No.97 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Banana Pudding

Made famous by Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, 1999.

A Southern classic that Magnolia Bakery turned into New York's most famous dessert. People line up for it on Bleecker Street.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.

Ingredients

• 1 can (14 oz / 397 g) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) ice-cold water
• 1 package (3.4 oz / 96 g) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups (720 ml) heavy cream
• 1 box (12 oz / 340 g) Nilla Wafers or other vanilla wafers
• 4 cups sliced ripe bananas (about 4 to 5 bananas)

Steps

1. In a bowl, beat the condensed milk and cold water with an electric mixer about 1 minute, until combined. Add the pudding mix and beat 2 minutes more.
2. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or overnight, until firm.
3. Whip the cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold the pudding into the cream until no streaks remain.
4. In a large glass bowl (4 to 5 quarts), layer a third of the wafers, a third of the bananas and a third of the pudding. Repeat twice, ending with pudding. Save a few wafers to crumble on top.
5. Cover tightly and refrigerate 4 to 8 hours before serving, so the wafers soften. Serve within 12 hours, before the bananas darken.

Chef's tips

• Slice the bananas just before layering.
• Lay plastic wrap directly on the top layer to keep it from browning.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook by Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey: get the book.

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