The short answer: This banana pudding recipe is the old-fashioned Southern kind, with a creamy stovetop vanilla custard layered with ripe bananas and vanilla wafers. Cook the custard until it's thick, layer it warm over wafers and sliced bananas in a 2-quart dish, then top it with a toasted meringue or whipped cream. It feeds a crowd, costs little, and is always the first dish to disappear at a potluck, a Sunday supper or a holiday dessert table.
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Prep time: 20 minCook time: 27 minTotal time: 1 hr 17 minServings: 10 to 12 servingsTotal includes 30 min of resting, chilling or rising.
Below are exact amounts, step-by-step directions, make-ahead tips and easy variations.
Plan on about 45 minutes of hands-on time and at least 4 hours to chill if you want the wafers soft.
Banana pudding ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Granulated sugar | ¾ cup | Plus ¼ cup for the meringue |
| All-purpose flour | ⅓ cup | Or ¼ cup cornstarch |
| Salt | ¼ teaspoon | |
| Whole milk | 3 cups | Whole milk gives the richest custard |
| Egg yolks | 4 large | Save the whites for the meringue |
| Butter | 2 tablespoons | |
| Vanilla extract | 2 teaspoons | |
| Ripe bananas | 4 to 5 | Yellow with a few brown freckles |
| Vanilla wafers | 1 box (11 ounces) | Save a few for the top |
| Egg whites | 4 large | For the meringue, or use 2 cups whipped cream |
| Cream of tartar | ¼ teaspoon | Steadies the meringue |
How to make banana pudding, step by step
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a heavy saucepan, whisk ¾ cup of sugar, the flour and the salt together.
- Add the milk and yolks. Whisk in the milk and the egg yolks until smooth, with no lumps of flour.
- Cook the custard. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it bubbles and thickens, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let it bubble gently for 1 more minute.
- Finish it. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Layer the pudding. Line a 2-quart baking dish with wafers, add a layer of sliced bananas, then spread a third of the warm custard over them. Repeat twice.
- Make the meringue. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy, then add ¼ cup of sugar a spoonful at a time and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- Bake. Spread the meringue to the edges of the dish so it touches all sides, and bake at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.
- Cool and chill. Cool for 30 minutes, then serve warm, or chill it for 4 hours for softer, cake-like wafers.
Because the custard is thickened with egg yolks, cook it until it's bubbling and thick, which brings it well past 160°F, the temperature that FoodSafety.gov lists for egg dishes. The FDA's egg safety guide also recommends refrigerating egg dishes promptly and not leaving them out longer than 2 hours.
Tips for the best banana pudding
- Pick freckled bananas. Bananas with a few brown spots are sweet and soft, but not mushy. Green bananas taste starchy.
- Stir the whole time. Custard scorches easily on the bottom, so keep a whisk moving along the edges of the pan.
- Layer it while it's warm. Warm custard soaks into the wafers and seals the bananas so they stay pale.
- Seal the meringue to the edges. A meringue that touches the dish all the way around won't shrink or weep as much.
- Give it time. Banana pudding is good after 1 hour, but it's best after 4 to 8 hours, when the flavors blend.
Bananas too brown for pudding layers? They are ideal for a banana cake recipe, where very ripe fruit keeps the crumb moist.
Banana pudding variations
| Version | What to change |
|---|---|
| Whipped cream top | Skip the meringue and spread 2 cups of sweetened whipped cream over the chilled pudding |
| No-bake banana pudding | Use instant vanilla pudding, sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping |
| Chessmen cookie pudding | Use butter cookies instead of vanilla wafers for a fancier look |
| Banana pudding cups | Layer it in small cups or jars for a party or a dessert table |
| Salted caramel | Drizzle caramel sauce between the layers |
| Holiday trifle | Layer it in a tall glass bowl and finish with crushed wafers |
Serving banana pudding for a crowd
One 2-quart dish serves 10 to 12 people. For a big family dinner or a church potluck, double the recipe in a 9-by-13-inch pan. Carry it in a cooler with ice packs if it's traveling, and put it out just before dessert time. Leftovers keep about 2 days in the refrigerator.
Save the recipe and plan the holiday menu
- Family Recipe Binder, $6.99. Write down this banana pudding recipe with your own notes, next to Grandma's other desserts, so it gets passed down.
- Holiday Season Bundle, $15.99. Plan the holiday menu, the dessert lineup, the grocery list and the budget from Thanksgiving to New Year's.
Need more sweets for the table? Try our peach cobbler, banana bread or cheesecake, or browse our Thanksgiving desserts and Christmas desserts roundups.
Another chilled dairy dessert: chocolate pie. For a baked egg custard with caramel sauce, make our easy flan.
Frequently asked questions
What do you need for a homemade banana pudding recipe? A homemade banana pudding recipe needs sugar, flour or cornstarch, salt, whole milk, egg yolks, butter and vanilla for the custard, plus four or five ripe bananas and one box of vanilla wafers. You can top it with a meringue made from the leftover egg whites or with sweetened whipped cream. Everything is easy to find at any grocery store.
How far ahead can you make banana pudding? You can make banana pudding up to one day ahead, and many Southern cooks say it tastes best after 4 to 8 hours in the refrigerator, when the wafers have softened into cake-like layers. After about two days the bananas darken and the wafers turn mushy. For a holiday, make the custard two days ahead and assemble it the morning you serve it.
How do you keep bananas from turning brown in banana pudding? To keep bananas from turning brown, slice them right before you layer them and cover every slice completely with warm custard, because air is what darkens them. Some cooks toss the slices with a teaspoon of lemon juice first. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface if you use whipped cream instead of meringue, and serve it within a day.
Should banana pudding be served warm or cold? Banana pudding can be served either way. A pudding with a baked meringue top is traditionally served warm or at room temperature in the South, shortly after it comes out of the oven. A version topped with whipped cream is served cold, after it chills for at least 4 hours. Leftovers of either kind must be refrigerated within 2 hours.
Can I use instant pudding instead of making custard from scratch? Yes, you can use two small boxes of instant vanilla pudding mixed with cold milk, and many popular no-bake versions fold in sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream. It's faster, but a scratch custard tastes richer and less sweet. If you have 20 minutes, the stovetop custard in this banana pudding recipe is worth the extra stirring.
How long does banana pudding last in the refrigerator? Banana pudding lasts about 2 days in the refrigerator, covered. It's still safe for 3 to 4 days if it was chilled promptly, but the bananas brown and the wafers get soggy, so it's best eaten early. Don't freeze it, because the custard weeps and the bananas turn black and mushy as they thaw.