There is nothing more delicious than a Coconut Cream Pie covered with a homemade whipped cream topping and toasted coconut flakes. The creamy custard filling is flavored with coconut milk and coconut extract with sweetened shredded coconut flakes stirred into the pudding for the ultimate in coconut pie flavor!

One slice of coconut cream pie on a white plate.

Cream pies are my family's favorite type of pie recipe. This coconut cream pie is right at the top of the list and often requested for birthday's over cake! We also love this Strawberry Cream Pie for special occasions!

Why You'll Love Coconut Cream Pie

Comfort food classic: creamy pudding with sweet indulgent flavors makes this pie recipe the perfect comfort food.
Tropical flavors: the coconut flavor brings a taste of the tropics to this delicious dessert!
Celebration worthy: a great dessert for holiday celebrations or special occasions.

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Why You'll Love Coconut Cream Pie
Ingredients
How to Make Coconut Cream Pie
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
More Pie Recipes
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Ingredients

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Coconut milk (use coconut milk from a can)
2% milk
Granulated sugar
Cornstarch
Large eggs
Coconut flakes
Salted butter
Coconut extract

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Coconut Cream Pie

You can make this coconut cream pie in just 6 easy steps! While it does need time to chill, you can make this ahead of time and have it cold and ready for dessert in just a few hours.

Milk, sugar, and cornstarch whisked together in a stainless steel saucepan.

Step 1: Whisk together cornstarch, granulated sugar, milk, and coconut milk in a large saucepan.

Step 2: Add the egg yolks and whisk. Cook over medium heat until pudding begins to thicken.

Thickened pudding with butter and coconut extract added.

Step 3: Add the butter and coconut extract and whisk together until creamy.

Coconut on top of pudding in a saucepan.

Step 4: Stir in the coconut until well incorporated.

Overhead image of coconut cream pie filling spread inside of baked crust.

Step 5: Pour into prepared pie crust and cool completely.

Overhead image of whole coconut cream pie topped with whipped cream and toasted coconut flakes.

Step 6: Top with whipped cream.

In a large sauce pan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, coconut milk, and milk until smooth.
Whisk in the egg yolks until fully incorporated into the milk mixture. Cook pudding mixture in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly.
Remove from heat and add the butter and coconut extract. Stirring until well combined.
Stir in the sweetened coconut flakes.
Pour coconut cream pudding into prepared pie crust. Cover and cool completely. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.
To serve, top with homemade whipped topping and toasted coconut flakes.

Hint: Pre-bake the pie ahead of time giving it enough time to cool completely before adding the pie filling.

Substitutions

This coconut cream pie is very forgiving, if you find yourself in a pinch and need to make substitutions, check out the suggestions below:

Make it vegan - feel free to use all coconut milk or almond milk in place of the cow's milk and use vegan butter in place of the butter and coconut whipped cream for the topping.
Flavored extract - pure vanilla extract can be substituted for the coconut extract.
Graham cracker crust - substitute a graham cracker crust for the pie pastry.

Whole pie with a slice removed from the pie plate.

Variations

Sometimes a little variety adds more pizazz to your pie, check out the suggestions below for some different ways to make your coconut cream pie.

Toasted Coconut - stir toasted coconut into the pudding for more crispy and toasty texture.
Coconut-Pineapple Cream Pie - stir in 1 cup well drained crushed pineapple with the coconut. Garnish whipped topping with maraschino cherries.
Kid friendly - add crushed potato chips (ketchup chips!)

Equipment

You will need:

Sauce pan with a heavy bottom or a double boiler (to make the pudding).
Hand whisk
Rubber spatula

Storage

Store coconut cream pie in an airtight pie container (affiliate link) up to 3 days.

Freezer storage is not recommended.

Top tip

Pudding pie with plastic wrap on top to prevent a skin from forming on the pudding.

Place saran wrap over the top of the pie filling to prevent skin from forming. Cool and refrigerate.

More Pie Recipes

Looking for more pie recipes like this? Try these:

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