This iconic Southern dessert is rich, creamy, and very sweet. Since it uses an instant pudding mix there's no cooking involved!
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Southern banana pudding is an easy no-bake dessert that's made with simple ingredients and always a family favorite.
- Serve your homemade pudding in a pretty trifle bowl at family gatherings, potlucks, and dinner parties—it disappears fast!
- Tossing the banana slices in a mixture of lemon juice and water prevents them from turning brown.
This super easy banana pudding recipe is bursting with sweet banana flavor, crunchy layers of vanilla wafers, and creamy pudding.
Y’all know it’s one of my favorite desserts—the hardest part is not eating the whole thing in one day!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- You can buy Cool Whip from the grocery store or make your own whipped topping with heavy cream, superfine sugar, instant vanilla pudding mix, and vanilla extract.
- Evaporated milk makes the pudding layer extra creamy, but whole milk or half-and-half will also work.
- Feel free to use other flavors of instant pudding mix, like plain vanilla, white chocolate, or plain chocolate pudding. You could even try banana cream pudding mix for an extra punchy banana flavor!
- You can skip the instant pudding mix and make old-fashioned homemade vanilla pudding from scratch if you’d like.
- You can swap the vanilla wafer cookies with graham crackers, Chessman cookies, gingersnap cookies, or Biscoff cookies for a delicious twist on the classic recipe.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to see it full size.
Add fresh lemon juice and sliced bananas to a large bowl, cover with water, and drain.
Combine the pudding mix with the evaporated milk.
Fold pudding mixture into the cream cheese and condensed milk mixture.
Fold in 8 ounces of the whipped topping.
Spoon a layer of pudding on the bottom of a glass bowl, then add a layer of Nilla wafers and a layer of banana slices.
Repeat the layers, ending with bananas. Spread Cool Whip on top and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
🍴 Equipment
- Large mixing bowls
🥫 How to store leftovers
You can enjoy your banana pudding the same day it's made, but if you have leftovers, then I have good news for you. This Southern banana pudding recipe is even better the next day!
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to three days. Serve it chilled straight from the fridge or let it sit at room temp for a few minutes.
Creamy banana pudding doesn’t freeze well. The pudding layer won't thaw nicely, and neither will the bananas.
Expert tip:
It goes without saying, but the best banana pudding recipe is made with ripe bananas. For the best results, choose soft—but not mushy—yellow bananas with some brown spots on the skin.
💭 Things to know
- Let your cream cheese soften to room temperature so you can easily beat it with an electric mixer.
- Chill your banana pudding overnight for the best results. This allows layers to set, the vanilla wafers to soften slightly, and the combination of flavors to meld together well.
- Use a 3-quart glass trifle dish or 9x13-inch baking dish for serving so you can see all the pretty layers of your delicious banana pudding!
- Some tasty toppings for classic Southern banana pudding are a generous serving of homemade whipped cream, a little bit of toasted coconut, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, mini marshmallows, fresh berries, or extra sliced bananas.
👩🍳 FAQs
I wouldn’t—save 'em for smoothies instead. Frozen bananas get mushy once thawed and don’t hold their shape very well. Use fresh, ripe bananas for the best texture and flavor.
You can substitute the layer of vanilla wafers with graham crackers, Chessman cookies, gingersnap cookies, or even Biscoff cookies.
Traditional Southern banana pudding contains homemade vanilla custard made with egg yolks and is baked with a beautiful meringue topping.
My easy homemade banana pudding recipe is an equally delicious dessert that uses instant pudding mix with no need for beating egg whites to stiff peaks or baking a fluffy meringue. It’s so easy your kids can make it!
It’s best to enjoy banana pudding within three days. The longer it sits in the fridge, the soggier the vanilla wafers will get.
Nope. Freezing and thawing banana pudding ruins all the textures. This simple recipe is ready in a jiffy and disappears fast—I’ll be shocked if you have leftovers!
📚 Related recipes
- Banana Pudding from Scratch has an old-fashioned flavor with homemade layers of creamy vanilla pudding—no pudding mix required!
- This easy No-Bake Banana Pudding Pie is a fun spin on the classic Southern dessert made in a graham cracker crust.
- My Nutter Butter Banana Pudding from Scratch is a delicious recipe that uses Nutter Butter peanut butter cookies instead of vanilla wafers!
📞 The last word
Can you even have a potluck or party in the South without some sort of banana pudding on the table?
I don't think so.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Southern Banana Pudding with Condensed Milk and Cream Cheese
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 16 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed overnight in the fridge - I used Cool Whip
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, I used Eagle Brand
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened - I used Philadelphia Brand
- 2 cups milk, I used evaporated milk
- 5.1 ounces instant French vanilla pudding mix, or plain vanilla
- 8 bananas, sliced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 11 ounces 'Nilla Wafers
Instructions
- Add lemon juice to a bowl.
- Peel and slice bananas into bowl then cover with water. Drain. This keeps the bananas from turning brown.
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth.
- Mix in the sweetened condensed milk.
- Mix the pudding mix with the evaporated milk.
- Fold the pudding into the cream cheese mixture.
- Fold in 8 ounces of the whipped topping.
- Place a layer of cookies in the bottom of a 3 quart bowl. You can also use a 13x9-inch pan.
- Add a layer of pudding mixture then a layer of bananas.
- Repeat layers. It took 3 layers to fill my bowl.
- Top with more whipped topping.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Overnight is better.
Notes
- Bananas should be soft and ripe but not mushy.
- Let your cream cheese soften to room temperature so you can easily beat it with an electric mixer.
- Chill your banana pudding overnight for the best results. This allows layers to set, the vanilla wafers to soften slightly, and the combination of flavors to meld together well.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Misty says
This is NOT southern!! Southern banana pudding has meringue on top not cool whip, that's Northern. Works better with evaporated milk, so as not to be overly sweet....not southern banana pudding. I am from the south born and raised, spent 20yrs in the north (food sucks in the north.) Just because a recipe says southern doesn't make it southern at all.
Marye says
Thank you for your insightful comment. I'm sure all of us southern cook failures who were about to lose our southern card are grateful and will rush to change our various banana pudding recipes now that we know the correct way to do it. God bless you.