This easy Strawberry Banana Pudding recipe is a make-ahead dessert where every bite is layered with whipped cream, ripe bananas, fresh strawberries, plus buttery cookies too!
One of my family’s favorite desserts is banana pudding. With it’s melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich creaminess, there’s a whole lot to love! My classic recipe is inspired by a version from an old Southern cookbook from way to many years ago. When the springtime arrives, I can’t resist adding juicy strawberries to make this Strawberry Banana Pudding version of the dish. Not only is it delicious, but the berries add more natural sweetness too!
It’s a dessert where I like to say, “I keep it simple.” There’s no complicated ingredients and just a hand mixer with a couple of bowls will do the trick. And my favorite part is it’s ideal to prepare in advance for potlucks and parties since it makes a boatload. I love to serve it alongside Coconut Lime Chicken and Broccoli Salad for a flavorful meal.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Great dessert for fruit lovers. All ages and even picky eaters love this fruity banana pudding! Every bite is creamy, tart, and rich with flavor.
- Customize to your liking. You can easily swap the berries, cookies, and whipped cream for your favorite store-bought ingredients.
- Quick treat to prep for a crowd. With just 20 minutes, it’s the simplest make-ahead dessert that will feed a big group. Trust me, everyone will want a second helping!
Kathleen’s Tip: I recommend making the whipped cream from scratch. While Cool Whip works perfectly well (though I’m not a fan!), it only takes an extra 5 minutes of minimal prep to make it homemade. It truly elevates this dessert to be bakery-quality both in texture and flavor, and no yucky ingredients.
Ingredients
Macerate Strawberries:
- Strawberries | Look for berries that are deep red in color; they are sweeter and more flavorful.
- Granulated sugar | Helps to draw out the natural juices of the strawberries to make the most delicious sauce.
Homemade Whipped Cream:
- Heavy whipping cream | You can also use store-bought whipped topping, but we prefer whipped cream from scratch for its richer flavor and creamier texture. If using Cool Whip, thaw first!
- Powdered sugar | Sweetens and stabilizes the cream to hold peaks and the perfect fluffy texture.
- Vanilla extract | A little splash adds caramel and floral notes to every bite.
Pudding:
- Sweetened condensed milk | Thick and sweet to add richness to the pudding.
- Cream cheese | Make sure to soften the cream cheese to room temperature for easy mixing. Adds a hint of savory to balance all of the sweet flavors.
- Cold whole milk | The key ingredient for any instant pudding mix, we love using whole milk for its rich flavor. If you want to make this dairy-free, use unsweetened almond or oat milk.
- Instant Pudding, French Vanilla or Vanilla Pudding | The key mix to make this strawberry banana pudding. We love a rich vanilla flavor to balance the fruity flavors.
- Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract | A little bit adds so much depth of flavor in the pudding.
- Ripe bananas | Make sure they are super ripe, but still a little firm for more natural sweetness and a stronger banana flavor.
- Fruit preserving powder or lemon juice | We use this to prevent the bananas from turning brown in the pudding. The powder I like to use is Mrs. Wages Fruit Fresh.
- Chessman Cookies | A buttery cookie that softens in the pudding as it refrigerates. You can also use classic vanilla wafers or make your own shortbread cookies from scratch.
Get the full recipe in the recipe card below.
How to Make Strawberry Banana Pudding
Step 1 – Macerate the Strawberries
Begin by macerating your strawberries, which will allow time for the syrup to develop. Place sliced strawberries and sugar in a bowl and toss well, set aside on the counter for 30-60 minutes.
Step 2 – Make the Pudding
In a large bowl, combine the milk, pudding mix, and vanilla, then blend with a hand mixer until smooth. Set aside to thicken while you prep the remaining ingredients.
Step 3 – Make the Whipped Cream
Make homemade Cool Whip by whipping heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Step 4 – Combine the Filling
In another mixing bowl, combine the (soft) cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and 2-3 tablespoons of strawberry syrup with a hand mixer until blended and smooth. Fold the homemade whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture, then fold in the pudding mixture, stirring gently until well blended.
Step 5 – Layer the Baking Dish
In a 13×9-inch dish, line the bottom with cookies, then layer with ½ sliced bananas (strain the strawberries, reserving the syrup in the fridge for serving), top with ½ the strawberries.
Spread half of the pudding mixture over the top. Repeat the layering with more cookies; add the remaining sliced bananas and strawberries. Spread the rest of the pudding evenly to cover all the bananas. Top with the final bag of Chessman cookies.
Step 6 – Refrigerate
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to 24 hours before serving. My sweet spot is around 4 hours. May be eaten immediately, but the cookies will be hard. By allowing it to sit in the fridge, this allows the flavors to marry, the texture to settle, and makes for a whole happy mess!
Step 7 – Serve
If desired, serve with a few fresh-sliced strawberries and a drizzle of reserved syrup.
Expert Tips
- Use nicely ripened bananas. This is so important, more important than you think. The riper the banana, the more natural sweetness and richer flavor it has with every bite. You can use as many bananas as you like, more or less than listed in the recipe.
- If you don’t want to make homemade whipped cream, Cool Whip is an option. It’s not my first choice since it contains so many preservatives, but if desired, use a thawed 12-ounce container in the pudding mixture.
- To prevent the bananas from turning brown, sprinkle the slices with a little fruit preserve, like this Mrs. Wages Fruit Fresh.
- Make sure you refrigerate the banana pudding long enough for the cookies to soften. I recommend at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours, but the best amount of time is 4-6 hours in my opinion.
- You can use frozen and thawed strawberries if they aren’t in season. Just drain off the excess juice and reserve it on the side. You can add some of the juice in the pudding, just avoid adding too much where it could become watery.
- Make a smaller version of the recipe. If you need a smaller portion, easily divide the recipe in half and put into a 7×11-inch dish.
Variations & Substitutions
- Use a different flavor of pudding: I’ve tried banana, white chocolate, or cheesecake, and they’re all delicious.
- Swap the strawberries: Feel free to use other berries or a combination of berries.
- There are a couple of cookie options: If you’re using all vanilla wafers, you will need about two boxes. But you can use any type of shortbread cookie you desire. I love Chessman cookies as shown above, or I’ve even made my own using my shortbread recipe.
- Dairy-Free: This gets a little tricky, but it’s possible! Use a dairy-free whipping cream or whipped topping, replace the cream cheese with a vegan cream cheese, along with coconut sweetened condensed milk (make sure you get about 14 ounces). When mixing the pudding, replace the whole milk with almond, oat, or coconut milk. Whew, I think we did it!
- Gluten-Free: Replace Nilla wafers and Chessman cookies with a similar gluten-free cookie.
- Low-Carb: Ditch the cookies altogether! Skip the sugar in the strawberries or just use a little monk fruit sugar replacement. Be sure to purchase a Keto sweetened condensed milk and sugar-free pudding mix and when sweetening your whipping cream, use a powdered sugar replacement.
Storage
This Strawberry Banana Pudding is the best make-ahead dessert! Make it up to 24 hours in advance for the perfect texture and flavor.
If you have any leftover pudding, cover in an airtight container or with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. The bananas may begin to turn brown, but it shouldn’t change the taste.
I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. The texture can become quite watery once it thaws. If freezing is your only option, I suggest enjoying it frozen!
FAQs
You will want to toss the banana slices in a little bit of lemon juice or sprinkle them lightly with fruit preserving powder. When layering the bananas, be sure they are fully covered by the pudding mixture to prevent oxidation.
You may have not whipped the pudding mixture long enough with the hand mixer to allow it to set properly. Try re-whipping again, or even adding additional pudding mix to help stabilize and thicken.
At least 1 hour, but it’s best after 4-6 hours or up to overnight. You are looking for the cookies to soften and the flavors to meld.
More Strawberry Dessert Recipes
Video
Ingredients
Macerate Strawberries – Start 30-60 minutes ahead
- 16 ounces strawberries rinsed and sliced
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Homemade Whipped Cream (Cool Whip)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream see notes if using Cool Whip
- 3 – 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pudding
- 1 batch homemade Whipped Cream or 12 ounces whipped topping, thawed
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups cold milk whole milk (or may use unsweetened almond or oat milk)
- 2 3.4 ounce boxes Instant Pudding French Vanilla or Vanilla Pudding
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 6 – 8 ripe bananas sliced and sprinkled with a little Fruit preserver or lemon juice
- 3 packages Chessman Cookies or similar, see notes
Instructions
- Begin by macerating your strawberries, which will allow time for the syrup to develop. Place sliced strawberries and sugar in a bowl and toss well, set aside on the counter for 30-60 minutes.16 ounces strawberries, ½ cup granulated sugar
- In a mixing bowl, combine the milk, pudding mix, and vanilla, then blend with a hand mixer until smooth. Set aside to thicken while you prep the remaining ingredients.
- Make homemade Cool Whip by whipping heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Place in fridge until ready to use.
- In another mixing bowl, combine the (soft) cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and 2-3 tablespoons of strawberry syrup with a hand mixer until blended and smooth. Fold the homemade whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture, then fold in the pudding mixture, stirring gently until well blended.14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk, 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 batch homemade Whipped Cream
- In a 13×9-inch dish, line the bottom with cookies, then layer with ½ sliced bananas, (strain the strawberries, reserving the syrup in the fridge for serving), top with ½ the strawberries.3 packages Chessman Cookies, 6 – 8 ripe bananas
- Spread half of the pudding mixture over the top. Repeat the layering with more cookies; add the rest of the sliced bananas and strawberries. Spread the remaining pudding evenly to cover all the bananas. Top with the final bag of Chessman cookies.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to 24 hours before serving. My sweet spot is around 4 hours. May be eaten immediately, but the cookies will be hard, allowing it to sit in the fridge, which allows the flavors to marry, the texture to settle and makes for a whole happy mess!
- If desired, serve with a few fresh-sliced strawberries and a drizzle of reserved syrup.
Notes
- If using Cool Whip, you’ll need 12 ounces, thawed.
- We prefer buttery, shortbread Chessman cookies for an elevated dessert, but you may use all Nilla wafers or replace a portion. Lorna Doone’s and other shortbreads may be substituted.
- To make gluten-free and /or dairy-free, see the post for details. Both are possible.
- This Strawberry Banana pudding is the best make-ahead dessert! Make it up to 24 hours in advance for the perfect texture and flavor. But 4-6 hours is my sweet spot.
- If you have any leftover pudding, cover in an airtight container or with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. The bananas may begin to turn brown, but it shouldn’t alter the taste.
- I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. The texture can become quite watery once it thaws. If you do freeze, slice and enjoy frozen.
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