I probably make banana puddin’ about once or twice of year. Yep, banana puddin’. Everybody has their own banana pudding preferences. Some people like homemade pudding with meringue- and some people like instant pudding with Cool Whip. I lean toward the second group. I decided last week that I needed some banana pudding in my life. I remembered that I had an acquaintance that once made banana pudding with Paula Deen’s recipe and it was so yummy.
So, I looked it up and the only part of the recipe that did not jive with me was that Paula used Chess cookies instead of Nilla Waffers. And I will say this- one piece of cooking advice that I remember Paula giving (yesh, we are on a first name basis) was that any time you try a new recipe to follow it without tweaking it and then the second time you make it, make your tweaks. But- in this instance, I made the swap from the Chess squares to mini Nilla Waffers.
The assembly of Paula’s banana pudding is just like the classic, lay out a layer of Nilla Waffers on the bottom of your chosen dish. I chose a 3 quart Pyrex.
In the mean time, you need to prepare the instant vanilla pudding according to the directions on the package. In a separate bowl combine a softened 8 ounce block of cream cheese, a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk and a 12 ounce container of Cool Whip and then fold into the pudding.
And then, it’s time to layer your banana pudding into your chosen dish. Nilla Waffers, sliced bananas, pudding and then another layer of Nilla Waffers. What you come to in the end is the most decadent banana puddin’ ever!
Yes, it’s worth the effort! It is so good!
- 1 box of (mini) Nilla Waffers
- 4-5 bananas
- 1 (8oz) block of cream cheese, softened
- 1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (12 oz) tub of Cool Whip
- Mix pudding with according to directions
- Blend the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and cool whip together in a seperate bowl
- Fold the pudding and cool whip mixture together
- Put a layer of Nilla Waffers on the bottom of your chosen dish
- Cover with a layer of bananas
- Cover with a layer of Pudding and Repeat the layers
Small tip: squeeze lemon juice over your bananas before putting them in the dish… not only does it keep your bananas from turning brown, but the lemon gives it a really nice zip.