Homemade Banana Pudding {No Bake}
The best, thick, creamy, old fashioned, easy banana pudding recipe from scratch, homemade with simple ingredients. This no bake dessert is full of mashed bananas, milk, butter, eggs, vanilla wafers (Nilla wafers).
This dessert has made a steady comeback in popularity over the past few years. This version is as delicious and creamy, as it is simple to make. If you find yourself with a lot of ripe bananas that need to be used up, be sure to check out these Easy Ripe Banana Recipes {Banana Desserts}. I am sure you will find some recipe in that collection to inspire you.
More Pudding Desserts
- Easy Pudding Trifle
- Homemade Vanilla Pudding
- Chia Seed Pudding {4 Ingredients}
- Coconut Rice Pudding
- Easy Rice Pudding
- Vegan Chocolate Pudding
- Dracula Pudding Cups
- Halloween Pudding Cups
- Chocolate Pudding Pots
How To Make Homemade Banana Pudding Recipe From Scratch?
- Make banana milk- Cook milk, sugar, butter, mashed bananas on stovetop.
- Strain milk– Through a sieve.
- Make egg mixture– By whisking together eggs, egg yolks, cornstarch.
- Combine banana milk and egg mixture– While whisking constantly.
- Cook on stovetop- And keep mixing until thickened.
- Remove from heat- And stir in butter, banana liqueur, vanilla extract.
- Pour pudding– In individual cups.
- Top them– With whipped cream, crushed vanilla wafers, slices of bananas.
- Chill– To thicken further.
Pudding Toppings
- Whipped Cream– This can be store bought or you can try this Homemade Whipped Cream.
- Ganache– Add this Easy Chocolate Ganache {2 Ingredients}, or make/buy a white chocolate version.
- Frostings– Try this American Buttercream Frosting Recipe or Marshmallow Frosting Recipe or White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
- Sauces– This Homemade Caramel Sauce or Dulce De Leche make an extra decadent topping.
- Add fruit– Fresh berries such as strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries are yummy.
- Nuts– Add roughly chopped candied or toasted pecans, walnuts, cashews, pistachios for added texture and flavor.
- Coconut– Add toasted unsweetened or sweetened shredded coconut, depending on you preference, for texture and added sweetness.
Variations For Easy Southern Banana Pudding
Make a trifle/ Serve in one large dish– Layer the wafers, pudding, and whipped cream in a pretty trifle bowl.
Add layer of freshly sliced bananas– You can do this on the bottom, in the middle, or on top. You can even place them along the perimeter of the cups for a pretty presentation.
Use caramelized bananas– Caramelize the banana slices in butter and brown sugar and then follow the steps below.
Use ladyfingers– Use them in place of Nilla wafers. Add them to the bottom, on the sides, or broken on top.
Nilla wafer banana pudding cheesecake- Replace the pudding with a layer of no bake banana cheesecake mixture.
Use a pie crust on the bottom– Try this Oreo Pie Crust {No Bake) or Graham Cracker Crust {No Bake}. You could even turn the Nilla wafers into a pie crust, if you life.
Peanut butter version– Add your favorite peanut butter filled candies to the pudding, or top with Peanut Butter Frosting. You could also use Nutter Butter cookies in place of Nilla wafers.
S’mores version– Use graham crackers in place of Nilla wafers, and add shaved chocolate or layer chocolate pieces if you prefer. Then add mini marshmallows, marshmallow fluff, or even the marshmallow frosting listed in the toppings section.
Chocolate banana version– Top with chocolate biscuits, chocolate chips or even chocolate whipped cream.
Tips And Techniques For Old Fashioned Banana Cream Pudding
How to fix runny pudding? How to thicken runny pudding? First, try chilling it longer. It may just need more time to thicken. Also make sure to measure ingredients correctly, and to whisk the mixture for 10-12 minutes over medium heat until it thickens before removing it from the heat.
How do you make banana pudding without bananas turning brown? You can very very lightly coat them in citrus such as lemon or pineapple juice. Only use a little so that you don’t change the flavor. The acid will prevent the bananas from oxidizing and turning brown. However, this is not necessary in my recipe below.
How do you keep pudding from getting watery? Make sure to use whole milk, and full fat ingredients for maximum thickness. Also, be sure to cook it long enough on stovetop so that it becomes thick.
How to make super silky smooth pudding? Use an immersion blender to make it ultra smooth. It will dissolve any small lumps.
Number of servings will vary– Because this depends on the size of your cups you are using, and how much you fill them.
Don’t scramble the eggs– Because there is no way to fix this or reverse this! Make sure to slowly combine the mixtures, and whisk constantly so as to not scramble the eggs.
Banana milk must be strained– Or you will end up with little bits of bananas and the end result will not be silky smooth.
Use non-stick saucepans– Because this prevents the pudding from sticking and burning.
Use unsalted butter– Because it prevents this dessert from becoming salty.
Use whole milk- Because it provides the richest and creamiest results due to high fat content.
Try not to omit banana liqueur- Because it adds a lot of flavor and aroma that you simply can’t get from vanilla extract alone.
Storage
Make ahead– Simply make the pudding, and store it in the fridge, and then top it off with wafers when you are ready to serve.
Refrigerate- In a sealed container, or cover the individual cups tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
Freeze– I don’t recommend freezing them because they can break down while thawing. However, you can turn them into pudding pops and enjoy them as a frozen dessert.
More Banana Desserts
- Easy Banana Crumble {Banana Crisp}
- Frozen Chocolate Covered Bananas
- Banana Almond Biscotti
- Banana Muffins
- Chocolate Banana Bread {With Cake Mix}
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
- Chocolate Banana Popsicle Recipe
- Healthy Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Banana Cake Roll
Easy Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 4 cups Milk, Whole
- 2 cups Granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp Butter, Unsalted, Divided
- 4 Bananas, Ripe, Mashed
- 4 Eggs, Large
- 4 Egg yolks, From large eggs
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 3 tsp Banana Liqueur
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 cups Vanilla wafers, Crushed
- 2 cups Homemade whipped cream, For topping, Optional
Instructions
- In a medium nonstick saucepan, add milk, sugar, 3 tbsp butter, mashed bananas and cook on medium heat and bring to a simmer.
- Strain this sweetened banana milk through a fine mesh sieve into another nonstick saucepan.
- Bring to a boil on medium heat.
- Remove from heat and keep aside
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, cornstarch until smooth.
- Now, pour the banana milk slowly into this egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the formation of any lumps. Do not pour all the milk quickly because that will scramble the eggs.
- Add this mixture back into the nonstick saucepan and cook on medium-low heat for about 10-12 minutes, whisking constantly until pudding is thick and creamy.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in remaining 3 tbsp butter, banana liqueur, vanilla extract until smooth.
- Optional step: Use a hand held immersion blender to blend pudding until it's ultra smooth and then, strain it again if you like.
- Pour pudding in individual cups.
- Top them off with whipped cream, crushed vanilla wafers and slices of bananas (I skipped the fresh bananas and whipped cream this time). You can also add some crushed vanilla wafers at the bottom of the cup before pouring pudding on top.
- Chill in fridge for 4-6 hours or until the pudding becomes thick and firm. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
