Jello Coconut Cream Pie Recipe

Published on: November 21, 2020

Coconut Cream Pie is a silky smooth dessert with a flaky crust and a coconut filling, topped with coconut whipped cream and toasted coconut sprinkles.

Coconut Cream Pie

This coconut cream pie is by far the best I have ever had. The filling is made from scratch – never with a pudding mix. It makes all the difference! It's better than anything you can get at a store. Homemade always tastes best, and this couldn't be more true with this recipe. It is rich and creamy and full of coconut flavor. Everyone will think you put more time into it than you actually did. It is perfect for a family gathering or Easter dinner. To quote one of our readers, "Hands down the best coconut cream pie I have ever made and tasted!"

A slice of pie with a bite taken out of it

It All Starts with the Crust!

You can either use a regular crust or a graham cracker crust for this Coconut Cream Pie. Use your favorite pie crust recipe, or buy one from the store. It is whatever you prefer really. If you need ideas check out our favorite pie crust recipes – click HERE for our Perfect Pie Crust recipe and HERE for our Perfect Graham Cracker Crust!

Make it with a Meringue Topping

A delicious variation on this recipe is to top the coconut cream layer with meringue instead of whipped topping. For a quick and easy meringue recipe, see our Lemon Meringue Pie. If you prefer meringue to whipped topping, this works beautifully on the Coconut Cream Pie.

Coconut Cream Pie with Less Sugar

The same reader adapted this Coconut Cream Pie recipe to make it more diabetic-friendly. These are her substitute suggestions: "This is a great recipe but I wanted to make it with less fat and sugar; I am Diabetic. I substituted milk with 1 – 12 oz. can of Fat Free Evaporated Milk; used 1 – 13.5 oz can of Lite Coconut Milk; exchanged sugar for 1/2 cup Splenda, and poured it all into a homemade graham cracker crust made with Splenda. It came out fabulous. My husband loved it, said it was the best pie ever." Thank you, Karen!

More Recipes for Coconut Lovers!

If you're a fan of our Coconut Cream Pie recipe, try some of our other favorite coconut recipes:

Tasty Coconut Cupcakes – Light and fluffy cupcakes with the most amazing coconut frosting!
Coconut Cream Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting – A coconut lover's dream! A coconut cake with a rich and creamy coconut cream cheese frosting, sprinkled with even more toasted coconut.
Coconut Pecan Cookie Bars – A graham cracker crust topped with coconut, milk chocolate chips, pecans. An easy recipe that everyone loves!
Caribbean Coconut Fudge Bars – A soft oatmeal cookie crust topped with chocolate fudge and a gooey coconut topping. The recipe comes from a coffee shop in the Caribbean.
Coconut Almond Bread – This is a moist coconut bread with a hint of almond. Perfect for breakfast, dessert, or a sweet treat.

Slice of Coconut Cream Pie on a white Plate with a fork to the side.

How to Make Coconut Cream Pie

A slice of coconut cream pie on a plate topped with toasted coconut

Coconut Cream Pie is a silky smooth dessert with a flaky crust and a coconut filling, topped with coconut whipped cream and toasted coconut sprinkles.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total: 35 minutes

Serves: 8

1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 cups coconut milk a little less than 1 can
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut toasted
2 teaspoons coconut extract or vanilla extract
9 inch pie shell baked (see above for our pie crust recipes)

In a medium saucepan, combine half-and-half, coconut milk, eggs, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Bring to a boil over LOW heat (using a double-boiler works best), whisking constantly.
When it starts to boil a little bit and thickens up to about the consistency of a thick pudding (this takes about 15-20 minutes so BE PATIENT), remove from heat.
Stir in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut and the coconut (or vanilla) extract. Pour into pie shell and chill for 2 to 4 hours, or until firm.
While pie is cooling, whip together topping ingredients with electric beaters.
When pie is completely cooled, top with whipped topping and sprinkle on remaining toasted coconut.

Preparation time does not include the 2-4 hours of refrigeration time for the pie to set. Nutrition information is for the whole pie filling, but not the crust.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Coconut Cream Pie

Recipe by: Erica Walker