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Serving of banana pudding on white plate topped with whipped cream and bite on spoon.

My Favorite Banana Pudding {From-Scratch}

Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chilling Time:: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients

Pudding:

  • ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup (39 g) cornstarch
  • 3 large (54 g) egg yolks
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 ¾ cups (665 g) 2% or whole milk
  • ⅓ cup (81 g) heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bananas + Wafers:

  • 3 to 4 bananas, sliced 1/4-inch thick
  • 35 to 37 vanilla wafer cookies, like Nilla wafers (about half of an 11-ounce box)

Whipped Cream:

  • 1 cup (242 g) heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons (15 g) powdered sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • For the pudding, in a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, and salt until well combined.
  • In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and cream until steaming and small bubbles form around the edges.
  • Slowly ladle the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly. This tempers the egg yolks so they don't scramble.
  • After all the hot milk has been whisked into the egg yolks, pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
  • Set the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as the pudding comes to a simmer. Cook until large bubbles pop on the surface and the pudding has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Immediately remove from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl. This helps remove any small lumps from the pudding.
  • Add the butter and vanilla and stir into the pudding until evenly combined.
  • To assemble, spread 1 cup pudding in the bottom of an 8X8-inch square or circle baking dish.
  • Add a single layer of sliced bananas.
  • Add a layer of wafer cookies (about 25) on top of the bananas.
  • Dollop half of the remaining pudding (about 1 1/3 cups) in spoonfuls across the wafer cookies and spread to cover.
  • Add a single layer of sliced bananas.
  • OPTIONAL: You can add another layer of cookies here if you like. We are a house divided. My husband likes the extra cookies in this layer, but I prefer a more creamy pudding without them.
  • Spread the remaining pudding (about 1 1/3 cups) over the top. See note below about assembling the rest of the dessert.
  • Crush 10 to 12 wafer cookies into coarse pieces/crumbs and sprinkle over the top of the pudding layer.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to set up (or up to 8 hours - it can be refrigerated longer, but the bananas may darken a bit in color).
  • For the whipped cream, whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract together until medium peaks form.
  • Serve scoops of chilled banana pudding with a dollop of whipped cream on top and additional crushed wafer cookies, if desired.

Notes

Whipped Cream/Assembling: For an alternate way to assemble, after spreading the last layer of pudding on the dessert, cover and refrigerate until the pudding is fully cooled (don't sprinkle on the wafer cookie crumbs). When cooled, spread the sweetened whipped cream on top of the pudding followed by the crushed wafer cookies. (I personally like dolloping whipped cream on top of individual servings, but either method works fine, depending on your preference. Keep in mind that the whipped cream can get a bit liquidy if spread on top of the banana pudding and refrigerated for too long).
Pan Size: It helps if the 8X8-inch pan you are using has 2-inch sides. All of the layers make a pretty full pan.
Pan Variations: You can assemble this dessert in a bowl, small trifle dish, 8- or 9-inch circle cake pan or any other dish with a 2-quart capacity.