Raw Vegan Banana Cream Pie

Published: May 7, 2021 Last Modified: May 7, 2021 by Allison

This raw vegan banana cream pie is so easy to make, and impressive to look at. If you love banana cream pie and need a dairy-free, gluten-free fix, you need to try this recipe!

It’s the moment I’ve been awaiting all week. It’s time to unveil my raw vegan banana cream pie to you all! This healthy, whole food dessert earned raving reviews from my trusted taste testers (my parents), and given how strong the reaction was to the sneak peeks that I shared in my Instagram story awhile back, I think that all you people having been patiently awaiting this recipe for some time, too!

I love sharing a dessert recipe on Fridays. While I enjoy a healthy sweet treat most days of the week, I love to really pull out all the stops and make something extra special to usher in the weekend.

Believe it or not, I have a long history with banana cream pie dating all the way back to 2008. I really got into cooking and baking the summer before grade nine, and banana cream pie was one of the first ‘fancy’ desserts that I made. I found a classic banana cream pie recipe in my parents’ binder of magazine recipe cut-outs and whipped up this lovely little number:

That wasn’t the prettiest banana cream pie, but I remember being pretty pleased with my dessert making abilities while enjoying a slice that night. And I’ve been hooked on it ever since!

and now for the delicious details

While most banana cream pies consist of a graham cracker or pastry crust and banana custard filling, my raw vegan version consists primarily of wholesome ingredients. So much so that my dad declared that it could be consumed for breakfast! I like the way that this man thinks. Healthy banana cream pie for breakfast is a concept that I can most certainly get behind.

One of the things that I love about raw vegan desserts (aside from how wholesome and nutrient-rich they are) is that while they look impressive, they are incredibly easy to make. No fussing with eggs and milk in a traditional custard, or dealing with a pastry crust. As long as you have a food processor and high powered blender (a Vitamix or a Blendtec), you can whip up this dessert in a very short amount of time with very little effort. While it does need to set in the freezer for five hours, the active prep time is very short.

ingredients you’ll need

The crust is made with nuts, dates, oats, and coconut, and the filling is made with banana, cashews, maple syrup (or agave if you are fully raw), lemon juice, coconut oil, almond milk, and vanilla. I topped mine with coconut whipped cream, homemade almond butter coconut sugar caramel sauce, and more banana slices.

the method

First things first, prepare your pie plate. I used a 9-inch pie plate. Grease it with coconut oil. Take two pieces of parchment paper, each about 4 inches wide. Arrange them in an ‘X’ in the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. The coconut oil will help them adhere to the pan. (This is necessary- you need to be able to lift your pie out of the pan once it’s ready!)

To make the crust, place the walnuts and rolled oats in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Process into a coarse meal. Add the shredded coconut, dates, and sea salt. Process until a dough that sticks together when pressed between your fingers forms.

Crumble the dough into the prepared pie plate. Working from the middle, press the dough down and out over the bottom and a couple of inches up the sides of the pan.

To make the filling, place the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice, cashews, banana, sea salt, vanilla, and milk in a high speed blender. (If you don’t have a high speed blender, you can use a standard blender, but the filling will not get super smooth.) Starting at low speed and gradually increasing to high, blend until super smooth and creamy. It should have the consistency of a pudding. Stop as needed to stir if an air bubble forms. This took a couple of minutes. I recommend ear plugs!

Pour the filling over the crust and smooth with a spoon.

Cover with foil or reusable food wrap such as Abeego and transfer into an even surface in the freezer. Freeze for 5-6 hours, or overnight. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

If making coconut whipped cream, open your can of chilled coconut milk and scoop out the hardened coconut cream into a bowl. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Whip using an electric mixer until a whipped cream consistency is reached.

If making almond butter caramel sauce (I hope you are; this is AH-mazing and really is the cherry on top), open a second can of chilled coconut milk and scoop out ½ cup of the chilled coconut cream into a small saucepan. Reserve the rest for another use. Melt over medium low heat. Once melted, add the coconut sugar and turn up heat to medium. Cook, whisking often, until bubbles form around the edges and the mixture takes on a caramel aroma, five minutes. Be careful not to burn it. Next, remove from the heat and whisk in the salt, vanilla, and almond butter. It will thicken up a bit once the almond butter is stirred in; feel free to add a splash of non-dairy milk to thin it out as desired, especially when reheating.

Slice the pie and garnish with the coconut whipped cream, caramel sauce, and banana slices. Eat!

a few final thoughts and notes

Make sure that you chill two cans of coconut milk overnight so that you can make the coconut whipped cream and caramel sauce the day that you want to enjoy the banana cream pie.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that this recipe can be made nut-free because the cashews are integral to the filling.

Remember that if you need this pie to be fully raw vegan (for those following raw vegan diets), you should replace the rolled oats with an additional cup of walnuts and the maple syrup with agave nectar.

more vegan pie, tart, and cheesecake recipes

And that’s all I have to say! I vowed to myself that I would get this post live before 6 p.m. on Friday, and I’m down to the wire. I hope that you love this raw vegan banana cream pie! It really would make the perfect Mother’s Day dessert. If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, be sure to tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made!

Enjoy!