This Dreamy Layered Banana Pudding Dessert is a delicious and easy no-bake dessert! Sliced bananas, vanilla pudding, homemade whipped cream, and a luscious sweet cream cheese mixture are layered on top of a buttery vanilla wafer crust for the best banana pudding dessert you’ll ever eat!Ā
Dreamy Layered Banana Pudding Dessert (So Easy!)
Our family loves bananas and whenever we have a few extra lying around in the kitchen, I love whipping up and surprising my family to a delicious banana pudding dessert for us to enjoy together. This Dreamy Layered Banana Pudding Dessert easily goes in my Top 10 of favorite desserts not only because it’s super yummy, but because it’s SO easy to make!
This banana pudding dessert starts with a vanilla wafer crust and is topped with light and luscious layers of a homemade whipped cream and sweetened cream cheese mixture, sliced bananas, then topped with more whipped cream and vanilla wafers. It’s a simple and delicious twist on a classic banana pudding, and the flavor combinations are just perfect together.
I love making this banana pudding dessert for the family on the weekends or for taking to potlucks with family and friends. It’s a great no bake dessert to make ahead a couple days in advance and it’s one of those desserts that gets better the longer it’s refrigerated. Grab the simple recipe and all the kitchen tools you need for this layered banana pudding dessert below!
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No Bake Banana Pudding Dessert
This banana pudding dessert only takes about 15 minutes to prep making it such a great choice when you want an easy, no-bake dessert.Ā For this recipe I prefer using instant pudding mix while making my own homemade whipped cream.
It’s honestly so easy to make and tastes much better than the store bought version. Of course if you don’t have heavy whipping cream on hand, you can always use Cool Whip, but trust me – once you try it homemade you’ll never go back!
Banana Pudding Dessert Tips:
- This dessert makes the perfect amount for tall layers in an 8×8 glass baking dish, but can easily be doubled for a 9×13 pan. Simply click the 2x button on the recipe card below.
- Use a long, rubber spatula like this one for carefully spreading each layer. If you donāt have one, a case knife or cake icing spatula works well too. I recommend dropping small dollops around the pan and carefully spreading outwards.
- I love the classic look and ease of whole vanilla wafers on top, but feel free to garnish other ways. Crushed vanilla wafers, chopped nuts, or sliced bananas can be added on top, if desired. Just make sure if you slice bananas, you do this right before serving to avoid them turning brown.
- Refrigerate your banana pudding dessert for a minimum of 4 hours before serving. Overnight is actually preferred, as this will really enhance all the flavors of the dessert. I’ve made this 2-3 days ahead before and it’s still fresh and delicious.
RECOMMENDED KITCHEN TOOLS FOR BANANA Pudding Dessert:
- Electric Hand MixerĀ orĀ Stand Mixer
- Food ProcessorĀ orĀ Rolling Pin
- Large Glass Mixing Bowl
- 8×8 Glass Baking Dish
- Rubber Spatula
- Whisk
Dreamy Layered Banana Pudding Dessert (So Easy!)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 9-12 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Dreamy Layered Banana Pudding Dessert is a delicious and easy no-bake dessert! Sliced bananas, vanilla pudding, homemade whipped cream, and a luscious sweet cream cheese mixture are layered on top of a buttery vanilla wafer crust for the best banana pudding dessert you’ll ever eat!Ā
Ingredients
- 1 cup Nilla Wafer crumbs (about 1 1/2 cups of vanilla wafers, processed or crushed)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 (8 oz.) package light cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Homemade Whipped Cream: *
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2–3 tbsp powdered sugar (use more or less based on preference – I used 2)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 25 whole Nilla Wafers
- 2–3 medium bananas, sliced
- 1 small (3.4 oz.) package vanilla instant pudding mix
- 1 1/2 c. cold milk
Topping
- Nilla Wafers (25 whole if you want it like mine, or crumbled)
- Banana slices for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Use a food processor or blender to finely crush Nilla Wafers into 1 cup of small crumbs. You can also use a gallon-size ziploc bag and a rolling pin.
- In a bowl, stir the vanilla wafer crumbs crumbs and melted butter until fully combined.
- Press crumb mixture with a fork into the bottom of a 8×8 or 9×9 panĀ that’s been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together the softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, make the homemade whipped cream by combining the whipping cream, 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and whipping on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
- By hand, mix together the whipped cream and cream cheese mixture until well combined.
- Spread a little less than half the cream cheese/whipped cream mixture evenly over the crust by dropping small dollops and spreading gently outwards.
- Arrange the vanilla wafers in a layer on top of the cream cheese/whipped cream layer. Set aside while you prepare the banana pudding filling.
- In a mixing bowl, combine vanilla instant pudding powder and cold milk.Ā Whisk until well combined the pudding has thickened.
- Slice bananas into about 1/4-inch thick slices and arrange in a layer on top of the vanilla wafers.
- Next, carefully spread the vanilla pudding into a layer on top of the bananas, ensuring all the bananas are completely covered to prevent browning.
- Top vanilla pudding layer with the remaining cream cheese/whipped cream mixture. Gently spread it evenly over the pudding layer.
- Place remaining vanilla wafers on top of the whipped topping/cream cheese mixture. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight (preferred) before serving.
Notes
- You can also use 8 oz of Cool Whip if you don’t want to make the homemade whipped topping, but if you can I definitely recommend the homemade kind. It’s very easy and DE-LICIOUS!
- This recipe makes the perfect amount for an 8×8 or 9×9 pan with nice and tall layers. If you want to do it in a 9 x 13″ pan, please double the recipe.
- As bananas quickly turn brown once exposed to air, you’ll want to slice the bananas right before placing them in the dessert and make sure you cover them all the way with the vanilla pudding.
- This banana pudding dessert tastes even better the next day! If possible, refrigerate overnight before serving.
Keywords: banana pudding, banana pudding dessert, layered banana pudding dessert, layered banana pudding, banana pudding with cream cheese, quick banana pudding, best banana dessert
More Banana Recipes You’ll Love:
- Cinnamon Sugar Banana Muffins
- Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Bars
- Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Hope you’ll give this Delicious + Dreamy Layered Banana Pudding Dessert a try! It’s a yummy twist on regular banana pudding and is a banana dessert that will receive lots of requests from your family and friends to make again. Do you love banana pudding too? Let me know below!
Thanks for stopping by! – Cara
I just love banana pudding and pies! I will be trying this one soon!
Me too! Hope you enjoy it!
Banana pudding is one of my favorites! I always have to try it if I see a restaurant has it on the menu. Especially BBQ places around here!
Mine too! Old fashioned banana pudding is always so yummy!
this sounds delicious!
Thank-you! We love anything with bananas! š