If you are looking for a creamy, tasty, and easy dessert, then our best banana pudding (trifle) recipe is the one you are looking for! I normally have everything on hand I need for this recipe, so when I am in a pinch I can make it in no time.
Sometimes I even have my kids help me make it for a fun thing to do in the afternoon, and then the kids love to enjoy their work for a treat after dinner. This easy banana pudding recipe is a great dessert for after dinner.
For this trifle recipe, you will need fresh bananas, so it is a great recipe to make when your bananas need to be used up. Not to mention this is the best banana pudding recipe you will find, so make sure to pin this one!
Ingredients Needed For The Best Banana Pudding (Trifle)
- Cream cheese
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Instant vanilla pudding mix
- Cold milk
- Vanilla extract
- Frozen whipped topping (like Cool Whip)
- Bananas
- Vanilla wafer cookies
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How To Make The Best Banana Pudding (Trifle)
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add in condensed milk , dry pudding mix, cold milk, and vanilla and mix until completely combined and smooth.
- Fold in half of the Cool Whip.
- Line the bottom of a trifle bowl with vanilla wafers.
- Top wafers with a layer of sliced bananas.
- Spread half of pudding mixture on top of bananas.
- Repeat layers with remaining vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, and pudding.
- Spread remaining Cool Whip on top.
- If desired, sprinkle crushed vanilla wafers on top.
- Chill for 2 hours before serving.
Storage Instructions
- Fridge: Place the Trifle in the fridge and store for up to 2 days.
- Make sure to cover it with saran wrap or tin foil to keep from exposing the dessert and having it dry out
Enjoy More Delicious Trifles Recipes
Puddings are easy enough for home cooks at any level, and they make a great dessert for any occasion. Check out our comprehensive list of all our pudding recipes!
The Best Banana Pudding (Trifle) Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, 1 can
- 5 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix, 1 box
- 3 cups cold milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces frozen whipped topping, (Cool Whip), thawed and divided
- 8 bananas, sliced
- 12 ounces vanilla wafers cookies
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add in condensed milk , dry pudding mix, cold milk, and vanilla and mix until completely combined and smooth.
- Fold in half of the Cool Whip.
- Line the bottom of a trifle bowl with vanilla wafers.
- Top wafers with a layer of sliced bananas.
- Spread half of pudding mixture on top of bananas.
- Repeat layers with remaining vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, and pudding.
- Spread remaining Cool Whip on top.
- If desired, sprinkle crushed vanilla wafers on top.
- Chill for 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- If you don’t have a trifle bowl, you can layer this in 9×13” pan and it will still work great!
- This is best if made and enjoyed on the same day.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Flavor wise it is on point. Texture wise- something went wrong. Followed recipe but vanilla filling part was a thick cake like batter- almost impossible to spread even after adding the whip cream. I would suggest decreasing amount of vanilla pudding mix to make it spreadable. Other than that- most delicious!
Made this for a big family dinner – everyone loved it. It was super easy to make and so good. Thanks for another great recipe!
I really liked this recipe. I did tweak it a bit as the pudding consistency as it was setting was more like a mouse. So I kept that and added an additional layer of instant banana cream pudding instant pudding that I made up and layered in-between. All in all I took this to an event and brought back a clean bowl!
I’ve followed this recipe exactly twice now. It’s SO good!! Personally I think it’s not overly sweet, it’s just right. I think you could easiltly half the amount of sweetened condensed milk or leave it out completely if you prefer.
Help! I followed this recipe, but it was a flop! It was so watery. I used 1% milk. Is that why it didn’t firm up?
That could be part of the problem but it shouldn’t have been watery! It could be a few factors – the type of cream cheese and pudding you used could have played a part