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Whole coconut cream pie in glass pie plate topped with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

The Best Coconut Cream Pie

Yield: 8 Servings (One 9 or 10-inch pie)
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Chilling Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust:

  • 1 ½ cups (155 g) graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons (40 g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (9 g) flour (optional - helps bind crust)
  • 6 tablespoons (85 g) salted butter, melted

Coconut Cream Pie:

  • 1 can (13.6 ounces) full-fat coconut milk (see note)
  • 1 ¼ cups (303 g) half-and-half (see note)
  • ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup (50 g) cornstarch
  • 3 large (48 g) egg yolks
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract

Whipped Cream + Coconut:

  • 1 ½ cups heavy cream
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (85 g) toasted coconut (see note)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • For the crust, in a medium bowl, combine the graham crackers, sugar, and flour (if using). Add the butter and stir until the graham cracker crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the crumbs evenly in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
  • For the pudding, in a medium saucepan, add the coconut milk, half-and-half, sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and salt. Whisk until well-combined.
  • Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Once large bubbles pop on the surface, continue to cook, stirring constantly, for one full minute (moderate the heat if the pudding is sticking to the bottom of the pan). The mixture should be thickened to the consistency of soft-set pudding. It will thicken more as it cools.
  • Strain the pudding through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Add the butter, vanilla extract and coconut extract to the pudding. Stir until the butter and extracts are fully combined into the pudding. OPTIONAL: Stir 3/4 cup toasted coconut into the pudding - otherwise leave it out and sprinkle it on top of the pie in a later step.
  • Spread the pudding in the cooled crust. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding (to prevent a skin from forming) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours until fully chilled.
  • For the whipped cream, in a blender or in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Process or mix on low speed until thickened.
  • Spread the whipped cream evenly over the pie and top with toasted coconut. Serve the pie chilled.

Notes

Crust: In place of the graham cracker crust, you can use a fully baked (blind-baked) and cooled 9-inch regular pie crust. 
Coconut Milk: The recipe calls for canned full-fat coconut milk (often found in the Asian foods aisle). Don't use reduced fat coconut milk, refrigerated coconut milk, cream of coconut or coconut cream. 
Half-and-half: Instead of measuring the half-and-half separately, you can pour the coconut milk into a 4-cup liquid measure and add half-and-half (or heavy cream) until it equals 3 cups. 
Coconut: To toast the coconut, spread unsweetened or lightly sweetened shredded coconut on a parchment-lined half sheet pan and bake at 325 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring every 4 to 5 minutes. Watch closely so it doesn't burn!
UPDATES: This recipe was originally published in 2009; over the years, I've made a few updates to make it a bit more simple and straightforward. I also added 1 tablespoon butter to the pudding mixture - this creates a rich silkiness, but you can leave it out if you prefer the original recipe. Here's a link to the original recipe.