Active Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time
2 hours, plus 3 hours 30 minutes for chilling
Think of this coconut cream pie recipe as a Samoa cookie in pie form. It’s crunchy, caramelly, creamy, and positively jam-packed with coconut flavor. There’s toasted coconut in the quick-and-easy graham cracker crust, coconut oil in the caramel, coconut milk in the custard, and big pieces of flaked coconut to top it all off. (Catch former BA editor Claire Saffitz making the pie here.) It’s easy to see why this is one of our favorite pies.
Because of its many elements, prepping this pie is best approached in stages. Start with the homemade pie crust, which comes together in a food processor and gets a brief blind bake for toasty crunch. Bundled in plastic wrap, the pie shell can be left at room temperature for a day, or frozen in the pie plate for up to two weeks. The caramel, which adds that signature Samoa chew, can be made up to four days in advance.
Save the creamy coconut filling for the day of serving. To amp up the flavor, Claire steeps a whole vanilla bean in half-and-half, giving this pie filling a richer mouthfeel than ones that use whole milk. If you’d rather use vanilla extract, whisk in 1 Tbsp. extract after straining the custard.
Sweetened whipped cream is our ideal topper for coconut cream pie. But, since you will have a few egg whites left over, you could easily make meringue instead: Whisk the egg whites with a bit of sugar to stiff peaks, mound the meringue on top of the pie, and don’t forget to toast it.
For more custard pies, check out our Banana Cream Pie, Extremadura Almond Pie, Key Lime Pie, or Milk and Honey Pie recipes.
Ingredients
10 servings
Coconut Graham Crust:
1¼
4
2
¼
¼
1
Coconut Caramel:
⅓
¼
2
½
Coconut Custard and Assembly:
3
1
1
1
1
4
3
¼
½
1½
Special Equipment:
Preparation
Coconut Graham Crust:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange 1¼ cups unsweetened finely shredded coconut in a thin, even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring halfway through, until golden brown, 5–8 minutes; let cool. Set aside ½ cup toasted coconut for the coconut caramel.
Step 2
Pulse 4 oz. graham crackers (about 7), lightly crushed, 2 Tbsp. sugar, ¼ tsp. kosher salt, and remaining ¾ cup toasted coconut in a food processor until crackers are coarsely ground. With the motor running, stream in ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled, followed by 1 large egg yolk. Do not overprocess; you should have fine crumbs that are the texture of wet sand.
Step 3
Transfer mixture to pie plate and press firmly and evenly up sides and across the bottom. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is set and edges are brown, 12–18 minutes. Let cool.
Do Ahead: Crust can be baked 1 day ahead. Let cool, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature, or freeze up to 2 weeks.
Coconut Caramel:
Step 4
Sprinkle a thin, even layer of sugar into a small heavy saucepan. Cook, undisturbed, over medium heat until mostly melted, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle another layer of sugar over and cook, stirring to incorporate granular sugar into melted sugar with a heatproof spatula, until melted, another minute or so. Repeat until you’ve used all sugar. Continue to cook, swirling saucepan (do not stir), until caramel is dark amber, about 30 seconds longer. Remove from heat and carefully pour in ¼ cup heavy cream, stirring to combine (caramel will sputter and seize up, but don’t worry).
Step 5
Return saucepan to low heat and cook, stirring, until any hardened bits of caramel are dissolved. Stir in 2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil, melted, until mixture is smooth, then fold in ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. plus ⅛ tsp. Morton’s kosher salt and reserved ½ cup toasted coconut. Let caramel cool in pan, then scrape into cooled crust and use an offset spatula to spread in an even layer. Cover with plastic and chill.
Do Ahead: Caramel can be made 4 days ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill. Rewarm over low heat before pouring into pie crust.
Coconut Custard and Assembly:
Step 6
Place 3 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil, room temperature, in a medium bowl and set a fine-mesh sieve over top; set aside. Scrape vanilla seeds from 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, into a heavy medium saucepan. Add vanilla pod and one 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk, shaken. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until coconut milk is reduced to about 1 cup, 10–15 minutes. Add 1 cup half-and-half and bring to a gentle simmer.
Step 7
Meanwhile, briskly whisk 1 large egg, 4 large egg yolks, 3 Tbsp. cornstarch, ¼ tsp. kosher salt, and ½ cup sugar in another medium bowl until pale and thickens, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about ½ cup hot milk mixture into egg mixture. Go back to whisking milk mixture in saucepan, then slowly pour tempered egg mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until foam has subsided and custard holds the marks of the whisk, about 2 minutes.
Step 8
Immediately scrape custard into sieve and use a spatula to press mixture into bowl with oil; pluck out vanilla pod. Whisk strained custard until oil is incorporated and mixture is glossy and smooth.
Step 9
Set bowl inside another large bowl of ice water. Whisk occasionally until custard is cool, about 3 minutes. Scrape custard into chilled pie crust and smooth top. Press a piece of plastic directly onto surface of custard to prevent a skin from forming, and chill until set, at least 3 hours.
Step 10
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat 1½ cups heavy cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Whisk in remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar.
Step 11
Remove plastic from surface of pie and dollop cream over set custard. Top with toasted coconut flakes.
Do Ahead: Pie can be filled with custard 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and chill. Top with whipped cream and toasted coconut just before serving.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in May 2017 as part of BA’s Best, a collection of our essential recipes. Head this way for more of our favorite cream pie recipes →
Leave a Review
Reviews (39)
Back to TopI made this pie for Thanksgiving this year and it was a hit! I am a fairly experienced home baker and, admittedly, I did burn the caramel on the first go-round. I am used to using the wet method so it gave me a bit of trouble. I redid it and it came out much better (although probably still a touch overdone). I think this pie is extremely balanced, the crust is crunchy, a little salty, and tastes just like a Samoa cookie with the caramel on it. The filling is perfect, it's light and creamy and not too sweet. I topped it with unsweetened whipped cream and the toasted coconut flakes as suggested. I will definitely be making this again, but trying a wet caramel.
Riley
Atlanta, GA
11/24/2023
This is by far the best dessert I've ever made. People always ask me to make it whenever I go to visit. 10/10, 5 stars, can't get enough !
P Lavender
Chicago
11/20/2023
The cream layer didn't have enough bite for me. I added 3 oz cream cheese and 1/2 tsp of coconut extract after mixing in the coconut oil and it improved the texture of the cream and added a slightly stronger coconut flavor without tasting artificial. I love the graham cracker crust but the caramel is difficult to keep soft. I switched to the wet method by adding a 1/3 cup of water to suger and boiling down to desired color.
Gabe
San Francisco
8/30/2023
Yummmm. This pie was heavenly! I followed the recipe with no substitutions, and had no troubles with the caramel. Fairly experienced home baker, with no formal training. Like a lot if bon appetit recipes, you have to tap into your foundations knowledge (although Claire provides pretty clear instructions in this one). Tip for the caramel- try letting the heavy cream come up to room temp before adding it, it won't seize up the sugar as much and will blend in easier with less heat, which will keep the caramel from being overcooked and burnt tasting or hard. Like others noticed, the coconut flavor in the cream layer was mild, but I loved that because it let the salty, coconutty, caramel and crust shine. I think the light whipped cream was the right choice, as a heavy, sweet meringue would have been a lot. I'll find something else for those egg whites :)
Mary
PA
10/31/2022
Are you able to convert your measurements and temperatures for australian measurements? This cake looks.awesome!
Anonymous
Sydney, Australia
10/8/2022
My family loves this recipe, and I make it for my husband's birthday every year. It's delicious.
Birthday
Kentucky
3/5/2022
I have had this recipe set aside for several years, but finally decided to make it for Thanksgiving. The results were perfect. The crust eats more like a semi-crunchy coconut cookie. You can pick up this piece of pie with your fingers and eat like a piece of pizza. I actually loved that. The caramel portion came out perfect. It was on the soft chewy side - I noticed that it blended into the crust and/or was moistened by the cream filling. Certainly if you overcook caramel, it will either turn to be like hard candy OR it will be burned. Love the light texture change and flavor addition there. *I added about 3 TBL of toasted unsweetened coconut flakes on top of the caramel layer. Turned out to be genius for extra flavor. I actually made two pies, one with whipped cream and one with toasted Italian Meringue. I loved them both.
James Anderson
Dallas
11/28/2021
This pie is fantastic! Takes a while to put together and lots of steps, but worth every minute you’ll spend on not. The only problem is the caramel. Made as directed it isn’t enough and it gets so hard on the bottom of the pie, you can’t cut it. I recommend more caramel and more cream in that caramel, so it’s not so hard. I make one cup of sugar, melted in 1/4 cup of water. Cooked to a golden brown, then 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 2 tbsp of coconut oil, and the toasted coconut. Delicious, and cuttable! I don’t use all of that caramel in the pie. It’s too much. But it’s delicious on ice cream, or in any place you might like a coconutty caramel sauce.
Angela
San Antonio
5/29/2021
I love it! I made it yesterday in 8 cm tart rings because I want to send it to my friends for the New Year gift. The coconut flavor is subtle and it pairs beautifully with custard, caramel and the crust. I couldn't find Graham Crackers in my country so I used coconut biscuits instead and omit the sugar, because the biscuits are already sweet. It's a complicated recipe, but it sure does worth it. Thanks!
Sany
Indonesia
1/2/2021
Unusually for me I followed the recipe nearly exactly, changing only the vanilla bean for a whack of vanilla paste. This pie is FANTASTIC. One of the best pies I ever tasted - made it first time yesterday for dinner company and they hoovered it like wolves, all gone. I'm an experienced home cook but not trained, and had no issues with any of the steps. Mine is full of coconut flavour so not sure why any would find it bland. Well done, Claire; I'm sure I'll make this many times!
Mike in Mountain
Mountain, Ontario, Canada
9/7/2020
Amazing. I added a layer of coconut chocolate ganache on top of the caramel (recipe from Epicurious).
Anonymous
Richmond, Virginia
7/5/2020
This is literally the best pie I've ever had. I made this for my family and they won't stop raving about it! The only change I made to the recipe is that I used brown butter for the pie crust, but I don't think it made much of a difference.
Anonymous
Florida
7/4/2020
This recipe is BOMB. And I would like to address some of the older comments about people failing at making the caramel. I had the same issues, and I tried 3 different times. The last time worked well all because I had a heavy bottom pot that held more heat and allowed the cream to incorporate into the caramel. It has to stay warm! Or it will turn to hard candy caramel and REALLY seize up!
Anonymous
Las Vegas
11/28/2019
I never liked coconut cream pie until this recipe. I love coconut but felt most coconut cream pies were bland with little coconut flavor. I love how this recipe packs coconut into everything from the crust to the caramel to the filling. After reading the reviews, I did add a teaspoon of coconut extract to the filling which I thought was a welcome addition. Every time I’ve made it, I’ve found the coconut toasts fairly quickly (around 4 minutes). I initially burnt a few batches of coconut flakes. The crust was also on the lower end of the 12-18 for me - would just keep a close eye out. This is a fairly involved recipe and fairly time consuming. I think it’s best to make it a day ahead and keep in the fridge overnight. Best to give the filling plenty of time to set. I have made this recipe multiple times and will keep it as a standby!
Anonymous
Dallas
10/28/2019
i love Claire's Coconut Cream Pie recipe so much, i pinned it twice! i'd add more coconut to both crust and custard, but i love the simple whipped cream topping. less sweet and more creamy than the meringue i thought she was going to make, what with all those egg whites just sitting around! Claire -- you are a baking genius! -- so much knowledge and experience; just a great teacher! (psst -- whenever there are leftover egg whites, ... MERINGUE COOKIES!)
hollis5
Vero Beach, FL
2/23/2019