Homemade Banana Pudding with Meringue Topping
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There’s homemade banana pudding and then there’s banana pudding with meringue topping. The sweet meringue combines with the Nilla wafers, fresh banana, and vanilla pudding to take this delicious Southern dessert to the next level.
Now, it’s no secret that I love banana pudding. It’s an old-fashioned favorite that I’ve been enjoying since childhood. I’ve featured a few different versions here in the past, including my homemade banana pudding from scratch and my frozen banana pudding cups. But this version of Southern banana pudding with meringue topping is positively delectable!
It features Nilla wafers and fresh banana slices in a rich and creamy homemade vanilla pudding, which is then topped with fluffy and light meringue. After baking quickly in the oven, the meringue becomes beautifully toasted and even more flavorful. This Southern banana pudding with meringue is equal parts sweet and creamy, and I know your whole family will enjoy this Southern dessert.
Now, the trickiest part is the meringue, but I promise it won’t take long for you to become an expert meringue maker! Once you get the hang of it, enjoy these other meringue recipes: ghost meringue cookies, orange meringue pie, chocolate chip meringue cookies, and coconut meringue pie.
Recipe Ingredients
- Nilla
- Bananas
- Sugar
- Flour
- Eggs (separate the yolks from the whites)
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Homemade Banana Pudding with Meringue Topping
Take the Nilla and put them in the bottom of a medium-sized bowl.
Cover with sliced banana.
Repeat this process twice, so you have a Nilla wafer layer, then a layer, then another layer of wafers, and more bananas.
Top her off with a last layer of the wafers to look like the above picture. Set aside.
How to Make the Homemade Pudding
In a medium-sized saucepot or double broiler, add sugar, egg yolks, milk, and flour and whisk on low heat. Stir constantly until thickened, which will take about 15 minutes.
Take off heat and add in the vanilla extract.
Stir it in and then immediately pour the over the banana and wafers.
Tips For Making the Meringue Topping
Meringue is a simple thing to make, as easy as turning on a mixer. But there are two things you need to know about.
- Make sure no yellow from your egg gets in with your white. None. At. All. You want only whites so be careful when separating them from the .
- Make sure everything that is going to come into contact with your egg whites is clean and clear of any greasy residue. Fresh from the dishwasher should be just fine.
Place your egg whites in the bottom of a clean mixing bowl. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy. Add in sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
You know you are there when you pull your beaters up out of the meringue and it creates a point that remains standing up, this is why we refer to it as a stiff peak. See the video in the recipe card below for a bit more detail if you like.
Add the meringue topping to the banana pudding and spread it to the edges to seal it well. Then bake at 325 for 10 mins until the top is golden brown.
And there you have it, a gorgeous meringue to top a delectable homemade banana pudding.
There is nothing in this world like real, old fashioned banana pudding. I hope you get to wrap your hands around a bowl soon!
Storage
Store leftovers, covered, in the fridge for up to two days.
Recipe Notes
- While you can serve this warm straight out of the oven, I’ve also been known to enjoy this Southern banana pudding recipe cold.
- If you want to serve your banana pudding without the meringue topping, that’s okay too! You could substitute the meringue for whipped cream if you like.
- Instead of baking the banana pudding, you could also just simply torch the meringue topping, if you have a culinary torch hiding in your kitchen.
You may also like these other banana recipes:
Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread
Caramel Banana Pie AKA Easy Banoffee Pie
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar or Splenda
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 cups milk
- 1 box Nilla vanilla wafers
- 5 bananas
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- dash salt
For Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- ¼ cup sugar
Instructions
- Place a layer of Nilla Wafers in the bottom of a medium-sized mixing bowl. Slice a banana over the top. Repeat two more times with another layer of wafers and the remaining bananas.1 box Nilla vanilla wafers, 5 bananas
- In a medium saucepan (or double boiler) on medium-low heat, add all ingredients except for the vanilla extract. Stir well with a wire whisk. Allow to cook, stirring constantly to prevent scorching, until thickened - about 15 minutes.½ cup sugar, ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, 3 egg yolks, 2 cups milk, dash salt
- Add in vanilla and stir. Immediately pour over wafers and bananas.½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Beat egg whites until foamy. Add sugar. Continue beating at high speed until soft peaks form. Pour onto the top of the pudding and spread to the edges to seal well. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes or until the top is golden.3 egg whites, ¼ cup sugar
Video
Nutrition
This recipe is from Heaven to a Southerner!
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Takes me bake home many years ago. There were no box this box that just Mom’s cooking.
PS… I left out the most important point to your banana pudding! It is identical to my Mothers!!!
I am so happy to see this recipe today! Just this past week I was thinking of my Mother’s from scratch banana pudding, one of my favorites as she is no longer with us. For the past 10 years or so my daughter & I have used a different recipe made with condensed milk but it is too rich for me now. I was thinking from now on…I shall make my Mothers! Simple, but the most delicious! Recently I read that the top chefs of the world are going back to more of the basic recipes using the best & freshest products available because this is really what most of us crave! I have never written to you but want you to know that I lived in Alabama in my twenties when I was just learning to cook & I learned to make the best cornbread & fried chicken & the importance of an iron skillet in Alabama! I also learned to love fresh tomatoes with mayo & “Sunbeam” bread! Thank you for your sharing your sweet spirit as i am always uplifted after reading your posts! Big blessings from Vicki in Austin Texas
Hi Vicki!!! I am so glad you decided to comment, I love getting to know each and every one of my readers!! I hope you get the chance to make a batch of banana pudding and cherish the sweet memories of your Mama!!
YUM!!! I like to use slightly ripened bananas!
🙂 It sure is good isn’t it?!
Oh my goodness, my mouth is watering! Banana Pudding is my absolute favorite. My sister always makes me a big bowl of it for my birthday every year. We always make it the way you do…..with the meringue on top. There is nothing any better!
It is one of my favorites too Tonya!!!
How SWEET!! My youngest daughter alternates between banana pudding and tapioca pudding than a birthday cake every year! Didn’t know that anyone else does this!!
Since I’ve started making my own the box stuff never crosses my mind.
🙂 homemade is so much better isn’t it?
Sounds delicious ! Going to make this pudding tomorrow !!!
I hope you enjoy the banana pudding Cindy!
Try the microwave instead of double boiler+
Add 1/2 stick melted butter to ur
Vanilla/eggs
Husband makes his with at least 6 eggs!
The butter makes a real difference!
When your husband makes this recipe and adds 1/2 stick of butter + 6 eggs, does he change any of the other portions in this recipe
I don’t use a double broiler, just a heavy bottomed sauce pot. I’ve tried it in the microwave before because wonderful folks like you say you do it that way, but it has never worked for me. Perhaps my microwave is too powerful. Alas, I have to stick to the stovetop but I’m glad to know there is a shortcut out there!
My mother didn’t use a double boiler either. She made it like yours except she always used evaporated milk. And being a country girl, she didn’t measure anything. She just used this and that. It was always delicious and I go by her recipe but I have to measure everything. Wish she could make me one now. I never got into the boxes of pudding mix, just plain old ingredients found in my fridge nd pantry.
I love evaporated milk. It adds a wonderful richness to everything. My grandmothers always used it because they just didn’t have the refrigeration so it was really popular in the south. Sounds like you sure were blessed with your Mama! 🙂
Yes, Christy I was blessed with wonderful parents. I miss them so much. I hit submit before I was ready to. I was going to tell you that she always made chocolate pie th same way, in a heavy pot on the stove. When she finished making the pudding and pie she would give me a spoon to eat the rest out of the pot. I learned to cook when I was five and stood in a chair to help her. Her mother was also a good country cook but that’s a story for another day. After I found you I have unsubscribed to most of my cooking sites. Yours is wonderful and southern. I am from south Alabama.
🙂 Standing in a chair, making memories that last a lifetime. Those are the best kind of days!!! Thank you so much for your support Peggy, it is much appreciated!!
I am from North Alabama and my mom and grandmother used the same receipt.
ROLL TIDE
My grandma used evaporated milk so of course I do too. I’ve been known to quadruple the recipe, (yes, I used a dozen eggs!) to make a pudding big enough for homecoming at church and family reunions. Be warned, once you show up with it you’ve made a commitment to bring it to several more get together.
Do you replace equal amount of milk for evaporated milk?