Perfect Banana Pudding
- PREP 8hrs 15min
- COOK 15min
- TOTAL 8hrs 30min
This banana pudding recipe tastes so incredibly good. It’s almost made entirely from scratch, with the vanilla cookies being the exception. Packaged vanilla pudding is super common for banana pudding, but fresh homemade vanilla pudding tastes SO MUCH better. It’s also relatively easy to make yourself. The final step for this recipe is to let the banana pudding sit overnight in the fridge. If you can’t wait the full 8 hours, wait as long as you can before serving!
You Will Need
5 medium to large bananas
1 (11oz) box vanilla cookies, Nilla Wafers
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
2 tablespoons (16g) cornstarch
3 cups (709ml) whole milk, divided
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (56g) salted butter
Fresh whipped cream, optional for serving
Directions
Make the Vanilla Pudding
Find a 2-quart dish at least 2 inches deep. This recipe is perfect in an 8×8-inch square dish. Feel free to use another shaped dish, but keep some extra bananas and cookies on hand to fill it up.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, and 1/2 cup of milk. Don’t worry if the mixture is a bit gritty at this stage.
Pour the remaining 2 ½ cups of milk into a medium saucepan. Heat it over medium-high heat until it just starts to simmer, then turn off the heat.
While whisking, pour 1/2 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Add another 1/2 cup and repeat until the egg mixture is hot (whisking the entire time).
Pour the warmed egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
Add the vanilla. Turn the heat to medium and cook, whisking constantly, until the pudding thickens. This should take 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking and scorching. To check that the pudding is ready, dip a spoon in it. If it coats the back and a line drawn with your finger stays for a few seconds, it’s thick enough!
Remove the pot from the heat. Whisk in the butter until it is completely melted and blended into the pudding.
Assemble the Layers
In your prepared dish, start layering vanilla wafers and banana slices. Aim for at least 2 layers of each, stopping 1/2 inch from the top for the pudding. To make the layers flat, place the bottom layer of cookies flat side down and the top layer of cookies flat side up.
Pour the hot pudding over the cookie and banana layers.
Gently shake and tilt the dish to help the pudding flow down and around all the layers. You’ll see air bubbles coming up – that’s a good sign! Keep shimmying for about 3 minutes to ensure the pudding reaches the bottom.
Let the pudding cool to room temperature on the counter, then cover and refrigerate until it’s thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.
Before serving, top your banana pudding with whipped cream, extra banana slices, and crumbled cookies.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Best dish: This recipe is perfect in an 8×8-inch square dish at least 2 inches deep (2-quart dish). Feel free to use another shaped dish, but keep some extra bananas and cookies on hand to fill it up.
- Serving: I love topping this with fresh, homemade whipped cream and crushed vanilla cookies. Old-school recipes add a layer of meringue, which is lovely. You can also serve it straight from the fridge without anything else added (it’s amazing).
- Storing: Refrigerate the banana pudding for up to 3 days.
- Vanilla cookies: You will likely have some cookies left, but you can crush them and scatter them on top when serving. I prefer to have too many than not enough. I use about 20 cookies per layer, my dish fit 3 layers of them.
- Salted butter: If you have unsalted butter, add 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt to the vanilla pudding when whisking in the butter.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.