Vanilla Cream Pie

Three layers—buttery crust, vanilla pudding filling and whipped cream topping!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cream pie, pie

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 367kcal

Author Emma Chapman

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold butter
¼ cup ice water

Filling

1 box instant vanilla pudding 3.4 ounce size
2 cups milk
8 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

Instructions

First, make the pie crust.
You will also need to blind bake the pie shell. Place a sheet of parchment paper in the center and fill with dry rice, beans or pie weights. Bake in the oven at 400°F for 15-20 minutes.
If you are using a store-bought crust, follow the instructions to pre-bake or blind bake. And if you are using a graham cracker crust or something like it, you can skip this step altogether.
Next, make the vanilla filling. In a large mixing bowl, follow the instructions on the instant pudding mix box, which usually has you stir in milk.
Then whisk in the softened cream cheese and vanilla extract. Once ready, pour the mixture into the cooled pie crust and level out.
Make the whipped cream. And top the pie with the whipped cream.
Decorate if you desire. Serve chilled, as this will also make it a little easier to slice.

Notes

You can find instructions for making the pie crust dough and fresh whipped cream on the corresponding post, linked.

Using softened cream cheese will ensure you don’t get big lumps of cream cheese throughout your pudding batter. But, if you do see some lumps, I find using an immersion blender or running the filling through a food processor or blender for a few seconds will help make that silky smooth texture.

If you get lumps in your whipped cream, this likely means you’ve overmixed it. Add just a little more cold heavy whipping cream, like one tablespoon, and whisk to fix it. I also think decorating the top can cover a few small imperfections. 🙂

Top the pie with white chocolate shavings, crushed peppermint, or decorated cookies like shortbread or Pirouline.

This vanilla cream pie can be made a day or two in advance. I would wait to add the whipped cream to the top until serving (just store them separately).

Store any leftovers covered in aluminum foil or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least two days. While the pie will be safe to eat for much longer, I find the crust begins to get too soft if left too long.

If you want to change up the flavor of this cream pie, the easiest way to do so is to swap the vanilla pudding mix for another flavor like banana, coconut, chocolate or lemon.

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