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Our Banana Cream Pudding Is a Dreamy Dessert That Feeds a Crowd

Slice and chop bananas:
Chop one banana and thinly slice the remaining 5 bananas; set aside. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium heatproof bowl and set aside.

Whisk sugar, egg yolks, and cornstarch:
In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 1/4 cups sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt.

Add milk and chopped banana:
Whisk milk into egg mixture until combined; stir in chopped banana.

Cook mixture, stirring, until thickened:
Place saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and is bubbling, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking, for 1 minute.

Sieve mixture; add butter and vanilla:
Remove pan from heat and pour mixture through prepared sieve into bowl; use a spatula to push any extra liquid through sieve (discard solids). Stir butter and vanilla into pudding until combined. Cover pudding with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming; refrigerate until cooled completely, about 2 hours.

Whip heavy cream with sugar:
In a large bowl, beat the heavy cream with remaining 1/4 cup sugar until firm peaks form.

Assemble pudding:
Whisk the pudding until smooth. Spoon about a cup of the pudding into the bottom of a large glass bowl. Layer about 1/2 of the cookies over the pudding, slightly overlapping them, followed by about half of the sliced bananas.

Continue layering pudding with whipped cream, cookies, and sliced bananas:
Top with about 2 cups of the pudding and half of the whipped cream. Repeat layering with the remaining cookies, sliced bananas, pudding, and cream.

Refrigerate pudding:
Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or, covered, up to overnight. Garnish with crushed cookies and serve cold.

Storing
If you have leftover banana pudding, either cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate, or transfer a smaller amount to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two days. The cookies will get softer as they sit in the pudding.

Freezing
Banana pudding does not freeze well.

Frequently Asked Questions
Do bananas need to be ripe for banana pudding?

Yes, bananas should be ripe for banana pudding. Ripe bananas are sweeter and you want that for the dessert. Underripe bananas will taste hard and bitter and will not be good in banana pudding.

Where does banana pudding come from?

Banana pudding is known as a favorite southern dessert but the earliest recipes came from Massachusetts and Illinois. The dessert became better known in the 1940s after it was promoted by the National Biscuit Company because it used their vanilla wafers (later known as Nilla Wafers.)

Can I substitute other cookies for the vanilla wafers in banana pudding?

Banana pudding is best made with vanilla wafers. In a pinch, you can substitute butter cookies or graham crackers.