Vegan No-Bake Banana Caramel Tart
This No Bake Banana Caramel Tart is similar to a classic Banoffee pie, but it’s sweetened entirely with dates! This healthy twist on a classic banana cream pie is sweet and scrumptious. It has a date caramel filling and coconut whipped cream on top. It’s gluten-free, paleo, and vegan.
Meet one of my new favorite ways to enjoy bananas: no-bake banana caramel tart! The manifestation of my cravings for a banoffee pie – the classic dessert that combines bananas, caramel, and whipped cream. Oh so delicious, with creamy bananas, a lusciously sweet and delicious caramel, and refreshing fluffs of whipped cream on top. In this case, coconut cream!
This recipe couldn’t be more simple to make, with an easy date caramel filling that mimics real caramel so well. In fact, the only sweetener in this entire dessert is dates! That makes this one pretty healthy treat, that tastes decidedly decadent and is perfect for serving to others.
How do you make date caramel?
To make date caramel, you need:
- Medjool dates: these are the most caramel-like dates in flavor, and they tend to be the softest too, which makes them easy to blend. If yours don’t seem super soft, you’ll want to soak them in hot water first to help make them super soft and squishy. If yours aren’t pitted, you’ll need to pit them before using.
- Coconut oil: this helps our caramel get super creamy and also helps it firm up.
- Vanilla & Sea Salt: to help give our caramel delicious flavor!
- Hot water: blending the dates with hot water brings them to that delicious creamy consistency.
Once you’ve got all your ingredients assembled, you simply blend them all together until you have a smooth, creamy & delicious date caramel!
Of course, that date caramel has to go on top of something, and in this recipe we make a super simple date and pecan crust. The pecans are toasted for this recipe and it’s a game changer. The toasted pecan flavor in the crust takes this tart from good to GREAT, so don’t skip that step!
The pecans, along with some dates, almond flour, and coconut oil, make a simple but DELICIOUS crust. You’re going to love it. Once the crust is pressed into the pan, you’ll cover it with that luscious date caramel!
You’ll arrange a sliced banana on top of the date caramel. Then, add some fluffy coconut cream, MORE banana slices, and a caramel drizzle. Oh HECK YES. Layers upon luscious layers! Although this tart looks like it takes a while to make, each step is quick and simple so it won’t take long.
Coconut cream can be a little tricky, especially if you get a dud can of coconut cream.
For the best coconut cream success:
- Refrigerate your coconut cream overnight to help separate the cream from the water.
- Make sure to drain off any excess coconut water in the can so you get just the cream (you can save the water for smoothies).
- You can use something like this coconut whipping cream, which is a little more expensive but has been super successful in my testing.
- Many grocery stores now have premade dairy-free whipped cream alternatives, which you may want to consider to save a little time!
This tart is best made the day you’re going to serve it. However, if you want to make it ahead, hold off on adding the bananas until you’re ready to serve. Bananas don’t keep particularly well and you don’t want to serve people brown bananas! You want to serve them a slice of luscious banana caramel tart, with a smooth & sweet date filling, fresh bananas, and creamy coconut cream.
You’d never guess this is sweetened with JUST dates. They’re genuinely magical little fruits! I hope you guys love this one as much as I do! :)
Want more banana recipes?
- The Best Vegan Banana Bread
- Banana Bread Oatmeal
- Vegan Banana Blueberry Pancakes
- No-Bake Chocolate Banana Macaroons
No-Bake Banana Caramel Tart
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This No-Bake Banana Caramel Tart is similar to a classic Banoffee pie, but there’s no baking necessary and it’s sweetened entirely with dates! This healthy twist on a classic is sweet and scrumptious with a date caramel filling and coconut whipped cream on top. It’s gluten-free, paleo, and vegan.
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 cup pecan, toasted and cooled completely
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup (about 5-6) Medjool dates, pitted
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling
- 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and/or ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅔ cup hot water
- 1 banana, sliced into ¼” coins
For the topping
- 1 cup coconut cream, lightly whipped, see Notes for tips (from 1 can of coconut cream or 2 cans of full-fat coconut milk – make sure to drain off all the liquid in the can)
- 1 banana, sliced
- Paleo caramel sauce, to drizzle on top
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9″ tart pan with coconut oil. Set aside.
- Add the pecans, almond flour, pitted dates, coconut oil and salt to a food processor or high-powered blender (I used my Vitamix) and pulverize until it comes together into a “dough”, with small pecan bits remaining. Press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan.
- In the same food processor or blender, add the dates, coconut oil, vanilla extract or powder, sea salt, and ⅓ cup hot water. Process until smooth, and then slowly drizzle in the other ⅓ cup water until your desired consistency is reached. Spread the date caramel into the prepared crust.
- If you’re serving that day, arrange the sliced banana on top of the tart. If not, store tart covered in the refrigerator or freezer until the day you’re serving.
- When ready to serve, garnish with the sliced bananas. Lightly stir/whisk the coconut cream in a bowl (don’t over mix or it might separate!) and put on top of the tart. Drizzle with caramel sauce (you could also use chocolate if desired). Serve immediately and enjoy!
I adore using dates in desserts…caramel plus bananas sounds heavenly :)
Agreed! They’re magical little things :) thanks Brittany!
INSANE
that’s all I can say. jusr pure delicious insanity
Hello,
Can I store this in the freezer as well as the bananas? Or will the bananas not work inside the freezer with the pie?
Thank you
Hi Karen, I would recommend freezing without the bananas and adding them just before serving. Bananas get pretty gross and slimy after defrosting, which wouldn’t be super appetizing!
The links for the coconut cream tips is a paid site. Couldn’t access the info. :-(
Oh no! It wasn’t when I added the link – I’ll fix that :)
A banana is listed in the filling and also in the topping, but in the instructions, the banana only goes on top. So I just wanted to clarify that there is not a banana in the filling, correct?
Hi Liz, sorry for any confusion. The banana listed for the filling goes right on top of the date caramel, and the bananas for the topping go over the whipped coconut cream. So it’s there twice for a reason, but not incorporated into the filling itself. I hope this helps!
Is there an alternative to pecans? For same day please? Hard to find and expensive here. Also can other dates be used instead of medjool or would it just not taste right?
Hi Teresa, you can use any nut or seed you like in place of the pecans. Medjool are the softest and easiest to blend, but if you have other dates that are soft as well, you should be able to use those.