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The Best Banana Pudding

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.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Desserts
Cuisine American/Canadian
Servings 12
Calories 387 kcal

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 9x13 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

The difficult 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 use a knife or spatula to spread the dollops together. If you just scoop all of the 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. Readers may prefer to cover the dessert and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours to allow the cookies to soften.

Nutrition

Calories: 387kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 6gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 310mgPotassium: 332mgFiber: 1gSugar: 38gVitamin A: 425IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 135mgIron: 0.2mg
Keyword banana, pudding
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