The Best Homemade Banana Pudding Recipe
You’ll love this scratch-made Banana Pudding recipe that’s incredibly easy to make, super creamy, and loaded with flavor. This treat is an old-fashioned Southern staple and with this recipe, you’ve struck gold! A straightforward, deeply flavorful custard base combined with a luscious cloud-like topping and signature Nilla wafers, yes indeed. It’s the most delicious dessert for any occasion or celebration!
Banana pudding is one of those oddly controversial desserts that folks either simply do not like or go crazy over, ha. Me? Well, I am a huge, proud banana pudding lover. I’ve always enjoyed the banana-flavored pudding, the fluffy whipped cream, the banana slices, and of course…the Nilla wafers. I grew up on this thing; it was a treat at family gatherings, cookouts, holidays, and a church brunch sweet treat that we looked forward to.
It’s a popular staple in Southern cuisine and even more beloved to the Black American community. Just like fried chicken, collard greens, and sweet potato pie…we love us some banana pudding 🙌🏾.
The Best Banana Pudding Recipe You’ll Ever Have
While there are many different ways to make a batch of this, I’ve landed on what I believe to be a damn good homemade version for you.
The homemade creamy pudding base whips up with such ease and is super flavorful, my goodness 😮💨. You’ll love how the cloud-like, whipped cream mixture is minimal yet simply delicious.
It’s the perfect dessert to make for celebrations, holiday events, and everything in between when you want something sweet on the table!
Banana Pudding Ingredients:
The pudding involved here is scratch-made…so milk, cream, sugar, and a few other elements yield a decadent, rich, and full-bodied homemade pudding. Meanwhile, the whipped cream mixture features tangy cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, cool whip, and heaps of vanilla bean paste. Lastly, fresh banana slices and nilla wafers put the finishing touches on this festive beauty into the staple we all know and enjoy.
How To Make This Homemade Banana Pudding:
(Note: please see the recipe card directly below for the complete written instructions.)
- We’ll start by developing the custard base.
- Tempering the hot cream into the egg mixture & then the pudding comes together on the stovetop with a quickness!
Dreamy, Creamy Homemade Pudding 🤩
The pudding is so incredibly lush, packed full of vanilla flavor (those flecks, gah!), and tasty. At this stage you’ll want to just devour it, I know- but putting it in the fridge helps to set the pudding and bring out even more flavor, trust.
& The Whipped Cream…
The contrast to the pudding is this fluffy, creamy delight…a little tangy, a little sweet, and full of creamy-rich goodness on the palate, oh yeah.
How To Assemble Your Banana Pudding:
You can assemble your pudding in a variety of ways!
In a large trifle dish, regular baking dish, or use individual parfait dishes (or glasses/jars) for folks to enjoy in their own little vessel. ↠ Start with a layer of pudding, followed by a layer of nilla wafers, then some of the creamy topping, and then banana slices. Repeat the order until you get to the surface where the top is finished off with the creamy topping and a few wafers/crumbs.
Tips + Tricks & More Recipe Notes:
More information you might find helpful about this recipe:
- Let the pudding chill– After preparing the pudding, let it chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I recommend making the pudding a day in advance! The flavors have time to marry and become more pronounced and the texture thickens a bit.
- Storing banana pudding– Keep leftovers stored inside of an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for about 3 days. However, please note that the longer the assembled pudding sits, the wafers will soften and the banana slices will start to brown. Although the flavor will still be on point, just a note to keep in mind!
There isn’t a dessert on earth quite like Banana Pudding, y’all. It’s just one of those pure comfort, nostalgic delights. Be sure to tag @butterbeready in your BBR recipe creations, I sure love to see it when you do. Until next time! 🤟🏾
More BBR Desserts For Ya:
- Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Double Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Fluffy Lemon Sweet Rolls
- Caramel Pecan Cheesecake
- Skillet Peach Cobbler
- Malted Brown Butter Cookies
The Best Homemade Banana Pudding Recipe
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Desserts & Sweets
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Southern
Description
You’ll love this scratch-made Banana Pudding recipe that’s incredibly easy to make, super creamy, and loaded with flavor. This treat is an old-fashioned Southern staple and with this recipe, you’ve struck gold! A straightforward, deeply flavorful custard base combined with a luscious cloud-like topping and signature Nilla wafers, yes indeed. It’s the most delicious dessert for any occasion or celebration!
Ingredients
For the banana pudding:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon bourbon, optional
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup caster sugar (or granulated sugar)
- ¼ cup salted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon banana/banana cream extract
For the creamy topping:
- 8-ounces full-fat brick cream cheese, room temperature
- 8-ounce Cool Whip container, room temperature
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
For banana pudding assembly:
- 1 (11-ounce) box Nilla wafers
- 4 medium bananas, sliced into ½-inch thick slices/coins
- Fresh mint leaves, for garnish- optional
Instructions
- For the pudding: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream, and bourbon (if using). Let the mixture simmer until barely hot but not bubbling, about 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, vanilla bean paste, cornstarch, and sugar. Whisk the mixture together until fully combined, it should resemble a paste-like consistency.
- Back to the heated cream: Once the mixture is hot but not boiling, add a tablespoon of the hot cream to the egg yolk mixture bowl- immediately stirring to combine, and then repeat this process 2-3 more times, tempering the egg yolks.
- Remove the pan from the heat- but do not shut the heat off. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the heated cream. Whisk the mixture together constantly to avoid the eggs cooking, about 2 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium and return the pan to heat- continue whisking the pudding until thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Then shut off the heat and add the cubed butter + banana extract. Stir well until the residual heat melts the butter and everything is well combined.
- Empty the pudding into an airtight container. Place a piece of plastic/cling wrap on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming and then cover the dish/container with a lid. Refrigerate the pudding until well-chilled and slightly thickened, about 4 hours or overnight for best results.
- For the creamy topping: In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, cool whip, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla bean paste. Use a handheld electric mixer (or regular whisk with a good bit of arm strength) to whisk the mixture until well combined.
- For banana pudding assembly: You can assemble your pudding in a variety of ways (large trifle dish, regular baking dish, or use individual parfait dishes/glasses!). Start with a layer of pudding, followed by a layer of nilla wafers, then some of the creamy topping, and then some banana slices. Repeat the order until you get to the surface where the top is finished off with the creamy topping and a few Nilla wafers/crumbs.
- Chill the assembled banana pudding for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with fresh mint leaves, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.
Recipe by: Quin Liburd- Butter Be Ready
Photography by: The Mindful Hapa
4 Comments on “The Best Homemade Banana Pudding Recipe”
How much salt would you add in if you’re using unsalted butter? Also would an 8×8 be considered a regular dish?
Hi there- I’d say 1/2 teaspoon salt 🙂
If I wanted to use homemade whipped cream instead of cool whip, should there be any adjustments with the cream cheese?
Hi there- Hmmm I’d say use equal amount/quantity of homemade whipped cream that’s in cool whip…I haven’t tested this recipe using such so I can’t speak to it 100%…lmk if you try! 🙂