Our homemade Banana Pudding recipe is rich, creamy, and made completely from scratch with layers of fresh bananas, vanilla wafers, and smooth vanilla pudding.
From Scratch Banana Pudding is Southern-style comfort.
From Scratch Banana Pudding is Southern-style comfort.Banana Pudding is one of those nostalgic, feel-good desserts that everyone loves, and it's so easy to make ahead for parties or holidays. The combination of creamy homemade pudding, fresh banana slices, and soft Nilla wafers is pure comfort, and it somehow tastes even better after it chills. Banana Pudding is traditionally a Southern recipe, but has become a popular American dessert loved all over the United States. If you want to serve it like a traditional Southern Banana Pudding, serve warm with some meringue on top!
Try my other pudding recipes, like Baked Rice Pudding, Crema Catalana, Chocolate Pudding, Tapioca Pudding, Panna Cotta, or Bread Pudding!
No One Likes BROWN Bananas:
There's nothing less appetizing than brown or dark bananas in your banana pudding. There's a couple ways to help prevent bananas from browning:
- Don't use over ripe bananas. You want your bananas ripe, but not browning too much (NOT like the ones you for banana bread). Choose bananas that are slightly ripe; yellow with little brown specks.
- Lemon juice. The best way to avoid brown bananas is to toss them in a bit of lemon juice before laying them on top of the Nilla wafers.
- Make it fresh. While you can make banana pudding ahead of time, the easiest way to avoid brown bananas is to make it fresh, about 4-8 hours before serving, OR make the pudding ahead and add bananas on top just before serving.
How to make Banana Pudding:
Make Pudding: In a saucepan, heat milk and cream until simmering, stirring often. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, and cornstarch. Temper the eggs with hot milk, pouring into the egg mixture very slowly while stirring constantly. This will slowly bring up their temperature without “scrambling” them. After tempered, pour the rest of the egg mixture into the saucepan. Cook pudding until thickened, then remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla, and salt. Chill with plastic wrap pressed on top to prevent a skim from forming. Refrigerate pudding for at least an hour, until chilled. Stir before assembling.
Assemble: In a trifle dish, bowl, or 9 inch square pan, layer vanilla wafers, banana slices, then half the pudding. Repeat layers and finish with a final layer of wafers (whole or crushed).
Refrigerate and Serve: Cover and refrigerate for 4–8 hours to allow the flavors to meld. Top with fresh whipped cream before serving.
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Recipe
Homemade Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 egg , at room temperature
- 2 egg yolks , at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 Tablespoons butter , chopped
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract*
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 box Nilla wafers
- 4 large bananas , sliced (use ripe, but not overly ripe bananas)
- Fresh whipped cream , for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Add milk and cream to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring often.2 ½ cups whole milk, ½ cup heavy cream
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and cornstarch until well blended.1 egg, 2 egg yolks, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 4 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
- Spoon a little of the hot milk over the egg mixtures and whisk well. Repeat with another few spoonfuls of the hot milk, to temper the eggs (bring their temperature up without “scrambling” them).
- Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and continue to cook over medium low heat (don’t let it boil) for 5-8 minutes until thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
- Once thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla extract and salt.4 Tablespoons butter, 3 teaspoons vanilla extract*, ½ teaspoon salt
- Pour the pudding through a sieve or fine mesh strainer into a container, to remove any lumps and make it silky smooth.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top (to prevent a skin from forming on it). Refrigerate for an hour or more, until chilled. Stir well once chilled.
- To assemble the banana pudding, use a 9 inch square pan, a large bowl, trifle dish or individual dishes.
- Line the bottom of the pan with vanilla wafers. Top with sliced bananas, then ½ of the pudding mixture. Repeat with another layer, and end with a final layer of wafers (whole or crushed into pieces).1 box Nilla wafers, 4 large bananas
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place the assembled dessert in the fridge for 4-8 hours.
- Top with fresh whipped cream before serving, if desired.Fresh whipped cream
Notes
- Top with Meringue and serve warm for a traditional Southern Banana Pudding.
- Banana pudding cake: bake a yellow cake and let it cool completely. Cover the top of the cake with homemade pudding and refrigerate. Top with sliced bananas, Nilla wafers, and whipped cream.
- Banana pudding pie: Blind bake a homemade pie crust and allow it to cool. Layer sliced bananas, vanilla pudding, and vanilla wafers in the pie dish. Then repeat with another layer of sliced bananas, pudding, and wafers. Top with whipped cream or meringue. Or, make banana cream pie with a Nilla wafer pie crust.
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe July 2020. Updated October 2025.
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This was perfect!!! I got sick of reading all of the ingredients for the instant mix and figured I would start making my own. Super easy and just as tasty!
This is definitely the best banana pudding! The recipe was easy to follow. The custard came to a thick consistency after i added the egg mixture MUCH faster then I expected- around two minutes. I also didn’t have a sieve to make it silky smooth, but it still came out incredible. The only downside is the waiting time it needs to chill lol. I will be adding this to my cookbook, thank you!!!!
Do you have any tips on why my pudding is a little runny?
A runny pudding usually means it didn’t cook long enough to fully thicken, or the eggs weren’t tempered properly. Make sure it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon before removing from heat. Also, be sure to chill it fully
The reason might be that you didn’t get the egg and milk mixture hot enough. The enzymes in egg yolks (amylase) break down starch unless the eggs are brought to around 180F/82C. It might seem thick as you’re cooking it, but if it didn’t reach that temperature, the enzymes will activate and it will thin out overnight.
This is a basic pastry cream recipe. The starch (cornstarch in this case, but flour, arrowroot, or potato or rice starch could also be used) protects the eggs from scrambling, so it’s okay to boil them, and really, you don’t even need to temper them very carefully as you would with a recipe that doesn’t contain starch (like a custard sauce).