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This gluten free banana pudding takes a classic Southern dessert to another level with banana puree cooked right into the smooth, creamy pudding.
It isn't fussy or fancy, or weird. There's no cream cheese or instant pudding. But there is intensely banana-y vanilla pudding with lovely light gluten free wafers, sliced banana, and whipped cream.
Make your own gluten free vanilla wafers, or use store-bought, for the perfect nostalgic dessert made the gluten free way!
Why this recipe works
I'm not Southern, but I do know banana pudding. I've always found the idea of smooth vanilla pudding layered with vanilla wafers and topped with lightly-toasted meringue or fresh whipped cream to be both compelling—and disappointing all at once.
If you're a Southern belle, hear me out! If you're going to make something called gluten free banana pudding, shouldn't it have, well, bananas in the pudding? It should be more than just proximity to bananas that proves the pudding is, indeed, banana. In fact, it should taste like you might imagine a cross between gluten free banana bread and pudding would!
With the puree cooked right into the pudding, the banana flavor really comes alive and is much more satisfying.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
In place of cow's milk, I recommend unsweetened unflavored almond milk or coconut milk (in the carton, not the can). Make sure your vanilla wafers are dairy-free and use coconut cream whipped cream of leave it out.
Egg free
In place of egg yolks, try using 1/4 cup (30 grams) tapioca starch and 1/4 cup (36 grams) more gum-free gluten free flour blend.
Flour blend
The pudding is mostly thickened like a custard with egg yolks, but we add some flour thicken it further. Instead of cornstarch, which has a tendency to leak moisture in a mixture that is cooked and cooled, I prefer our 3-ingredient gluten free flour blend, without xanthan gum since it will gently thicken, rather than gel, the blend. If you'd rather not use a blend, superfine sweet white rice flour, also known as gluinous rice flour, works well, too.
Vanilla wafers
Vanilla wafers are the traditional, but you could use any crispy cookie, like my gluten free shortbread cookies, gluten free gingersnaps, or even make gluten free graham crackers in rounds rather than in rectangular crackers.
Expert tips
This recipe for banana pudding with whipped cream or meringue is pretty simple, but there are still a few things that can go wrong. So follow these tips for the best banana pudding recipe that's sure to impress the whole family.
Blend until smooth
Make sure you blend the granulated sugar, egg yolks, sliced bananas, milk, flour, and salt until completely smooth. You don't want a lumpy pudding mix!
Use gentle heat
Don't let the vanilla extract and milk mixture boil or catch. You only want it to reach a simmer.
Be patient
When adding the milk to the flour and egg yolks, go slowly! The idea is to temper the egg yolks by warming them gradually with the warm, but not burning hot, vanilla and milk mixture. Go too fast, and you'll end up with a split, curdled mess.
Trust the banana pudding process
Don't keep the pudding mix on the heat too long. It will thicken a little as it cooks, but it'll continue to thicken as it cools, too, so don't worry if it's not as thick as you'd like when you take it off the heat. Stick to the timing in this recipe for the best banana pudding, and you can't go wrong.
Prevent a skin with this easy banana pudding hack
To stop your banana pudding forming a skin, transfer the hot mixture to a new heatproof bowl and cover the pudding mix with plastic wrap.
Let the plastic wrap sit right on top of the banana pudding, actually making contact with the surface of the pudding mix. This prevents a skin setting up on top of your banana pudding. Unless you're one of those strange people who like pudding skin, of course!
Make banana pudding layers
While you can have big, thick layers of each ingredient, I like to make my gluten free pudding look a little prettier, by assembling it in lots of thin layers.
Plus, with lots of thin layers, you can hide a layer of chocolate chips, peanuts, or even some crunchy peanut butter among the layers of sliced bananas, gluten free vanilla wafers (or gluten free shortbread cookies), and smooth, banana pudding mix.
Chill before you top
You can chill the pudding mixture cooked but unassembled, or fully assembled but not topped. Whichever you choose, just make sure that you let the pudding mixture chill completely before you add whipped cream.
If your pudding is warm when you add whipped cream, the cream will melt and split and generally create a mess. Ideally, only add whipped cream before you serve. And if you want to keep your toasted meringue pieces nice and crunchy, only add those when you're ready to serve.
Classic Gluten Free Banana Pudding Recipe
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 5 (125 g) egg yolks
- 5 (500 g, peeled) ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4-inch thick disks (See Recipe Notes)
- 4 cups (32 fluid ounces) milk, (any kind, just not nonfat)
- 7 tablespoons (61 g) basic gum-free gluten free flour blend, (40 g superfine white rice flour + 13 g potato starch + 8 g tapioca starch/flour) (or try an equal amount of superfine sweet white rice flour)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 24 homemade gluten free vanilla wafers, or store-bought
- Whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- In a blender, place the sugar, egg yolks, 2 of the sliced bananas (200 g), 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) of the milk, the flour and the salt.
- Blend until very smooth. Transfer the mixture to a medium-size, heat-safe bowl and set it next to the stove.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring the remaining milk and vanilla bean (or vanilla extract) to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat.
- If using a vanilla bean, remove it from the milk and, using a sharp knife, slice it halfway through the length to expose the vanilla seeds. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the milk and whisk to combine.
- In a slow trickle and while whisking the flour and yolk mixture constantly, pour about 2 cups of the warm milk mixture to the bowl with the egg yolk mixture. This tempers the egg yolks by warming them slowly, so they don’t clump and curdle.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat.
- Continue to cook, still whisking constantly, for 3 minutes. The pudding will thicken as it cooks, and will thicken more as it cools.
- Pour the pudding into a separate, heat-safe bowl and cover immediately with a plastic wrap that rests right on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming.
- Allow to cool until no longer hot to the touch. At this point, the pudding can be refrigerated for up to 4 days before assembling the banana pudding. Avoid assembling until you're nearly ready to serve, with just enough time for the final 1-hour chilling.
- In 4 to 6 separate small containers, or one large container, place a thin layer of pudding, followed by a layer of wafers, then a layer of banana slices.
- Repeat the pudding-wafer-banana slices pattern until you reach the top of the container.
- Refrigerate the mixture until chilled, at least one hour. Top with whipped cream before serving.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage instructions
You can store the pudding mixture in the refrigerator for up to four days before serving. For the best results, don't add the topping until you're ready to serve.
What to do with those leftover egg whites
If you're wondering what to do with the 5 egg whites you have after separating out the yolks, instead of topping your gluten free banana pudding with fresh whipped cream, here are some suggestions:
- Make a meringue like we did in our lemon meringue pie in jars.
- Make gluten free ladyfingers, which call for 4 egg whites, total
- Our recipe for gluten free angel food cake calls for about 12 egg whites, so maybe double your pudding recipe!
- Make a couple loaves of the perfect, easy gluten free white sandwich bread, since each calls for 2 egg whites.
Oh.Yum!! So.Making.This….and who the heck says you aren’t already one of the bloggy goddesses…not me, that’s for sure!
I was going to put a link to the Train song, “Hey, Soul Sister” but then I read the lyrics. Not really appropriate. There needs to be a Soul Sister anthem for girls. “Girls Just Wanna Have fun” doesn’t cut it.
Oh, and about your mascot. How about a cartoony Villi since that seems to be the troublemaker. You want it with a Spanish flair? But a sombrero on him. Pancho Villi and the Gluten Revolution!
Oh my god I love Pancho Villi! Do you think he knows Shakira?
xoxo Nicole
I think they did a video together.
I thought so …
Oh this souds so good…but I’ve also got one in the house that is df-can I substitute rice milk and still get a similar consistancy or will it be to runny?
Hi, Rochelle,
I haven’t tried it dairy free, but I have made pudding and custard with soy milk before, and been successful. It shouldn’t be runny unless you use something like rice milk, which tends to be very watery. If you like the flavor, coconut milk would work probably best of all. Enjoy!
xoxo Nicole
Thank you a million times over! You make me feel like I am not the only one. Some days I read your blog and get misty eyed becuase you have such a gift of putting feelings into words and tying them to recipies. Bannana pudding is a BIG deal in our family but there are 2 of us that can’t eat it. I am so excited to try this one. I will even put them in mason jars so everyone will know that the Ian B and I get the special stuff!
Isn’t it funny how our names grow up as we do… I was Jenny B all through school. Now, I have one friend that still calls me that.
Well Nikki, here’s to staying young at heart!
Jenny B
Hi, Jenny B,
I think maybe you get misty because you feel connected? At least that’s what I hope it is. When you’ve felt like “other,” it’s so nice to feel a sense of belonging.
I think that everyone else will be jealous of your pudding in mason jars. I love mason jars. I wish I could squeeze my children into them. They’d be so much easier to keep track of.
I wish my name had never grown up. I never asked anyone to grow it up. They did it without consulting me. ;)
You’re not the only one. You belong here. With me. I’m a lunatic, but I make some mean banana pudding. :)
xoxo Nikki
One of my oldest memories is my family ‘fighting’ over “The Puddin'” that was only served on Tday. Whip cream is not optional in my family! I know good puddin’ and we have missed it without the texture you get for the nilla wafers. I’ve tried it without, I’ve tried it with substitute cookies……never to live up to Grandmother’s. I am gonna try this. If it is awesome you may be my new BFF :D
May I just say Nicole that I love your narratives before the recipe almost more than the recipes sometimes. Is that wrong? I love your recipes too though!
It’s just that I see everyone putting LOL everywhere about all kinds of emails and blogs and rarely if ever do I actually laugh or chuckle audibly. Except for maybe yours…
It is extremely tough to find a blog that I can relate to in a “real person” kind of way. Not boring or stuffy and someone with a life and a family. Thanks for all you do with your blog and your recipes. Just know that I tell everyone to buy your cookbook both in person and online in hopes you can publish many, many more and keep me from having to deal with failed, expensive GF experiments.
Michelle
Hi, Michelle,
You made my day. Because (I think) you feel comfortable here, and because I think you’re really pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down. I know just what you mean about the many “LOLs” where they don’t belong. I only say “LOL” when I mean it. And I usually write it with periods (L.O.L.), since I do really mean it when I say it. That is also one of the big reasons why I don’t feel at home on many other blogs. Not only does the blogger seem bossy, but it makes me mental when I think that there’s a mob mentality among the readers. I find it very isolating. So I have vowed not to spend more than 10 minutes at a time reading other people’s blogs, and to instead just spend more time working on my own.
Thank you so much for evangelizing for me! I really appreciate it. You’re always welcome here. And I am writing another cookbook! It should be out Fall 2012.
Thank you again for the kindness. And the straight dope. :)
xoxo Nicole
And everyone called me Jessi in college….some of them still do…lol
Oooooooo!!! Nomnessssssss!!!!
You. Are. Awesome!!
Amazing Soul sister!
You sound just like the voice in my head! Seriously, no joke. In a good way though!
And yes, I feel pretty awful after visiting some blogs. Not in a poor me way, but sorta like a “I wish I had a smidgen of the coolness these bloggy women have” way.
Keep on going with those Nilla wafers, Gonna make some today, Nom nom!
Hugsies,
Noor
Hi, Noor,
That’s the feeling! That I’ll-never-be-as-supercool feeling. The heck with that! This is all so very easy. Keep in mind that, when I take a photo of the food, I pick the very, very best of the batch of Nilla Wafers, and the very, very best most fluffiest whipped cream, and I crop out the parts that don’t look so pretty. It’s not airbrushed, but it’s not exactly reality, either. The only reason I do that is because my stuff has to look at least a bit aspirational, or you won’t wanna make it. And if you’re not excited about making it, then you’re not gonna try your hand at it. But it’s all completely accessible, from anywhere. If I don’t think an ingredient is readily available pretty much anywhere, I don’t use it in a recipe (or I make sure it’s truly optional).
The love is real. The recipes are do-able. There is no veil. It’s all out there, you know?
Okay. I’ll stop now. :)
xoxo Nicole
Wow. How do you come up with these things…this.looks.absolutely.scrumptious. I need a bigger spoon…:-)
Hi, Linda!
I will definitely get you a bigger spoon. Note to self. Linda doesn’t want to waste any time.
You know, I didn’t really come up with this. You all did! The comments section to the Nilla Wafers post is replete with references to banana pudding!
xoxo Nicole