Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding Recipe (2024)

Hey folks hurling judgement at strangers for using a mix: I’m a “scratch or die” baker but hands down the cookie I bake that sends people into orbit starts with a yellow cake mix and I’m fine with that. The most important ingredient in any recipe is love.

I worked at Magnolia Bakery over 20 years ago. We just made the vanilla pudding mix according to the instructions on the box (i.e. with whole milk). Not sure about this whole sweetened condensed milk with water thing. Sounds overly sweet.

Here are the cookies that start with a yellow cake mix! :)1 brick of cream cheese1 stick of unsalted butter1 egg1 tsp vanilla1 yellow cake mix Powdered sugarPreheat to 325In a stand mixer with the paddle, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Add the cake mix and mix until just combined. Form the dough into 1” balls and roll in the sugar. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. They should be gooey and not brown.

This recipe is often requested by friends and family. I have made in trifle bowls, mason jars and even in pie form (my husband is a banana cream pie fanatic). It is always consistently good and could not be more simple. I always like to crush 5-6 cookies and sprinkle over the top to add a little crunch right before serving.I do not feel the need to do the first step in a stand-mixer, but definitely for whipping the heavy cream. A hand held mixer would work just as well.

This pudding is like a banana flavored taste of heaven! I am so happy to have the recipe now, thank you. To the scolds who don't like cream, artificial flavors or pudding mix, great then don't make the pudding but stop trying to make others feel bad just because you can't find enjoyment in it.

Tried it with Biscoff cookies instead of vanilla wafers - next level!!!

This is the classic southern banana pudding served at holidays. I do not understand the need to make the pudding with condensed milk. I think it makes it too sweet. I just make the pudding with milk as called for on the box. And I prefer the cooked instead of instant pudding. And it helps to coat the sliced bananas in lemon juice. They stay fresh longer and the lemon adds a nice zest.

Toasted, ground pecans, with a little butte,r and salt in lieu of vanilla wafers makes it gluten-free, and maybe better.

My friends go wild when I make this dessert for get together! I don’t bother with a stand mixer for the first step. The water, condensed milk, and pudding mix can be easily mixed by hand. Also, i only use half the can of condensed milk and it is still plenty sweet!!

Why a stand mixer? Wouldn't a hand-held mixer with whisk work?

Totally agree!! Please share your yellow cake mix cookie recipe... ;)

In remembrance of my grandmother, we put egg white meringue on the finished pudding, which was then browned with a small kitchen torch: it was delicious!

Water was used to thin out the condensed milk. Condensed milk is also sweetened as well as evaporated so there’s too much sugar in that recipe. Use plain cold milk, and instead of whipped cream whip a can of ice cold evaporated milk to soft peaks. OR Just use half as much whipped cream with a Tablespoon of icing sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract and just use the whipped cream as a topping and not folded into the pudding. No one needs all those extra calories or sugar.

Unfortunately, Nilla wafers are much smaller than they used to be, which is a shame. One wafer used to cover the bottom of a muffin tin, making them perfect for individual cheesecakes (a popular recipe in the 1970s & 1980s). Not any more.

I totally agree with Diane and I am anxiously waiting for her magical cookies that start with yellow cake mix! Thank you NYT for including recipes like this (and the pistachio Bundt cake from last week). These recipes are part of American history and have just as much validity as high brow recipes. I love both.

The only thing I ever learned to make from my Southern Granny was Banana Pudding. Making pudding from scratch is super easy- just milk, egg yolks, sugar, a pinch of salt and vanilla extract simmered in a saucepan, then a few heaping wooden spoons of flour to thicken- then poured over the vanilla wafers and bananas layered into the bowl. You use the egg whites to make the meringue. I’d never ever use boxed pudding mix. However I do use premade vanilla wafers just like my Granny did.

I just the MB website - the cheapest pudding that you can buy is a large order of pre-mix pudding from a box, full of chemicals and preservatives, for $59. This is downright embarrassing. They need to remove the word "bakery" from their name.

Lesson learned from my Georgia mother-in-law: If you use the "cooked" pudding mix, you have the advantage of being able to make the pudding (with just regular milk, per the pudding box instructions), layer it with the wafers and bananas ("one day past ripe"), let it set a while until the wafers get soggy, then eat some of it while it's still WARM. Top it off with chopped pecans and whipped cream, OR do a meringue if you're feeling ambitious.

Paula dean has a recipe on the food network called Not Yo mama’s Banana Pudding. It uses pepridge farms Chessman cookies instead of vanilla wafers. Delicious.

If you have some left around the holidays, substitute egg nog for the heavy cream.

Just follow the directions on the back of the Nilla wafers box and you get the nice meringue topping. Adding sweetened condensed milk isn’t necessary.

I've tasted hundreds of banana puddings and, over the years, I've made at least a hundred huge dishpan sized banana puddings. I reject the Nilla method as that wafer has no flavor and disintegrates into a mushy mealy mess. By far the best method is to make thin vanilla sponge cakes (about the thickness of pancakes) and mix the pudding with hot half-and-half which slightly cooks each layer of very thinly sliced bananas giving the pudding silky texture. A bit more work and worth it.

Nilla wafers, yuck. For me, they taste too artificial. Trader Joe version or graham crackers are much tastier.

I read through the comments and skipped the condensed milk and used the cooked instead of instant pudding. I made it for a friend's birthday party. She's from the south and it brought tears to her eyes. She also ate three servings! Two of my guests couldn't tolerate dairy so I made a vegan version for them with coconut oil whipped cream.They nearly cried too as they hadn't had banana pudding since they were kids. Great recipe!

I substitute the vanilla wafers for pecan sandies or traditional shortbread cookies. I find it cuts the overall sweetness and gives a better body to the pudding.

I have bought too much at their Westside store to admit and made it here at home with great results. Earlier this month we were in town for the weekend and I bought an over priced frozen pint at LGA on the way home. It was just not the same, with no discernible cookies and much less banana flavor/ texture. Turns out, the frozen pints are made with banana puree. Yuck. I prefer slightly crunchy identifiable cookies and visible slices of banana.

This recipe misses the heavenly taste of the very best vanilla in a homemade pudding. It reminds me of The Banana Split Cake recipe.

Last time I checked, Nilla cookies contained no real vanilla (that's why they are no longer called "Vanilla Cookies"). The Keebler version does contain real vanilla and I think the difference is quite obvious.

I know many people use instant vanilla flavor pudding, but I use instant banana cream pudding. Go big (bananas) or go home!

I don’t have a stand mixer. Is there an alternative?