Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding
Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding – this is the ACTUAL banana pudding recipe from their cookbook. This classic dessert has layers of creamy vanilla pudding, bananas, and a layer of vanilla wafers. It’s heaven and one of our favorite desserts.
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HOW TO MAKE EASY BANANA PUDDING
(originally posted 2016)
The life of a food blogger is really weird. First of all, we eat like it’s our job. Well, it kind of is.
When we go to a restaurant, ideally we would love to order one of everything but budget consciousness usually limits us to one or two choices.
My husband and I kind of have it down. Whenever we’re traveling and checking out the local eats, I always ask the waiter what they’re known for.
If tons of people continually come back for the same thing, chances are it’s worth it.
Then I usually ask the waiter what their personal favorite is. I’ve waited tables enough to know that some of the secret gems aren’t always popular yet.
So we order whatever they’re known for and then something else we eye on the menu.
The Man Who Ate Everything and I have pretty much morphed into one person in our 15 years of marriage so our tastes are similar.
MAGNOLIA BAKERY
So when we recently went to New York and visited the Magnolia Bakery we had to get what they are known for…their Famous Banana Pudding. I know, it’s known as one of the popular southern desserts but here we are in NYC eating it.
We ordered a couple other treats but hands down the banana pudding was the winner.
We were able to taste this Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding Recipe not once but twice in our stay there. Here’s our picture of us eating it on the streets of New York.
Magnolia Bakery has a big tub of the stuff and kind of slaps it in a cup, lunch lady style, to serve it to you.
You can make this easy recipe in a big container or individual trifles would be really cute! Just remember it’s not a trifle. There’s more pudding mix to Nilla ratio making it a pudding.
I was thrilled to see that Magnolia Bakery actually gives their actual recipe in their Magnolia Bakery’s Cookbook. It really is the best banana pudding with banana flavor.
However, I was a mixture of disappointed/relieved to see what the ingredients are.
Disappointed because I spent so much money buying it in New York and relieved because I can make it at home – no crazy ingredients, for way cheaper.
No homemade pudding making this really easy banana pudding.
Here are the ingredients. No Cool Whip…homemade whipped cream. No cream cheese. No vanilla extract because we have vanilla in the pudding.
WHAT’S IN MAGNOLIA BAKERY BANANA PUDDING?
This recipe has a few simple ingredients: Pudding, vanilla wafers, fresh bananas, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy whipping cream.
- VANILLA PUDDING – Use instant vanilla pudding here not the cook and serve kind. You could also use French vanilla pudding here as well.
- BANANAS – slices of banana throughout give a great flavor.
- SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK – instead of whole milk, we beat the pudding with water and sweetened condensed milk.
- HEAVY CREAM
- NILLA WAFERS – are traditional here but you could use shortbread cookies, butter cookies, or animal crackers as a substitute.
First, I used a trifle dish and layered my vanilla wafer cookies,…
…a layer of banana slices,
…then pudding mixture. Repeat that 2 more times.
The recipe says to chill for 4 hours but no longer than 8. That’s because your bananas will start to brown if you let them hang out too long.
See my recipe notes on how to make them turn brown less quickly.
Remember to save some vanilla wafers and bananas for the top the top of the pudding right before serving.
The vanilla wafers layered inside turn soft and almost cake-like.
Believe me. You want to make this. Especially if you love bananas.
HOW TO MAKE MAGNOLIA BAKERY’S BANANA PUDDING:
-
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined – about 1 minute. Add the instant vanilla pudding mix and beat well – about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set. It will be watery if you don’t let it set up long enough.
- In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the fresh whipped cream into the pudding mixture until no streaks of pudding remain.
- Dessert can either be made in individual portions or in a large glass bowl.
- To assemble dessert, select a large wide glass bowl or trifle bowl with 4-5 quart capacity.
- Arrange 1/3 of the Nilla wafers covering the bottom, overlapping if necessary. Next, layer 1/3 of the bananas, and 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours – or up to 8 hours, no longer (because bananas will start to brown – see Notes for tips on preventing browning below).
HOW TO KEEP BANANAS FROM BROWNING:
The reason the recipe says to serve within 8 hours is that the bananas will turn brown as they oxidize. There are a couple of things you can do to make not brown as fast:
1) Pick bananas that are barely ripe. If they are slightly green and the stem, those are perfect. These will tend to not brown as fast.
2) Brush them with some lemon juice. Any fruit juice helps (pineapple, apple, orange). This can change the flavor slightly so brushing them is better than soaking them. Even water neutralizes the ph and will slow down the browning if you rinse them in water.
3) Rinse them with club soda. The advantage here is that it won’t affect the taste. Don’t use tonic as it has a bad taste.
4) Try to keep them airtight. The less contact with the air the less they will brown.
OTHER BANANA RECIPES:
- Banana Cream Pie
- The Best Banana Bread
- Banana Split Dessert
- Banana Muffins
- Monkey Squares – Banana Bread Bars
- Banana Bread Cookies
- Banana Split IceBox Cake
Magnolia Bakery's Famous Banana Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ½ cups ice cold water
- 1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 4 cups sliced barely ripe bananas, (see note)
- 1 (12 oz.) box Nilla Wafers
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined - about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well - about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set. It will be watery if you don't let it set up long enough.
- In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until no streaks of pudding remain.
- Dessert can either be made in individual portions or in a large glass bowl with 4-5 quart capacity (a 9x13 baking dish also works).
- To assemble dessert, arrange 1/3 of the Nilla wafers covering the bottom, overlapping if necessary. Next, layer 1/3 of the bananas, and 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer. Cover tightly and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, no longer (because bananas will start to brown - see Notes for tips on preventing browning).
Video
Notes
2) Brush them with some lemon juice. Any fruit juice helps (pineapple, apple, orange). This can change the flavor slightly so brushing them is better than soaking them. Even water neutralizes the ph and will slow down the browning if you rinse them in water.
3) Rinse them with club soda. The advantage here is that it won't affect the taste. Don't use tonic as it has a bad taste.
4) Try to keep them airtight. The less contact with the air the less they will brown. Source: Magnolia's Bakery Cookbook
Can you freeze banana pudding.
This recipe is amazing! I make just as it is, but I don’t but any fruit juice on the bananas. It disappears so fast, I don’t need it preserve the bananas. I’m curious to know if it changes the taste. I have even doubled it for bigger groups and it works perfectly. Friends and family even ask when I am going to a gathering “Are you bringing your banana pudding?’ 🙂 I love it! Thanks so much for sharing!
I meant to rate is 5-stars but submitted too fast.
I go too frustrated with the amount of adds on your site. It was ridiculous! The car add too up so much space and kept your page glitching. I’ll go elsewhere to find this reipe
This recipe is absolutely amazingly delicious. Despite your advice, I used over ripe bananas because it’s what I had available and it was still so amazing tasting with a great texture and did not get watery. Wonderful.
I made this for Thanksgiving now my family BEGS me to make it over and over! Wonderful recipe!
That is awesome!
Excellent recipe. Everyone comes back for seconds. BUT..has anyone else noticed the recipes calls for 14 oz condensed milk and most cans I’ve seen are now all 12 oz.
eagle brand is 14 ounces and that’s what i use
I followed the instructions for the first paragraph, and let it sit for over 12 hours and it is still a watery consistency ;/
Am I the only one whose always disappointed when I look up a recipe for something and the recipe says “instant package of [the recipe I’m looking for]
I want a pudding recipe, not a recipe that’s involves buying and instant package and using the recipe on the back of the box “add water”.
So sub the instant for a homemade vanilla pudding recipe and maybe the results will be the same, or maybe not. This is how to make Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding; if it’s not helpful to you maybe skip it rather than criticize.
I made it and it was absolutely delicious!
Would add vanilla extract to the pudding mixture and maybe blend in a banana to the pudding for more flavor
This banana pudding recipe is the absolute best! I cannot wait to make it again! I think it will be my go to for pot lucks and holidays! I’ve already had some friends and family request more!
So glad you liked it!
Delicious! Crowd pleaser! For the bakers who had watery pudding, it’s possible that they used a smaller sized pudding mix box. I know that Royal instant pudding comes in smaller sized boxes. The recipe worked exactly as written for me. (I did add a tsp. of vanilla extract as suggested by others.
They are on amazon!
Is it possible to portion out and freeze this at any point? Maybe everything but the bananas?
I have not tried freezing this so I’m not sure.
I’ve been making this pudding for years now and we love it so much !! I always do an extra added layer of cookies on top then add a bit more pudding mix then decorate with more cookies !! Do you see a theme here LoL they’re the best part ! This time I used a banana pudding mix and yum !!! Thank you for this awesome recipe 🙂
You’re welcome!
I made this for the first time for a company luncheon, in the company kitchen, so I wouldn’t have to schlep it in on the bus. I doubled the recipe as I had about 40 people to feed. I think everyone had as much fun watching me make it as eating it. They loooooved it. I even loved it, and I am not a fan of banana anything. It was easy and delicious. I am going definitely going to make this for a family gathering. It impressed even banana pudding aficionados in the company. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome!
I make this recipe literally so much; my family and friends love it so much I’ve pretty much remembered each measurement by heart!
ha that’s awesome!
We loved this recipe. Having grown up in the south, I gotta have banana pudding to go with our regular bbq potlucks. Light texture, not too sweet and so easy to throw together. I added a big splash of my bourbon vanilla and the slight hint of it really took the recipe all the way. I’m afraid without a little vanilla it would be a bit plain. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome!
Easy to make; just takes time. Absolutely delicious.
Thank you!
Love the recipe it just honestly only needs 2 cups of heavy cream and I actually save a little bit of the heavy cream for on top as just regular whip cream on top
This is “hands down” the best banana pudding I’ve ever eaten or prepared. It’s is super creamy and so rich.
Thank you Angela.
Question, can I make this the night before I have to take it in?
Yes you can but it’s not ideal. The bananas will start to turn brown after 8 hours or so.
This came out perfect. I substituted milk for water and let it set overnight before assembling. I love that it was light, airy and not too sweet. Perfect for a summer dessert. This was my first time making this and I was surprised at how easy it was. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You’re welcome!
I fell in love with the banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery during my recent trip to NYC so I was happy to see that I could replicate it at home! I followed the recipe (easy to follow) and set the pudding mixture overnight and it was the perfect consistency and not runny at all when combined with the whipped cream the following day. If I had the paper pint cup to serve this in, I could have fooled myself! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Ha that’s awesome!
A banana pudding recipe is just one of those things passed down from generation to generation and families. This did not go over well. With the condensed milk and the whipping cream, we could barely taste the vanilla pudding. I’m going back to my own recipe that my family is familiar with.
I’m disappointed to see that this recipe was lifted from Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk.
https://www.eaglebrand.com/recipe/creamy-banana-pudding/
Ha nope it’s from magnolia’s cookbook!
Awesome! A major hit!
Thank you!
Nope. So much wrong. The only BP recipe is on the Nilla wafers box. No mixes, no condensed milk, meri gue not whipped cream. Sorry not sorry. Double the pudding amount, as you’ll eat at least half before you’re done.
This is so good, I’ve never made pudding with water and wanted as much creaminess as possible, so I substituted milk for that. It’s seriously so good! I used a small box of instant vanilla pudding, didn’t pay attention to oz., just made sure to get the small box.
This is the best banana pudding. I love the ratio of pudding to bananas and wafers. Just a suggestion using berries (strawberries, raspberries and blackberries) instead of bananas and brownie chunks instead of wafers makes an amazing dessert. Everyone always goes crazy for it.
This. Is. Fantastic!! I always try recipes like these and somehow always mess them up (even though I swear I follow directions to a tee). But alas!!! I nailed this on the first try. AND second (just for good measure).
I bought the 3.4 oz instant pudding at Kroger. I placed a bunch of ice cubes in cold water and let them melt before adding to pudding.
Awesome!!!
I have followed this recipe and video twice, and the texture and consistency have been watery.
The pudding doesn’t taste the same as when I first tasted Banana Pudding from the Magnolia Bakery whilst in NYC last year.
Had to use alternative to Nilla wafers, and the pudding mix. Despite this, too much liquid.
Can exact measurements be shared in metric please?
I’m so sorry. I have a feeling the pudding mix could be the culprit here. I am not familiar with metric and as I would love to wouldn’t feel comfortable to convert them for you.
Followed instructions exactly with the exception that I made it into mini dessert cups. TOTAL SUCCESS! IM OBSESSED!!
Yummmm
I noticed the boxes of jello pudding are only 3oz (vs 3.4 oz they used to be and the recipe calls for). Has anyone noticed it matters? My pudding didn’t set and I can’t figure out why—I’ve made this so many times with success.
She’s messed up the ratios. One packet only. Learned that the hard way
I picked up ingredients for this recipe today and found the 3.4oz box in the local Kroger.
My pudding mix set very well in the fridge but when I added the whipped cream after it became thick, the whole thing became runny. Is this supposed to happen? And if not, can I mix the whole thing again to stiffen it up a bit?
That’s strange! You can try whipping it again. Was you cream, not whipped?
Question- has the author or anybody else attempted to make this recipe exactly how magnolia bakery does, with the addition of good ol southern style meringue ontop?? I’m curious if it’s possible, and if anybody has done this and were happy with results. I’m contemplating…
hey, i’m planning on using a homemade pudding, so do i disregard the water then? and just mix condensed milk and the pudding? Thanks 🙂
Yes you can do that. In this version the water and pudding mix combine then have cream folded in. So it will be quite different.
Mine has been sitting for about 4 hours and it’s still watery, what do I do?
Are you using instant?
Something is up with my vanilla pudding mix. Once added to the cold condensed milk mixture it congealed super quickly. It was as thick as cement. Is there a specific brand to use? I used 90g of Jell-o brand vanilla pudding mix and I had to add so much heavy cream to loosen it. It tasted ok in the end but texture is not great.
That sounds strange. Is it instant?
Do we make the pudding according to box first?
Nope just follow the directions and add with water.
I’ve had Magnolia Bakery’s pudding… a lot. Lol. This recipe is fantastic it’s so good! Now I can make it at home whenever I want. It’s so easy to make. I highly recommend using Whole Food’s instant vanilla pudding vs other brands if you’re wanting to avoid artificial flavoring and dyes. I used gluten free vanilla wafers because that’s what I had on hand. Make it! Also don’t give up on your heavy cream: it will thicken up but it takes time.
I made this for the first time today and it came out perfectly! The instructions are clear and easy to follow. Thanks for sharing! 😊
Thank you!
can this recipe be frozen?
I haven’t tried it
I know this is from awhile ago. You can freeze it, and it tastes great frozen. But I wouldn’t try to defrost it.
Just made this today soooo good, to cut down on the 4 hour refrigeration time I put the pudding/condensed milk in a glass bowl in the freezer for 2 hours I also put all my glass mixing bowls in the fridge so as to help with potential curdling of the heavy cream
This recipe is *chef’s kiss* with a few tweaks I made to put my twist to it
Thank you!
This is the best banana pudding I’ve ever eaten everyone in my family absolutely loved it as well!
I make this all the time. I only use 2 cups of heavy cream though. I like it slightly more “pudding-like” rather than super fluffy. I also mash one banana into the pudding and combine well for a thicker consistency. Delish!
Question,
Most recipes call for milk instead of water, which is better?
This is THE recipe from their cookbook. There’s plenty of dairy in there so water is good.
Just tried this afternoon! Turned out great. Not sure why so many reviewers are having difficulties with the pudding – just make sure it is not the stove top or sugar-free kind and it will work quite easily. Very, very tasty!
Thanks Beth
Hi,
I made this recipe last winter, and it was a hit! I wanted to do it again this year for a few holiday parties but I’m not the one hosting. A few logistical questions:
Can you cut and freeze the bananas the night before, or will they become too mushy on the defrost?
Does this recipe travel well? One event will require 40 minutes in the car, while the other will be 2 hours!
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I think the bananas would be too mushy and turn brown in the defrost. The two hour one should be fine in a cooler. Same with the 40 minute
This banana pudding is to die for! And super easy! In my opinion, I dont think the jello needs to set for 4 hours before mixing with the whip cream. Also, I prefer my banana pudding to be on the soft side, so I let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Didn’t experience any issues with bananas browning!
Great tips thank you!
This is an amazing recipe, my family always begs me to remake it. Thank you for sharing, I am beyond grateful
Thank you!!
I wonder if the runny consistency comes from not being able to get the heavy cream to form stiff peaks?? If it had not been for a little previous baking knowledge I would have never been able to do it. The heavy cream by itself was not forming stiff peaks no matter how much a beat it with an electric mixer. I added confectioners sugar and then all was well. However, the recipe did not call for powdered sugar; I just did it because I remembered that adding sugar was the way I got stiff peaks in a different recipe that I made a while back. After this, I can say that the pudding turned out great and it was a big hit!
Jillian, mine too, very runny…. Was I suppose to put the pudding mix prepared or in powder.??? Ughh was so excited prepping it.
What i did was beat the water and condensed milk together with an electric mixer and then once it was mixed, I added the instant vanilla pudding mix to the mixture and whisked it for about 3 minutes. It set in the fridge in about an hour. And then I made the whipped cream and folded it in after it set. It was perfect!
Don’t prepare the pudding beforehand! Just add the actual mixture (powder) into the water/condensed milk then beat. Will set once you let it sit!