Something about banana pudding just brings back warm, comforting memories of my childhood. So naturally, I needed the absolute BEST banana pudding recipe to satisfy my nostalgic cravings.
It’s made with simple, easy ingredients that won’t break the bank.
Best of all, this recipe is no bake! Just a bit of mixing and then layering everything together. Such a great dessert and yet such little prep!
If you love bananas, you have got to check out this scrumptious coffee cake banana bread too!
The Best Banana Pudding Recipe
Makes 12 servings
Prep time: 25 minutes
Recipe notes:
- The tricky part of this recipe is spreading the “cheesecake” layer over the bananas. This needs to be accomplished by dolloping the cream cheese mixture all over the bananas and then using a knife or spatula to spread the dollops together. If you just scoop the entire cream cheese mixture onto the dessert and try to spread it out, it will cause a big mess!
- If the dessert is served immediately, the cookies will still be crunchy. I prefer to cover the dessert and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours to allow the cookies to soften.
Ingredients:
- 2 packages (3.4 ounces each) of instant vanilla pudding
- 4 cups cold milk
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8-ounce tub of whipped topping, thawed
- 11-ounce box of vanilla wafer cookies
- 4 large bananas
Directions:
1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the instant vanilla pudding and milk. Cover and refrigerate until thickened.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese together with the powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Reserve ¾ cup of the whipped topping and set aside.
Beat the remaining whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture until smooth and creamy.
3. Line a 3-quart 9×13-inch glass dish with a single layer of the vanilla wafer cookies.
Pour the prepared vanilla pudding over the cookies and gently spread it out evenly with a spatula.
4. Peel the bananas and slice them into ½-inch thick rounds. Add the bananas to the dish over the vanilla layer.
5. Dollop the “cheesecake” mixture over top of the bananas and use a spatula to very gently spread until the dollops meet and the cheesecake layer is evenly spread over all of the bananas.
6. Top the cheesecake layer with an even layer of the vanilla wafer cookies.
7. Scoop the reserved whipped topping into a small zip-top bag and cut off the corner to create a piping bag. Decorate the top of the dessert with the whipped topping.
8. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving to allow the cookies to soften.
The Best Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 packages 3.4 ounces each instant vanilla pudding
- 4 cups cold milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8- ounce tub whipped topping thawed
- 11- ounce box vanilla wafer cookies
- 4 large bananas
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the instant vanilla pudding and milk. Cover and refrigerate until thickened.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese together with the powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Reserve ¾ cup of the whipped topping and set aside. Beat the remaining whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture until smooth and creamy.
- Line a 3-quart 9×13 inch glass dish with a single layer of the vanilla wafer cookies. Pour the prepared vanilla pudding over the cookies and gently spread out evenly with a spatula.
- Peel the bananas and slice into ½ inch thick rounds. Add the bananas to the dish over the vanilla layer.
- Dollop the “cheesecake” mixture over top of the bananas and use a spatula to very gently spread until the dollops meet and the cheesecake layer is evenly spread over all of the bananas.
- Top the cheesecake layer with an even layer of the vanilla wafer cookies.
- Scoop the reserved whipped topping into a small zip top bag and cut off the corner to create a piping bag. Decorate the top of the dessert with the whipped topping.
- Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate before serving to allow the cookies to soften.
Notes
If the dessert is served immediately, the cookies will still be crunchy. Readers may prefer to cover the dessert and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours to allow the cookies to soften.
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