Coconut Cream Pie

If you’re ever in the enviable position of being able to throw a pie in someone’s face, please don’t let it be this one. Coconut cream pie is WAY too good to be thrown in anyone’s face, unless that person has a giganto-mouth and excellent mouth-pie coordination and there’s only one person who ever lived who possessed both those qualities and his name was Paul Bunyan. So just stop.

Stop and eat this pie. It’s practically fool proof and it has a whole load of coconut flavor. This pie is coconut to the max. It’s got maximumcocopower. It’s cocoriffic.

And that’s enough, right?

You may use full-fat or low-fat coconut milk in this recipe. Full-fat will result in a firmer, richer pie but it’ll also have about 8000 extra calories. The pie still sets well with low-fat coconut milk. It’s your choice.

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Coconut Cream Pie

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4.4 from 5 reviews

  • Author: Hilah Johnson
  • Prep Time: 5 hours
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pie shell
  • 1/22/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
  • 4 eggs (3 whole and 1 separated)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup shredded coconut, toasted
  • 1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Instructions

  1. Set the oven to 425ºF. Separate one of the eggs, keeping yolk and white.
  2. Roll out your pie crust on a floured surface and put it into a 9″ pie pan. Prick the bottom all over with a fork. Spread a sheet of aluminum foil along the bottom and sides of the crust and fill with dried beans or pie weights or pennies. Bake 15 minutes. Remove and let cool until you can remove the foil/weights. Brush crust with egg white. Bake for 5 more minutes. Set aside. Turn off oven.
  3. In a large pot, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and half-and-half until the cornstarch and sugar are dissolved. Add coconut milk, 3 eggs, and 1 egg yolk. Whisk to combine well, until no bits of egg are visible.
  4. Put over medium heat and stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon, making sure you scrape the bottom and the corners, until mixture begins to steam. It will start to thicken slightly.
  5. Reduce heat to medium low and stir frequently 5-10 minutes, until it’s very thick. It should be smooth and almost as thick as grits or polenta.
  6. Remove from heat.
  7. Sprinkle half the toasted coconut in the bottom of the warm crust then spread custard over.
  8. Cover tightly with plastic and refrigerate 4-8 hours.
  9. When ready to serve, top with whipped cream and remaining coconut.

Notes

Make sure you have a 9″ pie pan and something to use as pie weights, dried beans or pennies work.

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32 Comments

  1. Sherry on December 18, 2012 at 11:49 am

    This looks amazing! I will be making this for Christmas for sure! Two questions: 1. Can I use a different thickener other than corn starch? ie arrowroot powder or something else? (I don’t use corn products) 2. Is this pie freezable? (Without the whipped cream of course).

  2. Dawn on January 19, 2013 at 7:54 am

    I love all the recipes of yours I have tried, save this one. I followed the directions exactly, but the corn starch didn’t dissolve enough so l cooked it longer leading to a sad mess of gritty sweet coconut scrambled eggs. I have made coconut cream pie before, but my other recipe called for cooking the liquid and sugar corn starch mixture for a min or two before tempering & adding the eggs. I love the use of coconut milk and believe it will give it a more enhanced flavor then just dairy alone. Disappointed, but willing to give it another shot.






    • Hilah on January 19, 2013 at 9:55 am

      Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that, Dawn. 🙁 My advice next time would be to make sure the sugar is also dissolved int he liquid before adding the eggs and eggs are completely combined with the rest of it before putting any heat under the pot. I’ve reworded the instructions to hopefully prevent any more mishaps. If you like the recipe you already have, too, I bet you could use it and just swap out coconut milk for some of the dairy milk.

    • Phoebe Wintz on January 12, 2021 at 9:34 am

      I used my submersible electric mixer several times to keep the custard smooth as it cooked and thickened.

      • Hilah on January 14, 2021 at 8:19 am

        Great tip!

  3. Ashley on March 3, 2013 at 8:09 pm

    I made this today for my birthday/anniversary/hubby’s birthday. It was so yummy! It’s very rich.






    • Hilah on March 4, 2013 at 9:58 am

      Yay! Happy birthdays, you two!

  4. Ghost Orchid on April 1, 2013 at 6:24 pm

    Hey Hilah!

    I’m going to give this pie a try tomorrow! But I was curious if you’d have any suggestions on making a meringue topping for it? I’m assuming I’m better off letting it set completely BEFORE making the meringue? Otherwise the meringue will shrink up and weep in the fridge, right?

    Oh, and I totally got the full-fat coconut milk. I’m going ALL THE WAY, baby!

    • Hilah on April 2, 2013 at 10:04 am

      Hi Dear!!!
      I would recommend allowing it to set up, but not in the refrigerator. Let it set at room temperature until it’s solid enough to support the meringue, then spread the meringue and bake. If the filling is cold when you put the meringue on, the temperature difference between the exterior of the meringue and the bottom (that touches the pie) is too great, causing the meringue to not cook through all the way, causing it to shrink later.
      Let me know how it goes!

  5. Mike Velar on May 25, 2013 at 12:54 am

    I would like to try this but the recipe says 1/2 – 2/3 cup of sugar. Which is it? Is it 1/2 cup or 2/3 cup of sugar? I live at an altitude of 7700 feet and here cooking is way different than at sea level. In Texas my pies always came out perfect but here the sugar content really affects the way things bake and also how they set after cooking. Help me understand, why did you put 1/2 -2/3 on the recipe instead of a fixed measurement? Is it because of the altitude thing and different places require different sugar measurements?

    Also, do you see any problems with doing this pie as a meringue?

    Last question, do you accept recipe submissions cuz I have a super simple SUPER flavorful chicken recipe that you will absolutely LOVE!! That is, if your interested and not overwhelmed with people trying to give you recipes. Thanks for being such a joy to watch. Mike

    • Hilah on May 25, 2013 at 9:38 am

      Hi Mike!

      The variant is strictly due to tastes. I’ve made the pie a few times with either 1/2 cup sugar or 2/3 cup sugar. Both ways it sets fine (at sea level) but to me the 2/3 cup was a little too sweet. I prefer the 1/2 cup. I have never cooked at high altitude so I can’t speak to that but if you’re concerned about it not setting, the 2/3 cup would probably be what you’d want to try first. If you do a meringue that will help balance out the sweetness. Another thing, if you can find full fat (15% or so) coconut milk that will help it set firm for sure.

      If you were to meringue top it, don’t put the meringue on a cold pie. Just let the pie set until cool not cold, top with meringue, and bake. Then cool again and refrigerate until cold. Having the meringue and the pie at about the same temperature when it goes in the oven will ensure that the meringue cooks all the way through instead of being too “raw” and wet on the inside.

      I love getting recipes from people! You can post it here or email me at hilahcooking at gmail

      Thanks! Good luck with the pie. Hope I was some help at least!

  6. Ashleigh on July 9, 2013 at 12:11 pm

    I was wondering if this recipe is do-able without making your own pie crust. I really don’t prefer the taste of regular pie crusts and I was wondering if this is do-able with a graham cracker type crust? Or if there is any way to make it do-able with one of those type crusts. Thanks! I love your recipes and your Youtube show!

    • Hilah on July 11, 2013 at 12:04 pm

      Hi Ashleigh! Great question. Yes, you could definitely use a graham cracker crust. It would be delicious! I have a recipe for that in my key lime pie recipe. Just bake the crumb crust as directed, fill with coconut custard and chill!

  7. Yanelli on November 13, 2013 at 12:32 am

    Hi hilah,

    I tried making the filling tonight and something went wrong because the filling never thickened. All measurements were correct and I followed in the order you did it so what do you think went wrong? 🙁

    • Hilah on November 13, 2013 at 8:56 am

      Hi Yanelli,

      I’m sorry. That has never happened to me with this recipe! The most likely culprit is that it wasn’t cooked long enough. Did you see and feel it thicken before you turned off the heat? The video gives a good idea of what it should look like when it’s ready to go into the crust.

  8. Amy on November 24, 2013 at 2:23 pm

    I tried it and mine never set, it stayed soupy and i chilled it over night! Help me!!

  9. Alexandra on December 15, 2014 at 3:34 am

    Hi Hilah! I made this today (but mini versions) and they were yumbo as! I found my mixture took a little while to thicken, but luckily I persisted with it on the higher heat and then all of a sudden it thickened!! Have been watching your vids for ages, but last night watched an older one and got excited when you said you worked for a while in NZ as thats where I’m from! (Wellington!) YAY!






    • Hilah on December 17, 2014 at 9:41 am

      Hooray! I love mini-pies, Alexandra! Thanks for writing about your experience with the recipe. 🙂
      I would LOVE to visit NZ again someday. Some good friends of ours live in Nelson. Wellington is a great city, too. I loved walking around there.

  10. Aiste on February 24, 2015 at 8:25 am

    hi, i am Aiste and i am from Lithuania. And i didn’t get what is half-and-half, i don’t know if we have this in Lithuania. could i use something else?

    • Hilah on February 25, 2015 at 7:55 am

      Hi Aiste!
      “Half and half” in the US is a product made from half milk and half heavy cream. If you can get milk and heavy cream, you can make your own by mixing equal parts. Hope that helps!

      • Aiste on February 25, 2015 at 8:22 am

        thank you very much, i will try to make it with my friend. And one more thing: could you tell a cup how much would that be in grams? And one ounce how much in mililiters?

        • Hilah on February 26, 2015 at 8:35 am

          Sorry, Aiste. I am not very familiar with grams. Since grams measure weight and cups measure volume, it depends on what you are measuring. The easiest way to convert would be to measure everything in milliliters, I think.

          1 ounce = 30 mL
          1 cup = 8 ounce = 240 mL

          • Aiste on March 31, 2015 at 11:23 am

            hello again. one more question, for the half -and- half should i use fat or non-fat heavy cream?



          • Hilah on March 31, 2015 at 12:52 pm

            Use the highest fat heavy cream you can get



    • Michele Piper on June 21, 2019 at 12:37 pm

      I tried the meringue and my pie got really runny. This may not be the recipe to try meringue.

  11. Jen on March 16, 2015 at 1:35 pm

    I made this last night to celebrate Pi Day/my husband’s first day at his new job. Sadly I could not try it since I can’t eat dairy but it came together easily and thickened up just fine! I actually combined the eggs, sugar, and cornstarch first, then added the dairy/coconut milk, and it all dissolved and incorporated fine. Also, to anyone who is having trouble with it not thickening or setting properly, make sure you bring the pudding mixture to a boil (it won’t really “boil” since it’s so thick, but you should be able to see large, slow bubbles appear on the surface if you stop stirring for a moment.) Otherwise the cornstarch won’t fully activate and it may not set properly.

    I actually really want to try this with all coconut milk and see how it comes out!






  12. america on January 4, 2016 at 9:43 am

    Hi Hilah. Your coconut cream pie recipe looks delicious but i wonder if I could use another type of fruit such as apple.

    Thank you so much and congratulations.






    • Hilah on January 4, 2016 at 4:24 pm

      No, but I have an apple pie recipe on the site.

  13. Helen K. Hunter on February 28, 2016 at 8:46 pm

    Hi Hilah,

    I love your recipe but I am having a problem with the pie getting a gritty texture. The texture is fine when I put it into the refrig. to cool down before I add the meringue. Later it become grainy. Am I cooking it too long or a too high a temperature?

    • Hilah on February 29, 2016 at 10:02 am

      Hi Helen,

      Sorry you’re having trouble with it. I haven’t had this problem myself but it seems like too high a heat may be the culprit. If your stove top doesn’t have a very low simmer, try cooking the custard in a double boiler next time.

  14. Dave Stahl on January 16, 2019 at 8:48 am

    Hilah…this recipe looks great. I’m getting ready to bake this afternoon. I was just curious…what is the reason for putting your coconut in the bottom of the pie dish as opposed to mixing it in the custard filling? Just wondering. Thanks!

    Dave

    • Hilah on January 17, 2019 at 3:50 pm

      Hey Dave! You could mix it in, but if there are any lumps in your custard, they’ll be easier to spot if the coconut is kept separate

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