banana pudding with eagle brand milk

If you’re looking for something sweet, creamy, slightly fruity, and downright addictive, this Eagle Brand banana pudding is for you.

It’s luscious and moreish with just the right amount of smooth, creamy pudding and tender, crumbly vanilla wafers.

Plus, it’s loaded with sliced bananas for natural sweetness.

Did I mention it’s crazy-easy to make? All you’ll need is some condensed milk, vanilla pudding, Cool Whip, and store-bought cookies.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to dig in!

Eagle Brand Banana Pudding

If you’ve ever tried a certain New York City bakery’s banana pudding, you might think that this has to be a complicated recipe full of fancy ingredients and techniques.

Well, let me tell you: even that uber-famous bakery uses instant pudding!

Mix the instant pudding with condensed milk for the most creamy and decant pudding ever, then lighten it up a little with either Cool Whip or whipped cream.

From there, it’s just a matter of layer pudding with vanilla wafers and banana slices. How easy is that?

The Best Bananas for Banana Pudding

I’m so used to advising you to bake with brown and spotty bananas that it feels weird to suggest the opposite!

In most baked goods, you want soft and sweet bananas that are overly ripe and basically mushy.

They’re not very pleasant to eat alone but work wonders in banana bread.

But for this recipe, you’ll want fresh, ripe bananas that are firm enough to hold their shape.

That means they should be yellow. No brown or green spots here, please!

Why Use Vanilla Pudding?

Vanilla pudding is best for this banana pudding dish because banana pudding has a very synthetic taste. Instead, you’ll add lots of fresh and flavorful banana slices, which will add all the banana flavor you need. Also, vanilla helps to balance the flavors out, so nothing is too overwhelming.

Let’s be honest, anything banana flavored is similar to vanilla essence. It’s way too strong and tastes unnatural.

Don’t get me wrong; I love banana pudding! But in this case, it’s too much against the sliced bananas.

Of course, you could always make your own banana pudding with real fruit for something much more subtle and delicious.

And you could even make your own vanilla pudding. But the beauty of this recipe is that it’s so easy. So go ahead and use the box!

How Do You Ripen Bananas for Banana Pudding?

To ripen bananas for banana pudding, try storing them in a warm area of your kitchen. Alternatively, keep them in a bunch and store them in a brown paper bag. Close loosely with an apple inside and leave for one to two days, depending on how green they are.

I don’t recommend using the oven to ripen bananas for banana pudding because they will turn brown too fast.

Instead, try to find either ripe bananas in the store or bananas that are just slightly green. Trust me; it’s worth the wait.

If you know you want to make this over the weekend, try buying slightly green bananas on Wednesday or Thursday and store them in a paper bag. They should be ready by Saturday.