Banana Pudding

This one is a winner! If you’re a fan of banana pudding, this one is for you! Inspired by Magnolia Bakery’s style of pudding, which has an amazing consistency and richness. You could make this dairy-free and vegan by just swapping out the dairy based ingredients for vegan/non-dairy too! Click here or the photo for the video with the steps!

Ingredients for assembling:

Ripe bananas (quantity is up to you, but somewhere around 3 on the larger sized is a good bench mark)

Box of vanilla wafter cookies (you likely won’t use the whole box, but, you never know!)

For the pudding:
3 cups heavy cream
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cups of cold water
1 box of vanilla pudding mix (I used Jell-O)

Steps:

  • Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and water. Add in the pudding mix a little at a time, making sure it’s fully incorporated.

  • Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. In the meantime, put a metal bowl (fit for a stand mixer or large bowl if using a hand mixer) and the whisk or beaters into the fridge to chill.

  • Once the pudding is set, using the cold metal mixing bowl and whisk, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks (if you’re unsure what that looks like, check occasionally instead of accidentally over-mixing: swirl the whisk attachment in the whip cream so that you gather some into the whisk, and pull it up and hold it straight up. The whip cream should not flop down or drip, but will also still have a lightness- if it’s over-mixed, it’ll look dry and crumbly).

  • In batches, add in portions of the pudding to the whip cream and just mix slowly until everything is fully incorporated.

To build the pudding:
There are really no rules! But, if you’d like it similar to mine, slice up the banana in 1/4 inch rounds. Start with a layer of pudding at the bottom, vanilla wafters on top of that, another layer of pudding, bananas, and then just keep repeating until you’ve reached the top.

You can also line the outside of your bowl or dish with the banana slices and cookies pressed against the sides. Aesthetically, it’s up to you!

Top with some crushed cookie and cookie pieces. As tough as it might be, once assembled, let it set in the fridge for about 5 hours, or, overnight (you don’t HAVE to, but, it really will give you the best overall consistency). Enjoy!

katherine sprungbanana pudding, pudding, dessert, recipe