Southern Banana Pudding Recipe

This Southern banana pudding recipe is a favorite at potlucks and cookouts. This simple, no-bake dessert is a Southern classic. It's sweet and creamy with a slight tang from a secret ingredient that takes the flavors over the top! The crispy cookies soften a bit while the flavors meld. Super easy make-ahead dessert that's loved by all.

Serve this at your next BBQ or family gathering along with my crowd-pleasing Potato Salad with Bacon, Crock Pot Baked Beans, and Southern Coleslaw.

🔎 Quick Look: Southern Banana Pudding

• 🥬 Recipe Name: Southern Banana Pudding
• ⌛ Cook Time: No cooking
• 📜 Key Ingredients: Bananas, Nilla wafer cookies, instant vanilla pudding, sour cream, heavy whipping cream
• 💖 Why It's Special: No meringue to make, simple to blend together and layer, loved even by picky eaters
• 🥣 Tools Needed: Large bowl, medium bowl, hand mixer

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💖 Why You'll Love This Banana Pudding

• Delicious and loved by all
• Nothing to cook
• Make ahead friendly
• Great presentation

🥘 Banana Pudding Ingredients

🧾 Ingredient Notes

• Vanilla pudding - Make sure it says "instant pudding" since you likely don't want to spend time stirring at the stove.
• Milk - I use whole milk, but you could use lower fat milk if you choose.
• Heavy whipping cream - This is mandatory, as you want it to become thick and "whipped" to add body to your dessert. Alternatively, you could use a non-dairy whipped topping, but you will lose flavor with this choice.
• Nilla wafers - Feel free to use a store brand for these cookies if you can find them.

(See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full recipe instructions)

🔪 How to Make Banana Pudding

Step 1: Add vanilla pudding mix to medium sized bowl and pour milk over top.

Step 2: With hand mixer, mix pudding and milk until well incorporated and thickened.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream with vanilla extract until peaks form (about 5 minutes).

Step 4: Add sour cream and whipped cream to pudding mixture

Step 5: Gently mix together until incorporated. Can use mixer or large spoon or spatula.

Step 6: In large clear bowl, layer wafers on bottom with banana slices over top. Drizzle lemon juice over bananas to prevent browning.

Step 7: Spoon about a third of the pudding mixture over top of the bananas. Then add wafers to the side of the bowl braced by the pudding. Add another layer of wafers and bananas and drizzle bananas with lemon juice.

Step 8: Repeat the process, adding bananas to the side of the bowl on the second layer. Repeat until all the pudding mixture is used on the top layer. Crush a few wafers to scatter on top, and add a few banana slices for garnish. Cover and refrigerate until time to serve.

(Scroll down for full recipe and print capabilities)

💭 Expert Tips

• Mix the whipping cream until stiff and forming peaks. This will add body and creaminess to the pudding.
• I like to squeeze a fresh lemon, but you can also use bottled lemon juice if that's what you have. Just a drizzle, enough to wet the tops of the banana slices.
• You could also create individual banana pudding servings if you wish. Simply layer small bowls or parfait glasses with wafers, banana slices, and pudding mixture.

📖 Substitutions / Variations

• Sour cream - Greek-style plain yogurt would make a good substitute for the sour cream. I recommend a full-fat, whole milk version for best flavor.
• Lemon juice - Any citrus juice will do here, but I used lemon. The lemon adds a nice, subtle tartness (just a hint) and also prevents browning of the bananas. Lime juice would be a good alternative if you don't have lemon.

If you tried this easy Southern Banana Pudding Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!