Banana Vanilla Pudding Cups
Chilled milk-based vanilla pudding layered with fresh banana and golden vanilla-wafer crumbs. Six individual cups, six recipe steps and eight page photos.
These individual banana pudding cups combine a cooked vanilla milk pudding with banana slices and measured vanilla-wafer crumbs. The base is thickened with cornstarch rather than egg, with a little butter stirred in for a smooth finish. Chilling softens the cookie layers and firms the pudding for a creamy spoonful.
The recipe makes six 250 ml glasses filled below the rim. It deliberately groups related tasks into six illustrated recipe steps, keeping the page to eight photos. A separate twelve-photo sequence gives YouTube more preparation detail, with four striking cover options. This is an original formulation, not a kitchen-tested recipe or a reproduction of a bakery product.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Whisking cornstarch into cold milk prevents dry lumps before heating. Continuous stirring keeps the milk from catching on the pan, while a short gentle bubble develops the starch texture. Cooling the pudding promptly before assembly keeps the banana slices out of hot custard, and measured cookie crumbs give each cup the same balance.
Before you start · Equipment
Kitchen scale, medium saucepan, whisk, heatproof spatula, shallow metal bowl, larger external ice-water bowl, six clean 250 ml glasses, food-safe covers, knife, cutting board and refrigerator thermometer.
Everything you’ll need.
Get your ingredients ready, then follow the quantities in the recipe below.
See ingredient amounts
This guide describes the original 6 individual dessert cups. Use the recipe card for amounts adjusted to your chosen yield.
An individual milk dessert
Banana pudding is built from banana, cookie and creamy pudding layers. This original six-cup version uses an egg-free cornstarch milk base rather than an egg custard or instant mix. It is different from rice pudding and cheesecake.
Start with a cold slurry
Starch mixes more evenly when it is first dispersed in cold liquid. Add milk gradually and smooth the pan corners before heating. The dry mixture contains only sugar, white cornstarch and measured salt.
Stir throughout the cooking
Milk can catch quickly on a hot pan. A controlled heat and steady scraping keep the texture even. The pudding must thicken and show gentle bubbles; do not simply heat it to lukewarm and assume it is set.
Cool outside the bowl
Use an external ice-water bath around a shallow metal bowl, stirring until the pudding is no longer warm. The bath is not an ingredient and no ice water is poured into the food. Keep tools clean and move on promptly to assembly.
Build measured layers
Divide the fruit, layer crumbs and pudding equally between the six cups. Each has two repeated crumb-banana-pudding layers, with pudding at the top to cover the banana. Save the small measured finishing crumb portion until serving.
Make ahead without extra toppings
At least four hours of chilling lets the pudding set and the internal crumbs soften. The final crumbs go on only at serving for a little texture. The 24-hour leftover suggestion is cautious and untested, not a validated shelf life.
About the ingredients
- Milk and cornstarch
Use cold pasteurized whole milk and white cornstarch. Whisk until smooth before heating. This formulation is egg-free in the pudding base, but packaged wafers may contain egg and other allergens.
- Sugar, butter and vanilla
All 60 g sugar and 1 g salt cook with the milk. The measured butter and vanilla go in after removing the pan from the heat. There is no condensed milk, instant pudding mix, cream cheese or whipped cream.
- Banana
The 300 g amount is peeled edible weight, divided into 50 g per cup. Firm-ripe slices hold their shape better than mashed overripe fruit. Slice near assembly and cover them with pudding rather than leaving fruit on top.
- Wafer crumbs
Use plain unfilled vanilla wafers, not cream-filled sandwich biscuits. Each cup gets 18 g inside and 2 g on top, exactly 120 g overall. Package composition and allergens vary; check the label.
- Chilling and portions
Six 250 ml glasses provide headroom for this recipe; it does not promise an exact measured cooked volume or serving weight. All milk pudding, banana, butter and cookie crumbs are divided among the six portions.
How to make Banana Vanilla Pudding Cups
Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt with cold milk. Cook, stirring, until thick and gently bubbling; briefly cook the starch, then stir in butter and vanilla off the heat. Rapidly cool in a shallow bowl over external ice water. Slice bananas and portion wafer crumbs, build six alternating banana-cookie-pudding cups, cover and chill. Add the measured reserved crumbs just before serving.
1. Whisk the cold pudding mixture
2. Cook until thick and bubbling
3. Finish and cool the pudding
4. Prepare banana and cookie portions
5. Layer six cups and chill
6. Top and serve chilledWatch How To Make It
chefzelish.com
Banana Vanilla Pudding Cups
Chilled milk-based vanilla pudding layered with fresh banana and golden vanilla-wafer crumbs. Six individual cups, six recipe steps and eight page photos.
Ingredients
0 / 8 readyIngredient amounts for 6 individual dessert cups
Vanilla milk pudding
Layers and measured topping
Let’s make it.
- Cook and cool
Whisk the cold pudding mixture
Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt, then gradually add the cold milk. Use all 60 g sugar, 35 g cornstarch and 1 g salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in a little of the 650 g cold milk to make a smooth slurry, then gradually whisk in the rest. Scrape the corners; no dry starch should remain before heating.
- Cook and cool
Cook until thick and bubbling
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick and gently bubbling. Sweep the pan bottom and corners with a whisk or heatproof spatula. This may take about 8–12 minutes depending on the pan and hob. Once gentle bubbles break through the thick mixture, reduce the heat and stir for 1 minute; do not let the milk scorch or boil violently. The pudding should coat the spoon thickly. Remove from the heat.
- Cook and cool
Finish and cool the pudding
Stir in all butter and vanilla, then cool promptly over external ice water. Off the heat, mix in 15 g butter and 4 g vanilla until smooth. Scrape into a clean shallow metal bowl. Stand that bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water, keeping water below its rim and out of the pudding. Stir with a clean spatula for about 15–20 minutes until no longer warm. Do not leave a deep saucepan cooling on the counter for hours; refrigerate promptly if assembly is delayed.
- Layer and chill
Prepare banana and cookie portions
Slice the bananas and crush the cookies, reserving the measured topping. Peel and weigh 300 g firm-ripe banana, then cut into thin rounds just before assembly. Crush all 120 g plain vanilla wafers into small coarse crumbs. Put 12 g crumbs in a separate dry covered container for the final topping; use the remaining 108 g in the layers. Prepare six clean 250 ml glasses.
- Layer and chill
Layer six cups and chill
Layer the banana, crumbs and cooled pudding into six glasses; cover and chill for at least 4 hours. For each cup, use 50 g banana, 18 g layer crumbs and one sixth of the cooked pudding. Make two repeated layers in this order: 9 g crumbs, 25 g banana, then half that cup’s pudding. End with pudding covering the fruit. Scrape the bowl to share out all the pudding, leaving room below the rims. Cover each cup and refrigerate at 4°C or below until thoroughly chilled. Keep the reserved 12 g crumbs dry and separate.
- Layer and chill
Top and serve chilled
Add 2 g reserved crumbs to each cup and serve cold. Use all 12 g reserved crumbs across six cups. Do not add extra banana slices, whole wafers, whipped cream, chocolate, caramel or mint as garnish. Keep covered leftovers at 4°C or below and use within 24 hours of assembly as a cautious untested home recommendation; the banana can darken and cookies soften. Limit total unrefrigerated time to 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C.
Nutrition per serving
1 of 6 cups, including all pudding, 50 g banana and 20 g wafer crumbs. Estimates may vary with ingredients and brands.
- Calories
- 282 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbohydrates
- 46.5 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Saturated fat
- 4.2 g
- Fiber
- 1.7 g
- Sugar
- 28.7 g
- Sodium
- 178 mg
Checked 10/21/2026. Values are per the serving described above, regardless of recipe yield.
Notes from the kitchen.
Helpful tips
Allow roughly 15 minutes for cooking, about 20 minutes rapid cooling and at least 4 hours refrigeration. A controlled 1-minute gentle bubbling stage cooks the starch. The 260-minute rest estimate includes cooling and chilling; actual cooling conditions may extend it.
Make it your own
Use pasteurized whole milk, white cornstarch and unfilled vanilla wafers. Contains milk and wheat; wafer brands may also contain egg or soy. No gluten-free, vegan, alcohol-free or overall egg-free claim.
Storage & freezing
Cover and refrigerate at 4°C or below; use assembled leftovers within 24 hours as a cautious untested recommendation. Total unrefrigerated time under 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C. The cold-water bath stays outside the pudding bowl.
At the table
Six dessert cups include all ingredients. Per cup: 50 g banana, 18 g internal crumbs, 2 g topping crumbs and one sixth of all pudding. No unmeasured garnish or actual cooked serving-weight claim.
A little something delicious.
Keep this recipe close for the next time the craving strikes.
Something else you’ll love.
Cinnamon Rice Pudding with Raisins
Get the recipe
Muhallebili Kadayif Recipe
Get the recipe
0 Comments
No ratings yet
No comments yet. Have a question or tried this recipe? Leave a comment above.