How To Make Homemade Banana Pudding
I LOVE and adore banana pudding, real banana pudding. By real I mean the kind where you make the pudding from scratch and pour it warm over a bowl of yummy Nilla wafers and fresh cut bananas. That stuff with boxed pudding mix cannot even come close to how this tastes. If you think you’ve had banana pudding before and it involved a boxed pudding mix…THAT was not banana pudding! THIS is Banana Pudding!
The complete recipe is listed at the bottom of this page. I always insist on Nilla brand wafers. I am not a big brand person (alright, I do have a thing about White Lily flour), but if you’re going to make banana pudding, might as well do it right. For my Banana pudding, we won’t be doing a meringue. I like meringue but know far too many people who don’t. Plus that adds an extra step, which may be a wee bit complicated for someone who has never made it before. If you want to make a meringue and don’t know how, just visit my Lemon Meringue pie tutorial for complete instructions along with pictures!
I just want you to make the pudding, I don’t want you to feel you have to sit through an entire culinary class. That having been said, if you put Cool whip or any type of refrigerated dairy topping on this divine concoction after we are done making it, I will personally hunt you down and haunt you for the rest of your life. ~sweet smile~ We’re going to do this right
Put a layer of Nilla wafers in the bottom of a medium sized mixing bowl. Slice a banana over the top. Repeat these layers until you’ve used up all your Nilla wafers and bananas. It really is important that you put Nilla wafers first, by the way. These are going to soak up all the yummy pudding that settles at the bottom of your bowl.
I use a mixing bowl because that is what my mother always used. She had this Corning green glass mixing bowl, it was enormous. She must have made at least two recipes of banana pudding each time she made it. Seeing that bowl on the counter was always a welcome sight!
Crack your three eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Since we aren’t making a meringue, we won’t be using the whites. You can save them for another use or throw them away (which I did because….I just care about my banana pudding right now.)
Place 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar (or Splenda), and a dash of salt in a saucepan. You can use a double broiler for this and not have to fret over it so much, but I just like living on the edge. Muhahaha! My trick for substituting Splenda for sugar in this is to always use just a wee bit less than the recipe calls for. If it calls for a cup of sugar, I might do a cup minus two tablespoons of Splenda. To me, that keeps it from tasting artificial.
Add milk to saucepan.
When you are done stirring it up it will look something like this.
Now settle in and BE PATIENT. You need to stir the pot constantly, scraping the bottom so none of it gets a chance to stick and scorch. This will take about fifteen minutes so I usually get something to read while I stand there and stir because I don’t think I’ve ever “just” done one thing for fifteen minutes straight.
Today I read a few articles from the new issue of PopSci. I love that magazine. This one shows you how you can turn your iPod or even iPhone into a projector that will project movies onto your wall up to 5′ x 7′! All you need are a small cosmetic mirror, a cardboard box, some tape, and a lense from an old slide projector. I actually want to do this. Anyone have an old slide projector? ~grins~
Seriously, be patient, keep stirring, don’t turn the heat up past four. This is going to take a long time and do nothing, but then ALL OF A SUDDEN it will be thicker.
Yes, I need to clean my stove. I started to photoshop that out but then decided…..”eh”.
Now, your pudding isn’t going to get super thick, but after about fifteen minutes of stirring, it will suddenly get thicker. The consistency will be about what that boxed pudding is right after you mix it before it sets well. TAKE IT OFF THE EYE! Quick! we don’t want it to scorch or keep getting thicker. Now if you end up with scorched pudding or lumpy pudding, just use it anyway and pay attention to me when I tell you to slow down next time!
Add a teaspoon of vanilla and stir.
Immediately pour over your bananas and wafers.
Let this sit for about five minutes so the pudding has time to soak into the wafers. THIS IS SO GOOD! Eat it warm, then refrigerate leftovers. I prefer to eat the leftovers cold. YUMM!
Ingredients Instructions
Enjoy!
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Jul 9 2008. Filed under Dessert, FEATURED Southern Favorites!, Southern Classics.
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Hi all! Thanks for the wonderful website! My wife and I recently moved from San Diego to Savannah GA and have been trying to take in all the southern culture and cooking we can.
I cook dangerously too, and hopefully I won’t anger any true blood southerners here but I added some peanut butter to the pudding and then whipped up some cream/sugar/cocoa powder into a topping. It definitely satiated my sweet tooth! I’ll make sure to try the traditional way someday real soon though.
Christy,
With your talent of cooking, you need to open a restuarant!! . The banana pudding sounds great,If it is not made from scratch,, it is no good. These southern belles know what good food is about. Thanks for all the hard work you put into this. I could read your site all day.
I just love nanner puddin,Thanks
Oh I wish I was from the South – I love the food and I’m learning to make it – I’ve never heard of this kind of Banana Pudding – can’t wait to spring it on the grandkids. Now I know this is not a southern recipe, but I seriously need a GOOD tomatoe sauce recipe to use meatballs, lasagne etc. Thanks in advance from the great but not south state of Idaho!
A perfect creation: 1 suggestion you have to try it with Watkins Double Strength Vanilla Flavoring clear or dark is not a big deal just personal preferrence but for some reason the flavor of the bananas seem to explode in your mouth. The only thing I could figure out is why you didn’t make a meringue you know how us Southerners are we like a little tea with our sugar water LOL.I saw you said add to liking if meringue is what you like or the splenda for a less fattening way but you know it ain’t good unless it is fattening You are the best Love your ideas and what you share.
Bryan Bentley
A Banana Pudding avid eater!:)
Wonderful Recipe !!
What great memories this recipe brought back to me.
I can remember standing on a chair next to the stove,(wearing one of my Mama’s aprons tied up under my arm pits LOL) anxiously waiting and watching for the puddin’ to coat the spoon, so it’d be thick enough to pour over the ‘Niller Wafers.
I am “proud” that you used a silver teaspoon to stir the puddin’.
Mama always used a silver spoon, never used a wooden spoon for cooking the pudding.
And you are right !! It has to be ‘Nilla Vanilla Wafers or it just
aint gonna taste like Home-made vanilla puddin.’ And the recipe was always on the side of the box. Mama kept a tiny bottle of Pure Vanilla Extract for this recipe too. None of that cheap imitation vanilla extract for THIS recipe.
We always made meningue to top ours. We anxiously watched thru the
“cracked” oven door to see that it didn’t get too browned.
Thanks again for including this recipe.
I haven’t had homemade banana puddin’ since I was a little girl. Gonna’ be makin’ this real soon!!! Thanks for the great recipe & perfect instructions! BTW! I love your blog!!
This looks amazing I just left the grocery with the recipe ingredients in hand to head home to the oven!! My Grandmother’s Banana Pudding was warm and always my favorite I am so excited to finally be able to make it myself! (she was very hush hush with her recipe collection) Thanks again!!
IT WAS AMAZING!! It tasted just like my Mamaw’s I was so excited when I dug into my first bite!! My poor family has eaten nanner pudding for breakfast, lunch, and dinner Now My office staff is going to dig into today thanks so much for such a great recipe and wonderful step by steps I was so nervous when hoovering over the stove you really helped me with the blog
thanks again cya back here soon for more fab recipes to try
Made this this weekend. It was AWESOME!!!! My family gobbled up every drop!! Making more tonight!!
This receipe rocked my house my husband loved it!!! I kinda kept it on the burner longer becuz i like mine really thick. I gotta say this receipt saved my butt!
My husband who is such a deserving man has asked me to make a banana pudding and keeps reminding me that he has been waiting for about ninety days and still no banana pudding (I feel so bad) problem is I don’t know how. So I typed in awesome bp and found your site, read through the directions and I am convinced I can do this and I will, so today when he comes home from work I’ll surprise him with your recipe and hope that he enjoys it. Anyway, I’ll let you know. Until then thanks.
I’m not a cook
My Fiance does the cooking but he and I have never had banana pudding from scratch. Sad considering we’re from Tennessee and even sadder for me that my grandmother is from Georgia and she’s never made it. I’ve made it (didn’t scorch!) and thank you for the recipe and instructions. I have two girls under two so I guess I’ll have the ultimate taste test on my cooking…thanks again*7
Well I did it, made that banana pudding followed the directions to a T. I surprised my husband and boy was he surprised. He could hardly wait till dessert and when he sunk his teeth into it he replied “NOW THIS IS BANANA PUDDING” I felt so proud of myself and I have you to thank, so thank you very much. It was so easy and to top it off I added three marachino cherries in the center.What a delight for both of us. So the next time he asks for bp he will have it within 24 hours sooner if all ingredients are on hand. Also, you are difinitely on my favorite list. I’m so happy!!!!!
hello christy and a tip i would like to give you is to mix your suhar and flour together with a fork until the flour isn’t lumpy, then when you mix them with your eggs and milk you wont have to worry about whisking out lumps of flour.this is an old trick my great grandmother taught me!
Just wanted to say that your instructions are so simple; a recipe that my grandma has used for AGES!! And it does look very very naked without the meringue. Love all the bloggers but anyone who doesn’t love meringue might as well not make this dish. =)
I haven’t left yet haha
Just forwarded your link to my Aunt and sis-in-law lol
WOW, this looks great. I made one like this many years ago(and don’t shoot me for this) but I didn’t like it as good as the instant kind haha
**DUCKS**
I must have done something wrong, and I had meringue on mine, but I’ll sure try this one! thanks!
oh and this was hilarious:
I will personally hunt you down and haunt you for the rest of your
roflmao
oops, it left off “life” lol
in regards to using Cool Whip
I just made this today (and blogged about it) with homemade vanilla wafers and whipped cream. It was so good! Thanks!!!
Words have escaped me. All I can say is Thank you, Thank you. I made this for the first time today and “OH MY GOSH”. My family will have a hard time prying this out of my hands. I will never use Vanilla instant pudding again (sorry Jello). Do you have any recipes for different flavours??
I found this website and tried this recipe yesterday and enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing it.
[...] If you’d like to see the photo tutorial of this recipe (the first one I ever did!) along with the recipe itself, click here. [...]
Thank you! I loved making it and especially enjoyed your instructions. In fact, I was having so much fun reading your side notes that I did not really care if the pudding would be any good. It was though. Thanks again. Now…does anyone have a spare lens projector lens?
Thanks so much for all your recipes! I have enjoyed several of them and this one is delish! This is what I made for our dinner tonight LOL
Well I know what I’m doing with those bananas on the counter.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I have been searching for a good homemade banana pudding recipe, and yours is excellent! I’m a scratch cook and my family loves homemade food. I’m adding you to my favorites page and look forward to trying your lemon meringue pie next. God bless you!
i love this recipe,and this is a easy way to make it,and for the people who jello-pudding,if your gonna use jello-o pudding,use the cook(no instant)vanilla pudding,when it’s almost done,smash some banana’s,and fold in while still hot,then pour over sliced banana’s,and i use pepridge farm chessman cookies(crumbled) and i make whip cream from scratch(no cool whip,or can kind) and chill for about a hour or 2,then……YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!!!
thank you for posting the recipe on here i love banana pudding also but the kids would rather eat just the pudding and cookies so i make half with and half without the bananas and they love it
I love you and I don’t even know you. Well, anyone who can contribute to anybody that can’t cook a lick, like me, is my hero. I thank you very much for your assistance in making your famous banana pudding it was the bomb!. I mean it was absolutely delicious, so so good. And it was so easy. Thank you!.
Not to step on anyone’s toes…..I’m from Tennessee, and I found this Banana Pudding, very bland. Not alot of taste to it. I will go back to mine using evaporated can milk and some butter, an extra egg, and beef up the sugar to 2 1/2 cups.
OMG!! Your site was a lifesaver whew everyone loved it, my granny showed me how but she got sick and was left here to do it. Thank God I found your site, I even added a meringue to top it off.
I love this site and your recipes.. My Momma and Grandmothers are all passed away and I have only found a few of their recipes..Thank you for these… Bunches of hugs..
[...] How To Make Homemade Banana Pudding [...]
Lost my mother’s receipe for banana pudding, stumbled onto your site. Man, dead on. Thanks so much, my eight yr old wants more already.
[...] Homemade Banana Pudding [...]
I make this banana pudding all the time (with the meringue) Never tried it without. I cook mine in the microwave though. Hate the double boiler and stirring for fifteen minutes. Just microwave on high for one minute at a time and stir in between minutes. Takes about three to four minutes in my microwave. Love your website!
dear christy,
always use this recipe! double it to make enough!! yankee husband also loves it!! made it for his high fallutin’ family about a month ago! they have lived ther whole yankee lives having never had banana pudding, much less homemade banana pudding.
I can’t wait to try this! My grandmother, on my dad’s side, made the BEST Banana Pudding! And she NEVER wrote the recipe down or tought any of us how to make it. So since she has passed, almost 15 years ago, I have NOT had ANY Banana Pudding. I will NOT eat the box pudding kind. And my daddy is the same way! So the next time I am home for a visit with him, I will make this for him and see how it stands to my Maw Maw’s! Thanks!
i have never heard of flour being in banana pudding that is new to me
For as long as I have breath to breathe, I have always had Old Fashioned Banana Pudding. And when I say “Old Fashion” I mean eggs, sugar, milk and flour mix in the sauce pan and stirring. Not instant pudding. Never been big on serving it to my children. And some people think that making “Old Fashion” Banana Pudding is the same as making it with instant. Not even in the same universe! They should be ashamed of themselves.
AMEN!
~clinks her tea glass against yours~
OK..I just made the nanner pudding, and OMG!! It was AWESOME!! I will NEVER use boxed pudding mixes again!!
[...] great recipe to use this homemade meringue on: Homemade Banana Pudding, the first tutorial I ever [...]
Just stumbled on this from good old Google while looking for a recipe to use up my “nanners”. I hadn’t made homeade puddin in a bit. The kids loved it! Whoo hoo. The big brother just hid the rest from the little brother (at 23 and 19, they ain’t so little). Thanks and love your site.
Sherry Lynn
I tried this tonight and …there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said already! It was awesome
Thanks!! I’m going to try it with soymilk (my son is allergic to animal milk)….wouldn’t want him to miss out on PUDDING in his life!
Christy,
I couldn’t resist looking at your website after hearing you speak. The Banana Pudding looks fabulous and caught my eye. I’m looking forward to checking the rest of the recipes out. Thank you for coming to Lincoln Elem. in Huntsville, Al on 4-22-10. Sharing your story with the kids about going to Lincoln when you were younger was so special & touching! Hearing you and spending time with you made such a difference in their lives. I’m proud of your accomplishments and I know you have so much more to share with the world. You are a real inspiration. Congratulations on your successes! You need your own T.V. cooking show!
Sincerely,
Jamie Campbell
Special ed. teacher
Lincoln Elem.
Oh boy, I’ve been looking for this one! I hate when I’m sick & get so far behind! I’m getting there, I’m almost caught up…….now if I didn’t have to print out all of the recipes I’d be caught up much faster………but that wouldn’t be any good, would it? LOL I love your blog & recipes & I’m going to love your cookbook as soon as I talk my sons in to picking it up for me! I know it will require a recipe or two…….oh well, I’ll be making them all anyway.
[...] Homemade Banana Pudding [...]
I got the recipe from my Mom years ago to make Real banana pudding from scratch and every dinner we had I was elected to make the pudding then mysister started making it and she used the pudding mix and cool whip and NOOOOOOOO! It is not Real banana pudding and whoever you are from Tennessee and have never heard of putting four in the pudding how do you make it thick if you don’t use four or cornstarch?? Love the Real Pudding from scratch
My mom made great banana pudding & I can’t find her recipe so happy to find this one……..I would prob. put this in corning & microwave the pudding which should take maybe 5 minutes. ^.^ I’me looking for the buttermilk pie….we had that at my home growing up, Love buttermilk with cornbread.