American · Dessert · Easy
Banana Pudding
Layers of creamy vanilla custard, ripe banana slices, and soft vanilla wafers that melt together into pure Southern comfort. It tastes even better the next day, after the wafers turn into cake-like bliss.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Banana Pudding, in 5 ideas
- Use bananas that are ripe but still firm: overripe ones turn mushy and leak juice into the pudding.
- Pressing the plastic wrap onto the pudding prevents a skin from forming while it chills.
- The overnight rest is the secret: the wafers soften into cake-like layers that make the dessert.
- Toss banana slices in a little lemon juice if you need to slice them ahead, to keep them bright.
- For a retro twist, pipe or spoon meringue over the top and broil it golden instead of using whipped cream.
What you need
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 box (11 ounces) vanilla wafers
- 4 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
- 1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
How to make it
Directions
- In a saucepan, whisk the sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in the milk and egg yolks until smooth.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and bubbles, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until the butter melts. Let cool 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a 9x13-inch dish, spread one-third of the wafers in a layer, top with one-third of the banana slices, then pour over one-third of the pudding. Repeat twice more.
- Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Spread the whipped cream over the top and add a few crushed wafers just before serving.
Store-brand vanilla wafers cost about half of the name brand and taste identical once they soak up the pudding.