Small Batch Homemade Banana Pudding

This homemade banana pudding is a no-bake dessert that starts with rich vanilla pudding made from scratch, then lightened with whipped cream for a thick and creamy texture. Layered with vanilla wafers and fresh banana slices, the small batch is portioned into individual cups for two to four, then chilled until the wafers soften and the flavors meld.

It’s no secret that pudding desserts are my favorite, and I’m excited to share a nostalgia-sparking banana pudding in my own small batch style.

If you Google banana pudding, you’ll find hundreds of recipes, each with their own spin on the classic dessert. And most use a box-mix pudding. My recipe differs in that I make the pudding from scratch. For me, no box can compete with the velvety texture or pure, milky vanilla flavor of homemade.

At the base of this no-bake dessert is my small batch vanilla pudding. As I tested and assembled it into individual cups, the straight custard didn’t feel as light as I wanted when layered with the banana and wafer cookies. That’s when I took a cue from Magnolia Bakery’s famous version, which lightens the pudding with whipped cream. Perfect.

Being careful not to take the pudding into mousse territory, the ratio I developed keeps the vanilla pudding thick and creamy, with a touch more lift to suspend the wafers and banana slices into one creamy bite.

What takes the most effort here is patience. Chill time is a must to get that soft texture. But I promise, it’s worth it.

Making the Base: Homemade Vanilla Pudding

We start by making the vanilla pudding. Whisk the cream, egg yolk, and cornstarch in a mixing bowl until the starch is dissolved.

Then, in a small saucepan, heat the milk and sugar until bubbles start to form along the side of the pan. It doesn’t need to boil, just warm enough that it will temper (bring to temperature) the egg yolk without scrambling it.

Whisking constantly, pour about half of the heated milk into the cornstarch mix, then return it to the pan. Cook the pudding until it starts to thicken, with big bubbles. It may be tempting to keep cooking the pudding until it gets extra thick, but avoid this. The pudding will thicken even more as it chills in the refrigerator. And overcooking it can lead to a separated, watery custard.

Off the heat, and add the vanilla, salt, and cold butter — which gives the pudding its silky finish. Transfer the pudding to a mixing bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top to keep a skin from forming, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Once the pudding has chilled, make the whipped cream. You’ll be making enough to mix with the pudding, plus a little extra to use as a topping.

Carefully fold the whipped cream into the pudding until you no longer see streaks of cream. The result will be a thick custard that will feel almost like a stirred sour cream. From here, you can either chill the lightened pudding overnight or move straight into assembling.

The Bananas: An Overview

I have a couple of *musts* when it comes to the bananas in this banana pudding. First, they should be barely ripe — free of spots, with a little green still at the stem. They will hold a firmer texture and resist browning longer. Which matters here since the pudding needs time to chill before serving. Save the spotty, overripe ones for banana bread instead.

Second, slice them only when you’re ready to assemble the dessert, to keep them from browning too fast.

Tip! As a general rule, bananas will naturally start to brown the minute air hits them. As much as I’d love to tell you there’s a way to avoid this, there really isn’t. You could try brushing the slices with lemon juice, but eventually, they’ll brown.

Assemble the Pudding Cups

When it comes to assembling the banana pudding cups, you can be creative with your layers. I like to start mine with a couple of spoonfuls of pudding in the serving cups. This base gives the vanilla wafers something to rest on and absorb even more moisture so they soften all the way through.

Top the cookies directly with banana slices, and repeat at least one more time, ending with pudding. Cover the individual cups tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two more hours so all the layers can mingle and permeate flavor.

When you’re ready to serve, top with the reserved whipped cream, a few crumbles of wafer cookies, and banana slices.

Erin’s Banana Pudding Tips

• Choose your serving dish. This recipe isn’t fussy about presentation — skip the individual cups if you’d rather layer everything into a small 6-inch baking dish, a few ramekins, or a mini trifle dish. Use what you’ve got.
• Mostly hands-off. Don’t let the multiple components fool you — the bulk of this recipe is fridge time, not stovetop time. Once the pudding’s made and the whipped cream is folded in, you’re mostly just waiting on the refrigerator to do its job.
• Best within a day. Banana pudding cups are at their best eaten within 24 hours of assembling. Past that window, the bananas start to release liquid into the pudding, and the wafers can go from tender to genuinely mushy.