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The BEST banana pudding filled with layers of pudding, wafers, fresh bananas and homemade whipped cream. An easy, no-bake dessert that’s perfect for a last minute party or get together. 

Love no bake desserts? Don’t miss my delicious banana cream pie, chocolate lasagna and banana split dessert.

Banana pudding in a glass baking dish.
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Why We Love Banana Pudding

  • Easy: It’s so easy to whip up and tastes super creamy and luscious. I am obsessed!
  • Magnolia Bakery copycat: Adapted from the Magnolia banana pudding in their cookbook, so you know how delicious it is.
  • Crowd pleaser: This recipe is easy to double and feed a crowd.
Making filling for banana pudding.

Layers

  1. Vanilla wafers. The dish starts with a layer of vanilla wafers. Line your baking dish with about 1/2 box of vanilla wafers, or until the bottom of the dish is covered.
  2. Bananas. Next comes the sliced bananas. Add them evenly on top of the wafer cookies.
  3. Pudding. The bananas are then topped with half of the creamy pudding layer. It’s a mixture of softened cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, instant vanilla pudding, milk and whipped cream. Once you add the pudding, you’ll repeat the 3 layers again.
  4. Whipped topping. The dessert is finished off with the remaining whipped cream and is topped with more vanilla wafers and banana slices.
Banana pudding in baking dish.

Serving Options

You can make this banana pudding in a baking dish, trifle dish or individual cups. I love serving it in these mini trifle dishes below…aren’t they so cute?!

  • Baking dish: Use a 9×13″ baking dish and add 2 layers of each.
  • Large trifle dish: This is great to use for parties. Simply layer the ingredients until you’ve reached the top of the bowl.
  • Mini trifles or individual cups: This is my favorite way to serve banana pudding! You can use mini trifle dishes or even small glass cups. It makes the perfect individual-sized dessert.

TIP: Add crushed vanilla wafer cookies and sliced bananas on top, just before serving to dress up this dessert. You could even caramelize the bananas for a richer flavor.

Make Ahead + Storing

This dish tastes best served within 1 day of making. The bananas will brown the longer that it sits, so I prefer to make it in the morning and serve later that evening. This gives the cookies enough time to soften in the refrigerator.

Banana pudding in a mini trifle dish.

More Easy No-Bake Desserts

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banana pudding recipe

Banana Pudding Recipe

5 from 13 votes
↑ Click stars to rate now!
Author: Jamielyn Nye
The BEST banana pudding filled with layers of pudding, whipped cream, bananas and vanilla wafers. An easy, no-bake dessert that's perfect for a last minute party or get together. 
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 18

Ingredients 

  • 8 ounce block cream cheese , softened
  • 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 3.4 ounce box Instant Vanilla Pudding
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 11 ounce box of Vanilla Wafers , or shortbread cookies
  • 4-5 ripe bananas
  • 3-4 cups homemade whipped cream , or thawed cool whip

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Next add in the sweetened condensed milk, dry pudding and milk. Mix well. Then refrigerate until it has firmed up, about 15 minutes. 
  • Mix half of the whipped cream into the pudding mixture. Mix until well combined. 
  • Place half of the vanilla wafers into the bottom of a 9×13" dish, trifle dish, or individual cups. Arrange sliced bananas over the wafers. Spread with half of the pudding mixture. Repeat. Then spoon the remaining whipped cream on top. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. 
  • Before serving add crushed vanilla wafers and slices of bananas. 

Notes

This dish is best served within 1 day.
Here is my favorite whipped cream recipe: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/simple-homemade-whipped-cream/
Slightly adapted from The Magnolia Cookbook 

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 226mg | Potassium: 257mg | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Vitamin C: 2.9mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

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Banana pudding with a slice taken out .

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