This from-scratch banana pudding recipe is our favorite! Homemade vanilla pudding is layered with bananas and Nilla wafers. It is luscious, creamy, and perfect!
Banana pudding is a simple title for a classic dessert that involves layering vanilla pudding, sliced bananas, wafer cookies and topped with whipped cream. This homemade version is fantastic and so easy to make!
Why You’ll Love This Banana Pudding
This is one of Brian’s most-loved desserts of all time. Here are all the reasons you should make it!
- Despite being “from-scratch,” this dessert is super simple to make at home. Once the pudding is made, it comes together fast and just needs a little chilling in the fridge to set up.
- While it is delicious any time of the year, it makes an exceptional dessert during summer time. Bring it to your next BBQ potluck get together and prepare to be the most popular one at the party.
- The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd!
- There is the perfect ratio of pudding to bananas to cookies (with a note in the recipe about how to change that up, if desired!).
Bonus: If you happen to have leftovers of this dessert, try adding a scoop to a blender with vanilla ice cream and a splash of milk for a banana pudding pie milkshake. It’s AMAZING.
Key Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar: This adds sweetness to the homemade pudding.
- Cornstarch: The cornstarch is whisked together with the sugar and egg yolks and is the thickener for the pudding.
- Egg Yolks: Using just the egg yolks adds extra richness (and yellow color) to the homemade pudding.
- Milk: It’s best to use 2% or whole milk for a pudding that is creamy and thick.
- Heavy Cream: This ingredient is used in the pudding and in the sweetened whipped cream (for the top of the banana pudding).
- Butter: A small amount of butter is stirred into the pudding after it cooks for a glossy smooth consistency and texture.
- Vanilla Extract: This is used in both the pudding and the whipped cream.
- Bananas: Choose bananas that are ripe and firm without any brown spots. You’ll need 3 to 4 bananas for this recipe.
- Wafer Cookies: I use the Nabisco brand of Nilla wafers. You’ll need about half of an 11-ounce box for this recipe (about 35 cookies total).
How to Assemble Banana Pudding
- Spread about 1 cup pudding across the bottom of an 8X8-inch baking dish.
- Cover with a single layer of sliced bananas.
- Add wafer cookies across the top in a mostly single layer.
- Cover with pudding and another layer of bananas.
- Spread the remaining pudding over the top.
- Sprinkle cookie crumbs over the top.
Alternate option: I assemble the banana pudding as detailed above and dollop individual servings with sweetened whipped cream. However, you can spread the whipped cream on top of the final pudding layer and then sprinkle with the cookie crumbs for a slightly different assembly method.
Additional Notes
This banana pudding dessert is such a classic. It’s simple. It’s straightforward. And mostly: it’s crazy, crazy good.
Here are a few more quick notes to help make it foolproof:
- Pan Size: It helps if the 8X8-inch pan you are using has 2-inch sides. All of the layers make a pretty full pan.
- Pan Variations: You can assemble this dessert in a bowl, small trifle dish, 8- or 9-inch circle cake pan or any other dish with about a 2-quart capacity. The recipe can be doubled for a 9X13-inch pan (preferably a pan that is 2 inches or deeper).
- Make Ahead: Because the bananas can discolor with time, it’s best to serve this dessert within 6 to 8 hours of assembling. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Add this to your make-soon list! It’s a keeper of a recipe (and much simpler than this older trifle-style version I have on my site). I hope you love it!
My Favorite Banana Pudding {From-Scratch}
Servings 6 to 8 servings
Calories 442kcal
Equipment
- Wire Whisk
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Cookware
Ingredients
Pudding:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¾ cups 2% or whole milk
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bananas + Wafers:
- 3 to 4 bananas, sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 35 to 37 vanilla wafer cookies, like Nilla wafers (about half of an 11-ounce box)
Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
- For the pudding, in a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, and salt until well combined.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and cream until steaming and small bubbles form around the edges.
- Slowly ladle the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly. This tempers the egg yolks so they don't scramble.
- After all the hot milk has been whisked into the egg yolks, pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as the pudding comes to a simmer. Cook until large bubbles pop on the surface and the pudding has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Immediately remove from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl. This helps remove any small lumps from the pudding.
- Add the butter and vanilla and stir into the pudding until evenly combined.
- To assemble, spread 1 cup pudding in the bottom of an 8X8-inch square or circle baking dish.
- Add a single layer of sliced bananas.
- Add a layer of wafer cookies (about 25) on top of the bananas.
- Dollop half of the remaining pudding (about 1 1/3 cups) in spoonfuls across the wafer cookies and spread to cover.
- Add a single layer of sliced bananas.
- OPTIONAL: You can add another layer of cookies here if you like. We are a house divided. My husband likes the extra cookies in this layer, but I prefer a more creamy pudding without them.
- Spread the remaining pudding (about 1 1/3 cups) over the top. See note below about assembling the rest of the dessert.
- Crush 10 to 12 wafer cookies into coarse pieces/crumbs and sprinkle over the top of the pudding layer.
- Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to set up (or up to 8 hours – it can be refrigerated longer, but the bananas may darken a bit in color).
- For the whipped cream, whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract together until medium peaks form.
- Serve scoops of chilled banana pudding with a dollop of whipped cream on top and additional crushed wafer cookies, if desired.
Notes
Whipped Cream/Assembling: For an alternate way to assemble, after spreading the last layer of pudding on the dessert, cover and refrigerate until the pudding is fully cooled (don’t sprinkle on the wafer cookie crumbs). When cooled, spread the sweetened whipped cream on top of the pudding followed by the crushed wafer cookies. (I personally like dolloping whipped cream on top of individual servings, but either method works fine, depending on your preference. Keep in mind that the whipped cream can get a bit liquidy if spread on top of the banana pudding and refrigerated for too long).
Pan Size: It helps if the 8X8-inch pan you are using has 2-inch sides. All of the layers make a pretty full pan.
Pan Variations: You can assemble this dessert in a bowl, small trifle dish, 8- or 9-inch circle cake pan or any other dish with a 2-quart capacity.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 442kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 242mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 34g
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
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