Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (2024)

HomeCourseDesserts

Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (1)

Cheryl MalikPosted: 05/06/21Updated: 05/26/23

4.50

/5 10 Comments

Jump to Recipe

DFDairy FreeVGVeganVVegetarian

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This vegan banana pudding is a sweet, creamy, dairy-free take on a classic Southern treat. Vegan vanilla pudding layered with bananas and vegan vanilla cookies, with a dollop of dairy-free whipped topping to round it off. Dress it up in individual servings or make a big bowl for yourself.

Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (2)

🍌 What Makes This Recipe So Good

  • This homemade, Southern-style vegan banana pudding is so simple to make, and you don’t need any instant pudding packets to do it!
  • It’s a fantastic make-ahead dessert option. The pudding needs at least 3 hours in the fridge to set up, but you can make it as many as 3 days before you need it!
  • This can be a beautiful, elegant, neatly-layered dessert, or it can be a fun, casual, eat-it-straight-out-of-the-bowl dessert. It’s up to you! Trust me, it’s delicious either way.

Key Ingredients

Whipped Topping – Any kind of store-bought dairy-free whipped topping will work here! I used a container of Cocowhip I found in the freezer section at my grocery store. Alternately, you can chill a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight, then use the thick coconut cream that forms on top as your whipped topping.

Maple Syrup – This is my sweetener of choice for vegan pudding, but you can use any liquid or granulated sweetener you like! For a vegan sugar-free sweetener, try erythritol.

Bananas – Since this is a Southern-style vegan banana pudding, the pudding itself isn’t banana-flavored – it’s vanilla! That’s why fresh bananas are super important. Without them you’ve just got vegan vanilla pudding. Use bananas that aren’t overripe. You don’t want them to be mushy!

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

  • Instead of serving this pudding layered like a trifle, you can make it a chilled vegan banana pudding pie! Take a vegan pie crust, layer slices of bananas on the bottom, then top it off with the banana pudding.
  • Wait until you’re ready to assemble your pudding layers before you peel and slice the bananas. They’ll start to brown when they’re exposed to air, so slicing them too early will affect the texture and the presentation.
  • Traditional Southern-style banana pudding is made with Nilla wafers. If you have trouble finding vegan vanilla wafers, though, use any vegan vanilla cookies you like. You can also make this with vegan graham crackers instead.
Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (3)

🌱 Other Vegan Recipes You Should Try

I hope you love this recipe as much as we did! Be sure to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!

For more delicious, nutritious recipes, head over to our sister site, 40 Aprons.

Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (4)

4.50 from 2 votes

Vegan Banana Pudding

Prep:10 minutes minutes

Cook:30 minutes minutes

Chill:3 hours hours

Total:3 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

This vegan banana pudding is a sweet, creamy, dairy-free take on a classic Southern treat. Vegan pudding layered with bananas and vegan vanilla cookies, with a dollop of dairy-free whipped topping to round it off.

Print Save

8 servings

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot starch
  • 1 15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch turmeric optional, for color
  • 1 9-ounce container vegan whipped topping divided, see Notes
  • 4-5 medium bananas peeled, sliced into discs
  • vegan vanilla cookies to taste

Equipment

  • 2 small bowls

  • whisk

  • Small saucepan

  • Refrigerator

  • Serving dishes

Instructions

  • In small bowl, whisk together almond milk and cornstarch until combined. Set aside.

    Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (5)

  • In small saucepan, heat coconut milk over medium heat. When hot, slowly whisk in almond milk/cornstarch mixture.

  • Simmer until thickened, approximately 7 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.

    Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (6)

  • Stir in vanilla, maple syrup, and salt. If adding turmeric for color, stir in here.

  • Transfer mixture to bowl and let cool at room temperature 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, cover bowl and move it to refrigerator. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours until set and thickened.

  • Remove pudding from refrigerator. Stir in 1 cup of vegan whipped topping. Combine thoroughly.

    Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (7)

  • In dish(es) of choice, layer wafers, then bananas, then pudding. Repeat layers as needed. Top with remaining whipped topping and serve.

Notes

  • Whipped Topping: I used So Delicious Dairy Free Original Cocowhip.
  • Cookies: If you have trouble finding vegan vanilla wafers, you can use any vegan vanilla cookies you like. You can also make this with vegan graham crackers instead.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 283kcal | Protein: 2g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0g | Total Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g | Net Carbs: 34g | Vitamin C: 6mg | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 352mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed,notincluding any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik

Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (8)

Free Recipe eBook

15 Delicious Recipes Made with 10 Ingredients or Less

Eating delicious, healthy food doesn’t have to be complicated.

Get Your Copy

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (9)Cassie says

    Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (10)
    Very good! I think next time I would let it sit over night. Otherwise very easy to make and delicious

    Reply

    • Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (11)Jessica | Easy Healthy Recipes Team says

      So glad you enjoyed it, Cassie!

      Reply

  2. Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (12)Rosa says

    Hello, on the coconut cream do I use all of it or am I skimming the top layer off and throw away the water?

    Reply

    • Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (13)Megan | Easy Healthy Recipes Team says

      Hi! This recipe doesn’t use coconut cream – you’ll need a can of coconut milk, and yes, you’ll use the entire can. It’s heated on the stovetop in step 2.

      Reply

  3. Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (14)kennedy says

    hi, can i remove the whipped topping ? i temporarily live in a foreign country and can’t find that ingredient. i’m actually making it now and will try withou for.. maybe add xanthan gum for thickening. let me know, thanks !!

    Reply

    • Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (15)Megan | Easy Healthy Recipes Team says

      Of course! If you’re able to find coconut cream (or coconut milk) you could whip the coconut cream with a hand mixer (or handheld whisk) for a quick dairy-free whipped cream.

      Reply

  4. Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (16)Savannah says

    This looks so good! Do you think I could substitute oat milk for the almond milk?

    Reply

    • Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (17)Anna Claire | Easy Healthy Recipes Team says

      Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (18)
      Sure thing!

      Reply

Vegan Banana Pudding (Southern Style) - Easy Healthy Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How many calories are in vegan banana pudding? ›

Calories in Vegan Southern Banana Pudding
Calories355.4
Total Carbohydrate67.1 g
Dietary Fiber2.5 g
Sugars28.0 g
Protein4.5 g
8 more rows

What ingredients are in Patti LaBelle's banana pudding? ›

Ingredients for Patti LaBelle's Banana Pudding

To recreate Patti LaBelle's iconic banana pudding, you'll need sweetened condensed milk, cold water, instant vanilla pudding mix, heavy cream, ripe bananas and vanilla wafers.

Is banana pudding a southern thing? ›

It's no secret that Southerners love banana pudding, but bananas hail from the tropics, and the first mention of the layered dessert came not from the South but from the New York Times in 1878, according to food historian Robert Moss for Serious Eats.

Why do my bananas turn brown in banana pudding? ›

If you slice the bananas before the crust and pudding are prepared, you will give them an opportunity to oxidize. Eliminate that opportunity by leaving them in their peels until the crust and pudding are ready. The crust and pudding should wait on the bananas, not the other way around.

What can you use instead of vanilla wafers for banana pudding? ›

What can I substitute for Nilla Wafers in banana pudding? If you're using them as a cookie any small sugar or butter cookie will suffice. OR - Replace vanilla (Nilla) wafers with shortbread cookies. OR - For making a pie or dessert crust you can substitute graham cracker crumbs.

How do you thicken dairy free pudding? ›

Dealing with a runny vegan pudding or salad dressing? Try mixing in a small amount of cornstarch. Rather than mixing the dry cornstarch directly into the food you're trying to thicken, first make a slurry of cold water and cornstarch.

What is Southern pudding made of? ›

This old-fashioned southern banana pudding recipe layers vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, homemade vanilla pudding, and piles of meringue! Eat it warm (the Southern way) or after it's been chilled; a classic dessert that's perfect for weeknight dinners, Sunday suppers, or the fanciest of holidays.

Why is banana pudding so good? ›

Layers of silken custard, sliced bananas, and some manner of vanilla baked good come together to form a dessert greater than the sum of its parts. Banana pudding is a sweet treat loved by many, its legion of fans often possessing very strong opinions about what exactly makes the dish so great.

Why do bananas turn black in pudding? ›

Bananas turn brown due to oxidation, exposure to air. If you're making a banana cream pie, prepare the crust, prepare the pudding and then peel and slice the bananas and place them into the pie crust.

Why do Southerners like banana pudding? ›

According to speculation by food writers and historians like Robert Moss for Serious Eats, this may be because banana pudding was an easy, chilly treat that offered a respite from the South's excruciating heat.

Can dogs eat bananas? ›

Yes, dogs can eat bananas. In moderation, bananas are a great low-calorie treat for dogs. They're high in potassium, vitamins, biotin, fiber, and copper. They are low in cholesterol and sodium, but because of their high sugar content, bananas should be given as a treat, not part of your dog's main diet.

Should bananas be ripe or unripe for banana pudding? ›

And, you don't want them to be overly sweet as they tend to get as they ripen. But MasterClass cautions that you also don't want your bananas too firm for your pudding. Those slices of fruit need to compliment the layers of vanilla wafer cookies and vanilla pudding or custard, and should definitely be ripe.

Does pineapple juice keep bananas from turning brown? ›

Keep cut fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, and peaches from turning brown by: Coating them with an acidic juice such as lemon, orange, or pineapple juice. Use a commercial anti-darkening preparation with fruits, such as Fruit-Fresh®*, and follow the manufacturer's directions.

Are vegan desserts less calories? ›

Vegan desserts certainly can be healthier, as they're often made with more nutritious, less processed ingredients. However, many ingredients can be high in calories, especially when using nut-based butters or milks.

Are vegan desserts high in calories? ›

High in Sugar and Calories: It's important to note that 'vegan' doesn't automatically mean low in sugar or calories. Many vegan desserts are still high in both, which can negate some of the health benefits.

Are vegan desserts lower in calories? ›

Because the ingredients of vegan cakes contain fewer calories than those of regular cakes, you have a lower tendency to gain weight while eating them. However, this depends on your amount of consumption. Like any other thing, eat vegan cakes in moderation.

How many calories are in vegan black pudding? ›

Nutritional Information (Per 100g): Energy 565kj/134kcal, Fat 1.5g of which saturates 0.9g, Carbohydrates 29.4g of which sugars 1.7g, Protein 2.9g, Salt 1.29g.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Kareem Mueller DO

Last Updated:

Views: 6178

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (66 voted)

Reviews: 81% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Kareem Mueller DO

Birthday: 1997-01-04

Address: Apt. 156 12935 Runolfsdottir Mission, Greenfort, MN 74384-6749

Phone: +16704982844747

Job: Corporate Administration Planner

Hobby: Mountain biking, Jewelry making, Stone skipping, Lacemaking, Knife making, Scrapbooking, Letterboxing

Introduction: My name is Kareem Mueller DO, I am a vivacious, super, thoughtful, excited, handsome, beautiful, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.