Classic Banana Pudding

If there is one dessert that makes everyone at a cookout abandon all their manners, it is banana pudding. I have watched grown adults quietly go back for thirds while pretending they were just getting a napkin. It is creamy, it is nostalgic, and it somehow tastes like a warm summer afternoon, even though it is cold and you make it in like twenty minutes.

This is the easy, no bake version I make all summer long. No standing over a stove stirring custard, no fussy steps. Just layers of fluffy vanilla pudding, sweet ripe bananas, and those little vanilla wafers that go soft and cakey overnight. It is the kind of thing you can throw together the night before a get together and not think about again.

The secret is the chill time

I know it is tempting to dig in right away, but please give this one time in the fridge. That overnight rest is when the magic happens. The wafers soften into that signature cakey layer and everything melds together into pure creamy heaven. Same day banana pudding is fine, but next day banana pudding is a whole experience.

Keep those bananas pretty

Bananas like to brown, so here is my little trick. Use bananas that are ripe but still firm, and save a few slices to add right on top just before you serve. That way your pudding looks as good as it tastes when you set it out.

Classic Banana Pudding

Creamy vanilla pudding layered with sweet bananas and vanilla wafers. This no fuss Southern classic always disappears first at any gathering.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups cold whole milk
• 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix 5 oz
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 oz
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream or thawed whipped topping
• 4 medium ripe bananas sliced
• 1 box vanilla wafers 11 oz

Method

 

1. In a large bowl, whisk the cold milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes until it begins to thicken. Whisk in the condensed milk and vanilla, then chill for 5 minutes.
2. Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks, then gently fold it into the pudding mixture until smooth and fluffy.
3. In a trifle dish or 9×13 pan, layer vanilla wafers, then banana slices, then pudding. Repeat the layers, ending with pudding.
4. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight so the wafers soften.
5. Before serving, top with a few crushed wafers and fresh banana slices.

Notes

Chill for at least 4 hours so the wafers soften into that classic cakey texture. Add the top layer of bananas right before serving so they stay pretty.

Make it yours

Sometimes I crush a few extra wafers on top for crunch, or add a layer of whipped cream for extra height. It is a forgiving, friendly dessert that welcomes whatever you want to do with it. Mostly though, I just love how happy it makes everyone.

So glad you are here.
xo, Pam