Vegan Banana Pudding
You’re going to love this vegan banana pudding! It’s creamy and rich, with layers of pudding, sliced bananas, vanilla wafers, and fluffy whipped topping. Best of all, you only need 7 simple ingredients to make it!
Banana pudding is a classic Southern dessert, but the traditional version is pretty heavy on the dairy, which means it’s not exactly vegan-friendly. There’s milk, the pudding, whipped cream on top, and some recipes that have you make the pudding from scratch have eggs too. Luckily, you don’t have to miss out on this favourite old-fashioned treat once you switch to a vegan lifestyle—a few simple swaps and you can make rich, creamy vegan banana pudding at home!
Friends, this is just like the classic version. We’re talking silky, banana-infused pudding on the bottom, layers of soft vanilla wafers and bananas (don’t you just love how the pudding softens the cookies?!), fluffy whipped cream on top, and crisp bits of wafers and more banana slices for garnish. Ooh yes.
This might just be the perfect summer dessert—cool, creamy, with a little bit of tropical flavour. It’s also incredibly easy to make, with only 7 ingredients!
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Cook & Serve Vanilla Pudding – Jell-O cook and serve pudding is gluten-free and vegan, while 365 Everyday brand vanilla pudding is vegan.
- Cornstarch
- Non-dairy milk – You’ll want to use an unflavoured, unsweetened variety for this recipe.
- Vanilla extract
- Vegan vanilla wafers – 365 Everyday brand vanilla wafers are vegan.
- Bananas
- Vegan whipped cream – A tub of whipped topping is perfect here.
What Keeps Bananas from Turning Brown in Banana Pudding?
Unfortunately, it’s hard to completely prevent the bananas from turning brown. Bananas brown the fastest when exposed to oxygen, so the bananas layered in the middle of the pudding should be fine for a few days. For the bananas on top of the pudding, you can use firm, just-barely-ripe bananas and brush them with orange or pineapple juice to slow the oxidation process. (Lemon juice works too, but orange and pineapple juice work better with the flavour of banana pudding.)
Don’t worry, though—if the bananas do turn brown, they’re still perfectly safe to eat.
How to Make Vegan Banana Pudding
There aren’t any special techniques needed to make this vegan banana pudding. It’s easy as can be!
Start the pudding. Whisk the non-dairy milk, pudding mix, and cornstarch in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Remove from heat and let the pudding cool for a few minutes.
Mash the bananas. Place the bananas in a large bowl and coarsely mash them. For a completely smooth pudding, you can also puree them in a blender.
Finish the pudding. Add the pudding to the bowl with the bananas, along with the vanilla extract. Fold everything together.
Chill. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap, pressing it so it touches the top to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or until completely cool.
Add the whipped cream. Fold half of the whipped cream into the chilled pudding.
Assemble. Spoon 1/4 of the pudding into a 9×9-inch baking dish. Add a layer of wafers and banana slices, half of the remaining pudding, then another layer of cookies, bananas, and pudding. Chill for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.
Garnish and serve. Before serving, garnish the top with the remaining whipped cream and additional cookies or banana slices, if desired.
Tips for Success
This vegan banana pudding is easy to put together, but here are some additional tips to help you make it perfect.
- Use ripe, but still firm bananas. You want to strike the right balance between over-ripe soft bananas, and under-ripe firm ones. Over-ripe bananas will turn brown faster, but under-ripe bananas won’t add much flavor. Use bananas that are yellow, without a lot of brown spots.
- Cover the bananas. Make sure the top pudding layer completely covers the bananas to help keep them from turning brown.
- Don’t garnish until you’re ready to serve. This will keep the bananas looking fresh and the wafers on the top nice and crispy.
Variations
There’s a lot of room for customizing this vegan banana pudding and making it your own. Here are some ideas:
- Swap the vanilla wafers for graham crackers.
- Switch out some of the bananas for fresh berries or diced mango.
- For an extra tropical twist, use coconut pudding instead of vanilla and add toasted coconut on top.
How to Store Leftovers
Assuming you don’t eat it all in one sitting, store leftover vegan banana pudding in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Can This Recipe Be Frozen?
This vegan banana pudding does not freeze well. While you can freeze it, the texture and flavor can change significantly when frozen, and it will only last for a week or two in the freezer.
More Vegan Dessert Ideas
- Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Carrot Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Cake
- Chocolate Chia Pudding (5 Ingredients, Vegan, Low Carb)
Enjoy friends! If you make this vegan banana pudding, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Vegan Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 – 4.6 ounce pkg Cook & Serve Vanilla Pudding, 130 grams
- 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch, 24 grams
- 2 Cups Non-Dairy Milk, 480 ml
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 10 ounces Vegan Vanilla Wafers, 283 grams
- 5-6 Bananas
- 12 ounces Vegan Whipped Cream
Instructions
- Combine non-dairy milk, pudding mix and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Whisk together until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken and just starts to bubble. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.
- Mash two of the bananas to a wet pulp. If you don’t want any chunks in the pudding, you can also puree them in a blender.
- Transfer the warm pudding to a large bowl. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla. Fold together.
- Cover the pudding with plastic wrap making sure to press the plastic to the top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate 1-2 hours until completely cool.
- Remove chilled pudding from the refrigerator. Add half of the whipped cream to the pudding and fold together.
- Using a 9×9 baking dish, begin assembling the banana pudding. Start with a layer of pudding (about 1⁄4 of the total amount of pudding), followed by cookies and then banana slices. Then spread 1⁄2 of the remaining pudding over the banana layer and repeat with cookies, bananas and the remaining pudding. Make sure the top pudding layer completely covers the bananas to help keep them from turning brown.
- Refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 24 hours before serving.
- Immediately before serving, decorate the top with the remaining whipped cream and some additional cookies or banana slices if desired.
Notes
- 365 Everyday brand Vanilla Wafers are vegan
- Jell-o brand cook & serve pudding is gluten free & vegan
- 365 Everyday brand Vanilla pudding is vegan
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
What are vanilla wafers? For an international audience, please describe or give a substitute.
Hi Lt Charmin,
They are like like vanilla flavoured cookies! They melt easily in your mouth. Hope this helps!
Hi there
Where do you find the wafers in the UK please? The only place I can see is Amazon but the shipping is 😳😳😳
Hi! If you can’t find them a kind of tea biscuit should also work!! I hope this helps! But you might coincidentally find that at a large supermarket or speciality store maybe?