These vegan no-bake peanut butter pies are made a little healthier with the help of bananas, coconut milk and maple syrup. With a paleo option.

I sure love my mini pies. My favorite are these key lime pies and these raspberry cream pies are also pretty amazing (and both are paleo + vegan!)

Before I got started working on this recipe, I thought peanut butter pie without cream cheese just wasn’t possible. I had tried the kind with tofu but it was just a little too unusual for me.

So I found a new base – bananas! It may sound a little odd but once frozen and slightly defrosted, these peanut butter pies have a great texture! And they taste pretty close to regular peanut butter pie.

The only less-than-awesome thing about them is that they need to be kept frozen and then defrosted a bit before serving.

Surprisingly (at least to me), the bananas don’t overpower the peanut butter flavor. It’s a nice balance! My bananas weren’t overly ripe so if yours are very spotted or almost blackened, like what you’d use for banana bread, the pies will probably have a much stronger banana taste.

I’m thinking that you actually shouldn’t use overly ripe bananas in these! You’re risking messing with the balance of flavors.

The coconut taste is also pretty subtle, though if you dislike coconut, you may want to use whipping cream (for a non-vegan version) in place of the coconut milk.

And if you need these pies to be paleo, just use cashews or sunflower seeds in place of the peanuts and cashew or sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter. I’ve tried it and it’s delicious that way!

The first time I made these pies, I used a high-powered blender to make the filling. I definitely don’t recommend that! It resulted in an unusual gluey texture. Use a food processor, which you’ll also need for the crust.

For the topping, I used my healthy peanut butter fudge recipe, which specifically calls for refined coconut oil. You can use unrefined if you prefer, but it results in quite a strong coconut flavor and I don’t like anything messing with my peanut butter flavor, so… refined it is for me. :)

Just make sure to pour the fudge over the pies right before serving! It tends to firm up quite quickly. If you pour the fudge over the pies straight from the freezer, you’re going to end up with a layer of practically frozen fudge, making the pies a bit difficult and messy to eat.

If you’re looking for some more yummy vegan peanut butter treats, try these vegan peanut butter cookies (one of my very favorite recipes!) or this peanut butter fudge!

❀