An easy but still oh-so-delicious recipe for banana pudding that you can whip up quick without all the work!
Y’all might want a divorce when I tell you this but… ugh. Here goes…
I like to make banana pudding with instant pudding.
Can I come out from behind the couch now? Or are you fixing to fling your flipflop at my head?
OK, let me explain… I don’t like what happens to the bananas when the warm (almost hot) homemade pudding hits them. They turn greyish and sometimes get kinda slimy. And if you let it cool first, it gets all gloppy and I don’t like that either.
Do I like the taste of the homemade better? Yes, ma’am, I sure do. But I like everything else about the instant better and I don’t have to set up a double-boiler or break a sweat stirring to make it either. I add extra vanilla to it and only use whole milk and it’s close enough to perfect for me!
Who else just starting singing “she’s close enough to perfect for me”?? All in all, not a bad song to have stuck in your head. Anywho...
I still like the homemade for when I want to put on the dog (I included my recipe at the bottom). You’ll want to make the homemade traditional banana pudding if you’re taking this to your family reunion south of the Mason-Dixon line. Especially if it's your husband's family.
Don't give your mother-in-law that kind of ammunition.
But feel free to take the easy route any other time because I do think this version is absolutely delicious too! Truly, I do! And, ps... I think my mother-in-law would love it. But my mil is Canadian so I get off easy.
If you love layered icebox desserts like this, check out a few of these recipes too!
- Red, White & Blue Cheesecake Salad - This berry cheesecake recipe is the perfect patriotic dessert with strawberries, blueberries and cream cheese filling.
- Chocolate Nutter Butter Icebox Cake - A chocolate layered dessert with peanut butter cookies, whipped cream and peanut butter drizzle like a chocolate peanut butter lasagna!
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake - An easy no-bake layered dessert with graham crackers, cheesecake filling and fresh strawberries.
- Italian Bakeless Cake - A layered dessert with pineapple, vanilla wafers, cool whip, coconut and cherries.
- Peanut Butter Ripple Nutter Butter Banana Pudding - Banana pudding made with Nutter Butter cookies and layers of peanut butter ripples.
- Paula Deen's Banana Pudding - The iconic recipe made with cream cheese and butter shortbread cookies that's Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding!
Shortcut Southern Banana Pudding
Yield: 24 Servings
prep time: 15 Mcook time: total time: 15 M
An easy but still oh-so-delicious recipe for banana pudding that you can whip up quick without all the work!
ingredients:
- 2 small (3.4-oz.) boxes instant vanilla pudding
- 3 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 40-50 vanilla wafers
- 4-5 bananas, sliced
- 1 8-oz carton cool whip, thawed
instructions:
How to cook Shortcut Southern Banana Pudding
- Add pudding mix to a medium bowl or stand mixer then pour in milk. Add vanilla then whisk by hand or beat with an electric mixer for two minutes.
- Line the bottom of a 2-quart dish with vanilla wafers. Note: I doubled this recipe to make the banana pudding pictured in this post. If you want to make yours in a trifle dish like I did (with the cookies standing up like this) you’ll need to double the recipe too. Otherwise just place the cookies flat on the bottom of your dish.
- Pour half of the pudding on top of the cookies. Arrange a single layer of banana slices over the pudding. Spoon half of the cool whip over the bananas. Repeat these layers starting with cookies and ending with cool whip.
- Cover and refrigerate at least six hours or until cookies are soft and cake-like. Garnish with crushed vanilla wafers before serving if desired.
NOTES:
I doubled this recipe to make the banana pudding pictured in this post. If you want to make yours in a trifle dish like I did (with the cookies standing up like this) you’ll need to double the recipe too.
Definitely use WHOLE milk in this recipe.
If you're like me and like the cookies to be soft and cake-like the way God intended, make this 4-6 hours before serving. If you prefer the cookies to be crunchy, make it just before serving. Then ask the Lord to forgive you. JK 😁
Definitely use WHOLE milk in this recipe.
If you're like me and like the cookies to be soft and cake-like the way God intended, make this 4-6 hours before serving. If you prefer the cookies to be crunchy, make it just before serving. Then ask the Lord to forgive you. JK 😁
Pssst.... here's my recipe for traditional banana pudding if you'd prefer to make it from scratch!
Homemade Traditional Banana Pudding
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, separated
3 cups whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
40-50 vanilla wafers
4-5 bananas, sliced
Mix sugar, flour, salt, egg yolks and milk in a double-boiler. Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 10-14 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Line the bottom of a 2-quart dish with vanilla wafers. Pour half of the pudding on top of the cookies. Arrange a single layer of banana slices over the pudding. Repeat these layers starting with cookies and ending with bananas.
Prepare meringue (recipe below) and spoon over bananas going all the way to the edge of the dish to “seal” it. Place dish in oven and broil on low until meringue is lightly browned.
Cover and refrigerate at least six hours or until cookies are soft and cake-like.
Meringue
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar
Add egg whites and cream of tartar to a medium bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until foamy and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, separated
3 cups whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
40-50 vanilla wafers
4-5 bananas, sliced
Mix sugar, flour, salt, egg yolks and milk in a double-boiler. Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 10-14 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Line the bottom of a 2-quart dish with vanilla wafers. Pour half of the pudding on top of the cookies. Arrange a single layer of banana slices over the pudding. Repeat these layers starting with cookies and ending with bananas.
Prepare meringue (recipe below) and spoon over bananas going all the way to the edge of the dish to “seal” it. Place dish in oven and broil on low until meringue is lightly browned.
Cover and refrigerate at least six hours or until cookies are soft and cake-like.
Meringue
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar
Add egg whites and cream of tartar to a medium bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until foamy and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
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I can't throw a shoe or flip flop at you. I'm born and raised Texas and I, too, prefer instant pudding for the same reasons. I don't like hot bananas. My family calls my banana pudding "daycare banana pudding" because when we made it at the day care I ran, we always made it with instant. LOL
ReplyDeleteI am so relieved to know YOU make it this way too! LOL! No one can ever tell the difference (especially if it set overnight and the cookies got good and soft) but I've always felt a little guilty knowing my momma would shake her head at me! LOL This way is JUST FINE!! Love your site!
ReplyDeleteBananas are the reason God made instant pudding! LOL I just love your site.
ReplyDeleteI make mine with instant pudding as well but use banana pudding. I have never made it the homemade way, maybe I will now that I have your recipe. NAH! Ain't nobody got time for that! :)
ReplyDeleteMy mother was not a good cook but she did make a decent banana pudding (always with instant pudding). She didn't have vanilla wafers one time when she wanted to make it and used ginger snaps. We loved it so much, that was our new tradition and I make it that way, too (with instant pudding).
ReplyDeletethis looks so yummy I am pinning for later I definitely have to make this I love banana desserts, thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteMy husband dearly loves banana pudding but ONLY with homemade pudding and I HATE using a double boiler so I decided to try making my homemade pudding in the microwave and it is wonderful...I use the same ingredients but cook it 2-3 minutes until thick, stirring between each time. Cook it a final 1-2 minutes after egg mixture is added to the hot liquid...perfect and thick every time.
ReplyDeleteInstant pudding, but cut milk to 2 cups and add one can sweetened condensed milk. Really good.
ReplyDeleteMy Kentucky mama always made it from scratch, but all she needed was a big iron skillet -- no double boiler. Sometimes I wouldn't eat any because of the brown bananas, caused by stirring them in the skillet of hot pudding. Everyone else loved it.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, she stirred the banana slices into the hot pudding in the skillet. The cookies also went in the skillet. No layering in a fancy bowl. It could have been poured into a bowl, but quite likely dippeed right from the skillet.
DeleteHomemade is always best. If I served banana pudding with instant pudding and cool whip my family could tell the difference.
ReplyDeleteI can't possibly trust anyone who makes fake banana pudding! :)
ReplyDeletegasp! instant? No way, homemade all the way! My entire family loves the warm vanilla pudding. We always have it warm first and seconds cold. LOL!
ReplyDelete