Buttermilk Banana Pudding With Salted Peanuts

By Grant Melton

Total Time: 45 minutes, plus chilling
Rating: 4(460)
Notes: Read community notes

Banana pudding typically sits on the sweeter side of the dessert spectrum. Despite layers of instant pudding, vanilla cookies, sliced bananas and meringue or whipped cream, the sweet snack can feel a little one-note. But with a few simple tweaks and some new ingredients, it can feel fresh. The addition of buttermilk gives the custard a tangy zip of acidity, and tossing the Nilla Wafers with salted brown butter imparts a nutty, caramel-like flavor. Sour cream is incorporated into the whipped-cream topping, which helps the heavy cream stay firm while refrigerated and turning this into a fail-proof make-ahead dish. Garnishing the top with some more crushed cookies and chopped salted peanuts provides the pudding with crunch.

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 servings

For the Pudding

2cups whole milk
½cup heavy cream
1teaspoon vanilla extract
¾cup granulated sugar
4egg yolks
2tablespoons cornstarch
½teaspoon kosher salt
1cup buttermilk

For the Cookie Layer

4tablespoons salted butter (½ stick)
1(11-ounce) box vanilla wafer cookies, such as Nilla Wafers

For the Whipped Cream

1½cups heavy cream
½cup sour cream
½cup confectioners’ sugar

For Assembling

4large bananas, sliced
½cup salted peanuts, chopped

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Prepare the pudding: Add milk, heavy cream and vanilla extract to a medium saucepan and heat over medium. Meanwhile, whisk together sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch and salt in a medium heatproof bowl. Once the milk begins to bubble slightly around the edges, remove from heat. Slowly pour a ladleful of the warm milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Continue to slowly incorporate the rest of the warm milk, ladle by ladle, into the yolk mixture until thoroughly combined.
Step 2
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat over medium. Whisk until the mixture begins to bubble and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the warm pudding into a large heatproof bowl and let cool for 5 minutes before whisking in the buttermilk. Place plastic wrap over the pudding, gently pressing the wrap to touch the top of the pudding. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before using.
Step 3
Prepare the cookie layer: Add the salted butter to a large sauté pan or deep skillet and melt over medium-low. Cook, stirring often, until the butter begins to foam. Once the butter gives off a nutty scent and darkens to a caramel-like color, about 4 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and add the wafers. Toss the Nilla Wafers to coat them with butter. Set aside.
Step 4
Prepare the whipped cream: Whip 1½ cups heavy cream in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer on medium-high until it forms soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer and add the sour cream. Turn the mixer on low and gradually add the confectioners’ sugar. Once incorporated, whip on high until the cream has formed soft peaks again. Set aside.
Step 5
Reserve 12 Nilla Wafers for garnish. Pour the rest of the cookies into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and arrange in an even layer. Scatter the sliced bananas evenly on top. Pour the chilled pudding over the bananas and spread the pudding in an even layer to coat. Top with the whipped cream mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours).
Step 6
Place the remaining Nilla Wafers in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Remove the pudding from the refrigerator and garnish with crushed cookies and chopped peanuts just before serving.

Ratings

4 out of 5

460 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Erin5 years ago

That's called strawberry pudding.

natballer4 years ago

LOVE THIS RECIPE! I did have a similar result as others regarding the thickness of the pudding. What came off the stove was nice and thick and then the cup of buttermilk did thin it out significantly. After a night in the fridge I would still say it was a pudding but just on the thin side of pudding textures. I may use 3/4 of a cup instead of the full cup of buttermilk next time. I also may reduce the sour cream next time as I had to add more sugar to compensate for the too sour for me taste.

John4 years ago

i made a big batch for a friends birthday and it was a big hit! honestly better than i thought it would be. i think the sour cream ratio in whip cream is wrong and needed to be adjusted. it got on the verge of taco dip

Lulucooks4 years ago

I had a similar issue. After it cooled I reheated it, let it come to a light boil, and it thickened nicely. The description implies that you don’t boil it, but you absolutely do.

D5 years ago

If it didn’t set up, you didn’t cook it long enough on the stove. It needs to get hot enough to cook the egg yolks and corn starch so they thicken the pudding

eva4 years ago

My pudding thickened nicely, and then after I added the buttermilk, it got thin and didn’t set in the fridge. Such a bummer, because it was perfectly good pudding before that step! Wondering what went awry...

cookingforfun4 years ago

Having confessed to my general pudding struggles, I will say that my daughter and I really liked this recipe. I didn’t do the peanuts, but I liked the tang of the buttermilk and creme fraiche. Without the creme fraiche/whipped cream mixture, I would have found the pudding sweeter than I prefer, but it was perfect (for me) with it.

Im Soooo Confused!4 years ago

Can someone who knows more about puddings than I do please explain why the buttermilk is not cooked along with the rest of the milk mixture? It makes no sense to add a cup of any type of milk to a thickened cooked pudding. Of course its going to thin the pudding. So why do it???

Smells Funky, Tastes Great, But Less Buttermilk3 years ago

I ran into the issue everyone else did, my pudding was too thin. I can confidently say that it's due to too much buttermilk. Knowing that the pudding was an issue, I tried to make sure I cooked my pudding until it was thick. Ended up getting a nice consistency, but it thinned out big time once the buttermilk was added. I like the flavor it gives the pudding, but I would go with maybe 3/4 c or even 1/2 c next time (because there will be a next time with this recipe).

D5 years ago

Realistically, you can make this with whatever you want. The main recipe here is for a buttermilk pudding—swap it out with whatever fruit or cookies you want. Bananas with Oreos and Nutella swirl. Strawberries with whatever else. Just make sure the fruit isn’t too watery because overnight it’ll get a little weird (and color will change like with strawberries)

Meitra3 weeks ago

I have made this recipe 5-6 times because my family loves it. I don't alter it, and it has come out flawlessly each time. The pudding is not too thin. This is on my top 10 desserts list!

Jack3 months ago

This was delicious and very unique. That being said, I did make one significant change (sorry). I didn't have buttermilk, so I used a scant cup of greek yogurt mixed with enough whole milk to make 1 complete cup as a substitute. Why did I choose to make this recipe without its most crucial, namesake ingredient? Its a long story. Anyway, it was still delicious. Put some custard on the bottom of the dish to help the cookies soften.

Erica Terence1 year ago

This recipe is an absolute winner if you’re a foodie with fond memories of banana pudding. As other commenters have said, dial the buttermilk back to 2/3 of a cup. The consistency will be better and the flavor will be just as good. The peanuts add another dimension - highly recommend them.

danielle1 year ago

Had the same issue with the custard being way too liquidy - definitely was not clear in the recipe that I was supposed to boil it! Texture aside the rest was delicious.

Jeffrey Mendelssohn1 year ago

The effort/taste ratio didn't meet my benchmark here. A lot of time and effort for something that didn't really impress me. I'm going to try Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding Recipe next since that seems quite a bit easier to prepare.

jen1 year ago

You need to actually have this custard on medium for longer than it says - more like 10 minutes. I added one more egg yolk, 1 more tablespoon of cornstarch and barely 1/3 buttermilk, because following the recipe resulted in very soupy custard.

Sondy2 years ago

As others, I found I needed to cook the pudding a bit longer and reduced buttermilk by 1/4 cup. Instead of sour cream, I mixed in some greek yogurt with the whipped cream. FWIW butter browning also took me longer which is usually the case vs written instructions.

pretty good2 years ago

I read the comments about the consistency so I cut the buttermilk down to 3/4 cup and added an extra teaspoon of cornstarch. Flavor is incredible—sweet and tangy. Love the crunchy elements.

Meitra2 years ago

I have made this dessert three times now, and each time I follow the recipe exactly and have had extremely good results. I can't imagine ever making a different banana pudding again! Delightful.

Ohio Cook2 years ago

I'm not a fan of banana pudding, and this recipe didn't change my mind. Family devoured it though. Made it and had some for dessert the same day, but I thought it was better when we had seconds after dinner the next night. Let it sit overnight if you can wait.

Darlene Martin2 years ago

This recipe was a delight. Frothy - almost mousse like. Based on the cooking notes; I tweaked it a bit. I cooked the pudding to a thicker consistency and added slightly less buttermilk after chilling. The comment about the whipped cream/sour cream mixture about not being sweet enough concerned me but I didn't want to add more powdered sugar because it could make it bland and too sweet. I whipped up a batch of caramel dust and topped each portion with a scant spoonful.

Smells Funky, Tastes Great, But Less Buttermilk3 years ago

bluerroses2 years ago

Buttermilk really varies in thickness. What I usually use is on the thin side, but there are some much thicker versions.

Margaret3 years ago

After reading the comments it appears this recipe is flawed and needs attention and readjustment from its original scrivener. Until then I shy away from saving it as is.

Todd3 years ago

This was wonderful as written. As a small note, garnish each dish with finely chopped peanuts/crushed wafers just as you serve. It’s a nicer presentation. Also, I added bittersweet chocolate shavings.

Irene3 years ago

Delicious pudding! I didn’t have any buttermilk so I added half milk and half yoghurt, which lent a pleasant tang. When assembling, I thought the ratio of Nilla wafers to pudding was very high, so I didn’t use all the cookies. Mixing them with the browned butter was amazing!

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