Sometimes, my Type-A, control-freak brain comes in very handy, I can be so organized when it comes to certain things and I can also be so obsessed with being in control and ahead. I am competitive with myself and I am always striving to do better than the last time. But, there is still that little hippie type-B inside of me, that likes to be relaxed and fly by the seat of my pants, go with the wind and whatever my mood and the energy of the day dictates. This post is a culmination of all of this. Let me explain why.

I was lying in bed Monday night thinking about all those silly “National Food Holidays”, that have become such a thing over the past few years. If you are on any social media platform, I know you know about it. There is National Donut Day, National Red Wine Day, Chocolate Cake Day, Pizza Day, last week there was National Margarita day and National Toast Day… the list goes on and on and on. I have no clue where these come from, nor who created them. Mostly I think it’s fun. I like the excuse to be reminded of something in the TY recipe archives that you guys might like to know about it, after all I have nearly 6 years of recipes just hanging out here.

As I thought about this trend, I decided to see what food holidays  were coming up this month and I saw that today, March 2nd,  was National Banana Cream Pie Day. Fun. But wait, I don’t have a banana cream pie recipe to share, that I love. I sat up in bed and started thinking about so many fun recipe ideas and then realized I had everything on hand to whip up some adorable little mini Banana Cream Pie Bites! As I drifted off to dreamland, I dreamt of soft, luscious, banana cream pies that I could actually eat.

Mid-terms for nutritional therapy school are tomorrow, I should really be studying every waking moment this week. Thanks to my Type-A attitude, I actually already have a bunch of recipes made, photographed and in the queue for this week and next, to ease the tension of how busy things are. But I woke up yesterday and HAD TO make these little pie bites. While listening to lectures about digestion, blood sugar regulation and fatty acid deficiency, I made tiny pies, there was no way around it. My brain and my Type-A personality wouldn’t allow me to do anything else. This is a total on-a-whim recipe here folks.

These tiny little mini pies are perfect little bites. The right amount of dessert, if you ask me.  The crust has a little crispiness to it, and the flavor from the almonds and the coconut are so perfect together. All that crispy nutty goodness, is such a nice compliment to the creamy, sweet banana pudding layer and the whipped coconut cream, on top. The banana pudding layer, you guys, it is just plain epic. It’s creamy and rich. I lightly adapted this pudding recipe from savory lotus and was very happy to have some leftover to eat on it’s own. It was like being a kid again.

Grain-free Banana Cream Pie Bites

gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, dairy-free, vegetarian

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 mini pie bites or 12 muffin sized-mini pies

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Ingredients 

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Banana Pudding Layer

• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 ½ teaspoon Vital Proteins Grass-fed Gelatin
• 1 can full fat organic coconut milk, 13.5 oz
• 2 vanilla beans, seeds scraped out or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 pasture-raised egg yolks, whisked together
• 2 ripe organic bananas, mashed
• 2 tablespoons raw honey, or maple syrup*
  
  

Grain-free Pie Crust

• 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 organic banana, thinly sliced
  
  

For Serving (optional):

• additional banana, thinly sliced
• shredded coconut
• Whipped Coconut Cream

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Make the pudding layer first. Add the water to a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over top. Set aside to bloom. In a medium saucepan, add the coconut milk and the insides of the two vanilla beans and salt. (if adding vanilla extract don't add that now, add it at the end) Heat over a medium-heat, just until barely steaming. Don't let it bubble or boil.
• Next, slowly and carefully, a little at a time and while whisking, pour the egg yolk mixture in. Pour a little, whisk whisk whisk, pour a little more, whisk whisk whisk. Then switch to a wooden spoon. Continue stirring over the medium low heat and heat for 5-7 minutes, until the mixture evenly coats the back of the wooden spoon.
• Remove from the heat and add in the mashed bananas, the bloomed gelatin and the honey (if using vanilla extract rather than beans, add that now, too). Whisk well until smooth. Pour into a shallow dish and place into the fridge to chill a bit, while you make your pie crusts.
• Line a mini-muffin tin with parchment paper cups. In a medium-sized mixing bowl add all of the ingredients for the crust. Mix together well, until it is all incorporated. Get your hands in there.
• Divide the crust mixture up between all of the lined tins. Then press the crust down and up the sides of each tin.
• Bake in the 350ºF degree oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool right in the muffin tin.
• Once the pie crusts are cool, place one little slice of banana in each one. Pull the pudding out and begin spooning it into each of the little pie crusts, go as high up as you can. You will likely have a little pudding leftover. I pour that into a little parfait cup and hide it for later, in the back of the fridge, for me. Place the muffin tin back into the fridge until the pudding is fully set.
• Serve chilled with a dollop of whipped coconut cream and if you'd like more banana slices. Enjoy.

Notes

NOTE: the banana pudding will begin to brown, from oxidation, the longer these sit, so I suggest making them just a few hours before you plan to serve them. They are still totally OK to eat when they are a tad browned, but just not as pretty.