This Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding Recipe has layers of creamy pudding, bananas, and Nilla wafers. It's heaven and way easier than you think! This is the ACTUAL banana pudding recipe from their cookbook.
In a large bowl, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and 1 ½ cups ice cold water until well combined - about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well - about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set. It will be watery if you don't let it set up long enough.
In a large bowl, whip the 3 cups heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until no streaks of pudding remain.
Dessert can either be made in individual portions or in a large glass bowl with 4-5 quart capacity (a 9x13 baking dish also works).
To assemble dessert, arrange 1/3 of the Nilla wafers covering the bottom, overlapping if necessary. Next, layer 1/3 of the bananas, and 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer. Cover tightly and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, no longer (because bananas will start to brown - see Notes for tips on preventing browning).
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 grams
Reviews
George on 2026-07-18 (5 stars): Please forgive me for overlooking this recipe because it has instant vanilla pudding. I was wrong and I admit it! I did use the French vanilla instant pudding because I thought it would give a little extra to this already incredible recipe. There is a reason that it is such a highly rated recipe despite my original doubts and being a snob.
I made the recipe in 2 stages. Per the instructions, I mixed the box of instant pudding with the sweetened condensed milk and refrigerated it overnight. I mixed in the whipping cream today and assembled the banana pudding in a 9 x 13 dish. The pudding is tasty that I may not reveal that it took no time to make. No standing over a stove with a double boiler or praying that your eggs don't scramble while making it in a pot.
This was simple and fast! I honestly don't like really sweet desserts and I don't think its overly sweet - just perfect.
So I will tell everyone that I toiled in the kitchen for hours. Ssshhh...its our secret. Don't rat me out!
Carol Caron on 2026-07-13 (5 stars): Yes. You are basically substituting the water and condensed milk in this recipe for what the box calls for.
Tamara Terrill on 2026-07-06 (5 stars): Love this recipe. I use milk in place of the ice water and had no problems with the pudding/whipped cream losing volume the next day. This recipe as written works beautifully. So many compliments!
Lisa F on 2026-06-27 (5 stars): I have made this recipe multiple times and it’s always delicious. People are now asking me to make this for their special events. It’s such a hit.
Stacy Chatterton on 2026-06-21 (5 stars): I made this for Father’s Day dessert and it was a big hit. We love Magnolia Bakery in NYC and this comes close. Thanks for sharing. ❤️
Georgeanne Mills Kaut on 2026-06-21 (5 stars): Can't beat it. What my Grandmother made growing up tastes so similar to this recipe!
Alex K on 2026-06-18 (5 stars): Excellent, makes great dessert cups/deli ccontainer trifles. Still works with Biscoff/Shortbread instead of nilla. Biscoff was the cheapest while still feeling like an elevated dessert cookie for this dish.
I added real vanilla pod to the pudding for extra depth, and very importantly for the texture's shelf-life in the fridge I whipped my cream with stabilizer (compositionally its just like instant pudding mix, mostly its modified starch, I use 'Whip It'), this allowed the whipped cream to get VERY airy without splitting, and remain airy when folded into the pudding for several days. Folding unstabilized whipped cream into pudding does not retain the same airiness.
Jay Wahoo on 2026-06-18 (5 stars): Made this today since I had all the needed ingredients. Delicious and will definitely make this again and again.
I use banana pudding instead of vanilla everytime I make banana desserts.
