Vegan Coconut Banana Cream Pie

I am so excited to share today's vegan banana cream pie recipe with you guys! Up until recently I was never a huge banana cream pie fan, but this Vegan Coconut Banana Cream Pie recipe has single handedly made me into the biggest fan! I love it, because it's super easy to make, and is super healthy! This recipe is made with simple whole foods plant based ingredients and is low fat!

What Makes This An Easy Vegan Banana Cream Pie Recipe:

Homemade pie can be very tricky if you're new to it, especially chilled pies. If you don't get the ratios right, your filling may be too watery, or too jelly. Luckily I've tested this Vegan Coconut Banana Cream Pie many times and it's absolutely perfect!

If you're not familiar with banana cream pie it's a little different than other pies. Not only is it different from other pies, but everyones recipe/method is a little different. However every recipe has a few things in common: fresh bananas, cream filling, and whipped topping. Now how you assemble the layers is completely up to you.

I believe that a proper banana cream pie recipe needs lots of bananas. I see way too many banana cream pie recipes out there that are loaded with cream, and no bananas. It's all about finding the perfect balance. I believe that there should be banana in every bite, and therefore every layer.

The best part about incorporating so much banana is that is makes the recipe super easy, affordable, and flavorful. All you need to make this pie is a blender and a pie dish, or tart dish (I went with a tart dish for a prettier look). I also prefer using a tart dish, because it is much easier to make the crust with.

How To Make Low Fat Banana Cream Pie:

One reason I love this Vegan Coconut Banana Cream Pie recipe is because it's low fat. Let me say that I am by no means someone who is afraid of fat. Fat is an essential part of a healthy diet. However I am a volume eater so low fat vegan desserts work really well for me. Recipes like this vegan banana cream pie make it easy, because they have the same great pie flavor we know and low, but with half the fat.

How do you make a low fat banana cream pie? It's simple: plant based milk and tapioca starch. You can use any type of plant based milk for the creamy pudding filling. Personally I like to use coconut milk. It's important that if you are looking to make this recipe low fat that you use the coconut milk from the fridge and not the can.

Full fat coconut milk would make this banana cream pie super decadent, but it would also significantly increase the calories and fat content of the pie. I find that the Silk brand coconut milk works the best for this recipe, because it has a naturally sweet coconut flavor and it's low calorie and low fat!

How To Make This Vegan Coconut Banana Cream Pie Extra Rich:

If you're making this Vegan Coconut Banana Cream Pie for a special occasion, or you don't mind the extra calories you can make the pudding filling with full fat coconut milk for an extra rich decadent dessert. I've made it both ways and I absolutely love it both ways.

My second tip for making this pie extra rich is to make sure you are using super ripe bananas. I think this one goes without saying, but using ripe bananas in this recipe is key for its success. When you blend ripe bananas they become much creamier than under ripe bananas. Ripe bananas also help this recipe to be much sweeter naturally without added sugar.

Tips For Making Naturally Sweetened Desserts:

Since my recipes are all naturally sweetened, it was important that my vegan banana cream pie recipe was made with lots of bananas. This helps to achieve the perfect sweet banana flavor without any artificial flavorings.

However banana along is not enough to achieve that rich creamy custard filling that every banana cream pie needs. What did I use to achieve this? Date sugar! Date sugar is one of my all-time favorite sweeteners, because it works a lot like traditional sugar, but is made from 100% dates!

There are a couple things to keep in mind when baking with date sugar. First, it will change the color slightly. This normally isn't a huge deal, but just something to keep in mind. Second, it doesn't dissolve quite as easily as regular sugar, so it's important to blend it if you're making a creamy filling like the one in this vegan coconut banana cream pie.

Ingredients For This Vegan Coconut Banana Cream Pie:

CRUST:

• Sorghum flour
• Almond flour
• Vanilla extract
• Date sugar
• Sunflower seed butter
• Bananas

CUSTARD FILLING:

• Bananas
• Coconut milk
• Date sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Coconut extract
• Tapioca starch

FROSTING:

• Coconut Cream
• Coconut extract

TOPPINGS:

• Toasted coconut
• Bananas

How To Make This Recipe:

This Vegan Coconut Banana Cream Pie recipe takes multiple steps, and some hands on work, but I can assure you that it is worth it. Just because this recipe takes time does not mean it is difficult, I would categorize this recipe difficulty as medium, or even easy!

Making The Crust:

To make this healthy vegan banana cream pie, begin by making the crust. Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl mash the ripe banana. It's important to ensure that you really mash the banana until very smooth. You can always blend the banana too for a super smooth mix. Once mashed add the vanilla extract and the sunflower butter and whisk until evenly combined.

When you're wet ingredients are combined, sift in your dry ingredients. Mix until the dough is one solid ball and doesn't stick to your hands (you may need extra sorghum flour for dusting. Press the dough into a greased pie, or tart dish and poke with a fork. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until a slight golden tint occurs. Allow to cool.

Making The Banana Custard Filling:

The Coconut Banana Cream Filling is the most important part of this recipe. There are two ways that you can make this filling. The first is the method I used, and it is the low-fat method.

To make the low-fat banana custard filling you need to use the right coconut milk. You can use any brand of unsweetened coconut milk that you find in the refrigerated section - my personal favorite is the Silk brand, it has the perfect coconut flavor!

The second method is using canned coconut milk. This method will give you a much richer flavor, but it will also significantly increase the calories. As I said before, it is completely up to your personal preference which method you go with, both are great! If you go with the full fat, you will need to buy 2 cans to ensure you have enough.

To make the filling begin by adding all the ingredients except the tapioca starch to a high speed blender. You can use any blender, but I couldn't recommend investing in a Vitamix enough (game changer!). Once all the ingredients are blended into a smooth custard, pour into a saucepan.

Cook on medium until it boils. While the mixture is cooking, add the tapioca starch to a bowl with equal parts water and mix until smooth. Pour into the pan and make sure you are whisking it continuously. Continue to cook until the custard thickens and holds a shape when stirring.

Before pouring into the crust, slice bananas and assemble around the bottom, Pour the filling over the crust and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours (overnight is best).

Making The Frosting:

The frosting for this vegan banana cream pie is super simple. All you have to do is combine the chilled coconut cream and coconut extract with an electric whisk. Top the chilled custard filling with more sliced bananas and scoop into a piping bag and pipe on top of the bananas. Top with more bananas and toasted coconut.

Related Recipes:

• Healthy Vegan Pecan Pie
• Banana Cream Pie Overnight Oats
• Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Banana Baked Oats