Friends, oh how I’ve got a yummy dessert recipe to share today!
Let me tell you the story of how my newfound love for pudding began.
Around a month ago, I got super sick with ear infections. The gist is that I have sinus issues and have gotten ear infections in my adulthood numerous times, but usually it’s either when I’m already sick with common upper respiratory yuckiness, or when I’m traveling since my sinuses sometimes don’t drain normally after flights (fun stuff).
This time, however, I wasn’t either of those things. And normally when I get an ear infection, I get some ear drops prescribed and go about my life. I swear to you that I’m not a baby about these things… so believe me when I tell you that these ear infections were hell. I was experiencing throbbing pain that kept me up all night. I couldn’t hear at all out of one of my ears and my head felt completely clogged. I also couldn’t eat anything hard because it hurt too much.
So soft foods were where it was at, and my diet for a week was pretty much smoothies, soups, yogurts, select fruits…and then all of sudden I remembered that pudding existed.
I made one of those boxed chocolate puddings out of sheer desperation for something different in my diet by day 5 of being sick, and my husband and I ate it together and both declared, “Mmm, pudding is good.”
Hence how I arrived at today’s chocolate banana pudding pie.
At first I made a pie with boxed pudding, which came out delicious, but then I was on a mission to feature homemade pudding in the pie. I figured out that unsweetened almond milk worked wonderfully with today’s pudding recipe.
The bottom layer is a simple graham cracker crust, which I make by processing graham cracker sheets with vegan butter and a bit of almond milk.
And since I love banana with chocolate, I added a simple layer of sliced bananas on top of the pudding.
If you’d like, you can stop there and this pie is already a winner. Or, you can include a creamy topping and shaved dark chocolate as I did.
You can keep this recipe vegan by making a coconut whipped cream, use a light prepared cool whip, or splurge with the topping as I did and make an easy homemade whipped cream with heavy cream. Any option you choose is deeeeelicious!
Chocolate Banana Pudding Pie
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 10 graham cracker sheets
- 1/4 cup vegan or regular butter melted
- 2 TBSP almond milk
For the pie layers:
- 2/3 cup cane sugar
- 3 TBSP cocoa powder
- 2 TBSP cornstarch
- 3 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 4 oz dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 2 TBSP coconut oil
- 2 TSP vanilla extract
- 1/4 TSP salt
- 1 large ripe banana
- Shaved chocolate optional
For the whipped cream*:
- 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 TSP vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place the graham crackers in a food processor, breaking into large pieces. Add in the melted butter and almond milk, and process until it forms into a crumbly mixture.
- Transfer the graham cracker mixture to a pie pan, evenly distributing and pressing into the plate. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to slightly cool.
- Meanwhile, make the pudding: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cane sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt.
- Transfer the saucepan to the stovetop and heat to medium-low heat. Whisk in the almond milk.
- Whisk often as the mixture begins to heat and eventually thicken. Continue until it approaches a pudding-like consistency and looks kind of sticky on a spoon. This process will take around 30 minutes. Just keep whisking often!
- Add in the chocolate, coconut oil, and vanilla, whisking constantly until it blends into the mixture smoothly.
- Immediately pour the pudding into the pie plate on top of the graham cracker crust.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow the pudding to set.
- Slice the banana and press the slices into the pudding pie.
- Prepare the whipped cream (or whatever other topping you choose): In a mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer, starting on low speed and gradually increasing speed to high until stiff peaks form. This will take a few minutes, but continue beating until mixture is fluffy and at the desired consistency.
- Use a spatula to transfer the whipped cream to the pudding pie, spreading evenly.
- Top with shaved chocolate if you desire, and enjoy!
Notes
**Prep time includes 4 hours to refrigerate the pudding.
Tell me… Have you eaten pudding at all recently? Gotten sick lately?
ooh this i s literally one of my favorite desserts! Looks so so good
Thanks a lot! Hope that you give the recipe a try.
That ear infection sounds terrible. Glad your ok now! This pie looks amazing!
Thanks a lot, Jennifer!
This looks incredible! If there is chocolate, I am all in! I love pudding. Ear infections on the other hand, no one likes those and that sounds like a really bad one! Hope it doesn’t happen again for you!
Thank you.. me too! I’m thinking of seeing a naturopathic doctor to get my ear issues figured out so that it doesn’t happen again.
This pie looks so rich and creamy! I love that you made the pudding with almond milk. I need to grab a box of gluten free graham crackers and see if they work out well for a crust!
Yes, I was so happy when the pudding worked out with almond milk! When I first got my pudding cravings, I tried making a boxed pudding with dairy-free milk and it didn’t set.. like at all. Such a bummer haha
Mmmm…pudding really is delicious! Boxed pudding is good in a pinch, but I’m so glad you went with the homemade version here. This sounds like my kind of pie! I hope the ear infection has gone away by now. 🙂
This totally is your kind of recipe.. you’re great with creating pies! 🙂
Beyond hungry, of course, do you know what your posts make me feel? Happy!
Such a yummy pie! I threw four dark chocolate peanut butter cups in a food processor to make the topping. Peanut butter, banana, and chocolate crumble for the win! (I’m calling it the “Elvis Pie”.)
Ooh what a great idea! Chocolate + PB + banana = the BEST COMBO EVER.
Glad that you enjoyed my pie recipe! 🙂