Banana Pudding

5 from 3 votes

Creamy vanilla pudding made from scratch is layered with vanilla wafers, slices of banana, and topped with a whipped topping! An easy to make, Southern dessert recipe sure to please a crowd!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Chilling Time3 hrs

Total Time3 hrs 30 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 582kcal

Author: Serene

Equipment

Ingredients

3 large egg yolks
3 tbsp cornstarch
1½ cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter softened to room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces vanilla wafers
3 bananas sliced

Homemade Whipped Cream

3 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp confectioner's sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Add the egg yolks and cornstarch to a small bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
In a medium size saucepan combine the milk, cream, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, just until the milk starts bubbling around the edge of the pot.
Remove 1/2 cup of heated milk mixture and in a slow and steady stream, pour this into the egg yolk mixture while whisking. Add the now warmed egg mixture into the saucepan with the heated cream.
Bring the cream and egg mixture back to a simmer while whisking. Continue cooking until this mixture is thickened and pulling away from the sides of the pot. Remove from the heat.
Stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Stir into the pudding until completely melted and smooth.
If needed pour this mixture into a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps from cooking.
Let this pudding mixture sit and cool for about 5 minutes before adding to a medium size bowl.
Cover the pudding mixture with plastic wrap pressed down directly on top of the pudding and place in the refrigerator to cool for at least 30 minutes before proceeding with the next step.
In a medium size mixing bowl add the ingredients for the whipped cream.
Mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer until cream forms stiff peaks.
Spoon half of the whipped cream into the pudding and stir to combine.
In a 2 quart dish add a layer of Nilla wafers, top with a layer of sliced bananas, then half of the banana pudding mixture. Repeat this one more time. If you are using a glass dish you could line wafers and slices of banana along the side of the dish to make a pretty presentation.
Cover and let this chill for at least 3 hours before serving.
Top with the remaining whipped cream just before serving.

Notes

Vanilla Wafers: use any store bought brand or make your own! Here’s a fun recipe to try: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/vanilla-wafers-recipe
Bananas: for best results use yellow bananas with few brown spots. The bananas will break down further in the pudding and we don’t want to have mushy bananas.
Milk & Heavy Cream: both are used for making the pudding to ensure a nice thick pudding and heavy cream is needed for making the homemade whipped cream on top.

Storage & Freezing:

Store covered in the refrigerator. Best if enjoyed within 48 hours.
Freezing is not recommended.

Nutrition