French Vanilla Banana Pudding with Nilla Wafers

A slight twist on classic banana pudding including plenty of fresh banana slices and nilla wafers, with pudding inside and cool whip on top!

One evening we had a bunch of bananas and weren’t sure what to do with them. Justin said he really wanted some good homemade banana pudding. Well, I had never made it before so I had no idea where to even start, besides bananas and pudding.

So I took to the internet and started looking up recipes. As we usually do, we mixed a few of them together and came up with our own recipe. It’s so tasty and so refreshing. It also is great to bring for a delicious dessert when you need to bring a dish to share somewhere. Or of course, keep it for yourself like we tend to do!

Banana pudding is such a classic Southern dessert and is a perfect no-bake dessert the whole family will enjoy. The simple ingredients can be found at almost any grocery store. 

The banana pudding will stay good for a few days in the refrigerator, but after that, the nilla wafers start to get a little soggy. Justin doesn’t mind that, but I have a ‘texture thing’ and can’t eat soggy chips or crackers, yuck!

Edited to add: When your silly child decides he wants a Banana Party for his birthday, this is a great dessert to make, as well as a delicious banana cake. This pudding was the first thing gone because everyone was going back for seconds and even thirds!

A Note About Ingredients

To get the unique flavor, this pudding recipe uses a large package of instant banana pudding and a small package of instant French vanilla pudding. Or if you can’t find the large package get two of the small ones. By combining the two, you get the banana flavor you are looking for, plus a hint of rich vanilla flavor. Just make sure it’s the instant pudding mix for both of them. 

If your grocery store doesn’t carry French vanilla pudding mix, you can substitute it with regular instant vanilla pudding mix. 

For the best results, make sure to use the brand name Nilla Wafers. We tried to be cheap the first time and bought the generic brand vanilla wafer cookies and they just weren’t the same. 

Whole milk is a must. When I found out I was allergic to dairy, we tried making this with almond milk and it didn’t set properly. Just this past year, for Ryan’s 8th birthday, he asked for banana pudding again. Since we were having our friend over with severe dairy allergy, I tried with almond milk again. It had the same results, the pudding never set and was a runny mess. She said she’s had this happen before with almond milk because it doesn’t have the fat content to make it thicken up.

Banana Pudding Step by Step

Ingredients

• 5 cups whole milk
• 1 5.1 oz pkg instant banana pudding mix
• 1 3.4 oz pkg instant French vanilla pudding mix
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 box nilla wafers
• 3 ripe bananas (sliced)
• 8 oz whipped topping

Preparation

Pour both of the pudding mixes into a large mixing bowl with the required amount of milk, which should be 5 cups total. Use a whisk to combine the milk and pudding, beating until it starts to thicken. While you are preparing the rest of the recipe, it helps to give the pudding a quick stir every so often so it doesn’t get too thick.

Meanwhile, arrange half of the nilla wafers in the bottom and up the sides of a large serving bowl or trifle bowl to create the bottom layer. You want to have a good base layer of wafers. Then top the cookies with a layer of banana slices.

Pour half of the pudding mixture on top of the wafers and bananas. Carefully spread it around so it is flat on the top without moving the bottom layers as much as possible.

Repeat the layers with a layer of cookies, a layer of fresh bananas, and the remaining pudding mixture, making sure to save a few bananas and cookies for your topping.

Let the pudding set in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving so the pudding has time to stiffen. Cover the top layer of pudding with whipped cream once cool.

You can leave it just like this, or get fancy by adding some bananas and crushing a few of the remaining cookies onto the top of the pudding. It depends on if you are going for a nice presentation or just flavor! 

Banana Pudding Leftovers

Storage: Leftover pudding can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. After that, the Nilla Wafers will start to disintegrate into the pudding.

Recipe

Banana Pudding

A slight twist on classic banana pudding including plenty of fresh banana slices and nilla wafers, with pudding inside and cool whip on top!

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Course:

Dessert

Cuisine:

American

Keyword:

banana

|

cookies

|

pudding

Servings: 12 cups

5 from 4 votes

Ingredients

• 5 cups whole milk
• 1 5.1 oz pkg instant banana pudding
• 1 3.4 oz pkg instant french vanilla pudding
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 box nilla wafers
• 3 bananas (sliced)
• 8 oz whipped topping

Recommended Equipment

• Mixing Bowls – Stainless Steel
• Whisk – Wire
• Serving Bowl – 2 quart

Instructions

• Pour milk into large bowl and add dry pudding mixes and vanilla extract
• Beat with whisk 2 minutes or until well blended and begins to thicken
• Meanwhile, arrange half of wafers on bottom and up sides of 2 quart serving bowl
• Top with layer of half of bananas
• Add half of pudding
• Repeat layers of wafers, and bananas
• Add the rest of the pudding
• Refrigerate 3 hours
• Cover with whipped topping and a few crushed nilla wafers for garnish and serve cool

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Nutrition Facts

Banana Pudding

Amount Per Serving (0.5 cups)

Calories 66 Calories from Fat 27

% Daily Value*

Fat 3g5%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Cholesterol 5mg2%

Sodium 30mg1%

Potassium 129mg4%

Carbohydrates 8g3%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 99IU2%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 65mg7%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

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