No-Cook Banana Pudding Recipe

While not everyone has a preference for banana flavored desserts or breakfasts, we're big fans. Whether it's banana cream pie, bananas foster French toast, or banana bread, you name it, we love it! However, our favorite banana recipe is banana pudding, thanks to its creamy and cold consistency mixed with a punch of vanilla crunch.

Recipe developer and registered dietitian nutritionist Kristen Carli brings us this recipe for a no-cook banana pudding that you can pull together in under 15 minutes. Yes, seriously — that quick!

The trick to the speed of this recipe is using instant vanilla pudding mix and milk instead of making your own from scratch. Combine the vanilla pudding with frozen whipped topping, some vanilla wafer cookies, banana slices, and a special ingredient of crushed graham cracker crust, and you have yourself one of the tastiest banana pudding recipes out there.

Follow our step-by-step guide to make this no-cook banana pudding recipe below.

To make this no-cook banana pudding, you can start by gathering your ingredients. For this recipe, you'll need instant vanilla pudding mix, whole milk, frozen whipped topping, bananas, vanilla wafer cookies, and crushed graham cracker crust. While not a traditional ingredient, the graham cracker crust is sprinkled on top of the pudding in this recipe to provide extra crunch and sweetness. Trust us, you'll love this addition. 

Go ahead and pull out your trusty stand mixer. In the bowl of the mixer, add the pudding mix and the milk. Using the whisk attachment, beat the mixture for about 3 minutes, until the pudding has thickened. If you were to stop here, you would have vanilla pudding. Instead, let's keep going to make layered banana pudding.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Using a silicone spatula or a large wooden spoon, fold the whipped topping into the pudding, until it's thoroughly combined. Make sure you eliminate all the lumps. The whipped toping helps to further thicken the mixture and create a truly light and airy consistency.

Now that the pudding is made, you can layer it with the vanilla wafers and banana slices. Into a large glass bowl, trifle dish, or even a casserole dish, add a layer of pudding, then a layer of vanilla wafers, another layer of pudding, a layer of bananas, and a final layer of pudding. Lastly, sprinkle the top of the pudding with the crushed graham cracker crust. Place the pudding in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.