Banana Pudding Jars

These banana pudding jars are the perfect no bake dessert! They're layered with mini nilla wafers, fresh banana slices, my master pastry cream filling recipe, and homemade whipped cream. They're creamy, subtly sweet, and just so so good! Though they don't last too long in the fridge, the pastry cream can be made well in advance, so all you have to do is make the whipped cream and assemble a few hours before serving! 

For more banana recipes, try Brown Butter Banana Bread, Banana Tahini Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Chocolate Glazed Banana Bread Donuts.

Ingredient Notes

• Egg Yolks: You'll need 4 large egg yolks for this recipe. 
• Sugar: Just enough granulated sugar is added to sweeten this pastry cream. You'll also need a tiny bit for the whipped cream. 
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps to thicken the pastry cream to the perfect consistency.
• Milk: I recommend using whole milk for optimum flavor. 
• Butter: Use room temperature unsalted butter. 
• Vanilla: For best flavor, add a touch of vanilla bean paste. It also adds those beautiful vanilla bean specks! Alternatively, add an equal amount of vanilla extract.
• Heavy Cream: Use cold heavy cream for the homemade whipped cream!
• Nilla Wafers: Since these jars are single servings, I used mini nilla wafers!
• Banana: You'll need 1-2 bananas, depending on the size.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

This is truly the easiest and most delicious no bake dessert! Start by making my master pastry cream recipe, then a simple homemade whipped cream, and finally assemble the jars with mini nilla wafers and fresh banana slices. For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Make pastry cream. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together for 2-3 minutes until light in color. Simmer the milk in a saucepan and slowly pour half into the egg-sugar mixture while whisking. Return mixture to the saucepan and whisk while heating for another few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla, then transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill overnight.

STEP 2: Make whipped cream. Beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer while slowly pouring in the granulated sugar until soft peaks form, and no more! It can be easy to over-whip, so watch carefully.

STEP 3: Wafers. Add a layer of nilla wafers to the jar.

STEP 4: Bananas. Add a layer of sliced bananas on top of the wafers.

STEP 5: Pastry cream. Spread a layer of pastry cream on top of the bananas.

STEP 6: Whipped cream. Top with a layer of whipped cream and repeat as needed.

Expert Baking Tips

• It can be difficult to tell when milk is simmering sometimes, so it's best to go by temperature (200 degrees F).
• You can make these jars up to one day in advance. Store left-overs for 1-2 days.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x