Baked Banana Pudding
This Baked Banana Pudding is the best version of a Southern banana pudding you will ever make. It has a classic banana pudding base with butter cookies, topped with a meringue that's baked until golden brown. It's a family recipe handed down to me from my grandmother and still a family favorite to this day.
Servings: 9 Servings
Calories: 332kcal
Ingredients
Filling
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup milk divided
- 3 egg yolks
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 2 small bananas sliced ¼-inch
- 1 ½ cups butter cookies or vanilla wafers
Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup marshmallow cream
Instructions
Filling
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and flour. Whisk in evaporated milk, egg yolks, and ¾ cup of the milk until smooth and the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn the pan to medium heat and add butter.
- Stirring constantly, cook until the mixture thickens and comes to a gentle boil. The mixture will appear to bubble or burp. This should take about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove pan from the heat. Whisk in the reserved ¼ cup of milk until smooth.
- Line a 9"x9" pan with cookies. Layer half of the bananas, half of the filing, the remaining bananas, and the remaining filling.
- Spread the meringue over the filling, to the edge of the pan to seal it and prevent it from shrinking as it bakes (see below). Use a spoon to swirl and twist the meringue as you spread it.
- Evenly sprinkle crushed cookies on top, if desired.
- Bake 15-17 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown on top.
Meringue
- In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed with an electric mixer until they become frothy. This usually takes about 1-2 minutes.
- With the mixer still running, gradually add the granulated sugar, a tablespoon at a time, while continuing to beat the egg whites. This process should take about 2-3 minutes until all the sugar is incorporated.
- Continue beating the egg whites until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- Whip marshmallow cream into the mixture for 15 seconds at medium speed.
Notes
Tips:
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- Overcooking the pudding. If you overcook the pudding, you may have bits of egg yolk throughout. Don't worry, it's an easy fix! Just pass the pudding through a sieve to remove the pieces of egg yolk.
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- Use room temperature egg whites for meringue. When making a meringue for the first time, make sure your egg whites are room temperature, this helps greatly with whipping air into them so peaks form quickly.
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- Look for stiff peaks in meringue. To know your meringue is ready, turn the hand mixer beaters upside down and if "peaks" have formed, then it's finished. This means after you add the sugar and it's been fully incorporated into the egg whites, the egg white mixture should look like whipped cream that can hold it's shape.
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- Top with Whipped Cream. If you aren't a fan of meringue, you can simply top the banana dessert with whipped cream like a classic banana pudding.
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- Simply use a hand mixer or stand mixer to whip 1 cup of cold heavy cream with 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar until medium peaks form and it's light and fluffy.
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- Top with Whipped Cream. If you aren't a fan of meringue, you can simply top the banana dessert with whipped cream like a classic banana pudding.
- Banana Pudding is best served fresh and warm from the oven. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. We don't recommend freezing banana pudding since it will change the texture. To make this Southern dessert ahead of time, simply make and assemble the banana pudding layer. When ready to serve, whip up the meringue and bake. It's so easy to make for guests!
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 332kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 235mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 364IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 0.5mg
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