Yes, you can make healthy banana pudding at home! This homemade banana pudding recipe is super easy to make with wholesome ingredients.

WHY I MADE THIS HEALTHY BANANA PUDDING RECIPE

A few years ago, I published a Vegan Banana Pudding Recipe to my blog, and someone recently left this review:

“This was very easy and tasty, and tasted pretty healthy for being a sweet dessert. I served it with sliced white strawberry on top. I agree that it tasted good even though I did not cool it in fridge long enough. I made it with 50% rice milk, 50% coconut milk and I think that was good!” – Kaye

Thanks so much, Kaye!

I think we can all agree that banana pudding is one of the best summer desserts, right? When I saw that review, it reminded me just how much I adore that banana pudding recipe, so of course I wanted to update it and make it even better!

And so I developed this new and improved homemade, healthy banana pudding recipe that’s made with gluten free cookies and an even better pudding that you’ll want to lick right out of the bowl.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from Magnolia Bakery, which makes one of the best banana puddings on earth, imo. I haven’t had their banana pudding in years, but I remember that it was super soft and fluffy, and I replicate that texture here with this healthier banana pudding dessert recipe.

If you’re a fan of the Magnolia Bakery banana pudding but want to make it a healthier version of it at home, then this recipe is for you!

MY HEALTHY MAGNOLIA BANANA PUDDING RECIPE

The full recipe is in the recipe card below, but here is the gist of it!

Homemade Nilla Wafers

• Mix the maple syrup, melted butter, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth.
• Add in the almond flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
• Place the cookies on the baking sheet. The cookies will not spread much.
• Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. Cool completely before using.

Pudding

• Pour the milk, butter, vanilla, and salt into a small pan and heat over medium heat.
• Add in the cornstarch slurry, and whisk until smooth.
• Transfer the pudding to a heat-proof container and refrigerate until completely cool.
• Pour the coconut condensed milk into a large bowl. Add in the cooled pudding, and beat until fully combined.
• Scoop the fresh whipped cream into the pudding mixture and gently fold it together.

Assembly

• Layer the homemade Nilla wafers, sliced bananas, and whipped pudding mixture until all ingredients are used.
• Place the container in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.

HEALTHY BANANA PUDDING KEY INGREDIENTS

Homemade Nilla Wafers

• Maple syrup: The natural sweetener we use for our homemade Nilla cookies. I tested this recipe with honey originally, but the honey flavor was too strong imo. Maple syrup, though, has a much milder flavor and is great for this recipe.
• Butter: Use grass-fed butter or vegan butter, if desired. Melted butter is necessary for this recipe to provide the soft texture and richness for this homemade Nilla wafer cookie.
• Vanilla: Needed for all vanilla cookie recipes!
• Almond extract: Provides a subtle flavor that tastes close to a traditional Nilla wafer cookie. If you don’t have almond extract, you can omit it, but you’ll love it if you do add it in!
• Almond flour: The gluten-free “flour” used for this wafer cookie recipe. Almond flour cookies are generally a bit softer than traditional flour cookies, which works well for our banana pudding recipe. You’ll get a great flavor bite when the soft cookies + bananas + pudding all smush together. Yum!

Homemade Pudding

• Oat milk: The original Magnolia Bakery banana pudding recipe calls for store-bought pudding mix. I try to avoid store bought mixes when I can (the only exception I make is for My Mom’s Coconut Cake Recipe–yum!), so here we’ll use a combination of oat milk, butter, and cornstarch to make our homemade pudding! You can use another non-dairy milk if you prefer, but I love how oat milk is creamier than, say, almond milk or rice milk.
• Butter: Adds a rich texture to our pudding. Feel free to omit, though.
• Cornstarch: Necessary for thickening the pudding. Be sure to mix a bit of the oat milk with the cornstarch first before adding it in to prevent clumping. The full instructions for this are in the recipe card below!
• Vanilla: For flavor, yum!
• Coconut condensed milk: Coconut condensed milk can be hard to find in some grocery stores (it is not the same as coconut milk), but it’s a great vegan replacement for traditional condensed milk! The brand I use is called Nature’s Charm, which you can find HERE. You may also be able to find oat milk condensed milk at specialty grocery stores. Note that canned coconut condensed milk has cane sugar in it. If you want to keep this recipe 100% refined sugar free, jump to the FAQ section below to see how to make your own coconut condensed milk at home with maple syrup.
• Heavy whipping cream: You can substitute heavy whipping cream with cold coconut cream, if vegan. All you have to do is place a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight and then scoop out the thick cream that naturally separates at the top. OR, you can also substitute heavy whipping cream with whipped topping like Cool Whip – no need to whip it beforehand when using it with this recipe. Just add it directly to the pudding.

And, of course, a few bananas!

HOW LONG DOES THIS BANANA PUDDING TAKE TO MAKE?

You may take a look at the banana pudding recipe below and say WHOA, 6 hours??

That’s not entirely accurate – this recipe will take only about 25 minutes of active time to make. The pudding will need to cool in the fridge, and the assembled banana pudding will need to sit in the fridge for about 4 hours to set. This gives the cookies and bananas time soften so that the flavors blend together and the banana pudding is nice and scoopable.

So, keep in mind that the majority of the time calculated for recipe is just resting time. Full details are below, but here’s the gist of it:

• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Bake time: 25 minutes
• Rest time: 6 hours

HOW TO STORE THIS BANANA PUDDING?

Keep in mind that this healthy banana pudding recipe is best the day it’s made (or, the day after, if you choose to rest the banana pudding in the fridge overnight). Over time, the bananas will brown and the pudding will start to thin the longer it sits in the fridge.

So, I’d say that this banana pudding recipe has a 1-2 day shelf life, max. Not exactly a dessert that you want to meal prep, but it will still be delicious to serve the day after you make it.

Plus, this recipe is so good I doubt you’ll have leftovers, anyway!

Anyway, you can store the banana pudding in a sealed container in the fridge. It will still taste great for about a day or two.

MAGNOLIA BAKERY BANANA PUDDING FAQ

1. Can I use store-bought Nilla wafers instead of homemade?
Yes, you can! You do you. I prefer to make my own cookies from scratch because I like to know exactly what’s in them. There are a lot of tasty refined sugar free, gluten free vanilla cookie options available in stores these days. Feel free to try one of those for this recipe if you don’t want to use traditional Nilla wafer cookies either.

2. Do I have to use almond extract in the cookies?
Nope! The almond extract in the cookie recipe is totally optional. If you don’t love the flavor or don’t have it on hand, just leave it out.

3. Can I use dairy milk and regular butter instead of the vegan versions?
Absolutely. This recipe is very adaptable. Just replace the oat milk, vegan butter, and coconut-based ingredients with traditional dairy products if desired.

4. What’s the best substitute for coconut condensed milk?
If you’re not vegan, you can use regular sweetened condensed milk. You may also be able to find oat milk condensed milk at specialty grocery stores. If you are vegan and can’t find coconut condensed milk, you can also try making your own by simmering a can of full fat coconut milk with about 2 tbsp – 1/4 c of maple syrup or granulated sugar until thickened.

5. My pudding looks chunky—is that normal?
Yes! Once cooled, the pudding mixture will appear thick and a bit chunky before it’s blended with the condensed milk and whipped cream. Then it becomes smooth and fluffy. I promise.

6. Can I freeze the banana pudding?
I don’t recommend it. Freezing the banana pudding can cause the pudding to become watery and the texture of the bananas to change. It’s best enjoyed fresh.

7. Can I use coconut cream instead of heavy cream?
Yes! For a vegan option, use the thick part that comes from a can of refrigerated coconut milk. Just make sure to chill the can overnight and whip the cream before folding it in.

8. My cookies are soft after baking—did I do something wrong?
Nope! The cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool. Make sure they’re fully cooled before layering into the pudding.

9. How many servings does this make?
I used a small-ish glass bowl for this recipe, which would easily serve about 6 people. Feel free to double or triple the recipe and use a larger bowl to increase the serving size.

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If you love this recipe be sure to leave a review! And feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments via my Contact page. You’ll hear back from me soon!

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