This Coconut Cream Pie is a sweet and creamy, homemade vanilla pudding with lots of coconut, in a pie shell. Easy to make, and a family favorite!
If making a homemade graham cracker crust, add an additional 1 hour to the total time.
Combine melted butter and sugar. Stir briefly to begin to dissolve sugar. Use a fork to stir in graham cracker crumbs. (A fork helps keep the crumbs from clumping together.)
Pat moistened graham cracker crumbs into a 9-inch pie plate. (Mine was ceramic.) Use your hands to gently and evenly pat the crumbs over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. No need to make much of a lip or crust over the rim; it won't stay attached.
Bake crust at 350F for 10 minutes. (It will smell amazing!) Cool completely, about an hour, before filling.
Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and whisk them together. Set aside. Measure out your butter, vanilla, and coconut and set them aside for when the pudding is ready. (If you're confident in your pudding-making skills, you can do this all while you make the pudding/filling below.)
In a 2-quart saucepan, mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. As long as you're stirring and scraping the bottom, don't be afraid of the heat. Boil and stir one minute.
Immediately and GRADUALLY whisk half of the hot mixture into the eggs. Then, stir them back into the remaining hot mixture in the saucepan. Return everything to the boil, and boil and stir for one more minute.
Remove the filling from heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, and coconut. Pour the filling into cooled pie crust and press plastic wrap directly onto filling to prevent a skin from forming.
Refrigerate the pie for at least 2 hours or until set.
Remove plastic wrap. Top with whipped cream and extra coconut, if desired. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
All stoves cook differently. Be careful if cooking on a gas range, so that your milk does not scorch on bottom. When using electric, feel free to turn up the heat if you feel like it is not cooking quickly enough.
The source recipe said that it would take 15 minutes to cook; it took me 30+ when I first made it and did not cook confidently. Scrape the bottom of the pan well from the beginning, and turn the heat back down if it seems to cook too quickly.
I have used both 1% and 2% milk in this recipe. Both work well. I have never used non-dairy milk in this recipe.
Recipe updated 4/24/2019.
Calorie count is an estimate based on pie made with 2% milk and only 1 cup of whipped cream made from ½ cup of heavy whipping cream. Actual calorie count, of course, will vary.
Adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook