Banana pudding is the most classic delicious dessert! It’s super easy and the whole family is SURE to love it! Enjoy!
If you look around the internet, you can find a lot of recipes for banana pudding. People use all kinds of stuff into their pudding. Cool whip, nuts, or boxed pudding powders. Cool whip and nuts have no business in good banana pudding. Boxed pudding is for cooking amateurs. I’m gonna take you through a step by step of how to easily make great pudding from scratch.
In my family, we keep it simple. Nilla wafers, banana slices, and pudding (from scratch). That’s it! That’s all you really need to make the best banana pudding ever!
A quick note to grandma: If you wanna make your grandkids really happy, make a big bowl of this stuff and let them have as much of this stuff as they want. 😉
Tips For The Perfect Pudding
As I mentioned above, not every banana pudding is equal. Here are the things that separate my family’s recipe from the rest.
- Pudding from scratch – In my opinion, pudding from scratch it hyped up to be more much difficult than it really is. On a low heat, whisk together melted butter and sugar. Then add salt, flour, and beaten eggs and whisk it all together. In slow increments, whisk in milk. Lastly, add in vanilla extract. And now just whisk this mixture on medium heat until it thickens up. The second its thicker, turn the heat of and put the bottom of your pot in a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process. (Most importantly, don’t stop whisking while its cooking!)
- Banana Ripeness – While any level of ripeness for the bananas works, I strongly recommend using some that are just beginning to ripen. This way, they will hold their shape a bit better and the sweetness isn’t overpowering.
Banana Pudding Recipe
AuthorbasilanddillDifficultyIntermediateOn medium heat, melt the margarine/butter and whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the salt, flour, and pre-beaten eggs. (Beating the eggs before ensures that the whites get fully incorporated into the pudding.) In small increments, begin whisking in the milk. After all the milk has been added, add the vanilla and continue whisking the pudding on medium-low heat. If the pudding begins to boil, turn the heat down a bit so it doesn't burn. If you feel that nothing is happening, feel free to turn up the heat a tiny bit. While the pudding is cooking, it's most important to keep whisking! (If you don't then the pudding will clump up.)
Take the pudding off the heat when it's just begun to thicken up, right before it's ready. (Check Notes!) (Because it's still really hot, the pudding is gonna cook some more and thicken up as it cools.) Put the bottom of the saucepan with the pudding into a bowl of ice cold water for 1 minute to cool it down a bit.
Now it's assembly time! Begin with a layer of nilla waffers, then sliced banana, and lastly pudding. Repeat those steps until you are out of pudding. The amount of each ingredient you put in every layer is up to you! I find it works best to put one flat lying layer of nila wafers, a single flat layer of banana, and enough pudding to cover both. This recipe works in in single serving sizes, like shown in the pictures, or you can make a big batch in a large bowl.
Let the pudding cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
On medium heat, melt the margarine/butter and whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the salt, flour, and pre-beaten eggs. (Beating the eggs before ensures that the whites get fully incorporated into the pudding.) In small increments, begin whisking in the milk. After all the milk has been added, add the vanilla and continue whisking the pudding on medium-low heat. If the pudding begins to boil, turn the heat down a bit so it doesn't burn. If you feel that nothing is happening, feel free to turn up the heat a tiny bit. While the pudding is cooking, it's most important to keep whisking! (If you don't then the pudding will clump up.)
Take the pudding off the heat when it's just begun to thicken up, right before it's ready. (Check Notes!) (Because it's still really hot, the pudding is gonna cook some more and thicken up as it cools.) Put the bottom of the saucepan with the pudding into a bowl of ice cold water for 1 minute to cool it down a bit.
Now it's assembly time! Begin with a layer of nilla waffers, then sliced banana, and lastly pudding. Repeat those steps until you are out of pudding. The amount of each ingredient you put in every layer is up to you! I find it works best to put one flat lying layer of nila wafers, a single flat layer of banana, and enough pudding to cover both. This recipe works in in single serving sizes, like shown in the pictures, or you can make a big batch in a large bowl.
Let the pudding cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- To check when the pudding is ready, swipe your finger on the back of a wooden spoon and it should leave a clean mark.