No boxed pudding here. Authentic Southern banana pudding from scratch starts with homemade pudding, sliced bananas and real whipped cream. It’s true heaven in a dish.
You’ve heard the old saying, “When in Rome…”
When in Mississippi, it’s not pudding. It’s puddin’.
Banana pudding is the fried chicken of desserts: comforting, familiar, and always welcome. It practically begs for vanilla wafers, which soak up the pudding and become cake-like. You’ll find it at picnics, family reunions, church socials and even at bedside tables when a new baby arrives. I still remember the night before I delivered my first child—my friend served banana pudding and I happily went back for a second helping. Sometimes indulgence feels perfectly justified.
When readers asked for recipes for this series, several requested a true Southern banana pudding. That means no instant banana-flavored pudding mixes. Real banana pudding is built from vanilla pudding made from scratch, layers of fresh banana slices and real whipped cream. The flavors come from the bananas and the homemade custard, not from artificial banana flavoring.
How can you tell if a banana pudding is legitimate? Look for the use of vanilla pudding (homemade or real vanilla), slices of fresh banana, and vanilla wafers that soften as they rest in the pudding. A final layer of whipped cream—preferably freshly whipped heavy cream—finishes the dessert. The result is simple, nostalgic, and deeply satisfying.
Related Recipes:
- Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
- Grilled Banana Splits
- Homemade Banana Bread
Banana Pudding
8 hours 20 minutes
8 hours 20 minutes
8 people
288kcal
Lisa Bynum
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar divided
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons water
- 3 egg yolks
- 4 cups heavy cream divided
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 large bananas
- 4 cups vanilla wafers
Instructions
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Make the pudding in a double boiler: whisk together the flour, 1 cup of the sugar, and the salt. Add the water and stir until smooth. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks with three cups of the heavy cream, then slowly stir this into the flour mixture. Simmer, stirring constantly, for 15–20 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until the butter melts. Let the custard cool to room temperature.
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Assemble the pudding in a 9 x 13 x 2-inch casserole dish: arrange a single layer of vanilla wafers on the bottom, top with a layer of sliced bananas, then pour a portion of the cooled vanilla pudding over the bananas and wafers. Repeat layers as desired, ending with pudding.
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Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6–8 hours to allow the wafers to soften and the flavors to meld.
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Just before serving, whip the remaining cup of heavy cream with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar (or to taste) on high with an electric mixer until soft to stiff peaks form.
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Spread the whipped cream over the pudding and serve chilled.
Nutrition
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Calories: 288kcal
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Carbohydrates: 47g
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Protein: 4g
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Fat: 10g
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Sugar: 34g
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