is gmo. Sometimes it’s better to with the organic choices. But it looks really good.!
Hi Michelle! There’s no milk products in Oreos in the states but I’ve heard that’s not the case in Europe. Feel free to substitute plain yellow cream cookies or graham crackers. That pie is gonna taste good if were served on a piece of toast! OK. Maybe not really, but almost!
Tofu isn’t always available here in Egypt, what can I use instead?
Sounds super delicious! I have a suggestion though..definitely go with the other vanilla cookie of your choice option for the crust. Because Oreos – really? There is a distinct lack of food ingredients in Oreos. Just because it’s vegan DOES NOT mean healthy. We can have our health and eat the pie too! Can’t wait to make this for the holidays, thank you!
You can use whatever cookies you’d like, but for me I wouldn’t change a thing with this crust! I love how it works with this pie! 🙂
I made this and it was sooo good! Everybody who tried it loved it, even people who are very skeptical of vegan dishes were impressed by it. Taking second pieces or even asking for a piece after trying a little bit. So thank you so much for sharing and I’ll definitely be making this again.
Nom, nom, nom,nom…made it…and it is D-Lish!!! I’ll put a picture on Instagram for you, Marly. Hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!!
My husband made this pie for Thanksgiving and it is the BEST banana cream pie I’ve ever had. It is better than Village Inn’s BCP and that was my favorite before I became vegan. Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve added it to our favorite recipe collection. The only changes we made to the ingredients were So Delicious coconut coffee creamer instead of culinary cream and we used guar gum instead of xanthan gum. The golden Oreo crust was perfect!
I have a question, I made this recipe, and I did exactly as you described, I only put 3 mashed bananas in the pudding recipe extra. Is it possible that the pudding won’t stiffen because of the mashed bananas? It has been in the refrigerator for about 3.5 hours now and it is still too runny to cut in to pieces. Do you have any tips for me maybe on this short notice. Sorry for the bad English I’m from the Netherlands so forgive me.
Greetings Kelly
Hi Kelly. So I’m not sure I understand. You added three mashed bananas to the pudding? If so, I can imagine that would cause the pudding not to set firmly. I love your creativity though and I could see myself doing the same thing. If that were the case and I had done that, I probably would put the pie in the freezer and serve it as a frozen pie. I bet it would be good like that!
Hi, I indeed did, but still te pie was liquid when I served It so instead of a pie we had en bowl of pudding at easter brunch, anyway itwas heavenly delicious! I will keep trying and succeed.. eventually haha
could i use turmeric instead of nooch?? i fear that i would taste the cheesy flavor.
Hi Alima. Sure, you can use turmeric. And you’d only need a little bit because it adds a lot of color. Sometimes I like a bit of the nooch because a lot of traditional recipes call for eggs which have a rich flavor and I think the nooch brings that richness. But either way, that banana cream pie is so good! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
I made this banana cream pie a few months ago and it was delicious. My granddaughter loves chocolate so the next time I alter just a bit and used the chocolate Oreo for the crust and chocolate almond milk and 2 tbsp of cocoa powder for the filling and made a delicious chocolate cream pie with this recipe. We have made both pie several times and always come out delicious. Thank you for the recipe. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
PAM! I LOVE that you did that! Thanks for sharing it with me too…I may be planning another pie extravaganza and chocolate cream sounds so good!
Hi, I accidentally used coconut milk from a can and not just the cream, do you think I need to add more cornstarch or will it still thicken? It looks just a bit runny now, but still voluptuous
Hi Wren, Oh coconut milk. I can be so problematic. Because even from can to can things can be so different! I think you should be fine, between the tofu and the cornstarch for thickeners. I might cookie the coconut milk a little longer to let some of the more liquid part of the can to evaporate. You could also add a little bit of chia seeds (like 1 or 2 tablespoons), if you don’t mind the little black flecks that will be added. Let me know how it goes!
Very excited to try out this recipe! If I can’t find the culinary coconut milk you mentioned, would coconut cream be a better substitute that the creamy part of regular coconut milk? Not sure how many cans I would need to make 1 1/2 cups of just the creamy part. 🙂
Hi Auni! Yes, I believe the cream part from a can of coconut milk would work. Thanks for this, I will add a note to the recipe.
Is Oreo vegan ?
Hi Fayol, Oreos are vegan in the US are considered vegan. Check out this tweet about Oreos by Peta for confirmation. I should clarify, however, that some people get hung up on the sugar used in products. Some refined sugars are processed with bone chard. I am a secular vegan, which means I’m passionate, but not so rigid as to care about sugar. It creates some “holier than thou” litmus test, if you ask me. As if only those who jump thru all these hurdles can you use the title vegan. That’s my two cents (and more) on the topic. Hope it helps!
So delicious!!!!!!!!!!!! I add a layer of melted chocolat on the crust. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I have made this a few times and it was great! but don’t remember it having the Ripple half and half….if I can’t find it what’s a substitute
Hi Candice. So glad you like this recipe! I originally called for So Delicious Culinary Coconut Milk in this recipe but I was finding it more difficult to find it. However, I’ve noticed I can find Ripple in places like Target, Walmart, my local grocery store, Sprouts, and more. If you can still find that culinary coconut milk, that’s great. Or any thick non-dairy creamer like Ripple, etc. There are so many of them on the market these days!
It was so good! We used monkfruit instead of sugar, almond crust instead of cookies, and so Delicious topping instead of making our own. I got a little too much agar- I didn’t measure- and it was a bit too stiff, but I would definitely make it again using arrowroot perhaps! I would also blend the bananas in instead of having chunks in the pie. Thanks for another winner!
What can I use instead of ripple? I live in a small town, we don’t have a target or a lot of vegan options. The nearest target is 45 mins away and they don’t even sell the ripple half and half.
Hi Gretchen. Thanks for your comment. I grew up in a super small town (fewer than 1000 people in rural Missouri) and my sister still lives nearby that town today so I understand small town stores and limited selection. In fact, your comment is very helpful and I will add a note to the recipe to help others with this same question. If you have a can of coconut milk, that should work. If not, you could use 2 cups of plant-based milk and simmer it for awhile until it’s at 1 1/2 cups. That will create a thicker milk, which is what we’re after here. Let me know if this is helpful or if you need additional information. I’m happy to help.
I made this pie today and it was so good! My daughter is vegan and banana pie is her favorite dessert! She loved it too!
Umm. While some obviously prefer to eat an non-GMO diet, GMOs and veganism have nothing to do with each other. And most vegans (like myself) will happily consume something like this as a treat.
In my 33 years, I have never a) made anything outside of a family recipe repeatedly and b) written a review on a recipe that I found online. Honest truth on the latter. If you are browsing banana pie recipes and are on the fence, choose this one. Vegan or not. Don’t be turned off by the tofu. Don’t be turned off by the smell of the tofu and yeast in the blender. Don’t taste the pie before it is set. Trust the whole process and you will find yourself eating an entire pie on your own the next day. I have made this pie for work parties, boyfriend’s work parties, Thanksgiving, and just for my partner and I to indulge in solo. Everyone always asks for “that pie that your girlfriend makes.” We are vegan but no one even asks or knows that it’s vegan (unless they are also plant-based so we can let them know they can have it.) This is literally my favorite dessert and a brilliant recipe. Perfectly sweet, creamy, and genuinely banana in flavor. My only advice is to not make it before an event and hope that the 1-2 hours will be enough time for it to set. I always leave it overnight and am dissatisfied if I take a bite too soon. 12 out of 5 stars.
Oh, also, for those who are inquiring about the evap milk or cream, I usually make this with 1 cup of Chobani Oat Milk and 1.5 cups of an unsweetened vegan coffee creamer (it’s like coconut milk and MCT oil, mostly) BUT twice, in a pinch, I have used Chobani’s “Extra Creamy” Oat milk for the whole 2.5 cups of milk that it calls for and it still turned out perfectly.
My family loves this banana cream pie. Thanks for another great recipe!