This cooked Southern Homemade Banana Pudding is a delicious homemade pudding custard with layers of sliced banana, Nilla wafers and whipped cream! No instant pudding used here!
A MADE-FROM-SCRATCH BANANA PUDDING
Have you ever wanted to try your hand at making a homemade banana pudding? I promise you that it is far easier than you may realize. With a few basic ingredients, you can truly make some of the best banana pudding you've ever eaten in your life!
SHOULD YOU USE MERINGUE OR WHIPPED CREAM?
Most of the older recipes for homemade banana pudding will almost always have meringue toppings. That's because when the cook (that would be your Momma or Grandmomma) would have egg whites leftover from making the pudding part, she wouldn't want to waste the egg whites. So, she'd take those egg whites and whip up a meringue for the topping. It makes complete sense and it makes good use of all the egg. So having said all that, I still prefer whipped cream. With this recipe, you'll only be wasting one egg white. If that will help you sleep better at night. Oh, and the custardy-pudding is totally worth the little bit of effort it takes to make. Such a great flavor.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
whole milk
sugar
cornstarch
egg
egg yolk
salted butter
vanilla extract
bananas
vanilla wafers
heavy cream
powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BANANA PUDDING:
In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the milk, sugar, cornstarch, egg, and egg yolk. Once well-combined, place the pan over medium-high heat. Making this custard takes a bit of patience. You are stirring and stirring and then all of a sudden, blamm-o, it starts getting thick on ya. So that's why you gotta stick with it while you're making it. Whisk often to prevent lumps from forming. Cook until thick and bubbling. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, vanilla extract and whisk until butter is completely melted.
In an 8-inch baking dish (2 quart) baking dish, place a layer of bananas, then top that with a layer of vanilla wafers.
Pour ½ of the custard over the wafers and spread to the edges. Repeat this process once more. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least four hours.
Whip the heavy cream with the vanilla and the powdered sugar until it reaches soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream over the chilled pudding. Top with crushed vanilla wafer cookies. Keep refrigerated.
And then if you wanna get fancy, add a slice of banana and a Nilla wafer on top.
CRAVING MORE BANANA RECIPES?
Homemade Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk 2% or higher
- ⅔ cups sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- 4-5 bananas peeled and sliced
- 50 vanilla wafers (about half a box)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk, sugar, cornstarch, egg, and egg yolk.
- Once well-combined, place the pan over medium-heat.
- Whisk often to prevent lumps from forming.
- Making this custard takes a bit of patience. You are stirring and stirring and then all of a sudden it starts getting thick. So that's why you need to whisk constantly.
- Cook until thick and bubbly.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and banana extract (or vanilla extract) and whisk until completely melted.
- In an 8-inch (2 quart) baking dish, place a layer of bananas, then top that with a layer of vanilla wafers.
- Pour ½ of the custard over the wafers and spread to the edges.
- Repeat this process once more.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least four hours.
- For the whipped topping:
- Whip the heavy cream with the vanilla and the powdered sugar until it reaches soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream over the chilled pudding. Top with crushed vanilla wafer cookies.
Notes
- Keep refrigerated.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: June 2011
Updated & republished: May 2019
Joyce
I have a question. In one of your replies you said you use banana extract but in the recipe it says vanilla. Which do you suggest? Because I’ve been thinking about using banana extract but wanna make sure it wouldn’t harm it.
Esther Whatley
This looks delish to this Southern girl I make my banana pudding with ginger snaps and always use real whipped cream.
Melanie K
How many servings? Trying to decide if I should double recipe for a dinner party of 10. ????
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Hi Melanie - I calculated about 8 servings. I suppose it depends on how generous you want to be with the servings. Maybe double just to be safe. 🙂
Jess
This is so delicious! Everyone in my family (including my 15 year old who doesn’t prefer bananas) loved this. Thank you for this easy to follow fool proof recipe!
Raven Jade
I've made this recipe time and time again and it's my favorite out of many that I've tried. The only small change I make is once the banana pudding is done cooking, I smash up a whole banana until it's virtually mush and add that to the pudding at the end.
Lynette
It looks sooo good, I'm going to make it all for myself.
Lorraine Mrs Weaver
Wow - this was really delicious! Tastes like my Momma's used to but I never got her recipe.
Linda R
I think meringue makes bananas bitter. I'm a 5th generation southern cook and I know it is traditional but I prefer whipped cream or whipped topping too. This is perfect!
Anonymous
Hi Brandie. Just ran across your blog today when someone shared your 25 crockpot recipes on fb. My mom used to make homemade banana pudding from scratch all the time. She would make a roasting pan (the oval one) full when she made it and it usually only lasted a few days. She never put anything on top and that's the way I prefer it. Also, I don't think she ever used anything except whole eggs in hers. I do remember one year I ate so much of it that I made myself sick. After that I didn't eat any for awhile. Now you have me wanting some of her Nanner Puddin, but sadly she passed away last year so I will never get to have her Nanner Puddin anymore. BTW, we live in Arkansas so we are definitely Southern here.
Apple Hobbie
We love it and since we only keep skim milk this time I made it with skim milk! Lo and behold YUM YUM YUM! Love it!
scboxer
I've always used my grandmother's recipe and would never even look at a different recipe. Until one day, while I was stirring and stirring and well you get it, I started reading the side of the Nilla wafer box. Lo and behold, grandma's exact recipe! I was crushed but still never veered from using it.
Til today-
On my way to make it right now!
(Oh,yeah-I'm team meringue all the way, lol)
Anonymous
Brandie, hi! Meant to comment on this when it was posted, but forgot, probably...lol. When I was growing up, we didn't put anything at all on our banana pudding...after I was grown, we did start using whipped topping. Can't imagine it with meringue, so this recipe is all good for me!
Deb
DebNJoizee919@aol.com
Anna Wixom
This is my favorites version. Thanks for the recipe! I come here everytime I make nanner puddin lol. I love the flavor and the.fact it isn't loaded with all the cream cheese that others call for. Simple yet delicious!
Tanya
I made this last Saturday night. Oh my dear heavens!!! This was delicious and every single bit as good as I remember from my childhood. I am tossing all of my other recipes.