My Famous Banana Pudding {Recipe}

Ok, well maybe its not famous yet!  But I am sure after putting it out in blogland it will become  famous!  Why?  Because it is super duper delicious!  Have you ever been to Lucille’s BBQ Restaurant?  They have really yummy banana pudding but of course its like $5 or more for a serving of it.  My dad LOVES it.  So, I decided to figure out a way to make banana pudding that is just as yummy and costs about $5 for a huge bowl!  I think mine is better than Lucille’s!

Here’s how to make it.  It is SUPER easy and fast…just allow plenty of time to chill because cold pudding is so much better!

Mix up the pudding mix, and milk.  Then add the sweetened condensed milk and optional cream cheese.  EASY!  Notice the little lumps?  I didn’t soften my cream cheese enough.  And just so you know, I also FORGOT the sweetened condensed milk!  I wondered why it was so thick!  I added extra milk to thin it out.  It was still really yummy but I thought something wasn’t quite right!

While you are mixing up those things above, let your Kitchen Aid whip your cream till it is stiff but not starting to turn into butter! 

Now, fold those cream into the pudding mixture.  Try not to beat the crap out of it.  Just fold it together until it is well combined.

How easy was that?  Put it in your fridge and let it get nice and cold.  This takes several hours.  To speed it up, put it in a shallower dish.  Once you are ready to serve it you can assemble it.  Today I did it in a trifle dish.  But if you are going to a picnic or something you can use a baking dish.  Or you could so individual puddings in some cute parfait glasses or even clear plastic cups.  Whatever suits your needs.

Layer in some sliced perfectly ripe bananas. If you won’t be eating it immediately, I would suggest dipping your bananas in some lemon juice or pineapple juice to help reduce browning.

Then layer in some pudding, then more bananas, then pudding…you get the idea.

Top with Nilla Wafers or even Oreos.  They will get soggy pretty quickly so don’t put them on till right before.  Also, bring extras in case some people want more with their pudding.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Banana Pudding

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 ½ c. cold milk
• 1/2 large box instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 small box instant banana pudding mix
• 2 c. cream, whipped
• 2 to 4 ozs. cream cheese, softened (optional…this gives it a little tang which sometimes I like and sometimes I don’t.  Try it both ways and see what you prefer)
• sliced bananas (dip in lemon juice to keep from browning if you want)
• vanilla wafers or Oreo cookies

Directions: Using and electric mixer, mix the pudding mix with the milk. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk.  Add in the optional cream cheese.  Chill while you whip the cream.  Optionally, you can let your Kitchen Aid whip the cream while you mix everything else together.  Just don’t forget it or you will make butter! Fold cream into pudding mixture. Serve with sliced bananas and either Oreos or Nilla wafers. SO GOOD!