How To Make Banana Pudding Homemade – This easy homemade banana pudding recipe has three layers of goodness: vanilla wafers, rich pudding, and cool whip.
I love banana pudding and haven’t met many people that don’t. I love the flavor and texture of banana pudding and how it can be a treat or a yummy dessert. But, I also love it because as an adult I had to learn how to make it from scratch.
HOMEMADE BANANA PUDDING
Homemade Banana Pudding is a classic for a reason! Homemade vanilla pudding layered with bananas, vanilla wafer cookies and whipped cream is the ultimate comfort food.
If there were ever a dessert – aside from cheesecake that I’d say I am obsessed with, it would be Banana Pudding.
Whether it is homemade, a super simple version with packaged ingredients, or even this easy Banana Cream Pie Fluff, I simply don’t think you can wrong with bananas, whipped cream and vanilla wafers. It’s pretty much my favorite flavor combo at the moment, so you’ll be seeing a few more banana cream recipes in the coming weeks.
Homemade Banana Pudding is so simple to make – even from scratch and it can feed a crowd if you double the recipe for a trifle dish, which is why it’s ranks as one of my top 5 potluck recipes. But it also keeps pretty well in the fridge, so if you’re not feeding a crowd, you can have this as a delicious dessert or snack throughout the week.
HOMEMADE BANANA PUDDING
As I said, I love banana pudding. I have made plenty of banana desserts and yet somehow it’s hard to beat a classic banana pudding.
There’s just something about the layers of Nilla wafer cookies, sweet and creamy vanilla pudding, fresh bananas, and pillowy whipped cream. I could eat it all day long.
There are lots of ways to make an easy banana pudding with pudding mix or even Cool Whip. But sometimes I just want to make a Homemade Banana Pudding with Homemade Vanilla Pudding and Homemade Whipped Cream.
Homemade everything!
Ok, not quite. I don’t make my own Nilla wafers, although you totally could! Homemade vanilla wafers would be delicious – I just never feel like making them.
Don’t worry that making your own banana pudding from scratch is hard. It’s a lot easier than you think!
HOW TO MAKE BANANA PUDDING FROM SCRATCH
First, you’ll want to get the components of your Homemade Banana Pudding ready to go:
- Make homemade vanilla pudding according to my recipe
- Slice 3-4 bananas
- Whip up some homemade whipped cream
As soon as the pudding comes off the stove and you whisk in the butter and vanilla, grab your favorite baking dish. Line the bottom of the dish with a layer of Nilla wafer cookies, topped with a layer of sliced bananas.
Pour half of the warm pudding over the sliced bananas. Repeat the cookie, banana, and pudding layers one more time.
Place a layer of plastic wrap over the pudding so that the plastic touches the top of the pudding. This will prevent a skin from forming while it chills.
Let the pudding chill for at least 4 hours. Before serving, top with as much whipped cream as you desire. Garnish with more cookies and banana slices.
One batch of pudding will fill a 2 to 2 ½ quart baking dish. If you’d like to make your banana pudding in a trifle dish like you see in these photos, I recommend doubling the recipe to fill the dish.
The BEST Homemade Banana Pudding
This Homemade Banana Pudding recipe makes the creamiest and most flavorful banana pudding ever! Layered with bananas and sweet vanilla wafer cookies, this Southern dessert recipe is hands down the best banana pudding.
An Amazing Homemade Banana Pudding
The hubs and I are HUGE fans of banana pudding. Like, huge. In fact, we love any and all things banana – just refer to all the awesome banana recipes on my site – banana cream cheesecake, banana pudding cheesecake, banana oatmeal cookies, overnight banana French toast casserole – the list goes on. If you can put bananas in it – we love it.
And there’s nothing better than a delicious homemade pudding. I feel like that’s how banana pudding is supposed to be. Southern, homemade, amazing.
But while I’ve tasted lots of great banana pudding in my day (and some not so great), I’ve never had a go-to recipe myself. So, I set out to make one.
Homemade Banana Pudding or Banana Pudding Mix?
There seem to be a couple different camps when it comes to banana pudding – homemade banana pudding and then banana pudding made with pudding mix. There’s some variation in there, but overall, they split into those two.
A lot of homemade banana pudding recipes are pretty much homemade banana pudding – just straight up – layered with vanilla wafers and bananas.
When it comes to the pudding mix versions, they are often mixed with either sweetened condensed milk or cream cheese, or both. They also typically have some whipped cream stirred in there.
I tried it with various mixes of all of the above. The straight up homemade way, the pudding mix with sweetened condensed milk and a version that also included cream cheese.
If I’m being completely honest, we preferred the pudding mix over the straight up homemade pudding version. The plain homemade pudding just didn’t have the flavor we’ve come to know as that classic banana pudding (from the sweetened condense milk) and the texture wasn’t as creamy.
However, I know homemade is often much better than what you get from a box, so I tried again to make something even better. This time with a mix of the two camps. I made homemade pudding and then add the sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream to it, like you might do with the pudding mix.
What Makes this the Best Banana Pudding Recipe?
The result? PURE PERFECTION! Swapping out the pudding mix for homemade pudding gave it even more flavor! Seriously so perfect. This is seriously the best homemade banana pudding! You don’t have to worry about the box mix, but you get all the greatness of the sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream. It’s creamy, flavorful and amazing. It’s truly the southern-style banana pudding you dream of. I will never make another version.
Another thing I love about this recipe is that it tastes even better after sitting in the fridge! The pudding will firm up as it refrigerates overnight, and the banana flavor will intensify. This is definitely a dessert you’ll want to make ahead of time, which is a bonus. Amazing.
Recipe Ingredients
This recipe uses simple ingredients that you probably already have ready to go! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Flour
- Salt
- Milk: You can’t make pudding without milk. I recommend using 2% to get the best texture.
- Vanilla Extract: The vanilla flavor of the pudding not only goes great with the bananas, but it also compliments the vanilla wafers in the dessert.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Like many classic Southern desserts, this dish uses sweetened condensed milk.
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Wafers: Every good banana pudding recipe uses these sweet wafer cookies. Classic.
- Bananas
How to Make Banana Pudding From Scratch
- Whisk the Eggs: In a small bowl, whisk 3 eggs together, then set the bowl aside.
- Combine Dry Ingredients & Milk: In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, flour and salt. Then, whisk in your milk.
- Cook the Mixture: Cook the milk and dry ingredient mixture over medium heat and stir until it begins to thicken and it just starts to bubble. Do not turn up the heat to make it cook quicker. Stop whisking every once in a while so you can tell when the mixture starts to bubble.
- Reduce Heat: Once it begins to bubble, reduce heat to low. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes, then remove from heat.
- Temper the Eggs: Slowly pour a small amount of the milk mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly so that the eggs don’t scramble.
- Return to Pan: Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and whisk constantly. Bring back to a gentle boil over medium-low heat, then reduce heat to low.
- Cook & Add Vanilla: Cook while stirring for 2 more minutes, then remove from heat. Stir in 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract. Keep in mind that the pudding thickens as it cools, so you don’t need it to be super thick before you remove it from the heat.
- Let it Cool: Allow the pudding to cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add Condensed Milk: Add the sweetened condensed milk to the pudding and allow it to continue to cool. The pudding will naturally thin out a little after you add the milk, it’s ok.
- Make Whipped Cream: When the pudding cools to about room temperature, make the whipped cream. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and remaining teaspoon of vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Combine Pudding & Whipped Cream: Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding in two parts.
- Assemble the Dessert: In an ungreased 9×13 baking dish, add a layer of vanilla wafers (about 45-50), then the banana slices and then the pudding.
- Set in the Refrigerator: Cover and refrigerate your pudding overnight. Just before serving, crush the remaining vanilla wafers and sprinkle over top. Serve and enjoy!
Homemade Banana Pudding
This banana pudding from scratch recipe was handed down from my grandmother. My whole family loves it and we all grew up on it! Hope you enjoy it!
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Recipe Summary
Cook:20 minsAdditional:1 hrTotal:1 hr 30 minsPrep:10 minsServings:4Yield:4 servings
Ingredients
Decrease Serving4Increase ServingAdjustOriginal recipe yields 4 servingsIngredient Checklist
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 bananas, peeled and sliced
- ½ (12 ounce) package vanilla wafer cookies
Directions
Instructions Checklist
- Step 1In medium saucepan combine sugar, flour, and salt. Add eggs and stir well. Stir in milk, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly. When mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat and continue to stir, cooling slightly. Stir in vanilla and butter until smooth.
- Step 2Layer pudding with bananas and vanilla wafers in a serving dish. Chill at least one hour in refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Facts
Per Serving: 666 calories; protein 13.9g; carbohydrates 91.1g; fat 28.2g; cholesterol 505.4mg; sodium 381.8mg.