This is an easy Homemade Southern Banana Pudding Recipe! Rich and creamy homemade pudding layered with bananas and shortbread cookies. This banana pudding from scratch is the BEST banana pudding recipe hands down! The best part is that the pudding is made from scratch. That’s right, move over instant pudding! We are making this Southern banana pudding completely from scratch.
Why make the pudding from SCRATCH?
It’s simple, homemade pudding taste better than instant pudding. When you make banana pudding from scratch, you use fresh ingredients like whole milk, heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar, and high-quality flavorings such as real vanilla extract. These fresh ingredients contribute to a richer flavor compared to the powdered and artificial components found in instant pudding mixes. Don’t let making pudding scare you! It’s actually very easy once you master the technique. Watch the video below to see me demo how to do it.
Vanilla Wafers, Shortbread Cookies, or Sandwich Cookies?
Personally I think vanilla wafers taste kinda flat. I always will go for shortbread cookies if possible. In this recipe I used vanilla sandwich cookies too. Let me tell you, that took the flavor over the roof!!! I highly suggest using a combination of vanilla sandwich and shortbread cookies in your Banana Pudding from Scratch.
Want more DELICIOUS Dessert Ideas? Try These…
- Oreo Pound Cake
- Sweet Potato Pie
- Pineapple Pound Cake
- Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
Let’s make this Homemade Southern Banana Pudding!
Ingredients
Homemade Vanilla Pudding
- 5 tbsp cornstarch
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 ½ cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp butter
Homemade Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 tbsp powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Banana Pudding
- 2 boxes shortbread cookies
- 6-8 vanilla sandwich cookies optional but great!
- 4-5 bananas
- homemade vanilla pudding
- homemade whipped cream
Instructions
Prepare the Homemade Pudding
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and add them to the sugar mixture.
- Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t boil.
- Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and butter. Let it cool slightly.
- Transfer to a container and chill in the fridge for a 2-3 hours or overnight. The pudding will thicken significantly.
Prepare the Whipped Cream
- Leave your whipped cream in the refrigerator right up until you are about to use it. Measure out the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl. You can adjust the amount of powdered sugar to your taste. If you prefer sweeter whipped cream, you can add a bit more, but be careful not to over-sweeten.
- Begin beating the cream on low speed using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. You can also do this by hand with a wire whisk, but it will require more effort and time.
- As the cream thickens slightly, you can gradually increase the mixer’s speed to medium. Continue to beat until you see medium peaks forming, about 5 to 7 minutes. Medium peaks means the cream is thickening, and when you lift the beaters, the cream will form gentle peaks with slightly softened tips. Don’t beat much past this stage or you will make butter. If you accidentally over-whip the cream, and it looks heavy and curdled, pour in a little bit more cold heavy cream ( about 1 tbsp), and gently fold it in by hand with a spatula until it smooths out.
- Chill until ready to use.
Assemble The Banana Pudding
- Mix half of the prepared whipped cream with the chilled pudding.
- In a serving dish or a trifle bowl, start by placing a thin layer of pudding on the bottom.
- Add a layer of sliced bananas and shortbread cookies on top of the pudding.
- Pour about half of the pudding mixture over the banana and cookie layer.
- Add another layer of shortbread cookies, followed by more sliced bananas.
- Pour the remaining pudding mixture over the second banana layer.
- Top with the remaining whipped cream.
- If desired, use additional cookies and banana slices to decorate the top. To prevent exposed banana slices from tuning brown, cover them in lemon juice.
- Chill for 1 hour then serve!
Homemade Banana Pudding From Scratch
This is an easy Homemade Southern Banana Pudding Recipe! Rich and creamy homemade pudding layered with bananas and shortbread cookies.
Ingredients
Homemade Vanilla Pudding
- 5 tbsp cornstarch
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 ½ cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp butter
Homemade Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 tbsp powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Banana Pudding
- 2 boxes shortbread cookies
- 6-8 vanilla sandwich cookies optional but great!
- 4-5 bananas
- homemade vanilla pudding
- homemade whipped cream
Instructions
Prepare the Pudding
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and add them to the sugar mixture.
- Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t boil.
- Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and butter. Let it cool slightly.
- Transfer to a container and chill in the fridge for a 2-3 hours or overnight. The pudding will thicken significantly.
Prepare the Whipped Cream
- Leave your whipped cream in the refrigerator right up until you are about to use it. Measure out the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl. You can adjust the amount of powdered sugar to your taste. If you prefer sweeter whipped cream, you can add a bit more, but be careful not to over-sweeten.
- Begin beating the cream on low speed using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. You can also do this by hand with a wire whisk, but it will require more effort and time.
- As the cream thickens slightly, you can gradually increase the mixer’s speed to medium. Continue to beat until you see medium peaks forming, about 5 to 7 minutes. Medium peaks means the cream is thickening, and when you lift the beaters, the cream will form gentle peaks with slightly softened tips. Don’t beat much past this stage or you will make butter. If you accidentally over-whip the cream, and it looks heavy and curdled, pour in a little bit more cold heavy cream ( about 1 tbsp), and gently fold it in by hand with a spatula until it smooths out.
- Chill until ready to use.
Assemble The Banana Pudding
- Mix half of the prepared whipped cream with the chilled pudding.
- In a serving dish or a trifle bowl, start by placing a thin layer of pudding on the bottom.
- Add a layer of sliced bananas and shortbread cookies on top of the pudding.
- Pour about half of the pudding mixture over the banana and cookie layer.
- Add another layer of shortbread cookies, followed by more sliced bananas.
- Pour the remaining pudding mixture over the second banana layer.
- Top with the remaining whipped cream.
- If desired, use additional cookies and banana slices to decorate the top. To prevent exposed banana slices from tuning brown, cover them in lemon juice.
- Chill for 1 hour then serve!
Video
Notes
There are some slight variations between the video and the typed recipe. The video recipe shows premade whipped cream and homemade whipped cream being used. I felt for ease of written directions, it would be easier to use all homemade. The written recipe reflects this. However, you can buy whipped cream for this recipe and it will still be great!
