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If you’ve gotten your hands on Chick-fil-A Banana Pudding, consider yourself lucky! They’ve only sold it around Atlanta at their Dwarf House and Truett restaurants and it’s literally the best banana pudding I’ve ever bought.
It’s light and fluffy, very creamy and decadent with fresh banana slices and softened Nilla wafers that turn cake-like from the moisture of the creamy pudding. It tastes more like a grandma’s recipe and not at all what you’d expect at a fast food chain.
This copycat recipe for Chick-fil-A Banana Pudding is very easy to make, requiring little skill in the kitchen and just 15 minutes of prep time. The hardest part about this recipe is having to wait while it sits in the fridge. The time in the fridge is necessary for the pudding to setup and for the nilla wafers to soften and turn into a soft cake texture rather than the crunchy crisp cookies.
Why You’ll Love My Version of Chick-fil-A Banana Pudding
- It’s the BEST banana pudding I’ve ever made and goes down so easily, you’ll surprise yourself at how much dessert you will eat!
- Not Fussy – this is not a dessert that requires skills or a steady hand. It’s a dump-and-go dessert you guys scoop out portions of. It’s low maintenance and doesn’t need perfection in order to look appetizing.
- Perfect for Summer Gatherings – whether you’re bringing this to cookouts and BBQ’s. picnics, Fourth of July parties, etc. It’s a refreshing and light dessert for a warm day.
Key Ingredients
For such a delicious, refreshing and addictive dessert, it’s almost disappointing how short this Chick-fil-A banana pudding recipe list is haha:
Vanilla Pudding Mix – a lot of people assume you’d need banana pudding mix. You actually use vanilla pudding mix, and instead layer in fresh banana slices.
Sweetened Condensed Milk – one can is combined with cold water and mixed into the pudding mix.
Heavy Whipping Cream – whipped up until it’s fluffy and folded into the pudding.
Marshmallow Fluff – a hint of marshmallow is a wonderful addition!
Bananas – fresh slices of banana are layered in the pudding.
Nilla Wafers – the classic choice and my personal favorite. You can sub for Chessman cookies, but they don’t absorb and break down the same way.
How to Make Chick-fil-A Banana Pudding
Prep the Pudding
In a large bowl combine sweetened condensed milk with ice cold water, whisking until it’s well combined. Whisk in the vanilla pudding mix vigorously until there are no lumps. Cover and refrigerate until it’s set up, about 4 hours.
Whip up the cream
Once the pudding is set, in a separate large bowl, whip up the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add in the marshmallow fluff and continue to whip the cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding in increments, being careful not to deflate the whipped cream. Stir until there are minimal streaks remaining.
Assemble the banana pudding
In a 9×13 baking dish or a large bowl, add a layer of Nilla wafers. Top the wafers with a layer of banana slices, then spread on 1/3 of the cream in an even layer. Repeat with two more layers, ending with a final layer of cream on top. Decorate the top as you desire, I like to sprinkle on Nilla cookie crumbs on top.
Why Is My Banana Pudding Runny?
You’ll be surprised at how light and creamy this pudding is when you whip it together. You may ask yourself, hmm, this doesn’t seem like the typical thick banana pudding texture you’re used to eating. Fear not, once it’s assembled, the banana pudding dessert will thicken as the Nilla wafers breakdown and become more cake-like.
Why Use Vanilla Pudding instead of Banana?
The best banana pudding recipes use vanilla pudding. It’s a misconception that they use banana pudding. It’s only called banana pudding because there are banana slices in the vanilla pudding. You are welcome to use banana flavored pudding, but you’ll be disappointed in how artificial it tastes.
How to Avoid Bananas Browning
The short answer is, you can’t. I’ve tried every trick in the book from using greenish less ripe bananas, club soda, working quickly to cover them in whipped cream immediately, etc. Nothing really works to stop them from browning. They don’t taste any different when they turn brown, so if I am just making a batch for family I don’t care (and it tastes so good I don’t think anyone cares!).
But if I am bringing it to a party, I believe the best method is to assemble the banana pudding without bananas at all and instead, slice them fresh when serving the pudding. This is what some restaurants do and is a sure way to have fresh bananas that aren’t discolored.
Looking for More Party Recipes?
Creamy Pea & Bacon Pasta Salad
Candied Bacon Parmesan Crackers
Chuy’s Creamy Jalapeno Dip
I hope you enjoy this Chick-fil-A Banana Pudding recipe. Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback!
If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
Chick-fil-A Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1.5 cups ice-cold water
- 3.5 oz box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2.5 cups heavy cream
- 2/3 cup marshmallow fluff
- 5-6 barely ripe large bananas
- 1 box Nilla Wafers
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine sweetened condensed milk with ice cold water, whisking until it's well combined. Whisk in the vanilla pudding mix vigorously until there are no lumps. Cover and refrigerate until it's set up, about 4 hours.
- Once the pudding is set, in a separate large bowl, whip up the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add in the marshmallow fluff and continue to whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding in increments, being careful not to deflate the whipped cream. Stir until there are minimal streaks remaining.
- In a 9x13 baking dish or a large bowl, add a layer of Nilla wafers. Top the wafers with a layer of banana slices, then spread on 1/3 of the cream in an even layer.
- Repeat with two more layers, ending with a final layer of cream on top. Decorate the top as you desire, I like to sprinkle on Nilla cookie crumbs on top. Refrigerate for another 4 hours at least.
Notes
Here are some additional photos for you Pinterest boards:
almst exact same as magnolia bakery copy cat except for fluff. I don’t get what you mean by the whipped cream deflating but I was as careful as careful can be and it still was like very smooth and silky. not puffy
Deflating whipped cream means the air dissipates and essentially “melts” the whipped cream. It sounds like yours turned out great if it was smooth and silky!
I have been wanting to make this for months and finally got around to it!!! Love love love this so much
I am so happy to hear that! Having a tray of this in the fridge is the happiest feeling!! 🙂
Like alit the recipes.From here .
Thank you Mallory and thank you James(☝🏾the person who left the comment who worked for Chick-Fil-A) I will try both versions Mallory’s version looks like a short cut version for anyone who does not have a lot of time and Jame’s version appears to look like it is made from scratch. Mallory your banana pudding looks AMAZING and I am looking forward to preparing and sharing a picture on your instagram
8 egg yolks
4 cups milk
2 cans sweeten eagle band milk
5tbsp self rising flour
2 cups sugar
Vanilla extact
Butter 1 tablespoon
Alot of Bananas
Lemon juice to coat Naners
2 boxes box of wafers
Large tub of coolwhip
I worked for Chick-fil-A for years dont cheap out on homemade. Add egg yolks, milk, sweetened milk, flour and sugar to large pot. Cook until the thickness u want. I pre mix those before i add the heat. Add the butter and vanilla when the heat is off. Work fast, layer custard cookies bananas like a lasagna. And also cut your bananas first get them a very little green. Coat them with the lemon juice not alot just a little. Put in frig, as you are cooking the custard. Build your base. I like to use the throw away metal pans. Let it set maybe an hour on counter to let it cool down abit. Then put in frig with it covered about a hour to 3ish hours. Then put ur coolwhip, recover it and put in frig. DONT forget this step. Keep it in the frig for about 8 to 12 hours for the favors to set.
Hi James how much butter do we use for your recipe?
Can I substitute Cool-Whip for the homemade whipped cream?
Yes, but if using cool whip, leave out the marshmallow fluff. It’s added to the recipe to mimic the cool whip taste but still keeping the richness of real whipped cream.