Homemade Banana Pudding is made with creamy vanilla pudding, fresh bananas, a layer of vanilla wafers and homemade whipped cream. Just 25 minutes to prep and is the perfect summer dessert!
Homemade desserts don’t get much easier than Banana Pudding!
This banana dessert starts with a layer of homemade vanilla pudding, followed by a layer of banana slices and vanilla wafers, and topped with homemade whipped cream.
If you’re intimidated by making homemade pudding, don’t worry! I’t’s super easy’ve got a hack that makes it fail-proof and it tastes so much better than instant vanilla pudding mix.
Love banana desserts? Then, you’ll love this Banana Nut Bread, Banana Cream Pie, and Blueberry Banana Bread!
Why we love this banana dessert:
- No-bake: The only thing that’s cooked is the pudding, but everything else is cold, so there’s no need to fire up the oven!
- Easy: Don’t let homemade pudding scare you! This recipe is super easy to make from scratch and only takes 25 minutes to prepare.
- Make-ahead friendly: Since this pudding needs to be chilled in the fridge for at least 4 hours, it’s a great dessert to make ahead of time!
Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding Ingredients:
- Whole milk: Whole milk gives the pudding a creamy, smooth texture.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the pudding.
- Heavy whipping cream: This is what makes the pudding rich and thick.
- Large eggs: Eggs help thicken the pudding and give it that custard-like consistency.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is the thickening agent that helps the pudding to set, so don’t forget it!
- Vanilla extract: Brings out all the flavors in the pudding.
- Bananas: You’ll want yellow bananas with no or very little brown spots. They hold up better in the pudding and have the perfect amount of banana flavor.
- Vanilla wafer cookies: These are classic for making Homemade Banana Pudding! You can use any type of vanilla wafer cookie you like.
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar sweetens the whipped cream without making it grainy. It dissolves quickly for that perfect soft topping.
How to make this Homemade Banana Pudding recipe:
It takes less than a half an hour to make this simple dessert! Make sure to check out the recipe card for the full list of recipe instructions.
- Whisk together milk, sugar, cream, eggs, and cornstarch in a saucepan off the heat.
- Cook and stir until it thickens.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl and stir in vanilla.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap over the pudding as it cools to prevent a skin from forming on the top.
- Slice the bananas.
- In a serving dish, top the pudding with a layer of sliced bananas and vanilla wafers. Top the pudding with whipped cream and serve!
Variations and Substitutions
- Shortbread Cookies: You can swap the vanilla wafers for shortbread cookies or butter cookies for a more buttery flavor!
- Banana Pudding: Swap the vanilla extract for banana extract to make banana-flavored pudding.
- Shortcuts: yes, you can use instant pudding or whipped topping in here! In my opinion, it doesn’t taste quite the same but they work fine in a pinch.
How do I store leftover pudding?
Banana Pudding is best eaten within a few hours, but you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to 2-3 days.
The bananas and wafers may soften a bit over time, but the pudding itself will keep its creamy texture!
Make-ahead option:
Since this recipe needs to be made at least 4 hours in advance, it’s great for making ahead of time!
You can also make it the night before and let it chill overnight before serving. Just be sure to keep it covered and chilled!
More creamy desserts you’ll love:
- Lemon Lush Dessert — for the lemon lovers!
- BEST Easy Cheesecake Recipe — simple and versatile.
- Chocolate Lasagna — for the chocolate lovers!
- How to Make a Milkshake — swap out your favorite flavors for a new take all summer long.
Homemade Banana Pudding Recipe
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole milk
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 large bananas, (sliced)
- 1 package vanilla wafer cookies
Sweetened Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, whisk together milk, sugar, cream, eggs and corn starch.
- Place on the stove and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, whisking constantly, until thickened.
- Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large glass bowl. Stir in the vanilla.
- Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it to the top of the pudding. Refrigerate until no longer warm.
- Arrange pudding in either a large glass bowl or individual serving dishes, in layers with the bananas and vanilla wafer cookies. To prevent bananas from browning too quickly, completely cover them with pudding.
- To make the whipped cream, beat the cream and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Top with whipped cream as desired, Chill for 30-60 minutes and serve.
Video
Notes
- Milk: you can use low fat milk for this recipe, but it won’t taste as rich or have as creamy a texture.
- Eggs: many pudding recipes use only egg yolks which I find wasteful. As long as you strain the pudding after cooking, there’s no reason why we can’t use the whole egg. If you prefer to use egg yolks, use 8 instead of 4.
- Whipped cream: you can substitute with whipped topping, but this is such a simple dessert, I think it really makes sense to go homemade if you can!
- Bananas: eventually the bananas will brown, but we can keep this to a minimum by covering them completely with pudding or by brushing with lemon juice before layering.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Pandora So says
It’s so fast and easy to make the puddy. I must try to do this yummy food.