Banana Pudding Pie

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Cool, creamy, and nostalgic, banana pudding gets a gourmet upgrade thanks to buttery, roasted macadamia nuts in the classic vanilla wafer crust. This is no place for instant pudding—this pie gets a rich lift from an easy homemade pudding made from rich whole milk and egg yolks flecked with flavorful vanilla bean seeds. Two layers of sliced banana and a billowy crown of fresh whipped cream takes this make-ahead dessert over the top.

Banana pudding pie
Photo: Photo by Will Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey
Active Time:
20 mins
Refrigerate Time:
4 hrs
Total Time:
4 hrs 50 mins
Servings:
12

Ingredients

Crust

  • 60 vanilla wafers (about 3 cups)

  • 1 cup roasted salted macadamia nuts

  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Filling

  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar

  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch

  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

  • 4 large egg yolks

  • 2 cups whole milk

  • 1 vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

  • 4 medium bananas, divided

  • 18 vanilla wafers, plus crushed wafers for garnish

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

  • ¼ cup powdered sugar

Directions

Make the Crust

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pulse wafers, macadamia nuts, melted butter, and salt in a food processor until fine crumbs form, about 15 pulses. Firmly press mixture onto bottom and up sides of a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes.

Make the Filling

  1. Whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in egg yolks and milk. Halve vanilla bean pod lengthwise, and scrape seeds from pod into yolk mixture; add scraped pod. Cook mixture over medium, stirring constantly, until thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove custard from heat. Remove and discard vanilla bean pod. Add cubed butter to custard; stir until melted and combined.

  2. Slice 2 bananas; arrange slices in a single layer in bottom of cooled crust. Spoon half of custard (1 1/4 cups) over bananas. Top with wafers, arranged in a single layer; top with remaining custard. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of custard. Refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.

  3. Remove plastic wrap from pie. Beat whipping cream and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Slice remaining 2 bananas; arrange slices in a single layer on top of pie. Spread top evenly with whipped cream. Garnish with crushed wafers.

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