Is There a Substitute For Vanilla Wafers?
If you don’t have any vanilla wafers on hand, or if you simply don’t like them, there are a few substitutes that you can use:
ShortbreadButter cookiesGraham crackers
The key is to try to use a butter-based cookie. The buttery flavor marries perfectly with the vanilla pudding and sliced bananas!
Do You Put Eggs in Pudding?
Some recipes will require you to use an egg in the vanilla pudding. Ours doesn’t! While this dish isn’t vegan-friendly — due to the butter, whipping cream, chocolate, and heavy cream — it doesn’t contain any eggs.
Bananas:
The key to perfect homemade banana pudding is in the bananas! You want to use the ripest bananas you can find — they should be yellow with little brown spots on the peel. Ripe bananas are much sweeter, and the flavor goes wonderfully with the vanilla pudding and wafers.
How Do You Thicken Homemade Banana Pudding?
The key is in the quick roux! Our recipe calls for you to heat up butter, then whisk in some cornstarch. This adds thickness and will give you the perfect pudding consistency that you’re after. Make sure not to skip this step!
Fruit Variations:
While we love leaving our banana pudding recipe as is, you can feel free to add in some more fruit! Below are some of our favorite combinations — feel free to choose one or pair several together:
StrawberriesBlueberriesKiwiMango
Troubleshooting: How Do You Keep Bananas From Turning Dark?
Some chefs find that their banana slices tend to turn an unpleasant brown color. You can avoid this by lightly brushing the fruit with a bit of citrus juice, such as lemon or lime. Be careful not to use too much, or it could affect the flavor of the dessert.
Baking Dish Options:
For our homemade banana pudding recipe, we use a 9×9 casserole dish. If you don’t have one at home, you can use something else of equivalent size. A dish that holds about 2.5-quarts will work just fine.
Can I Freeze This Dessert?
This dish is best enjoyed fresh. The texture of the dessert changes completely when freezing, so we don’t recommend it. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for a few days instead!
Storage Instructions
If you have any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Banana pudding will keep for about 3-4 days — just know that the wafer cookies will soften over time. If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious dessert recipes:
Creamy Berry TrifleEasy No Bake CheesecakeThe Best Key Lime PieGrandma’s Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Watch the video below where Caytlin will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes. Δ Δ
