Classic Banana Pudding Recipe

It’s a perfect make-ahead dessert for warm weather because it’s a no-bake dessert. After years of making countless amounts of pudding and whipped cream, I have many tips to share below, as well as how to make it gluten free.

There are plenty of banana pudding recipes out there that call for all kinds of unique twists and intricate steps, but I’ve found through all my trial and error banana pudding mishaps that this traditional recipe truly is the best. With a classic dessert like this, it’s best to stick with the basics – simple, inexpensive ingredients and easy to follow steps!

The creamy, flavorful pudding paired with the sweet whipped cream and ripe bananas then all topped with crushed Nilla Wafers is almost too good to put into words. If you’re looking for a tried and true banana pudding recipe that’s reminiscent of how Grandma used to make it, this is the recipe for you. It’s a summertime treat that you’ve got to indulge in air least once a year!

Lyuba’s Tips Tricks for Banana Pudding

• Make banana pudding recipe ahead! This recipe really does need to be made ahead so that pudding can chill and set or you will end up with runny pudding. So plan to make it the day before you need it.
• Bananas – They need to be ripe, NOT over-ripe! The bananas should have a few brown spots and be slightly soft, but not too soft with too many brown spots. They should be more yellow than brown. However, if they’re fully yellow with green stems and are firm, they’re not quite ripe.
• Plan ahead: When you know you have make a dessert with pudding, remember to plan ahead for the time to cool down the pudding. All puddings need time to cool down to room temperature to set. You will need 30-60 minutes.
• Do NOT cover while the pudding is still hot! This will prevent building up of steam, which makes the pudding runny. Just let it cool to room temperature on the counter, uncovered.
• Whipped cream tips: When making whipped cream, make sure that your bowl, whisk attachment, and heavy whipping cream are all clean and cold. So put the bowl and whisk in the freezer for about 15 minutes before making.
• More whipped cream things to remember: pour in sugar slowly while beating whipped cream. Beat just until stiff peaks form! Don’t walk away, it whips fast.

Substitutions to Make It Gluten Free

• If you want to make this recipe gluten free, all you have to do is use gluten free vanilla wafers. Gluten free vanilla wafers are widely available at most grocery stores, but if you need to, you can substitute crunchy vanilla cookies or crunchy gluten free sugar cookies.
• This vanilla pudding recipe is already gluten free! So you don’t need to worry about the pudding or the whipped cream.

Variations and Additions

• Make it more aromatic and vanilla forward by using vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract. If you will use vanilla bean, add it to the milk mixture while it’s heating up. When you take the milk mixture off heat, take out the vanilla bean, slice it lengthwise, and use the back of the knife to scrape out the beans. Mix the vanilla beans into the mix mixture.
• If you want stronger banana flavor, you can add a teaspoon of banana extract to the pudding.
• Make it boozy: you can add a tablespoon or two of rum, coconut rum, orange liqueur, or banana liqueur into the pudding after it’s finished cooking, while hot.
• Orange zest: to give this banana pudding a little citrus and aromatic flavor, stir in some fresh orange zest into the vanilla pudding during the last couple of minutes of cooking.
• Coconut: you can add come sweetened coconut flakes into the pudding, layered in with bananas and cookies, and a little coconut extract into the whipped cream.

PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER

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More Summer Dessert Recipes

• Blueberry Crisp
• Tiramisu
• Coconut Banana Bread
• Blueberry Cake
• Banana Bread