Pudding may bring to mind the single-serve, packaged variety that you once brought to school in your lunch box, so you probably don’t consider this dish a gourmet dessert. 

Allow us, then, to reintroduce you. This layered dessert earns an A+ for aesthetics while it elevates simple ingredients into an elegant dessert.

Banana pudding doesn’t just transform basic ingredients like vanilla wafers and pudding mix into a dish that looks great. Traditional banana pudding contains condensed milk, heavy cream, pure vanilla, and fresh fruit slices, upgrading the simpler ingredients.  

If you’re not much of a baker but find this recipe tempting, fear not. You can make banana pudding from scratch without ever turning on your oven. You will need a refrigerator and a bit of time, because this dish takes 3 hours to firm up properly. As long as you plan well, you’ll have a delectable no-bake banana pudding dessert ready for your dinner party.

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 3 hours (refrigeration time)

Total time: 3 hours 25 minutes

Servings: 15

Ingredients

• 1 ⅓ cup whole milk

• 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix

• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

• 3 cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 box vanilla wafer cookies (like Nilla Wafers)

• 4 almost-ripe bananas, sliced into rounds

• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Chef’s tip: Bananas ripen quickly, especially once peeled. You can prevent your gorgeous pudding from turning brown by using bananas that aren’t quite ripe. They will ripen and sweeten after you add them to this dish, and you’ll avoid unsightly oxidation on the fruit. If the bananas you have on hand are already overripe, it might be best to save them for banana bread. 

Preparation instructions 

1. Whisk the whole milk, pudding mix, and condensed milk in a large mixing bowl, smoothing out any lumps. Refrigerate for around 5 minutes or until the pudding hardens. 

2. In another large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and vanilla extract. If you have a hand-held beater or stand mixer, they will be of great help here, as you have to beat the mixture until stiff peaks form. If you’ve ever done this by hand, you know it takes some elbow grease and patience. An electric beater can get this done in about 2 to 3 minutes. 

3. Divide the cream and vanilla mixture into two parts. Fold one half of the mixture into the pudding, and set the other half aside for layering. 

4. You don’t need a trifle dish to make banana pudding, but it sure does look good, considering that this transparent glass container allows you to appreciate the layers of the pudding. That said, you can make this dessert in any container that’s large enough to hold the ingredients. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to layer banana pudding, no matter what kind of dish you use: First, cover the bottom of the trifle dish or container with a flat layer of vanilla wafers. Then, top with one-third of the pudding mixture. Add another layer of cookies, either flat or vertical. Feel free to get creative. Then, top with a layer of sliced banana. Repeat this process until you reach the top of the trifle dish or container. The final layer should be pudding. Note: don’t add in that cream you set aside quite yet. 

5. Refrigerate the layered pudding for at least 3 hours. You can also make this dish a day ahead and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. 

6. Before serving, stir the 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar into the whipped cream mixture you set aside. Then, place the cream on the top of the pudding. If you have cookies leftover, you can even crumble a few and sprinkle them on top of the finished dish. Dig in and enjoy this silky smooth banana pudding recipe.

Recipe adapted from Delish

fahrwasser - stock.adobe.com

Nutrition Information

• Calories: 314

• Fat: 14.8 grams

• Cholesterol: 42 milligrams

• Sodium: 186 milligrams

• Carbohydrate: 41.6 grams

• Fiber: 1.1 grams

• Sugars: 26.4 grams 

• Protein: 4.2 grams 

• Calcium: 113 milligrams

This nutrition information is a rough estimate based on using roughly 40 wafer-sized cookies. 

Banana pudding storage instructions

You can store banana pudding for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Remember that the cookies will start to fall apart and get soggy, so this dessert is best served fresh. We’re sure your guests won’t mind helping you finish all the pudding in one sitting.

Variations

Southern banana pudding

Traditional Southern banana pudding requires a bit more culinary skill, but it takes less time to make. It contains homemade custard instead of packaged pudding mix and topped with a layer of meringue. This classic meringue for banana pudding is beaten to fluffy perfection from fresh egg whites and sugar. Some recipes call for sour cream in banana pudding to recreate the texture of meringue without having to brave the tricky culinary process of making it. If you mix sour cream and Cool Whip, you’ll end up with a similar texture, taste, and feel to true meringue. However you make this dessert, it's the perfect sweet plate for your next brunch get-together.

Stephanie Frey - stock.adobe.com

3-ingredient banana pudding

This version strips the recipe down to just the basics: vanilla pudding, wafers, and fresh bananas. To make, simply cook the pudding by the package instructions and let it set in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. Then, layer the ingredients in the following order:  vanilla wafers, bananas, pudding. When you’ve finished layering, let the dessert cool and harden in the refrigerator for an hour. This is a quick way to make the banana pudding recipe even more straightforward.

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