Banana Pudding

If you always pick up a tub of banana pudding from your local bakery, trust me—it’s completely worth it to make this classic Southern dessert at home. With towering layers of vanilla pudding, ripe bananas, whipped cream, and wafer cookies, this homemade recipe is one I’ll never tire of. It’s simple to create and assemble; the key to perfection is patience. While this does require time to set, it makes for a perfect make-ahead dessert that will have even the most die-hard fans going back for more.

What People Are Saying:
"Great recipe. My wife and I thought the banana pudding was one of the best we have ever had. We encourage everybody to try it at least once. You might be just as impressed." -OliveBug

"Made this for Mother's Day. It was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS 😋. Looks like I will be making it more often since the family loves it." -Lipdiva

How To Make Banana Pudding

INGREDIENTS

• Sweetened Condensed Milk: For an ultra-velvety pudding, there’s no beating sweetened condensed milk.
• Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix: Hats off if you prefer to make pudding from scratch—separating the eggs, carefully cooking the custard while stirring constantly …. For me, instant pudding mix more than gets the job done, and the flavor is always exactly right.
• Heavy Cream: Don't get me wrong—store-bought whipped toppings have their place, but I wanted more control over the sweetness and loft of my whipping cream. For that, I needed heavy cream (aka heavy whipping cream), which has the perfect milk fat content for a stable whip. Do not be tempted to swap it for light cream or light whipping cream—neither will give you volume or stability we’re after.
• Vanilla Wafer Cookies: I couldn't bring myself to mess with tradition—there's a reason these wafers have been a defining feature of banana pudding for generations. The cookies soften at just the right rate and are insanely simpatico with the flavors of vanilla pudding, bananas, and whipped cream. That said, feel free to go nuts and give other cookies a try; Biscoff, I’m looking at you!
• Bananas: Nailing the ripeness of the bananas is mission-critical. Overly ripe bananas will turn an unappetizing brown and go soft fast; unripe bananas will leave a lot of banana flavor on the table. Instead, opt for firm bananas with skins that are deep yellow from tip to tip but are yet to develop any sugar spots.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Grab your balloon whisk and whisk together the condensed milk, whole milk, and pudding mix. Don’t stop until the pudding mix is fully incorporated; you should see no evidence of lumps or dry bits. Chill the mixture while you whip some cream.

Trade the balloon whisk for an electric mixer (or not, if you need an arm day) and whip the cream and vanilla in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. How do you recognize "stiff peaks"? Lift the beaters out of the bowl and examine the topography of the cream. You should see soaring peaks and plunging valleys. If the peaks hold their shape without drooping, then they're "stiff peaks" in culinary parlance. Scoop half of the whipped cream into another bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until ready to serve; this will be your topping. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the remaining whipped cream into the pudding mixture just until incorporated.

Okay, time to layer up! A trifle dish—a straight-sided glass bowl of British origin—is the ideal vessel for layering; think of it as an aquarium...for pudding. But a trifle dish is not your only option. Any 3- to 4-quart glass bowl will work, or you can use a 13"-x-9" baking dish. Whatever you go with, start by arrange a layer of wafer cookies in the bottom the bowl, then spread a generous layer of pudding over the top.

Continue layering in the following sequence: wafers, bananas, pudding. Do this three times, then top with one more layer of pudding.

Now comes the hard part—the wait! Chill your magnificent banana pudding for at least 3 hours or, even better, overnight. Finally, top it with the reserved whipped cream, sweetened with some sugar, and crumble some cookies over. Wait's over—now have at it!

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• How do I keep my bananas from turning brown? Cut bananas will start to brown once they’re exposed to air (also known as oxidizing), so you want to keep them covered for as long as possible. In this recipe, I do that by burying the banana slices between the pudding and whipped cream. These layers create a seal that prevents air from getting to the slices, causing oxidation. If you want an extra preventative step, you can toss the slices in a tiny bit of lemon juice before layering—the acidity will help prevent browning. My final tip? Avoid overly ripe bananas that are already on the verge of browning. Choose bananas that are ripe but still have some life left in them.

• Can I swap out the vanilla wafers? Vanilla wafers are the classic choice for banana pudding, so I highly recommend using them. That being said, if you'd like to switch it up, you can try replacing them with animal crackers, butter cookies, or graham crackers.

• Can I freeze leftovers? I don't recommend freezing. The resulting crystallization will alter the texture of the bananas and the pudding when defrosted; the dessert just won't look or taste the same. Best to eat it fresh!

Serving Ideas

Though trifle dishes are the classic way to serve banana pudding, you can use pretty much anything you want to assemble this dish! Your favorite 13"-x-9" baking dish will work just fine (like in our banana pudding lasagna), or build mini versions in mason jars, mini dessert cups, or stemless wine glasses for personalized servings. For classic flavors in a different form, try making banana pudding pops or banana pudding bars.

Storage

If you make this ahead of time or if you have any leftovers, store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Any longer and the bananas will begin to brown and soften. The cookies will continue to soften over time (à la an icebox cake), so if you're not a fan of soggy cookies, try to finish off the pudding sooner rather than later (we doubt that’ll be a problem).