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A fresh take on the English classic, this healthier Banoffee Pie is super easy, delicious, and pretty too. The filling is made with four base ingredients…sweet caramel, bananas, and creamy vanilla whipped cream. The crust is a mix of graham crackers, butter, and a touch of maple. When the crust combines with the rich banana caramel filling it makes for a mouthwatering pie that’s sweet, luscious, and a touch salty too. Top with plenty of chocolate shavings for an extra rich WOW! Bonus – you can easily make this pie vegan and gluten-free too!
This post is sponsored by Pyrex.
I made us the perfect transitional dessert for these late summer days. A healthier take on Banoffee pie! It’s lighter than most pies and almost no-bake. Great for these still hot days, but also rich and cozy for the cooler September days ahead.
I knew right away that my new Pyrex Deep baking dish would be the perfect way to showcase the beautiful layers and colors of this banoffee pie. That’s because they’re up to 50% deeper than the Pyrex basic dishes we all know and love. This makes them ideal for recipes like this that need more room.
I’ve been using Pyrex in my kitchen since…well, since as long as I can remember. My mom religiously made her famous Special K-Bars (this was my 2nd post on HBH!) and chocolate chip cookie bars in her 9×13″ Pyrex pan. Now I’m the one using Pyrex to bake up the desserts (and pasta too). I especially love how these deep baking dishes show off layered desserts like this pie. The presentation is effortlessly pretty.
You can find Pyrex Deep baking dishes at Amazon and at Pyrex.
One of the great things about this pie is that it’s SO EASY to make. Plus, you can easily adapt it to your own personal style. Need a Banoffee pie recipe that’s gluten-free, vegan, and all-around healthier? PERFECT, this is your recipe, and my gosh, it’s so good.
Want a more classic Banoffee Pie? No problem, I can tell you how to make that too! The swaps are simple and easy.
Here I how I make my healthier version of Banoffee Pie.
First, start with the crust. It’s a simple graham cracker crust made with a little melted butter and sweetened with real maple syrup. I love to bake this crust. It ensures that it will hold up well when cutting, plus gives it a nice deep toasted flavor. You can use melted butter or melted coconut oil, either is truly great!
For the graham crackers, I love to use these, they’re just a little healthier.
While the crust is baking, make the caramel. To make the caramel healthier, I make a very easy “date caramel”. It’s simply pureed dates, coconut milk, creamy peanut butter, and a touch of vanilla, plus flaky sea salt. The key when making this caramel is to get the dates incredibly soft before pureeing them in the food processor. To do this, I like to boil the dates in water, drain, and then puree. The heat from the water really moistens the dates, therefore making them incredibly easy to puree.
This date caramel is truly just as delicious as any other. It’s super sweet, creamy, rich, and a touch salty. I love the hints of peanut butter throughout. Almond butter would be great to use too.
SO, that’s how you make the “healthy…ish” version of this pie, but if you want to keep the pie classic, you can easily use store-bought Dulce de Leche in place of the date caramel. That is just as delicious!
Once the crust has finished baking, let it cool, then spread the caramel over top. Layer on plenty of bananas, drizzle with peanut butter, and then top with generous dollops of vanilla whipped cream.
You can use regular whipped cream or coconut whipped cream, either will be great!
At this point, the pie needs to be chilled for an hour or so. It sets up beautifully in the Pyrex Deep baking dish. I love that I can clearly see all of the pie’s beautiful layers.
The last step is one of the more important steps…the chocolate. I love topping this pie with a generous amount of chocolate shavings. The perfect finisher to a sweet and salty pie. With every bite you get a little crunch from the crust, major sweetness from the caramel, hints of peanut butter and bananas throughout, light cream, and just the right amount of chocolate…
Big, DELICIOUS, bites.
With Labor Day just a few days away, I’m excited to recreate this (almost no-bake) pie. It’s perfect for feeding family and friends and all the layers make it a real show stopper.
Bonus? You can make the pie entirely ahead of time for easy, no stress, entertaining.
If you make this healthier banoffee pie be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Healthier Banoffee Pie
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 1398 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Shop ingredients at your local Target store. Learn more
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full-size graham cracker sheets)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 cups date caramel (below) or store-bought dulce de leche
- 3-4 ripe but firm bananas, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (see coconut cream variation in notes)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- chocolate shavings, for topping
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 2. In a medium bowl, combine the graham crackers, butter (or coconut oil), and 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Mix until combined. Press the dough into an 8 x 8-inch Pyrex Deep baking dish. Transfer to the oven and bake until toasted, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool. 3. Spread the caramel (or dulce de leche) evenly in the bottom of the crust. Layer the bananas over the caramel. 4. To make the cream. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream and vanilla on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons maple syrup and beat until incorporated, 30 seconds. Spread the cream over the bananas. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours, or overnight. Just before serving top with chocolate shavings. The first slice will be a little messy to cut, so keep it small.
Notes
Vegan Coconut Cream: In a large bowl, beat two cans (13.5 ounce) coconut cream (do not use any coconut water - drain the water out) using an electric mixer on high-speed until it begins to thicken and peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, slowly fold in 2 tablespoons maple syrup and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Use as directed above.
Date Caramel
Servings: 112 makes about / cups
Calories Per Serving: 248 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Shop ingredients at your local Target store. Learn more
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Medjool dates, pitted (about 20 dates)
- 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 pinch flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Place the dates in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover, then remove from the heat. Let the dates soak for 5-10 minutes. Drain. 2. In a food processor, combine the drained dates, coconut milk, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Pulse until completely smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes, adding additional coconut milk if needed to thin the caramel. 3. Store caramel in the fridge for up to 1 week. Use as desired.
{This post is sponsored by Pyrex. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}
Wowee! I made this for my family this week and it was so good! My kids absolutely loved it. I’ll definitely make this again!
Thank you
Hey Mary,
I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! Happy Friday! xTieghan
Oh my goodness – sumptuously decadent …….but healthy! I added vanilla to taste when I made the date caramel. Sooooooo good!
Oh my goodness – sumptuously decadent …….but healthy ? easy to make. I added vanilla to taste when I made the date caramel. Sooooooo good!
I am so glad these turned out so well for you! Thank you so much Angie! xTieghan
Looking forward to trying this out! How many days ahead could you make this?
HI there! You can make this 1-2 days in advance. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ???
Hey!
What can we use instead of peanut butter?? I\m allergic!!!
Hi Lianna! Try using almond or cashew butter. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This was AMAZING! So perfectly sweetened, the date caramel turned out divine (and I can imagine using that in a lot of other settings), and it took less than 30 minutes to make! Friends and family all raved about it, too. Not only that, but because it’s a slightly healthier version, it leaves your body feeling good too. Keep the healthy versions of sweets coming–we love them!!!!
So great!! Thank you so much Christie!! xTieghan
Looks delicious!
Thank you! xTieghan
I made this yesterday as given for a Labor Day potluck. It was pretty easy, except that my date mixture blended up pretty grainy (from the date skins) despite having a great food processor. I had to strain the blended mix through a sieve to get anything near a smooth “caramel.” Everybody enjoyed the finished dish, except they all commented on the peanut-butter flavor. To me it honestly tastes more like a peanut-butter banana cream pie than a banoffee pie … which is just fine, as long as you know what to expect! Very yummy anyway.
I hope you had a great Labor Day! So glad you decided to try this one, Ursula! xTieghan
The date caramel part of the recipe is missing the amount of vanilla when you list the ingredients. In the process of making one now! (I’ll just improvise, but looking forward to comparing when you get it listed.
Thank you so much Jeri! So happy to hear that you loved this! xTieghan
I’ve never heard of this dish; but that could be because I’m a Southern girl. It sounds delish and perfect for taking to my folks house. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Judy! xTieghan
hadn’t ever heard of this pie before, and appreciate the healthy version too (really nice and simple crust recipe) even if I only service it and try not to eat much of it (hopefully or hopefully not!)
I hope you love this pie Sabrina! Let me know how it turns out for you! xTieghan
oh yum, it looks really great!!!
Thank you Ruth! xTieghan
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Thank you Paige! I hope you love this! xTieghan
Yum I can’t wait to make this! Tieghan, how do you make this gluten-free? Are there GF graham crackers or do you use something else? Thanks!
Hey Melisa! Yes, use gluten free graham crackers. Linked below. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
https://thrivemarket.com/p/pamelas-honey-graham-crackers?utm_medium=pla_smart&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Shopping_Engagement_Smart_Members&utm_content=093709620013&utm_term=na&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2K3rBRDiARIsAOFSW_6nIzaUpWY2QnI09JzmYrsN9DEyTEoLFSx2j6PLt5fsUK-5pmCGPUgaAmu_EALw_wcB
Easy and fun. Will make very soon (without the date option). Never new Annie’s made graham crackers. I’ll have to look for then.
Thank you so much Joyce! xTieghan