This banana pudding trifle is a delicious layered dessert, with layers of Nilla Wafer Cookies, Banana Slices, Vanilla Pudding, and Whipped Cream. It’s a beautiful spring, and summer dessert!
I love banana pudding desserts, and may have a few banana pudding recipes on our site, and this banana pudding trifle is a new favorite to add to the mix. It’s got delicious layers, that come together to make such a tasty dessert that is perfect for any spring or summer event.
It’s perfect for spring and summer, but could also be delicious in the fall or winter! This banana pudding trifle would be so good for Easter, a baby shower, summer potluck, you name it! And how good would it be for a Thanksgiving dinner dessert? It’s no-bake, easy to make, and only has a few ingredients.
This banana pudding trifle is so delicious – it’s creamy, and sweet, with the perfect vanilla flavor, and slices of banana throughout. The Nilla Wafer cookies soften and become almost cake like in the pudding, and it’s all a match made in heaven.
Ingredients Needed to Make Banana Pudding Trifle:
- vanilla pudding mix
- milk
- sweetened condensed milk
- heavy cream
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar
- bananas
- Nilla Wafers
How to make Banana Pudding Trifle?
Start by making the vanilla pudding. You’ll mix a pudding mix (the powder), with milk (not the amount called for on the box, but the amount in the recipe) and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk them together for a couple minutes. Set the pudding aside.
Then make the whipped cream. Beat your heavy cream and vanilla extract at high speeds with a hand mixer, or stand mixer, until stiff peaks are formed. Scoop about 2 cups of the whipped cream out of the bowl, and fold it into the pudding mix. Stir sugar into the remaining whipped cream.
Layer Nilla Wafers, Sliced Bananas, Pudding, Whipped Cream, and repeat 2 more times, in your trifle dish. Sprinkle the top with a few more Nilla Wafers crushed up. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
This banana pudding trifle should stay good if covered in the fridge for about 3 days. Any longer than that and the bananas will get very brown and the cookies very mushy. The layers may start to break down and get watery too.
Tips for Making Banana Pudding Trifle:
- The bananas will start to turn brown the longer they are out. You can toss them in a mixture of water and fresh lemon juice to help delay this process for a bit.
- This Banana Pudding Trifle needs to be made a few hours in advanced to really let the Nilla Wafer cookies soften and to help the flavors of the dessert meddle.
- You can substitute cool whip for the fresh whipped cream if you’d like to save a step. It may be a bit sweeter than the fresh whipped cream, but will work fine. You’ll want about 6 cups of cool whip.
- If you want a stronger banana flavor, you can substitute banana cream pudding for the vanilla pudding called for in the recipe.
- To get the layered look with the wafer and bananas as pictures, you will need to arrange a ring of them around the outside of the trifle dish, then fill in the middle of the ring with the rest. You may need more bananas and Nilla Wafers if you do this, than if you don’t, but that should be as called for in the recipe.
- You can also make your banana pudding trifle in individual jars, instead of one big serving dish.
This layered banana pudding trifle is a delicious, easy, no bake dessert that everyone will love. It’s a show stopper of a dessert, with the beautiful layers in the trifle dish, but it also doesn’t take too long too make. Win, win!
More banana pudding recipes:
- Banana Pudding Poke Cake
- Banana Icebox cake
- Banana Cream Pie Bars
- Banana Cream Pie with Pudding Mix
- Banana Cream Cookies
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Banana Pudding Trifle
Ingredients
- 5.1 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2 cups milk
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 TBS powdered sugar
- 5-6 large bananas
- 11 oz Nilla Wafers
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the vanilla pudding powder, milk, and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk together, then continue whisking for another 2 minutes. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the heavy cream and vanilla extract, and beat the heavy cream over high speed (with a stand mixer, or hand mixer) until stiff peaks have formed.
- Scoop 2 cups of the whipped cream into the pudding, and fold them together.
- Add powdered sugar to the remaining whipped cream, and whip the sugar into the heavy cream.
- Layer Nilla Wafers on the Bottom of the trifle dish (My trifle dish is 3 Quarts, and I recommend one that size, or bigger)
- Peel your bananas and cut them into slices.
- Spread a layer of bananas over the Nilla Wafer Cookies.
- Add about 1/3 of the pudding on top of the bananas. Spread it out evenly.
- Spread about 1/3 of the whipped cream over the pudding layer.
- Repeat with another layer of Nilla Wafers. (If you want the look like photographed, add Vanilla Wafer cookies standing up along side the outside of the trifle dish, then fill in the middle with more cookies).
- Spread another layer of bananas, pudding, then whipped cream. Then Nilla Wafer, bananas, pudding, whipped cream. (For the top banana layer to be seen, set some of the banana slices standing up on the outside of the trifle dish)
- Crush up a few remaining Nilla Wafer cookies and sprinkle over the top of the trifle.
- Cover the trifle with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.
kim says
So I am not using instant pudding correct?
Aimee says
So sorry! Yes it’s instant pudding, I updated the recipe to show that
Miriam Wedel says
You mentioned in describing the layered banana trifle that not all the powder from the pudding should be added but to follow directions In recipe. The recipe calls for 5.1 oz box pudding. Don’t understand that. How much is that???
Aimee says
You use all the powder, but the box calls for 3 cups of milk, and you’ll only add 2. So follow the instructions I give in the recipe box, but not the instructions on the box for the pudding. Does that make sense?