Banana Pudding (Vegan)
A combination of creamy vanilla pudding, sweet vanilla wafers, and, oh, so thinly sliced bananas come together to create this amazing banana pudding. A dairy-free twist on the classic dessert.
Banana pudding is not something I grew up eating. I actually had a request for this from a neighbor. He was born and raised in the south, so he was accustomed to rich, southern banana pudding. I am not afraid of a good challenge, but trying to meet his expectations was a little daunting. To make this completely vegan, all components needed to be made from scratch.
The final product surpassed my expectations, and my wonderful neighbor (also my official taste tester) gave it nothing less than a 5-star review. The vanilla pudding is wonderfully creamy and full of vanilla flavor. The homemade vanilla wafers have a lovely vanilla flavor with a light, crisp texture. The most important ingredient, the bananas, were perfectly ripe and thinly sliced. I am not a big banana dessert fan, but I could not stop eating this. Whether you are a banana fan or not, I urge you to give this one a try.
What you will need:
It may seem like a lot, but this recipe is quite easy to put together. The homemade vanilla wafers are quickly and easily prepared, and the pudding is ready in about 12 minutes. I suggest making the cookies and pudding ahead of time to make the day of assembly a breeze.
- 1 recipe of homemade vanilla wafers (see recipe on the website)
- 1 recipe of vanilla pudding (see recipe on the website)
- 3 medium bananas
- plant based heavy cream
- cream of tartar
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar
How to:
First things first, let’s make the vanilla wafers and vanilla pudding. You can find the recipes for both of these on the website. I suggest preparing the cookies and the pudding ahead of time; this ensures that the pudding is nice and cold when it comes time to bring the dessert together.
Let’s prepare the whipped cream. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the heavy cream, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract. With a balloon whisk attachment, whip on high until soft peaks are achieved. Once you have soft peaks (it takes two to three minutes), add the powdered sugar. Continue whipping on high for another minute. Go ahead and peel and thinly slice the three medium bananas.
Now that all of the components are prepared, let’s bring this dessert together. Start by dividing the vanilla pudding into 2 equal portions (1 cup each). To each portion of vanilla pudding, add 1/4 of the whipped cream and fold it in.
The dish I used for this recipe is an 8x11x2 oval ceramic baking dish (it holds 8 cups). An 8x8x2 square dish would be an equivalent alternative. Line the bottom of the dish with 16 to 20 vanilla wafers. Place one of the portions of pudding over the top of the cookie layer. Make sure to spread it out evenly and cover all of the cookies. Take half of the sliced bananas and place them on top of the pudding layer. Repeat all three layers one more time. Place another 16 to 20 cookies over the top of the banana layer. Place the other portion of pudding on top of the cookie layer, making sure to spread it out evenly and completely covering the cookies. Take the other half of the sliced bananas and place them on top of the pudding layer. The rest of the whipped cream is dolloped on top of the dessert, and a few vanilla wafers can be crushed and sprinkled over the top.
Cover the dessert and place in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours to set before serving. It will remain fresh in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Alright, let’s get started. Please make and enjoy!
Banana Pudding (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 recipe vanilla pudding – see recipe on the website – makes 2 cups
- 1 recipe vanilla wafers – see recipe on website – makes 55 cookies
- 3 medium bananas – thinly sliced
- 1 cup plant based heavy cream – needs to be cold
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 8 tbsp / 60 grams powdered sugar
Instructions
- Have your vanilla pudding, vanilla wafers and sliced bananas ready and waiting for assembly. Time to make the whipped cream
- To make the whipped cream; in the bowl of a stand mixer add the heavy cream, cream of tartar and vanilla extract. With a balloon whisk attachment, whip the ingredients on high until soft peaks are achieved. This will take about 3 minutes. Once soft peaks are achieved, add the powdered sugar and continue whipping on high for another minute.
- Divide the pudding into 2 servings of one cup each. To each serving of pudding, fold in 1/4th of the whipped cream.
- To assemble the banana pudding:I used an oval ceramic dish (8x11x2),; equivalent to an 8x8x2 square dish/pan.Start by lining the bottom of the dish with the vanilla wafers. I used 16 to 20 cookies. Spoon a layer of vanilla pudding (one of the two servings combined with the whipped cream) over the cookie layer. Make sure to spread it out evenly and completely cover the cookie layer. Place a layer of sliced bananas over the top of the pudding layer. (half of the sliced bananas). Repeat all 3 layers. Place another 16 to 20 cookies on top of the banana layer. Spoon the second serving of pudding, combined with the whipped cream, over the cookie layer. Place the rest of the sliced bananas over the pudding layer. The rest of the whipped cream is dolloped on top of the dessert along with a sprinkling of a few crushed up vanilla wafers.Place the dessert in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to set. The banana pudding will remain fresh in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
