I’m frustrated. The last three things I have made have either been total flops or just average:
  • I made a carrot cake for Easter that was okay. I’m still looking for a carrot cake that tastes like Costco’s.
  • Then I made dinner rolls so hard and dense that they could have been used as serious ammunition for my boys to fight a war.
  • I made a Baked French Toast casserole that was completely soggy on the bottom and hard on top. The flavor was still good so I’m trying to figure out how to fix it.

So this fabulous banana cream pie was made by my best friend Heidi brought over for Easter dessert. Thank goodness since my cake wasn’t that great. We practically licked the pan.

Heidi said she got it from OurBestBites so I knew it would be good. The girls over there get it. They get that something good doesn’t always have to take hours or have to be from scratch. I liked that it this pie wasn’t just a gushy mess…it held its form.
 The pic isn’t that great because it was almost 7 at night.

 

Banana Cream Pie the easy way…

5 from 1 vote
Banana cream pie can be an easy cheater dessert. Simple ingredients that don't take a ton of time but look and taste great.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 22 hours 3 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 4- serving size box of instant vanilla pudding
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 1 14- oz . can sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 cookie crusts: graham crackers, Nilla Wafers, shortbread, even Oreo (Or you can use one large crust. I like traditional graham cracker crust)
  • Lots of bananas
  • 1 pint whipping cream, (2 cups)
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, cold water, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix well and place in the refrigerator to chill for a few minutes. In another bowl, whip 1 c. of whipping cream until soft peaks form.
  • Slice the bananas (probably 4 small bananas or 2 large bananas) and layer them on the bottom of the crusts. Be sure and save the plastic domes that come with the pie crusts--you'll need them later!
  • Set aside. Remove pudding from the fridge and gently dollop the whipped cream on top of the pudding. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until well-combined.
  • Now divide the mixture between the two pies.
  • Make sweetened whipped cream with the remaining whipping cream (1 cup) and 1/3 c. of powdered sugar and spread it on top of the two pies. Place the clear plastic shells back on the pies and allow to chill for several hours. This is actually really important--I tried eating it right away once and the pie wasn't banana-y at all and the moisture hadn't absorbed into the crust, so the crust just fell apart.
  • And there you have it--the best AND the easiest banana cream pie you'll ever have or need!
  • Chunky Monkey Variation: Blend 1/2 c creamy peanut butter into the pudding/water/sweetened condensed milk mixture (before you fold in the whipped cream). Continue as directed but place in a chocolate cookie crust. Sprinkle with honey roasted peanuts just before serving.

Notes

Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert