Southern Banana Pudding

Real vanilla custard layered with ripe bananas and vanilla wafers, topped with softly whipped cream. The cookies soften into little cake layers overnight.

By Serena KimPublished May 1, 20264 min read

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Glass dish of banana pudding with layers of custard, banana slices and vanilla wafers

Banana pudding from a box has its fans, but fifteen minutes at the stove gets you a real vanilla custard that tastes like actual vanilla and actual cream. Layered with ripe bananas and wafers, then left overnight, the cookies drink up the custard and turn into tender little cake layers.

The custard technique here — tempering egg yolks into hot milk — is the same one used in pastry cream everywhere, and it's worth learning once. Use bananas with freckled skins; underripe fruit tastes starchy against the custard.

Recipe

Southern Banana Pudding

Classic Southern banana pudding: homemade vanilla custard, ripe bananas, wafers and whipped cream, best after an overnight rest.

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Prep: 25 min
Cook: 15 min
Chilling: 8 hrs
Total: 8 hrs 40 min
Servings: 10
Yield: one 9×13-inch dish
Difficulty: Intermediate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Custard

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp fine salt
4 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Assembly

1 box (11 oz) vanilla wafers
4 ripe bananas (sliced)
1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Equipment

Medium saucepan
Whisk
9×13-inch dish

Instructions

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in the milk and cook over medium heat, whisking, until steaming.
Whisk the yolks in a bowl. Slowly whisk in a ladle of the hot milk, then pour the yolk mixture back into the pan.
Tip: This tempering step keeps the yolks from scrambling.
Cook, whisking constantly, until the custard thickens and bubbles, 2–3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the butter and vanilla.
Layer a third of the wafers, half the bananas and half the custard in the dish; repeat, finishing with custard and the remaining wafers around the edge.
Press plastic wrap onto the surface and refrigerate at least 8 hours.
Before serving, whip the cream with powdered sugar to soft peaks and spread over the top.

Storage

Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days; the wafers keep softening over time.

Freezing

Not recommended — custard separates when thawed.

Reheating

Served cold.

Substitutions

Vanilla wafers: Shortbread cookies or Biscoff for a caramelized twist.

Common mistakes

Adding yolks straight to hot milk — Temper them: whisk a ladle of hot milk into the yolks first, then return everything to the pan.
Serving immediately — The magic happens overnight — give it at least 8 hours.

Nutrition (per serving)

Estimated nutrition per serving
Fat (g)	18
Sugar (g)	34
Sodium (mg)	210
Protein (g)	6
Calories	380
Saturated fat (g)	10
Carbs (g)	50

Nutrition information is an estimate calculated from the listed ingredients.

From our test kitchen

Whole milk plus two extra yolks beat cream-based versions in our side-by-side: silkier, not heavier.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I keep the bananas from browning?

Make sure every banana slice is fully covered by custard, which blocks the air that causes browning. Assemble no more than a day ahead for the best color.

Can I use instant pudding instead?

You can, but the homemade custard is the whole point of this version — it takes 15 minutes and tastes far better.

Serena Kim

Serena started Serenity Sweets from her home kitchen, where she has baked and photographed every kind of dessert for over a decade. She develops most of the recipes on the site and tests each one at least twice before it's published.