{Magnolia Bakery's} Banana Pudding (2024)

This is the famous Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding Recipe, made with a creamy banana pudding using sweetened condensed milk. Layers of banana pudding, homemade whipped cream, bananas, and vanilla wafers make up this delicious classic dessert.

I first posted this recipe back in 2015, about 6 months after my last trip to Manhattan. At that time, I had hoped I would be able to visit NYC every couple of years. But life had other plans, and here we are, 6 years later, and I still haven’t been back since.

I’m feeling nostalgic and have the travel itch currently, and since visiting Manhattan might still be a little ways off, I decided it was time to update this post with brand new photos and some more detailed information about how to make this Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding at home.

While there is no substitute to actually being at a Magnolia Bakery and eating their gorgeous desserts in magical NYC, making their easy banana pudding recipe is a great way to temporarily satisfy the craving.

Get ready to have your life changed with this smooth banana pudding loaded with vanilla wafers, fresh bananas, and whipped cream. It would make a fabulous Easter dessert too!

Let’s Talk About Why I Love This Recipe:

• Magnolia Bakery: This famous bakery got its start in the West Village in NYC. Everything they make is practically gold, and the last time I visited Manhattan, I got this banana pudding 3 times (in 3 days 🤣).
• A very simple recipe: While I love a banana pudding from scratch, there is no doubt that this easy banana pudding version is just as good, if not better. Trust me on this.
• It’s versatile! I keep this recipe very classic (and follow Magnolia Bakery’s ingredients and instructions), but you could add in different cookies, add in caramel, add in chocolate chips, ground cinnamon, etc.
• It makes a lot: You can serve a lot of people with this recipe, which makes it a wonderful summertime dessert for a family gathering.
• It’s amazing. This is one recipe that all banana lovers are going to flip for. It’s like the best banana cream pie filling you’ve ever had.

Other Banana Recipes to Try Next:

• Banana Coconut Cream Pie: banana cream pie meets coconut cream pie to make the best graham cracker crusted cream pie.
• Maple Glazed Banana Bread: moist banana bread topped with a maple glaze
• Banana Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting: crushed vanilla wafers are actually used in the cake batter!
• Hummingbird Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting: a southern cake classic made with bananas, pecans, pineapple and cream cheese frosting!

Easy Banana Pudding Ingredients:

• cold water: or room temperature water—you just don’t want hot water
• sweetened condensed milk
• instant vanilla pudding mix: make sure you get instant (not stove top), and definitely use vanilla pudding mix. Banana pudding mix has a bit of a fake banana flavor.
• heavy whipping cream: you’ll use this for both the pudding and whipped cream on top
  • *In the original recipe, you mix all of the whipped cream into the pudding. I save a little bit to serve on top of the pudding.
• bananas: use bananas that are ripe, but not banana-bread-ripe. You need the bananas to have a bit of hardness to them to hold up against the pudding.
• vanilla wafers: this is a classic cookie choice, but you could use graham crackers, shortbread cookies, golden oreos, etc.

How to Make Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding Recipe:

• the cold water and sweetened condensed milk are mixed together with a hand mixer or standing mixer for 1 minute. You need the power a hand mixer or standing mixer provides to whip this well.
• Next, add in the instant pudding. Mix it with a mixer for 2 minutes.
• Then, chill for 4 hours (or up to 8 hours). The pudding needs this chill time to truly set up properly.
• Make whipped cream. Reserve 1 1/2 cups for the topping.
• Fold half of the whipped cream into the banana pudding, gently folding until well combined.
• Layer the baking dish with vanilla wafers, pudding, sliced bananas, whipped cream.
• Chill leftovers.

Can I Make Banana Pudding Ahead of Time?

• Yes, you can make this ahead of time, but banana pudding does need to be eaten fairly quickly.
• I suggest if you make it ahead of time, to make it only one day in advance. And, if possible, assemble very close to serving.
  • the bananas will start to brown if you don’t eat it within 24 hours
  • the vanilla wafers will become soggy too

• However, the pudding will last longer without the bananas and vanilla wafers if you really need to make this 2 days in advance or so.
  • at the last minute, assemble with bananas and cookies.

How To Serve:

• Magnolia Bakery serves their banana pudding in a cup with all ingredients mixed together.
• You can serve in a bowl or baking dish, with everything mixed together.
• You can serve with everything layered (like I did: wafers on the bottom, half of the pudding over the top, a layer of bananas, the rest of the pudding on top, whipped cream, and crushed wafer crumbs).
• Make into one large trifle, or serve in individual trifle glasses.
• If using a casserole/baking dish, I suggest using a 9×9, 11×7, or 13×9.

3 Steps To Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding

• Pudding: Again, this is not banana pudding from scratch, but it truly is comparable to the flavor. It’s made with sweetened condensed milk, water, and instant vanilla pudding mix.
• Homemade Whipped Cream: heavy whipping cream is whipped to soft peaks, and it’s used in both the pudding and as the topping. Because of the sweetened condensed milk in the pudding mixture, you don’t need any additional sugar in the whipped cream.
• Vanilla Wafers and Bananas: These mix in perfectly with the custard filling.

Variations:

• This is the original Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding recipe, so any of these variations will make this taste different than the original.
• Cookies: While I love a Nilla wafer banana pudding recipe, you could use gingersnaps, golden oreos, shortbread cookies, graham crackers, etc.
• Pudding: Personally, I don’t like instant banana pudding, but you can use it. You can also use butterscotch, caramel, french vanilla, etc.
• Add ins: Because this is Magnolia Bakery’s famous banana pudding, I kept the recipe the exact same. However, other mix-ins, like chocolate chips, candy bars, toffee bits, coconut, etc.

Final Tips & Tricks to Making this Easy Banana Pudding from Magnolia Bakery!

• Use bananas that are not overly ripe. The bananas you would use for banana bread? Use them for banana bread. Banana pudding needs a banana that can hold up to the pudding.
• Use Vanilla instant pudding mix (not stovetop pudding mix)
• Once completely assembled, eat within 24-48 hours, otherwise the bananas and wafers will get soggy.
• Ideally, assemble this banana pudding dessert right before serving; however, you can make the pudding (without the wafers and bananas) ahead of time and assemble the rest of it later.

Originally posted 2015; updated 2021.

Here are some other favorites to try next:

Mini Turtle Cheesecakes

No Bake Lemon Cream Pie

Lemon Blueberry Cream Pie