Easy No-Bake Banana Pudding Pie (2024)

Ingredients

Units

Vanilla Wafer Crust

• 2 ¼ cups Nilla Wafers or vanilla wafers crumbs, about ¾ box
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted

Pudding Filling

• 1 (5.4 ounce) instant vanilla pudding
• 1 cup whole milk
• ⅓ cup full-fat sour cream
• 1 ¼ cups whipped cream, homemade or store-bought
• ⅛ teaspoon (a pinch) salt
• 3 yellow bananas, not fully ripe
• optional topping: ⅓ cup Nilla Wafers (vanilla wafers)

Homemade Whipped Cream

• 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
• 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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1. Make the Crust: It's best to use a food processor to make the Nilla Wafer crumbs. Stir the vanilla wafer crumbs and melted butter together in a small bowl. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan or pie dish and pack very tightly– the tighter it's packed, the less likely it will fall apart when cutting the banana pie. I recommend using the bottom of a measuring cup to easily pack it into the bottom and sides. Freeze for 15 minutes as you prepare the filling.
2. Make the Filling: If using store-bought whipped cream, you can skip this step. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 4-5 minutes. Reserve 1 ¼ cups and refrigerate the remaining.
3. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together instant pudding mix and milk on medium speed until smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the sour cream and salt and beat until combined. Then, using a spatula gently fold in the whipped cream. Do not whisk in the whipped cream as you want to keep it light and fluffy (keeping the air in it.)
4. Assemble: Remove the crust from the freezer and slice the bananas. Arrange the banana slices on top of the crust. Spread the filling on top– using an offset spatula is helpful for spreading. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 1 day. If not serving immediately after the 4 hours, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the filling before refrigerating to prevent a skin from form on top.
5. When ready to serve or up to 4 hours before serving, pipe or spread the whipped cream on top. Just before serving slice the remaining banana and garnish with banana slices. (It's best to garnish with banana slices right before to prevent them from browning.)
6. Serve pie immediately or refrigerate up to 1 day. Cover leftovers and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

1. Make Ahead Instructions: The pie crust can be prepared ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. The pie filling and whipped cream can be made up to 1 day in advance. If making the filling ahead of time place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the to prevent skin from forming. The pie can be fully assembled without the banana slices as garnish up to 4 hours in advance; if covering the entire pie with whipped cream (with no filling exposed) it can be made up to 1 day in advance. I do not recommend freezing this pie.
2. Instant Pudding Mix: You can use any flavor of instant pudding mix that you prefer. I find that vanilla and french vanilla work the best.
3. Whipped Cream: I highly recommend using the homemade whipped cream recipe above for the best results as store-bought can be on the thinner side resulting in a thinner filling. However, if you do use store-bought I recommend not placing the whipped cream on top until right before serving.
4. Milk: It's imperative to use whole milk for the pudding to set properly. I do not recommend any substitutions.
5. Prevent Bananas from Browning: You can lightly brush the banana slices with lemon juice or white vinegar prior to using as a garnish. Over time the banana slices in the pie will brown so it's best to fully assemble the put up to 1 day in advance.