5/03/18

12 BEST Banana Pudding Recipes

All the recipes you'll ever need to make the perfect Banana Pudding (from traditional to easy recipes) plus fun spins on this classic southern dessert!


I know we do some weird stuff around here in the South. We paint the ceilings of our porches blue to keep the ghosts away (see below). We’ll give our children more names than will fit on a school registration form. Way out in the country, we’ll bury tires halfway in the dirt, paint them white and call it yard art. We’ll monogram our boots, pajamas and anything else an embroidery needle will pass through. We can have some funny ways.

And we eat some weird stuff too. We eat Neck Bones & Rice, boiled peanuts, chitterlings (not me, though… as long as ramen noodles are 5 for $1 I won’t ever be hungry enough to eat chitterlings), every kind of greens you can imagine, Catfish Stew and umpteen other things other folks might find odd. And we eat Banana Pudding.


I know Banana Pudding isn't weird, per se. What I didn’t know was that none of Husband’s family in Canada had ever even heard of it. The last time we were up there I said I’d make a Banana Pudding for dessert and everyone looked at me kinda crazy. I explained what it was and no one looked very enthusiastic about it but I knew as soon as they tasted it they would LOVE it!

I ran to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients and – y’all aren’t going to believe this – the store didn’t have vanilla wafers! I looked up one side and down the other of the cookie aisle then finally asked an employee who stared at me like I had six heads. Side note about that… that is the general response I get most places I go in Canada. I’m so used to hearing other accents (because lots of folks migrate here, vacation here, etc.) but I image it isn’t too often that someone in Belleville, Ontario hears a Southern accent. Especially a drawl like mine 😁

Welp. No one knew what a nilla wafer was and I couldn’t find anything I thought would be a good substitute (limited selection in the store I was in) so I didn’t make it. But as a testament to how HUGE Banana Pudding is, I wanted to put together a collection of Banana Pudding inspired recipes just to put some perspective on how big of a deal it is.

When a dessert inspires OTHER dessert ideas, you’ve got a classic!

Oh, real quick, before we get to the recipes! Here's what I meant when I said we paint our porch ceilings blue....



Haint Blue and why Southerners paint their porch ceilings with it
My front porch with Haint Blue painted ceiling
PAH! I wish! This is from the 2016 Southern Living Idea House

Haint Blue & Why We Paint Our Porches


A ‘haint’ (slang for ‘haunt’) is a Gullah word used to describe the spirit of the dead. The Gullah are the descendants of West African slaves who were enslaved together along the coastal region of the South Carolina Lowcountry and northern coastal area of Georgia (roughly the area between Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA).

Gullah traditions, culture and cuisine run deep in the Southeast, particularly here in South Carolina. One of those traditions is to paint the ceiling of your porch light blue to keep the haints away. There are two theories as to why this might work to ward off spirits. The most common theory is that the spirits would confuse the light blue color with the sky and pass right through the ceiling without disturbing the home or the folks inside. The other theory is that the light shade of blue looks like water, which they will avoid because, apparently, spirits of the dead can’t traverse water.

Side note about haints... I grew up with the very real (however irrational) fear that if someone were so inclined, he or she could go see the root doctor down in Happy Town (a small community right down the road from my house) and have a her "put a haint on you". I'll tell you this much... that'll make you look both ways before stealing a kiss from someone else's beau!

OK, now onto the puddin' recipes!

12 BEST Banana Pudding Recipes! All the recipes you'll ever need to make the perfect Banana Pudding (from traditional to easy recipes) plus fun spins on this classic southern dessert! #southern #desserts #bananapudding #traditional #easy #best

Here are my Top 12 favorite Banana Pudding recipes from my favorite Southern cooks!


This collection has everything from the traditional recipe to Paula Deen's famous 'Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding' plus new takes on the old classic! And where better to find recipes for a Southern recipe than my favorite Southern recipe experts!

Southern Banana Pudding
(recipes for both Easy and Classic versions)
by South Your Mouth


Banana Pudding Cheesecake by The Country Cook
by The Country Cook


Banana Pudding Layer Cake by Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen
by Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen




Frozen Banana Pudding by Christy Jordan’s Southern Plate
by Christy Jordan’s Southern Plate




Uncle Bobby's Banana Pudding by She Wears Many Hats
by She Wears Many Hats


Banana Pudding Poke Cake by The Country Cook
by The Country Cook


Banana Pudding Éclair Cake by Plain Chicken
by Plain Chicken


Banana Pudding Dip by Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen
by Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen


Banana Pudding Parfaits by Served Up With Love
by Served Up With Love





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5 comments:

  1. What the heck are you doing in Canada? You're all Southern Sass. Well, to be honest I thought you quit blogging. You stopped coming to my inbox and I thought you got busy with everything else. Then I saw you mentioned and I resubscribed. And here I find you are in the Northern tundra. Are you okay? Do you need more blankets? Do you want me to send you some Nilla Wafers? Bless your heart, what a transition!! Can't get any more southern than banana pudding unless its pimento cheese spread.

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    Replies
    1. LOL, I didn't move up there! We were just visiting Husband's family. I love our family but there's absolutely no way I could ever move that far away from home!

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  2. You have just made my day!!! I love me some Nanner Puddin'. I was born and raised in Tennessee and now I live in Mississippi. Banana Pudding is my all time favorite and I love hearing about different variations. Now off to check out all of these recipes!!!

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  3. What a great collection, thanks Mandy. Linking and pinning!

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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy