Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding

Now interrupting your Friday afternoon to bring you this creamy, decadent, delicious old-fashioned banana pudding!! I honestly think I’ve been eating banana pudding since the day I was born. Growing up in the South, we had it for every holiday, get-together, really you name it and someone was bringing their banana pudding (hence why I love it so much lol).

Clearly I’ve definitely had my fair share of banana puddings in the past, and what I will say is that a lot of the ones I’ve had go wayyyyy too skimpy on the vanilla wafers.. which are, in my opinion, the very best part (who’s with me?!?!). How they could leave those to such a minimal amount, I’m not sure, but I was absolutely determined to make a delicious banana pudding with tonnnnnns of yummy vanilla wafers. That way, we won’t be fishing around in our puddings for the crunchy little surprises 🙂

What is Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding?

I’m almost positive that at least 50% of you have tried banana pudding (all my girls in the South are here for this), but I’m hoping that 99.9% of you have at least heard of banana pudding.. and for the remaining 0.01% who maybe haven’t tasted or heard of it, welcome to the magical land of luscious Southern desserts. Get your spoons ready!!

Ok on a real note, banana pudding is such a classic, traditional Southern dessert. It’s really just layers upon layers of vanilla pudding, fresh bananas, and vanilla wafers. It’s one of the most easy desserts to make, and I promise this one is going to knock the socks off of your friends and family at your next event. I promise!!!

Ingredients for Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding

Let’s get right to it. Below I’m outlining all the ingredients you’ll want to be picking up at the grocery store TODAY before you make this banana pudding (seriously guys, that’s how good it is).

Whole milk – if you’re wanting to use 2%, feel free, but I love the richness that the whole milk adds to the banana pudding.
Sweetened condensed milk – one of my all time favorite ingredients, and for good reason. So sweet, so luscious, an soooo delicious. This will really amp up the flavor of your banana pudding.
Vanilla extract – as an option, you can use an equal amount of vanilla bean paste (even more bonus points if you use 1 vanilla bean instead 🙂 )
Instant vanilla pudding mix – PLS make sure you get the instant vanilla pudding, not the regular kind. I learned this the hard way when I couldn’t figure out why my pudding wouldn’t set up.
Frozen whipped topping – this recipe is cool-whip galore, and I am so here for that. I have you folding in most of it to the pudding, but just don’t forget to save some for the end to top it all off!
Vanilla wafers – YAY FOR TONS OF VANILLA WAFERS!!! This recipe is piled high with delicious cookies. No more banana puddings with little to no vanilla wafers.
Bananas – make sure they’re ripe bananas, with lots of little brown spots on them. If they’re green, just be patient and wait until they ripen up a little bit 🙂

Now it’s Your Turn to Try Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding!

I hope you all love this recipe as much as I do, and if you make it don’t forget to tag me in it so I can see all of those beautiful, cookie-filled banana puddings!

XO,

Sarah

Print Recipe

Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding

Creamy vanilla pudding made with fresh bananas, smooth vanilla yogurt, and crunchy vanilla wafers.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: banana, pudding, vanilla wafers

Author: Sarah Crawford

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 (5-oz) pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (16-oz) carton frozen whipped topping thawed, divided
1 (16-oz) pkg vanilla wafer cookies
5 large bananas sliced crosswise

Instructions

Whisk together milk, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until smooth.
Sprinkle in pudding mix; whisk 2 minutes or until no lumps remain. Chill 5 minutes or until set. Fold three-fourths of the whipped topping into the pudding.
Arrange a layer of cookies in the bottom of a trifle dish or bowl. Add a layer of bananas over cookies; place another layer of pudding over bananas and smooth using a spatula. Repeat layers 3 times or until you reach the top of the dish.
Top pudding with remaining whipped topping. Garnish with more bananas and crushed cookies, if desired.