Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

If banana pudding has ever healed an emotional crisis, welcome home. This old fashioned banana pudding recipe is made from scratch with creamy vanilla custard, vanilla wafers, bananas, and evaporated milk. That's what makes this Southern classic worth licking the spoon for.

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🥰 Is this old fashioned banana pudding recipe for you?

Banana pudding is one of my favorite make-ahead Southern desserts because it actually gets better after a few hours in the fridge. This vintage recipe might be your new favorite if:

• You think dessert should taste like somebody's grandma loved you aggressively.
• You want real homemade banana pudding from scratch with creamy vanilla custard instead of boxed pudding pretending to be something it's not.
• You've been burned by runny banana pudding and are emotionally prepared to stop the nonsense.
• You believe vanilla wafers softened into pudding are one of life's tiny miracles.
• You need a make-ahead Southern dessert for Easter, potlucks, Sunday dinner, family reunions, or the kind of gathering where someone says, "Who made this?" before quietly scraping the bowl.
• You're willing to spend about 20 minutes making something that tastes like childhood, comfort, and mildly competitive church ladies.
• You firmly believe banana pudding is acceptable for emotional support purposes. Because frankly? Same.

And if you're looking for the no cook banana pudding with sweetened condensed milk? I've got one of those, too. No judgment in this kitchen. Just options and carbs.

🧾 Ingredients for homemade banana pudding

You only need a handful of simple ingredients for this old fashioned banana pudding recipe, and odds are good most of them are already lurking in your kitchen. The evaporated milk is the secret to that rich, silky homemade custard, the bananas bring sweetness, and the vanilla wafers? Well. They're out here doing emotional support work.

• Bananas - Ripe but still firm. You want sweet and creamy, not one day away from banana bread and baby food.
• Sugar - Sweetens the custard and keeps everybody behaving properly.
• Butter - Makes the homemade vanilla custard rich, silky, and worth scraping the bowl for.
• Evaporated milk - The old-school Southern secret. This is what gives banana pudding that rich, creamy texture instead of tasting like disappointment in a casserole dish.
• Bourbon, optional - Just a whisper. Enough warmth to make people say, "What is that?" while going back for seconds. Leave it out if you want to keep things church-basement approved.
• Flour - Helps thicken the custard without any boxed pudding nonsense.
• Eggs - Gives the pudding richness and that old fashioned homemade texture Grandma would absolutely judge us for skipping.
• Vanilla - Makes everything taste warm, cozy, and vaguely like someone loved you on purpose.
• Nilla Wafers - Non-negotiable. They soften into sweet little cake-like layers that somehow taste like childhood and family drama at the exact same time. 🍌

Are your bananas are a little too ripe for banana pudding? Try this vintage Banana Layer Cake with gooey walnut filling.

Download the free Old Fashioned Banana Pudding Kitchen Cheat Sheet for tips, storage information, FAQs, meringue instructions, and more.

📖 Recipe

🔪 How to make banana pudding with evaporated milk

Good news: making homemade banana pudding from scratch is way easier than answering family group texts and significantly more rewarding. Here's how to make creamy Southern banana pudding without losing your salvation.

1. Start by whisking the flour and sugar together in a big microwave-safe bowl. Slowly add the evaporated milk, whisking until smooth. Microwave it until the mixture starts to thicken, stopping every minute or two to whisk. Stay nearby for this part, like you're supervising a toddler holding scissors.
2. Now for the only mildly stressful moment: slowly whisk a little of the hot pudding mixture into the egg yolks so they warm up without turning into breakfast. Once the yolks are smooth and cooperative, whisk them back into the bowl.
3. Microwave for about 2 more minutes until thick and creamy, whisking once or twice along the way. Don't let it boil unless scrambled egg custard is somehow part of your personal journey. Stir in the butter and vanilla while it's warm and try very hard not to stand at the counter eating it with a spoon.
4. Layer vanilla wafers in the bottom of your dish, add sliced bananas, then spoon over that warm homemade custard like you're building edible emotional support. Repeat the layers, ending with pudding on top. Retro Southern comfort in a bowl. 🍌

😱 What can go wrong (and how to fix it)

🍌 Your pudding is too thin
Usually this means it didn't cook long enough. Microwave power varies, and pudding thickens more as it cools. If it still looks more "banana soup" than pudding, microwave in 30-second bursts, whisking after each one.

🍌 Your eggs turned into tiny scrambled bits
That's a tempering issue, my friend. The hot mixture got added too fast. Next time, slowly whisk a little hot pudding into the yolks first before adding them back in. You can strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve and carry on like nothing happened. We strongly believe in kitchen cover-ups here.

🍌 The pudding tastes bland
Usually it just needs a pinch more vanilla or a tiny bit of salt to wake everybody up. Cold desserts mute flavor a little, which feels rude but true.

🍌 Your bananas turned brown
Bananas are dramatic and refuse to age gracefully. Use bananas that are ripe but still firm and serve within a day or two for the prettiest pudding. A quick brush of lemon juice helps, but don't go wild unless lemon-flavored banana pudding is your destiny.

🍌 The vanilla wafers are too crunchy
You served it too soon. Banana pudding likes a little nap in the fridge so the cookies soften into that magical cake-like texture. Give it at least 4 hours if you can stand the suspense.

🍌 Your pudding got lumpy
Whisk like you mean it while cooking. If lumps happen anyway, a quick pass through a fine mesh strainer or a few seconds with an immersion blender can save the day faster than pretending nobody noticed. 🍌

FAQs

📚 More banana recipes

If banana desserts are your emotional support category, I've got options. My Nutter Butter Banana Pudding takes the classic and gives it a peanut butter-fueled identity crisis in the best possible way. The banana pudding poke cake is dangerously easy and tastes like the dessert table at a Southern baby shower where someone definitely brought gossip. And if pie is more your speed, the creamy banana pudding pie somehow manages to feel nostalgic and over-the-top at the exact same time.

Feeling slightly feral? The peanut butter banana pie is rich, creamy, and fully committed to causing second helpings. And if regular banana pudding somehow isn't enough banana pudding for your soul, the banana pudding cheesecake shows up wearing pearls and demanding attention. Creamy cheesecake, banana pudding flavor, and enough drama to make Thanksgiving dessert feel competitive.

Anyway, protect your secret serving, hide a little bowl in the back of the fridge, and trust absolutely no one around homemade banana pudding.