Recipe Roundup

25 Cream Pies to Impress All Your Guests

Because sometimes a fruit-filled pie just doesn’t cut it.
25 Cream Pies to Impress All Your Guests
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova

Is there anything dreamier than a cream pie? Fruit pies tend to hog the spotlight, as do custard renditions like pumpkin pie. But a banana cream pie, chocolate cream pie, or a coconut cream pie? They’re crowd-pleasing classics for a very good reason. Even better: Many of them are quite easy to make. A good old-fashioned banana cream pie is a simple affair, calling for a press-in graham cracker crust, so you don't need to mess with finicky pastry or break out pie weights for your crust. Fill it with some rich banana pudding (cornstarch will thicken it, but extra egg yolks make it more luxurious) and top the whole thing with an astounding amount of vanilla-bean-flecked whipped cream—an eye-popping finisher for any celebratory meal or holiday spread. Need more cream pie inspiration? Check out a couple dozen of our favorite cream pies below.

  • A banana cream pie with several slices remove and topped with whipped cream and sliced bananas.
    Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart
    1/26

    Banana Cream Pie

    A bit of mashed banana gives a slightly chewy texture to the graham cracker crust in this old-fashioned cream pie recipe. Make it at least eight hours ahead to allow the crust to soften slightly.

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  • Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    2/26

    Chocolate Cream Pie

    This beautiful cream pie is great for entertaining, since the rich, creamy filling will be a surefire hit with anyone who likes chocolate pudding. Sure, you could serve it at room temperature, but right out of the fridge is better.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    3/26

    Coconut Cream Pie

    This classic coconut cream pie relies on a few new tricks to make the most ethereal dessert imaginable. Toasted coconut makes an excellent topper for this stunner.

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  • Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    4/26

    Banoffee Pie

    Our favorite thing about banoffee pie isn’t the bananas, toffee, or whipped cream. It’s that you can make it without turning on the oven.

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  • Photo by Sara Remington
    5/26

    Peanut Butter Pie

    This simple pie is all about the gently sweetened peanut butter—serve it with a big dollop of whipped cream and nothing more.

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  • Photo by Ted Cavanaugh, Chelsea Cavanaugh, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    6/26

    Chocolate Pudding Pie

    This dazzling chocolate pudding pie is cloaked in voluminous whipped cream. The secret to that whipped cream’s great height? Setting it with dissolved gelatin means it won’t deflate or weep when chilled, almost like meringue.

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  • Photo by Romulo Yanes
    7/26

    Banana Rum Cream Pie

    This voluptuous rum-spiked pie will surprise you with its complexity—a hint of curry powder adds an elusive undertone that makes it particularly delicious.

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  • Tina Rupp
    8/26

    Elvis Pie

    What makes this luscious cream pie unique? Without a doubt, it's the peanut butter-bacon pie crust, but the topping of whipped cream scented with vanilla extract and beaten with a dose of peanut butter takes it over the top.

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  • Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Kim
    9/26

    Banana Pudding Custard Pie

    A vanilla wafer crumb crust gives signature banana pudding flavor to this meringue topped holiday pie.

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  • Tina Rupp
    10/26

    Nutella Pie

    As if you need an excuse to pick up a jar of Nutella—here it's whipped with mascarpone to make one seriously awesome pie filling. The easy pie crust recipe starts with finely ground chocolate cookie crumbs.

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  • Photo by Yunhee Kim
    11/26

    Meyer Lemon Cream Pies

    A Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. If you can't find any, substitute regular lemons. This pie's silky cream filling is made from protein-rich tofu. To make it vegan, replace the unsalted butter in the crust with a vegan butter.

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  • Ditte Isager
    24/26

    Coffee S'mores Pie

    This twist on the classic campfire treat might just be better than the original. Thanks to the no-bake crust, it's a snap to prepare, too.

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  • Ditte Isager
    25/26

    Chocolate Cinnamon Cream Pie

    For this Mexican chocolate-inspired pie, we surround a smooth chocolate-pudding filling with cinnamon—there's a crumbly spiced graham cracker crust below and cinnamon whipped cream on top. Serve this one for Thanksgiving alongside a classic apple pie.

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  • Photo by Ted Cavanaugh, Chelsea Cavanaugh, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    26/26

    Banana Cream Pie

    Roasted peanuts pull double duty in this classic cream pie. They're added to the graham cracker crust and sprinkled over the topping, keeping the bananas from making this cream pie excessively sweet. Make sure to refrigerate this pie for at least two hours before serving.

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