No Bake Banana Cream Pudding
This recipe for easy No Bake Banana Cream Pudding frees up space in your oven so you can concentrate on making other main or side dishes for your next get together.
We LOVE bananas at this house! As a matter of fact, I am always making some kind of recipe with them (like this Banana Bread or this Banana Pecan Cream Pie).
Even though I have a plethora of recipes we enjoy, this No Bake Banana Cream Pudding is the one I love the most!
This was one of those desserts that I used to make for all those barbecues Husband Man and I used to throw back in his early military career.
One word about those barbecues, they were….awesome! We would invite everyone who went to tech school with him and all of us would rotate who hosted it every month.
There were 3 couples in our little clan (Husband Man and I included) and one single Airmen. When we all first met, we were childless and newlyweds. By the time everyone PCS’d or finished their tour, all of us had children and our single Airmen was married.
We were there for every baby shower and every first birthday, with our very last get together being on Christmas Eve, 2007.
I was at a birthday party this past weekend for one of my daughter’s classmates and the little girl had younger parents. Like Husband Man and I did so many years ago, they too had their own little clan.
I smiled through that party, remembering the good old days and how, in this military life, complete strangers can become like family to you.
Every time I make this recipe, I think back to our young days as a new military couple. The memories are golden! It has stayed in my favorites collection for years and we hope it will make it to your collection too 😉
Ingredients
- 2 little boxes of INSTANT banana cream pudding (each box should be 3.4 ounces)
- 4 cups cold milk
- 1 8 oz. package of full fat cream cheese at room temp.
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 bananas, chopped
- 1 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip
- 1 box of Vanilla Wafers
Equipment You'll Need
Instructions
- Whip together cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and Cool Whip until well blended and smooth.
- Add the pudding powder and the 4 cups of milk into the mixture. Whip until everything is well mixed.
- In a big bowl, layer the wafers, banana cream filling, and chopped bananas.
- Continue the layering, until all of the ingredients are gone, saving a few of the vanilla wafers for garnish.
- Garnish dessert with wafers, crushed up and whole. Chill until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Looks tasty!!
Made this for family Christmas dinner, was a huge success!! Yummy!
Do you prepare the instant pudding before adding it to the other ingredients, or do you just throw in the powder mix?
You can just throw the ‘powdered’ mix into the filling. No need to premake it. I will correct that on the recipe 🙂
Banana Pudding is one of my favorites! I need to try this recipe soon. Lots of great ideas here! Hope to connect with you at BYBC!
Oh it’s one of ours too! Thank you for the visit 🙂 Hope to see you at the conference as well 🙂
love this recipe its so simple taste great
I can’t wait to try your recipe. It differs a little from a recipe that I have used for years, but your additions sound great. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Dallas! You are welcome for sharing. I hope you enjoy it 😉
First time trying Banana Cream Pudding & it is delicious! Thanks for posting the recipe.
You are very welcome! So glad you enjoyed it 😉
I made a double batch of this today. And i followed the recipe. I have only added 4 cups of milk. But it is really runny? Does it thicken up as it chills?
It should thicken up as it chills. Do you have the instant banana cream pudding or the cook and serve? The recipe calls for the instant so make sure that’s the one you have 😉 Hope this helps some.
Can you make this the night before?
Yes you can 😉
I added all of the milk ingredients and it seems watery after I mixed the milk in…am I supposed to refrigerate for a little before assembling?
Did you add instant banana cream pudding or the cook and serve kind?
I just realized I used the wrong banana pudding. It’s the cook and serve, not the instant. Should I throw it away😢 I’ve made this recipe before and it’s amazing!!
We have never tried it with the cook and serve. I say leave it in the fridge overnight and see what happens. If you haven’t cooked it, it may not thicken up. I would toss it if it doesn’t.
I made this today as prescribed,i had no sour cream though ..and added a light sprinkle of nutmeg will get back to you on the success.. Thanks for sharing
You are very welcome 🙂 Hope you enjoyed it 😉
We give this recipe 5 stars for it’s simplicity and yummy factor 🙂
If I messed up like most everyone else here, is there any way to save the mixture and make it thicken?
Make sure you are using Instant Banana Cream Pudding instead of the Cook and Serve to prevent this from happening. We’ve never had this happen so I’m not sure how to go about thickening the mixture.
Mine came out really watery as well and I did use instant pudding. I added corn starch and mixed until it thickened. I think I added about four tablespoons, but more or less could be added depending on how watery it is. Otherwise, flavor is good.
I am so sorry it turned out watery for you as well. I am glad to hear that you placed the cornstarch in it though and informed us about it. Thank you for telling us what worked for you 🙂
Mine looked funnier but with time it thickened on its own. Super yummy!
Runnier **
Commenting bc I saw I all the posts about it being watery. Pudding is always a little running And it thickens as it chills. I’ve made this countless times.. I do wait a few minutes before assembly but not long. And mine comes out fine and the assembly is not an issue even with is being a bit runny. Very simple and yummy recipe
Thank you for letting us know Natasha. We have never had an issue with the pudding being runny. It always sets well in the fridge after chilling for a bit.
I love this simple and amazing dish! I know when I use sugar free instant pudding, I need to use less milk because it sets softer. Don’t know if that’s a problem some of the gals were having with this. Or if you use lower fat cream cheese (or Cool Whip) they set softer too. Anyway you dish it up, we love this and I will be making it soon.
I’m glad you enjoy it Marsha 🙂 Thank you for sharing that tip.
My mother always used Oreos instead of vanilla wafers, and put sour cream and Cool Whip (same amounts you used) in it. It was so light and delicious, and everyone I served it to raved about the Oreos in it.
Oreos would be a GREAT spin to this! God bless your mama 🙂 I’ll have to try that next 🙂
I made this but deleted the banana slices (we have a “texture” issue in the family). Oh my goodness… it was very, VERY good. I put extra crumbs on top. The entire bowl was gone and the kids were begging for more… the hubby was asking when I would make it again, too. Thank you for the recipe… it is now a “go to” dessert especially since it doesn’t take a great deal of time.
Robbin, thank you for sharing your experience with this recipe 🙂 I’m so glad your family enjoyed it! Love the addition of extra crumbs on top 🙂
Just attempted to make this recipe & accidentally used the “cook & serve” pudding instead of the instant. Will it still set properly if i set it aside to the fridge for a few hours?
I am not sure Grace, as we only have used the instant one. Hopefully it will. Let us know the outcome.
I have a huge can of banana pudding .. lol do you think I can use this ??
We’ve never made it with already made banana pudding. You can try it and just omit steps 1 and 2. Let us know how it turns out 😉
This is the best banana pudding I’ve ever had!! Thank you!
Very welcome Diandra! Glad you enjoyed it 😉
It looks like my comment on here got deleted. please be sure to use the 5.1 ounce Jell-O packs or I will come out runny. original poster needs to update instead of saying “two little boxes” they need to put the exact box they are speaking of… itbcamevout perfect when I used the bigger packs
Hello Nessa. I own this blog and am responsible for the recipes. I am happy to hear that you had success with using 5.1 ounce box of Jello. However, when we make it, we always use the little boxes ( 3.4 ounces) and it comes out great. I changed the recipe to reflect what we do as a family. I do plan on testing the recipe out again soon to double check and make sure the size is correct, however, for now, it will stay at 3.4 ounces. If others would like to use the bigger box, they are more then welcome to. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Have a blessed day 😉
Just a heads up I also had a runny result – made sure I purchased the instant pudding and looked over the ingredient amounts just to make sure I didn’t add too much of anything. Put it in the fridge hoping it thickens up and I can assemble it before our get together tomorrow!
Update: A few minutes in the fridge helped take care of the runny texture and I was able to layer it before our party as needed!
Thank you for popping in and letting us know Sarah! Glad you were able to layer it 😉
I am going to try the recipe this weekend because my brother had this type of pudding and loved it! I was wondering on some of the responses about the pudding being runny as to whether they were using regular milk or possibly almond milk. When I first made punch bowl cakes I used almond milk and my pudding mix would not thicken. Just wondering if you’ve had such an issue. Thanks so much!
We’ve never have issues with it being runny. We always use regular milk when we make it. The different types of milk could very well cause it to not thicken up. Hopefully someone else will respond to let us know. Good question!
Do you use whole milk? I don’t know if that will make a difference in how thick it is. I plan to make your recipe this Saturday for a group of 40-50 people.
We just use whatever milk we have on hand…2% or 1% usually. But whole milk would work well too. Probably even better 😉
Used small boxes and 2% milk it came out perfect. Just like regular pudding you need to let it set a bit in the fridge to thicken ❤️ Wonderful recipe.
This is the BEST banana pudding recipe I’ve ever used! It tastes amazing! Everyone that has ever had it remarks about it being the best they’ve ever had. Oh, and yes, it does set up perfectly with the 4 cups of milk. The first time I made it I was worried it wouldn’t but after a night in the fridge it was the perfect thickness. I used whole milk in mine.
That is awesome! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing your experience with it 😉
I make this banana pudding all the time! Having some now! Mine came at running as well, but thickened after about an hour in the fridge! Only question I have is, what is the purpose of the sour cream? And do I have to use it? 🥴 lol other than that, this has become my favorite dessert to make!
Do the bananas need to be chopped or can we mash them?
You can try and mash them. We always just chop them though.
I prefer your pudding to those thar use condensed milk for they are a bit too cloyinglybsweet. I think its the sour cream along with the cream cheese that tones the sweetness down and that I thinkmakescit better.
I want to take this dessert to a potluck out of town. Is the best way to travel by car with this, to mix pudding ingredients ahead and then assemble once we arrive 2-3 hours later? I could keep the pudding mixture in a tupperware on ice and then put together when we arrive. Do you foresee the pudding getting runny if not totally refrigerated and would it set back up once I put it in the fridge upon arrival?
I have made this several times and my husband and daughter love it! So easy to make.
Has anyone left out the additional sugar? Wondering if its still yummy??
It is delicious made with French Vanilla pudding. Very rich!
Can I substitute something else for the sour cream, or just not adding it at all is that okay?
You may be able to try Greek yogurt as a substitution, however, I’m not sure how it will turn out because we always stick with sour cream.
Easy and so good! I cut the sugar in half and it still turned out perfect! Made it for my sweetheart’s birthday and he loves it too!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Joy! Thank you for letting us know 😉