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A square image of a casserole mounded with banana pudding about 1 1/2" above the top of the dish. The fluffy pudding has vanilla wafers all over its top.
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Fluffy Roasted Banana Pudding

Layered banana pudding with banana milk-dipped vanilla wafers, roasted banana pudding folded together with whipped cream, and sliced bananas.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chill Time 12 hours
Total Time 13 hours
Servings 12 servings
Calories 315kcal
Author Jennifer Field

Ingredients

For the Roasted Bananas

  • 3 large ripe bananas unpeeled

For the Banana Milk

  • 24 oz whole milk 3 cups
  • 3 roasted bananas peeled, from above
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Roasted Banana Pudding

  • 23 oz banana milk reserve the rest for dipping the cookies
  • 8 oz half and half or whole milk, 1 cup
  • 5.5 oz granulated sugar about 2/3 cup
  • 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornstarch level
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt I use Morton's. If using Diamond, increase to a scant 1 teaspoon
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and cut into 3-4 pieces optional
  • 4 egg yolks

For the Whipped Cream

  • 12 oz heavy cream 1 1/2 cups
  • 2.5 oz granulated sugar 1/3 cup
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt use a scant 1/2 teaspoon if using Diamond
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For Layering

  • 3-4 bananas sliced thinly, no more than 1/4"
  • 1 box vanilla wafers if using homemade vanilla wafers, go for roughly 60 cookies

Instructions

For the Roasted Bananas

  • Set a rack in the center of your oven and heat to 350F. Line a half-sheet pan with a piece a parchment.
  • Peel the stickers of the bananas and place the bananas on the pan.
  • Once the oven is hot, bake for 30-40 minutes, or until deep, mahogany brown. The bananas may split in a couple of places and leak some Banana Stuff out. That's fine.
    A collage of two images side by side. On the left are three, dark brown, roasted bananas on a sheet pan. The second photo shows one banana sliced open to reveal the roasted banana within the peel.
  • Remove from the oven, and let cool until easy to handle. If not already split, use a sharp paring knife to cut each banana open from top to bottom and pull out the roasted fruit. If there are any weird, stringy bits on the outside of the fruit, peel those off. Set aside.

For the Banana Milk

  • In a high-speed blender (or the blender you have), combine the whole milk, roasted bananas, and vanilla and blend until the bananas are liquefied.
  • Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. There shouldn't be much left behind in the strainer. Pour 24 ounces (by weight) into a large saucepan for the pudding, and reserve the rest for dipping the cookies.
    A collage showing blending roasted banana with milk in preparation for making banana pudding.

For the Roasted Banana Pudding

  • In the saucepan with the banana milk, add the 8 oz half and half, 5.5 oz sugar, 4 level Tablespoons flour or cornstarch, vanilla bean (if using), and the egg yolks.
  • Whisk all the ingredients well to break up the eggs, and over medium to medium-high heat, cook, stirring frequently and then constantly as the pudding heats up, until it comes to a boil. If you used flour, reduce the heat to medium-low and let boil for about 30 seconds, or for about 2 minutes if you used cornstarch.
  • If you did not use a vanilla bean, whisk in 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract off the heat.
  • Strain through a fine-or-medium mesh strainer into a bowl. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding, and let it cool for about 30 minutes. Then refrigerate for about 2 hours or until the pudding is around room temperature. It doesn't have to be cold, but it shouldn't be warm either.
  • Once cool, whisk to loosen the pudding and then gently whisk in about half the whipped cream (see below). Fold in the remainder of the cream with a whisk or spatula, gently but thoroughly, until no white streaks of cream remain. Get ready to assemble!

For the Whipped Cream

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine the 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, 2.5 oz sugar, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
  • Whip to medium-stiff peaks. When you pull the beater straight out of the cream and then turn it upright, the peaks should curl over like waves.

Layering the Pudding

  • In a 1 1/2 quart or 2 quart casserole or container of your choice, spread a thin layer of the roasted banana pudding in the bottom. One at a time, dip vanilla wafers briefly in the banana milk (you will have more banana milk than you need), and place them in an even layer over the pudding. Top with a layer of sliced bananas.
  • Repeat layering process with half the remaining pudding, banana milk-dipped cookies, and sliced bananas.
  • Top with the rest of the pudding, mounding it up if you have to to get it all in. Top with plain, non-banana-milk-dipped vanilla wafers.
    A collage of 6 images showing the layering of fluffy banana pudding components in a casserole dish.
  • Cover the pudding with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for about 12 hours, or until the vanilla wafers on top are softened all the way through.
  • Scoop out servings as desired and dig in.

Notes

Storing

Keep leftovers, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days. Do not freeze. For best texture eat within 3 days.
It may get a bit watery in the bottom of the dish after 3 days or so. That's sort of what banana pudding does. You could try blending a teaspoon of instant clear jel with the sugar before adding it to the cream. That may help keep it from weeping a little, but you still have the fresh banana to contend with. 

Variations

If you want roasted banana intensity throughout your pudding, roast the bananas for layering with the rest of the bananas. Take them out of their skins and mash them really well. Taste and see if they could use a little sugar or a pinch of salt. Use this "banana jam" in place (or in addition to) the fresh, sliced bananas.
Experiment with using different cookies to make the layers. for example, gingersnaps would be excellent with bananas.
Use double layers of cookies for more cake-like layers if you want.
Consider making these as individual parfaits in ramekins, wine glasses, small trifle bowls, etc. Try to keep servings to no more than 6-ish ounces, especially if serving after a big meal.

Small-Batch Roasted Banana Pudding Amounts

(follow the same directions in the main recipe)
These amounts should yield servings for 4. I'd use individual dishes for these and eyeball how much of each component you add to each serving.
For the Roasted Bananas
  • 1 banana, unpeeled
For the Banana Milk
  • the roasted banana
  • 8 oz (1 cup) whole milk
For the Roasted Banana Pudding
  • 7 oz banana milk (scant cup)
  • 2.5 oz half and half (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1.8 oz sugar (scant 1/4 cup)
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons flour or cornstarch (4 1/2 teaspoons)
  • healthy pinch of kosher salt
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split (optional)
  • 1 egg yolk
For the Whipped Cream
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar (4 1/2 teaspoons)
  • pinch of salt
  • wee splash of vanilla
For Layering
  • 1-2 bananas, sliced
  • about 30 vanilla wafers
 

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 190mg | Potassium: 374mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 703IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 0.5mg