I have always been a big banana pudding fan. Which is why I am so happy to be sharing our classic Banana Pudding recipe with you! It’s one of my all time favorite desserts. Ever since Magnolia Bakery opened in LA a while back, I’ve stopped by occasionally to pick up a big container of their banana pudding. It’s so good!
I didn’t realized for so long just how easy it is to make at home, nor did I realize it only takes a handful of basic ingredients! Our classic banana pudding recipe is so simple and so delicious, and even better when you layer it with more banana chunks and Nilla wafers. If you want something extra decadent you can layer in freshly whipped cream.
Like their pudding, ours also has chunks of banana in it, but instead of folding in the bananas and Nilla wafers together we break our Nilla wafers up and layer it with the pudding and more bananas, almost parfait style. That way you get the perfect bite every time!
How to make Banana Pudding from scratch
To assemble:
- Place milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt into a saucepan and place over medium heat.
- Whisk mixture until sugar, cornstarch and salt dissolve and bring to a gentle simmer, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low.
- Cook mixture, while constantly stirring, until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and thick enough to sit on itself for a second, about 12 minutes. It’s important to constantly stir the mixture so the milk and sugar don’t burn on the bottom.
- Remove 1 cup hot milk from the pot and whisk into the yolks( in a mixing bowl) in a very slow and steady drizzle, making sure not to scrabble the yolks. Take your time with this step to ensure the eggs are properly tempered and don’t scramble.
- Pour tempered yolk mixture back into the pot and whisk together.
- Cook the mixture for 4 to 5 more minutes, while stirring, before removing from the heat and stirring in the butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth. The vanilla will add a nice flavor, while the butter will add a smooth, glossy and rich finish to the pudding.
- Place pot directly into an ice bath, stirring occasionally, until room temperature, about 30 minutes. Stirring the mixture during this time will help it cool down evenly.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or until pudding has chilled through completely.
- Remove from the refrigerator and fold in 1 chopped banana.
- To serve: Scoop half the cookie crumbs into the bottom of individual cups and top each with a small scoop of chopped bananas. Top each mixture with about 1/2 cup of pudding. Repeat cookie crumb, banana and pudding layer. Finish each pudding with a sprinkle of cookie crumbs. Serve! We love serving our banana pudding parfait style, but you can totally just create a single layer with cookie crumbs and bananas on the top and bottom.
FAQs
The pudding should be thick enough to “sit on itself” for a second or two. This means that when you take a small scoop of pudding and place it onto the rest of the pudding mixture, the single scoop should rest on top of the pudding for a second or two before sinking back into the mixture.
Yes! The pudding will definitely thicken more as it cools. If you find the pudding to be too thick after its cooled, first stir the mixture to loosen it up. If it’s still too thick, you can stir in a couple tablespoons of milk to thin it out.
This classic banana pudding recipe will keep in the refrigerator, in an airtight container for up to 5 days. We recommend waiting until the day of serving to fold in the bananas into the pudding and to layer the pudding with more bananas and cookie crumbs.
You can toss the bananas in a small amount of lemon juice to help prevent them from browning.
Absolutely! Just follow the instructions as written in our recipe, except create one large banana pudding instead of individual sized ones.
Tips and Tricks for Success
- It’s important to constantly stir the pudding as it cooks to prevent it from burning, which can happen easily.
- Whisking the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks very slowly and in small increments will help prevent the eggs from scrambling. If you do notice a little scrambling, just strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, before whisking it back into the pot.
If you love this classic banana pudding recipe, or banana desserts in general, as much as I do you’ll also love our Banana, Coconut and Honey Cream Tarts, our Chai Banana Cake and even our Banana Bread French Toast. Enjoy! ♥ Teri
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Banana Pudding
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups whole milk
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large egg yolks, beaten
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or caviar from ½ vanilla bean
- 2 large bananas, peeled, chopped and divided
- 2.5 ounces broken up mini Nilla wafers
Recipe instruction visual controls:
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk mixture until smooth and bring to a simmer.
- Remove 1 cup hot milk from the pot and whisk into the yolks( in a mixing bowl) in a very slow and steady drizzle, making sure not to scrabble the yolks.
- Lower heat to medium and pour tempered yolk mixture back into the pot and whisk together.
- Cook the mixture for 2 to 3 more minutes, while stirring, before removing from the heat and stirring in the butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
- Place pot directly into an ice bath, stirring occasionally, until room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or until pudding has chilled through completely.
- Remove from the refrigerator and fold in 1 1/2 bananas.
- To serve: Scoop some of the cookie crumbs into the bottom of individual cups and top each with a small scoop of chopped bananas. Top each mixture with about 1/2 cup of pudding. Repeat cookie crumb, banana and pudding layer. Finish each pudding with a sprinkle of bananas and cookie crumbs. Serve
NOTES
- Banana pudding will keep in the refrigerator, in an airtight container for up to 5 days. We recommend waiting until the day of serving to fold in the bananas into the pudding and to layer the pudding with more bananas and cookie crumbs.
- Bananas can be tossed in a small amount of lemon juice to help prevent them from browning.
- Consistently stir mixture while heating/thickening to prevent pudding from burning and to prevent eggs from scrambling. If eggs scramble a little, just strain pudding through a fine mesh sieve before stirring in butter and vanilla.
- For an even more decadent treat, add layers of sweetened whipped cream between the layers of pudding!
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Made this yesterday, SO good!! Thank you!!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it :)
This was excellent. I loved it with cool whip!
I just…can’t stop eating this! It’s so easy to make and the taste is like heaven! Definitely must try!
Hey! Wondering how long the pudding lasts in the fridge, on average?
It should last for about a 5 days, without the bananas (I would add them in a few hours before serving), in a refrigerated airtight container :)
Thanks for the recipes. I haven’t tried them yet, but am looking forward to doing so soon. Unfortunately, I will have to adapt them to ‘Splenda’ or a sugar-free equalvalent.
Mmm I love love love banana pudding in any form and this is perfect!
another ‘Nilla Wafer substitute is vanilla shortbread cookies.
Hi there, I know Nilla Wafers are a must for this recipe, but here in Italy they are nowhere to be found… any suggestion on how to substitute them? Is there a cake I can bake and then crumble or slice or…?
thank you!
marcella from Italy
Any sort of buttery cookie, crumbled up, should work just fine!
Use Amaretti cookies yummy with the bananas
I love this recipe