Gluten-Free Roasted Banana Buttermilk Pie Recipe
Pie is one of those desserts that really seems to scare people who are new to gluten-free. It’s the crust, specifically, that seems challenging. If pie brings you fear rather than joy, I have 2 ways to solve that. The first, and easiest, is to make a cookie crust, like I’ve done in this Gluten-Free Roasted Banana Buttermilk Pie. The second, if you’re up for a new challenge, is to make a traditional pie crust using gluten-free flour. It’s not difficult, but you do need patience when trying it for the first time. No patience? Back to solution #1: cookie crust!
Cookie crust is simple because you can find a wide range of gluten-free cookies on the store shelves these days and many of them make excellent pie crusts. Get out a little aggression by beating the cookies into crumbs (OK, this is best done in a food processor, but in a pinch you can use a rolling pin), mix it up with some butter, and then just press it into a pie pan. Voila! Pie crust complete.
My favorite cookies to use for a traditional cookie crust are vanilla wafers from Kinnikinnick. When I want to make a chocolate crust, I’ll use chocolate sandwich cookies. Other great options include graham crackers or ginger snap cookies (ideal for flavors like cinnamon and nutmeg).
Now onto the actual pie filling. This is a buttermilk pie, which is very similar to a chess pie (if you’ve never tried chess pie, here’s a traditional one, a chocolate ginger one, and a chocolate pecan one). Buttermilk pie is a custard-style pie that is popular in the south but originated in the UK. This version incorporates roasted bananas and is topped with a big, fluffy meringue to give it a little something extra!
Gluten-Free Roasted Banana Buttermilk Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 (6.3-ounce) box Kinnikinnick gluten-free Vanilla Wafers
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
For the Filling:
- 3 bananas peeled and sliced
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
For the Meringue Topping:
- 5 large egg whites at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 10 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Finely crush the cookies in a food processor. Add the 6 tablespoons melted butter. Mix well. Pack firmly into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool. Leave oven on.
- Combine the bananas, 4 tablespoons melted butter, and brown sugar in a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.
- Combine the buttermilk, sugar, eggs, flour, lemon juice, vanilla, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- When the bananas are done, stir into the buttermilk mixture, including all the juices. Pour mixture into pie crust and bake for 60 minutes or until the filling is set. Keep the oven on.
- Make the meringue filling by combining the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes.
- Using the back of a spoon, spread the topping over the hot pie, making sure to cover the edges of the pie. Use the back of the spoon to pull the meringue into peaks all over the pie. Put the pie back in the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition
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Way too much sugar for me.
Hi Sue,
Yes, this is an indulgent recipe! You can always try making it with less sugar or use a cup-for-cup sugar replacement, maybe something like Swerve which is non-glycemic. Or you can try my Banana Cream Pie recipe which still has a lot of sugar but not as much as this one, and again you could cut some or substitute with Swerve.
Hope this helps!