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This Homemade Coconut Cream Pie is filled with a silky coconut cream custard made completely from scratch, not a pudding mix. You can really taste the homemade difference! Every bite is creamy, dreamy, and full of real coconut flavor.
Why I Love This Coconut Cream Pie
This Coconut Cream Pie recipe is by far the best I have ever had. The coconut custard filling is made completely from scratch. Because it’s made with coconut milk and toasted coconut, you get a pure, natural flavor that pudding mixes just can’t replicate.
Homemade pie always tastes best – especially this one. Don’t be intimidated, though! Even if you’re new to pie making, this recipe is simple to follow and turns out beautifully every time. Watch it disappear at family gatherings, Thanksgiving or Easter dinner. Everyone loves it!
❤️ Erica
“This pie is by far the most delicious thing I have ever made!! The recipe is perfect!. Thanks for sharing, it’s now going to be my most requested dessert!” – Jennifer
Key Ingredients
- Baked Pie Crust: You can either bake a regular pie dough crust or a graham crackers crust. Try our homemade Perfect Pie Crust or our Perfect Graham Cracker Crust recipes. You can also use a store bought crust.
- Half and Half: Do not substitute milk or cream. Half and half will give you the creamy pie you want without being too heavy or too runny.
- Coconut milk: Find canned coconut milk in the Asian foods aisle.
- Toasted shredded coconut: See how to toast coconut flakes below.
- Coconut extract – If you can’t find coconut extract, you can substitute vanilla extract in a pinch.
- Additional Ingredients: eggs, sugar, cornstarch, salt.
- Whipped Topping: heavy cream, powdered sugar, coconut extract.
How to Make Coconut Cream Pie
- Prepare toasted coconut. Spread coconut flakes on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake at 325°F for 5-10 minutes until coconut flakes turn a golden brown.
- Prepare pie filling. Combine half-and-half, coconut milk, eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly.
- Once it comes to a boil and thickens to the consistency of a thick pudding, remove from heat. This will take 15-20 minutes, so be patient. Remove from heat.
- Stir ¾ cup toasted coconut and coconut extract into the pie filling mixture.
- Pour coconut pie filling into the baked pie shell. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours, or until firm.
- Mix whipping cream, sugar, and coconut extract together using a stand mixer or a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- After the pie is completely chilled, spread the whipped topping over the pie.
- Sprinkle the remaining toasted coconut over the pie.
Recipe Tips
You will love how quickly this creamy coconut pie comes together. It does have some time in the refrigerator to set up, become thicker, and have a little jiggle to it. These tips will make your coconut pie sing!
- This Coconut Cream Pie takes a little time to put together, as well as at least two hours of refrigeration time for the pie to set. So make sure to plan accordingly. It’s worth every single minute of prep time, I promise!
- When making the whipped topping, place heavy cream in a medium bowl and use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, or a stand mixer, to whip the cream, powdered sugar, and coconut extract until stiff peaks form.
- If using a homemade pie crust or an unbaked store bought crust, be sure to blind bake the crust before adding the filling. I like this blind bake crust without weights method.
Coconut Cream Pie with Less Sugar Option
One of our dear readers, Karen, adapted this Coconut Cream Pie recipe to make it more diabetic-friendly. These are her substitute suggestions:
“This is a great recipe but I wanted to make it with less fat and sugar; I am Diabetic. I substituted milk with 1 – 12 oz. can of Fat Free Evaporated Milk; used 1 – 13.5 oz can of Lite Coconut Milk; exchanged sugar for ½ cup Splenda, and poured it all into a homemade graham cracker crust made with Splenda. It came out fabulous. My husband loved it, said it was the best pie ever.”
-Karen
Frequently Asked Questions
If the filling doesn’t thicken after bringing it to a boil over medium heat, it is undercooked. Continue to cook it over medium heat. It takes up to 20 minutes to thicken.
No, it is too diluted. Use canned coconut milk for proper texture.
You can substitute vanilla extract. You will still get plenty of coconut flavor from the toasted coconut and coconut milk.
If you want to freeze this pie, it’s best to keep the crust and filling separate until you’re ready to thaw and serve it. Leftover pie CAN be frozen, as long as it’s tightly wrapped in foil and placed in a freezer bag, but the crust can get a little soggy when thawed. It’s best to freeze separately if you can.
You can prepare the baked crust up to 3 days ahead. The coconut pie filling can be made 1 day ahead. Assemble up to 1 day before serving. You will need to stabilize the whipped cream topping if you make it ahead.
Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days, covered in plastic wrap. Any longer than a few days and the crust can get too soggy.
Read More: The BEST Traditional Easter Dinner Ideas
More Recipes for Coconut Lovers
If you’re a fan of our Coconut Cream Pie recipe, try more of our favorite coconut recipes:
Did you make this Coconut Cream Pie? Tell us what you thought! Leave a comment and star rating below. We love hearing from you and seeing how our recipes turn out in your kitchen. 🥥💛
Coconut Cream Pie (From Scratch)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup toasted coconut, see recipe notes
- 2 teaspoons coconut extract
- 1 9-inch baked pie shell
TOPPING:
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1/4-1/2 cup powdered sugar, to taste
- 2 teaspoons coconut extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine half-and-half, coconut milk, eggs, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Bring to a boil over LOW medium heat (using a double-boiler works best), whisking constantly.
- When it starts to boil a little bit and thickens up to about the consistency of a thick pudding (this takes about 15-20 minutes so BE PATIENT), remove from heat.
- Stir in ¾ cup of the toasted coconut and the coconut (or vanilla) extract.
- Pour into pie shell and chill for 2 to 4 hours, or until firm.
- While pie is cooling, whip together topping ingredients with electric beaters.
- When pie is completely cooled, top with whipped topping.
- Sprinkle on remaining toasted coconut.
Notes
How to Toast Coconut
To get that perfect golden toasted coconut, just follow these simple steps:- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Spread an even layer of sweetened coconut on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 5-8 minutes, or until the color is golden brown. It can burn quickly, so keep a close eye on it. Stir every couple of minutes to ensure even baking.
- Let the coconut cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. It’ll continue to crisp up as it sits.
- Store in an airtight container up to a week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I haven’t tried to make this yet, but definitely going to give it a go soon. Looks delicious!
Do you, by any chance, have an easy, simple recipe for a banana cream pie?
Thank you.
I do have a banana dessert that is even better than banana cream pie: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/four-layer-banana-pudding/