The Best Banana Pudding

Silky smooth vanilla custard with velvety whipped cream, Nilla wafers, and fresh banana slices—perfect for any barbecue or summer dinner!

What is Banana Pudding?

Banana pudding is a traditional Southern dessert made from layers of vanilla custard, Nilla wafers, and sliced bananas. Traditionally, the pudding is topped with meringue, but I opted for whipped cream, which lightens the dessert and has a better texture, in my opinion. A lot of recipes for banana pudding just use pudding mix (even Magnolia Bakery in New York!), but we’re going the extra mile and making everything from scratch.

Ingredients for Banana Pudding

There are four elements to this recipe: the vanilla pudding, the Nilla wafers, the banana slices, and the whipped cream. Here’s what you’ll need to make everything!

• Whole milk. Use whole milk, not skim! Whole milk has the right amount of fat to thicken the pudding and add a richer flavor.
• Kosher salt. To balance the sweetness.
• Granulated sugar.
• An egg plus egg yolks. Egg yolks make the vanilla pudding smooth and creamy, while the egg white will provide structure.
• Cornstarch. To thicken the custard to a pudding consistency.
• Vanilla. I like to use a vanilla bean if I have them because I love having little specks of vanilla throughout the custard, but vanilla extract is just as good!
• Unsalted butter. Butter adds a rich flavor while also helping the pudding to set.
• Nilla Wafers.
• Bananas.
• Heavy cream and powdered sugar. We’re making homemade whipped cream—all you need to make it is heavy cream and powdered sugar! If you don’t want to make it from scratch, though, you could easily substitute with 3 cups of premade whipped cream.

Banana Pudding FAQ

1. Can I assemble the pudding a day ahead of time? Of course! If anything, letting the pudding sit for a few hours is optimal—that way, the Nilla wafers can get soft while the pudding sets.
2. Can I substitute Nilla wafers for anything? You can, but Nilla wafers are best to get the classic banana pudding taste. If you need to, you can replace the wafers with graham crackers, ladyfingers, butter/shortbread cookies, or golden Oreos.
3. What type of bananas should I use? Bananas that are just ripe are best, not overripe bananas that are brown and spotty—overripe bananas will add an unpleasant, mushy texture to the pudding.
4. How long does banana pudding last? It will last up to 3 days stored in the fridge.

I hope you guys will give this recipe a try—it’s one of my favorites!

The BEST Banana Pudding

Silky smooth vanilla custard with velvety whipped cream, Nilla wafers, and fresh banana slices—perfect for any barbecue or summer dinner!

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Course: Dessert

Prep Time: 5 hours hours

Servings: 0

Author: Mae Martin

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups whole milk
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or the seeds from 1 vanilla bean
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 (15-ounce) box Nilla wafers
• 5-6 medium bananas, sliced
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

• Warm the milk and salt in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes, until steaming.
• In the meantime, whisk together the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch until the mixture has lightened in color and is thick and ribbon-like.
• Gradually stream a few ladles of hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking all the while. Once several ladles of milk have been added, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan.
• Cook the custard for a few minutes on medium heat until it begins to bubble, whisking and scraping the sides of the saucepan down all the while.
• Once you see the custard bubble, whisk for 10-15 more seconds, then quickly pour the thickened custard into a separate bowl. Add in the vanilla and the cubed butter, stirring until all the butter has melted.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic to the surface of the custard to ensure that a skin does not form. Refrigerate from 4 hours to overnight, until the custard is completely cooled (you can stir the custard every now and then to speed up the process, if needed).
• To make the whipped cream, add the cold heavy cream to a bowl with the powdered sugar and a bit of vanilla (optional). Whip the mixture with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed until stiff peaks have formed. Set the bowl aside.
• To assemble the pudding, place a layer of Nilla wafers across the bottom of a large serving dish, until completely covered. Remove the prepared vanilla pudding from the fridge and whisk the mixture to get rid of any lumps. Add a layer of the pudding on top of the wafers, then top the custard with banana slices. Add a layer of whipped cream, then repeat the process until you run out of custard.
• Finish the banana pudding with a layer of whipped cream and Nilla wafers, then refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours before serving.