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Delicious banana pudding dessert in a glass with layers of bananas and cream

Best Banana Pudding Ever

This banana pudding is rich, creamy, and packed with layers of vanilla pudding, fresh bananas, and cookies. Whether you make it with homemade custard or pudding mix, it's guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser and the ultimate comfort dessert!
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Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Serves 8–10
  • For the pudding layer from scratch:
  • 600 ml 2½ cups whole milk
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 100 g ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 30 g ¼ cup cornstarch
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • OR – Quick version with mix:
  • 1 box 5.1 oz / 145 g instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 600 ml 2½ cups cold milk
  • Filling & Layers:
  • 4 –5 ripe bananas sliced
  • 1 box 300–350 g vanilla wafers or butter cookies (Nilla Wafers or similar)
  • 300 ml 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Hand mixer or whisk
  • 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) baking dish or trifle bowl
  • Rubber spatula
  • Saucepan (if making homemade custard)
  • Refrigerator

Method
 

  1. (Optional) Make the pudding from scratch:
  2. In a saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
  3. Add egg yolks and milk, whisking until smooth.
  4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened (~8–10 min).
  5. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Let cool slightly.
  6. (Or) Prepare instant pudding:
  7. In a large bowl, whisk instant pudding mix with cold milk until thickened (2 minutes). Chill for 10 minutes.
  8. Whip the cream:
  9. In a clean bowl, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to stiff peaks.
  10. Assemble the pudding:
  11. In a 9x13 dish or trifle bowl, layer cookies, banana slices, pudding, and whipped cream.
  12. Repeat layers until ingredients are used up, ending with whipped cream on top.
  13. Optional: Crumble a few cookies over the top for decoration.
  14. Chill:
  15. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight for best flavor and texture.

Notes

Use slightly underripe bananas for best texture over time.
For a lighter version, use whipped topping (like Cool Whip) instead of whipped cream.
Can be made a day in advance — the cookies soften into a delicious cake-like layer.
Add cream cheese (100 g) to the pudding for a richer, cheesecake-like texture.