The Country Cook

BEST BANANA PUDDING POKE CAKE (+Video)

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4.98 from 48 votes
Best Banana Pudding Poke Cake is an easy original recipe made with cake mix poked with banana pudding, topped with Cool Whip and crushed Nilla Wafers!

Best Banana Pudding Poke Cake is an easy original recipe made with cake mix poked with banana pudding, topped with Cool Whip and crushed Nilla Wafers!

BEST BANANA PUDDING POKE CAKE

The inspiration for this Banana Pudding Poke Cake actually started out at work. My co-worker, Heather, loves Banana Pudding. But my other co-worker, Amanda does not like bananas – at all. She likes the flavor of bananas but not the texture. So the idea of the banana pudding poke cake was born. All the banana pudding flavors you love – in cake form.slice, Banana Pudding Poke Cake topped with a banana slice and Nilla Wafer on a plate
VIDEO INCLUDED BELOW:

CAN YOU ADD SLICED BANANAS TO THIS CAKE?

This is made without slices of bananas, however, you could certainly add those on there if you like. My husband and I decided we would just add some freshly sliced bananas right on top of our individual pieces of cake which turned out to be a delicious idea. If I had put them on the cake while I was making it, they would have turned brown within a day. It also makes the cake really pretty if you serve the individual slices with a bit of sliced banana and a Nilla Wafer on top.bite of banana poke cake

CAN YOU USE OTHER FLAVORS OF CAKE AND PUDDING?

Absolutely! Since creating this recipe, I have added about twenty other poke cake combinations. Some of the most popular ones are: BOSTON CREAM POKE CAKE, RED VELVET POKE CAKE, OREO PUDDING POKE CAKE and LEMON BLUEBERRY POKE CAKE.Banana Pudding Poke Cake recipe from The Country Cook

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
yellow cake mix
ingredients needed to make cake (eggs, oil & water)
instant banana pudding
milk
whipped topping (COOL WHIP)
Nilla wafersyellow cake mix, Nilla wafers, instant vanilla pudding, cool whip, bananas

HOW TO MAKE BANANA PUDDING POKE CAKE:

Prepare cake mix according to package directions for a 9×13 cake. Once cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for just a couple of minutes. Then, with a wooden spoon handle or some other similarly-sized object, begin poking holes in the cake.
poke holes into baked yellow cake
You want the holes to be fairly big so that the pudding has plenty of room to get down in there. Be sure to poke right down to the bottom of the cake.
Banana Pudding Poke Cake recipe from The Country Cook - holes poked into vanilla cake
In a bowl,whisk together instant pudding with 4 cups milk. Stir until all the lumps are gone. Let pudding sit for about 1-2 minutes so it has just slightly begun to thicken but not fully set, it should still be easily pourable.
mix instant pudding with cold milk in a bowl
 Pour pudding over cake. Taking care to get it into the holes as much as possible.

pour liquid pudding into holes in cake

 Spread it all out and using the back of the spoon gently push pudding down into the holes.

using the back of a spoon, push pudding down into holes in baked yellow cake

Put the pudding into the fridge to set and cool. Once your cake has completely cooled, spread on whipped topping.
spread whipped topping (Cool Whip) on top of cooled cake
If you haven’t done so already, crush your vanilla wafers. I just place mine in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Leave some of the pieces big. It’s nice to have a bit of a crunch when you eat the cake.
crush vanilla (Nilla) wafers
Spread crushed wafers onto the top of the cake. You can do this part immediately before serving the cake if you like. This will ensure the wafers are crunchy when you serve it.
sprinkle crushed Nilla wafers on top of Cool Whip
I think this cake gets more delicious over time. To me, it’s even better the next day so it’s a great dessert to make ahead of time. Serve with freshly sliced bananas. Keep refrigerated.Best Banana Poke Cake on a plate
Enjoy!

Originally published: June 2012
Updated and republished: May 2019

slice, Banana Pudding Poke Cake topped with a banana slice and Nilla Wafer on a plate

BEST BANANA PUDDING POKE CAKE

Best Banana Pudding Poke Cake is an easy original recipe made with cake mix poked with banana pudding, topped with Cool Whip and crushed Nilla Wafers! 
4.98 from 48 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana pudding poke cake
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 270kcal
Author: Brandie @ The Country Cook

Ingredients

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • ingredients needed to make cake: eggs, oil & water
  • 2 (3.4 oz) packages instant banana pudding
  • 4 cups milk
  • 1 (8 oz) tub frozen whipped topping (COOL WHIP) thawed
  • 20 vanilla wafers crushed

Instructions

  • Prepare cake mix according to package directions for a 9x13 cake.
  • Once cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for just a couple of minutes.
  • Then, with a wooden spoon handle, begin poking holes in the cake. You want the holes to be big enough so that the pudding has plenty of room to get down in there. Be sure to poke right down to the bottom of the cake.
  • In a bowl, whisk together instant pudding mix with 4 cups milk. Stir until all the lumps are gone.
  • Pour pudding over cake. Taking care to pour it right into the holes as much as possible.
  • Spread it all out and using the back of the spoon, gently push pudding down into the holes.
  • Put the cake into the fridge to set and cool (about 2 hours.)
  • Once your cake has completely cooled, spread on whipped topping.
  • Crush the vanilla wafers. Leave some of the pieces big. It's nice to have a bit of a crunch when you eat the cake.
  • Spread crushed wafers onto the top of the cake before serving.

Video

Notes

You can spread the crushed wafers immediately before serving the cake if you like. This will ensure the wafers are crunchy when you serve it.
Keep refrigerated.

Nutrition

Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 405mg | Potassium: 151mg | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 190IU | Calcium: 189mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Did you make this recipe?Share it on Instagram @thecountrycook and mention us #thecountrycook!

CRAVING MORE POKE CAKE/BANANA RECIPES? CHECK THESE OUT!
BOSTON CREAM POKE CAKE
RED VELVET POKE CAKE
ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE POKE CAKE
PINEAPPLE PUDDING POKE CAKE
CHERRY ALMOND POKE CAKE
CARROT PUDDING POKE CAKE
LEMON BLUEBERRY POKE CAKE
BANANA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
CINNAMON ROLL POKE CAKE

 

About Brandie @ The Country Cook

I’m a regular home cook, like most of you, doing my best to get a good meal on the table for my family. I like to say the recipes on here are recipes for the busy cook (you know who you are). You can still get a good meal on the table, with a few shortcuts to help you along the way. I hope you’ll find lots of recipes here that you’ll love and hopefully will become family favorites. Read more...

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Anonymous

    I have made this two times already, and I am making this right now to take to my moms for thanksgiving. Everyone loves it, but I go a step further and add banana slices on top of the pudding. Its just like eating the real thing, but the cake part just makes it awesome!

    Reply

  4. Krystal Dunn

    Has anyone tried cook and serve pudding in place of the instant? I was thinking about trying it to see if the warmth of cooking the pudding would create an even more moist cake and fill the poke holes better before refrigerating to cool. ….?any thoughts?

    Reply

  6. Edward Wellner

    Made this and it was delicious! Made a couple alterations. Replced the oil in the cake with naners and used banana milk in the pudding. YUM!

    Reply

  7. Brandie

    The stuff dreams are made of! Nanner puddin is one of my favorites and I can't wait to make this one. You know I love a good poke cake!

    Reply

  8. Anonymous

    I'm making one now. I'm going to make it with pistachio pudding cause I don't have vanilla. Will let you know how it comes out. Thank you.

    Reply

  9. Anonymous

    I just made one with pistachio pudding. Going to put fresh whip cream on top later and have a piece. Will let you know how it taste.
    Thank you so much for the website.

    Reply

  10. Anonymous

    My boyfriend loves this cake!

    I add a box of banana pudding mix to the cake batter. I then make a batch of pudding to pour in the holes.

    I sometimes add the ban as between the pudding and cool whip, they stay put for two days!

    Great recipe!

    Reply

  11. Brittney

    5 stars
    Can all of these ingredients be substituted for sugar free? Im looking for a sugar free poke cake recipe. This one seems perfect and I’d imagine it would all work the same, yes?

    Reply

  12. Toby

    I want to make 100 mini servings of this recipe. My plan is to make the mini cakes, freeze them, layering the pudding and whipped cream one day prior to serving. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the cakes from being to dry since I am not pouring the pudding over warm cake?

    Reply

  14. Alli

    5 stars
    This cake is simply amazing. So easy!! I’m addicted to anything banana and this is one of the recipes I can make over and over again and love each and every time.

    Reply

  15. Stacy

    5 stars
    Hi Brandie! I absolutely love your poke cakes! They are always a hit, and the banana one is perfect for summer get-together. I am a butterscotch fan, and I was wondering if you have a recipe for that flavor. Thanks for all the great recipes!

    Reply

    • Brandie @ The Country Cook

      Hi Stacy! Oh wow – thank you so much!! Ya know, I don’t have a butterscotch one – YET! I’ll have to play with that one. Great idea!

      Reply

      • Stacy

        Great!! I’m sure you’ll come up with something delicious! Would be a good fall recipe! Thanks!! ????

  17. linda

    I love your recipes, but every time I try to print one off, the recipe is blocked out in parts by advertisements. very frustrating!

    Reply

  18. Tess

    5 stars
    OMG this is so YUMMY!! My Hubby & I loved this banana pudding poke cake!! The best….:) Thanks for all your recipes;love your website. 🙂

    Reply

    • Brandie @ The Country Cook

      Yes! Love hearing that Tess! I really appreciate you coming back to let me know how it turned out for you!!

      Reply

  19. Debby

    5 stars
    I made this for my 81-year-old Dad and he loved it! His wife passed away10 years ago and he loved her banana pudding. He said this was even better because it was a cake too! Like others, I added a layer of bananas on top of the pudding before the Cool Whip layer,otherwise followed the recipe. I love making several types of poke cakes and will definitely make this one again.

    Reply

  21. Jill

    5 stars
    This recipe is a keeper! I made a few tweaks – added a layer of fresh bananas on top of the pudding layer and I did homemade whipped cream instead of Cool Whip. It was a hit!

    Reply

    • Brandie @ The Country Cook

      Mandora – hmmmm….I am not sure. Is there a substitute that you’ve used in the past? Perhaps you could make a meringue topping?

      Reply

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