Southern Banana Pudding

This old-fashioned southern banana pudding recipe layers vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, from-scratch vanilla pudding, and piles of meringue! Eat it warm (the Southern way) or after it’s been chilled; a classic dessert that’s reliable for weeknight dinners, Sunday suppers, or the fanciest of holidays.

Quite a long time ago (nine years, to be exact), we shared a recipe for an straightforward banana pudding. It had Nilla wafers, sliced bananas, from-scratch vanilla pudding, and we topped it with from-scratch whipped cream.

There was a tremendous amount of feedback about how true banana pudding should be made with meringue on top, not whipped cream… And it should be eaten warm, not cold. We're not going to lie… we much prefer whipped cream to meringue and we like our pudding cold, not warm, but we put it on the back burner and figured we would give it a go one day.

Seven years later, it finally happened!

Since making the original banana pudding recipe, we've dabbled in the world of pavlova (traditional, chocolate, and even layered), and fell in love with lemon meringue pie bars. Which is to say, our taste buds have evolved and we've definitely come around to the idea of meringue on top of our banana pudding.

So we went all guns blazing into this totally from-scratch Southern banana pudding recipe, and we were thrilled with the results.

We mean, LOOK at that massive pile of meringue down there… evenly glossy, stiff peaks are one of our favorite kitchen accomplishments, and they were plentiful in this recipe!

The verdict? We loved it!

The meringue gave it an airiness with a subtle toasty flavor that you miss with the whipped cream. We did have a bowlful warm, and was actually surprised by how much we liked it. We doubted that we would like it at all, but it was rich. We think we still prefer our pudding chilled, but there was something so satisfying and comfort food-like about digging into a bowl of warm pudding. We totally get it now.

If you’ve never experimented with the real deal Southern pudding, give it a shot! It’s not at all difficult and you’ll probably be surprised by how much you like it!

Watch How to Make Southern Banana Pudding:

Two years ago: Boston Cream Cupcakes
Three years ago: Symphony Bars
Six years ago: Toasted Coconut Dark Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
Seven years ago: Filled Raisin Cookies

Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in August 2017; it was updated in July 2019 with new photos, a video, and better recipe instructions.

[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]

• Yield: 12 servings
• Prep: 45 minutes
• Cook: 15 minutes
• Total: 1 hour

Ingredients

For the Pudding

• 1 cup ( 200 g ) granulated sugar
• ½ cup ( 62.5 g ) all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon ( 0.25 teaspoon ) kosher salt
• 3½ cups ( 854 ml ) whole milk, divided
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1½ teaspoons ( 1.5 teaspoons ) vanilla extract

For the Assembly

• 11 ounce ( 311.85 g ) box vanilla wafers
• 6 medium bananas, sliced ½-inch thick

For the Meringue

• 8 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1⅓ cups ( 266.67 g ) granulated sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Make the Pudding: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in ½ cup of the milk and the egg yolks. In a large saucepan, place the remaining 3 cups milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Whisk 1 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Whisk the egg mixture into the remaining hot milk in the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes more. Remove from heat. Add the butter and vanilla, stirring until the butter is melted. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
3. Assemble the Dish: Arrange vanilla wafers in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish (you can reserve some to garnish, if you wish), and top with the banana slices. Pour the pudding through a fine-mesh sieve over the bananas and spread into an even layer.
4. Make the Meringue: In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Spoon the meringue over the pudding, spreading it right up to the edges of the pan.
5. Bake until the meringue is lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Garnish with vanilla wafers, if desired. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

We don’t recommend using ripe bananas in this recipe, as they will break down too much when the pudding is in the oven.

Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in August 2017; it was updated in July 2019 with new photos, a video, and better recipe instructions.

[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned ]