This easy Banana Pudding recipe boasts fluffy whipped topping made with vanilla pudding between luscious layers of fresh bananas and crispy vanilla wafers.

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An easy southern banana pudding recipe that’s homemade with satisfying sweetness from crispy cookies, soft bananas, and airy whipped filling… could there be a better combo for the most delicious ‘n easy banana pudding recipe? 🙂 In my house, we love nearly any recipe with bananas in it. Add in whipped topping? Well, no one’s saying ‘no’ here!

We just started getting into making homemade pudding recipes again, and this simple southern banana pudding recipe was the first one we wanted to nail.

Simple Banana Pudding Recipe

It’s simple ‘n easy to make, with the most beautiful result: layers of fluffy whipped topping folded into creamy pudding with crunchy nilla wafers and slices of sweet bananas nestled in between.

Make this recipe once and you’ll never go back to store-bought, or any other recipe, again!

Easy Banana Pudding Ingredients

• Bananas: slightly ripe bananas are best here. Too ripe and the bananas will be difficult to slice and brown very quickly, too unripe and the bananas will taste too vegetabley.
• Instant Pudding Mix: I made this banana pudding recipe with vanilla pudding, but you can use banana pudding mix to really amp up the banana flavor.
• Milk: 1-2% cold milk is best here.
• Vanilla: we use 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract to truly get the best flavor.
• Condensed Milk: use one 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk.
• Whipped Topping: I like using a crowd-favorite like Cool Whip, but you can use whichever suits your tastes/diet.
• Vanilla Wafers: Nilla Wafers are great, just make sure to save some to crush for topping.

How to Make Banana Pudding

How do you make banana pudding, anyway? It takes just a few steps of whisking, folding, then layering and refrigerating.

Start the Pudding

Before you get started, remember to thaw the whipped topping at room temp for 1-2 hours, until soft in the center.

Start by whisking together milk, vanilla, and instant pudding mix. Whisk until it’s thickened, then whisk in condensed milk.

Next, grab thawed whipped topping and fold it into the pudding mixture.

How to Keep the Bananas from Turning Brown in Banana Pudding

Now, it’s time to slice the bananas. If you’re not going to serve this banana pudding within 1 day, very gently fold the bananas in lemon juice and drain excess juice. If you’ll serve it tonight, skip this part.

How to Layer Banana Pudding

Using this trifle bowl, scoop about 2 heaping cups of the banana pudding whipped mixture into a single, even layer at the bottom of the bowl. Smooth with a spatula.

Next, create a single layer of nilla wafers. I like to do two to three layers of wafers to create the pretty layers you can actually see; also, feel free to tilt some of the wafers onto their sides or angled outward so you can see them from the bowl. This takes about 20-30 wafers per layer.

Then, create another layer with sliced bananas. Again, you can tilt some to the side to make your easy banana pudding pretty! Repeat all three steps until all layers are complete for a beautiful banana pudding.

Add remaining whipped topping (about 1 cup) to the very top of the homemade banana pudding, then sprinkle crushed nilla wafers over it.

How long does banana pudding last?

This easy banana pudding recipe is good for 1-3 days in the refrigerator. I like it best hours and hours later. One day, I made it at 2pm, then enjoyed it around 10:30pm and it was incredible.

Bear in mind that I used just half-ripe bananas. The flavors truly melded together in such a delicious way–I could actually taste the bananas in the pudding. Half of the vanilla wafers became soft like cake, while the other half were still a bit crispy. It was amazing.

Can you freeze banana pudding?

Yes, you can freeze banana pudding. Just keep in mind, freezing anything that’s made to be eaten fresh will result in texture changes and usually soggier results.

To freeze banana pudding, make as normal but in an airtight, freezer-friendly container, or in individual freezer-friendly cups for easier serving.

Cover tightly in plastic wrap to avoid drying out the topmost layer, then with the container’s lid.

Before serving, thaw overnight in the refrigerator–but bear in mind that the bananas will be a bit mushier and browned. Enjoy!

Tips for Simple Banana Pudding

• Make sure you use instant pudding mix, and not regular pudding mix, which will result in a liquidy mess!
• Make sure to properly thaw your frozen whipped topping (1-2 hours at room temp). Check that it’s softened in the center before you start your pudding mixture.
• Go gently when folding the whipped topping into the pudding. You don’t want to mash everything together–this banana pudding recipe is meant to be fluffy, whipped, and light.
• Don’t use overly ripened bananas–they’re harder to work with when slicing into coins, and they’ll brown too quickly. I like half-ripe bananas that are still firm, but yellow on the outside.
• Make sure to truly coat layers of sliced bananas in the pudding, it’ll protect the bananas from browning too fast.
• For greater banana flavor, use banana pudding mix and maybe even a dash of banana extract.

For more delicious recipe ideas, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you’ve tried this recipe, take a pic and tag us on Instagram using #beamingbaker. We can’t wait to see it!

Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️

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