Easy Banana Pudding Recipe

Jun 13

There are some desserts that try very hard to be fancy.

This is not one of them.

This easy banana pudding is creamy, cozy, simple, and the kind of dessert that belongs at family dinners, cookouts, holidays, church tables, and random evenings when everybody needs something sweet and nobody has the emotional strength for a complicated dessert.

This version uses both vanilla pudding and banana cream pudding, plus softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk, so it has that thick, creamy, rich texture that makes people go back for “just a little more” approximately four times.

No judgment. That is between them and the pudding.

Why You’ll Love This Banana Pudding

This banana pudding is easy to make, rich and creamy, and perfect for feeding a crowd. It does not require baking, complicated steps, or standing over the stove questioning all your life choices.

The cream cheese gives it a little extra body, the sweetened condensed milk makes it smooth and rich, and the banana cream pudding adds that cozy banana flavor without making things difficult.

We love a dessert that knows how to act right.

Ingredients

1 box instant vanilla pudding mix, 3.4 ounces
1 box instant banana cream pudding mix, 3.4 ounces
3 cups cold milk
1 block cream cheese, 8 ounces, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk, 14 ounces
1 container whipped topping, 8 ounces, thawed
1 box vanilla wafers
4 to 5 ripe bananas, sliced
Extra crushed vanilla wafers for topping

How to Make Easy Banana Pudding

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth.

Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix until creamy and well combined. Take a minute here and make sure the cream cheese is smooth, because nobody wants to bite into a mystery lump and have trust issues with dessert.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla pudding mix, banana cream pudding mix, and cold milk until thickened.

Add the pudding mixture to the cream cheese mixture and mix until smooth and combined.

Gently fold in the whipped topping. We are folding, not wrestling. The goal is fluffy, creamy banana pudding, not dessert with an attitude.

In a 9x13 baking dish, add a layer of vanilla wafers.

Add a layer of sliced bananas over the wafers.

Spread a layer of pudding mixture over the bananas.

Repeat the layers until your dish is full, ending with pudding on top.

Crush a handful of vanilla wafers and sprinkle them over the top. This gives it that cozy, homemade, “yes I absolutely meant for it to look this good” finish.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Overnight is even better because the wafers soften and everything settles into creamy banana pudding magic.

Just a Note

Make sure the cream cheese is softened before mixing. Cold cream cheese will fight you, and we have enough going on.

Use bananas that are ripe but still firm. If they are already halfway to banana bread, they may get too soft in the pudding.

This is also one of those desserts that gets better after it sits for a bit. I know waiting is rude, but the fridge time really does matter.

Storage

Store banana pudding covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

The wafers will continue to soften as it sits, which is exactly what makes banana pudding so good. After a few days, though, the bananas may start looking a little tired.

Same, bananas. Same.