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

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

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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

The Best Avocado Chocolate Mousse
Vegan Key Lime Pie
Crispy Vegan Chicken Sandwich
Vegan Cottage Cheese
The BEST Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Biscuits and Gravy
Easy Vegan Lemon Curd (Dairy Free, Egg Free)
Vegan Crème Brûlée
4 Ways to Make Seitan

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

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.

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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.
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.
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.
See Also
How to Make Kombucha 101: Kombucha Recipe and Brewing Basics
Remove pudding from refrigerator. Stir in 1 cup of vegan whipped topping. Combine thoroughly.
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

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.

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Reader Interactions

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Cassie says
Posted on 9/10/23 at 8:15 pm

Very good! I think next time I would let it sit over night. Otherwise very easy to make and delicious
Reply
- Jessica | Easy Healthy Recipes Team says
  Posted on 9/11/23 at 10:48 am
  So glad you enjoyed it, Cassie!
  Reply
Rosa says
Posted on 8/12/23 at 5:54 am
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
- Megan | Easy Healthy Recipes Team says
  Posted on 8/15/23 at 11:34 am
  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
kennedy says
Posted on 9/28/22 at 9:21 am
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
- Megan | Easy Healthy Recipes Team says
  Posted on 9/28/22 at 10:28 pm
  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
Savannah says
Posted on 8/12/21 at 3:38 pm
This looks so good! Do you think I could substitute oat milk for the almond milk?
Reply
- Anna Claire | Easy Healthy Recipes Team says
  Posted on 10/10/21 at 10:50 am
  
  Sure thing!
  Reply