Southern-Style Peanut Butter Banana Pudding

This recipe for Southern-Style Peanut Butter Banana Pudding is sponsored by the National Peanut Board. I received compensation, but all opinions and content are my own.

I did an exciting thing. I combined one of my favorite southern desserts with my one of my favorite foods. Yes, you are looking at Peanut Butter Banana Pudding! 

Southern-style banana pudding is one of my favorite desserts of all-time, and as part of my partnership with the National Peanut Board, I decided to combine it with one of my favorite foods…peanut butter! I have to say that it was one of my better ideas. 🙂 

My love for banana pudding goes back to childhood. My mom would make the most delicious homemade banana pudding from scratch, and I went crazy over it. Growing up in Georgia, banana pudding was something that you saw a lot of at summer potlucks, family gatherings and barbecues. The thing is that it was usually made with instant pudding and store-bought whipped topping. I got so spoiled by my mom’s homemade banana pudding. It tastes so completely different (and about a million times more delicious) when the bananas and vanilla cookies are layered with homemade custard and topped with light and fluffy meringue. 

My mom still makes banana pudding for me a couple of times a year, most recently when we visited for Finn’s birthday. It planted the seed in my head for the peanut butter version that I am sharing with you here. In my world, the more things that I can add peanut butter to, the better! 

Peanut butter + banana is a no-brainer for me. It’s one of my favorite combos whether it’s in a smoothie, on a sandwich, on top of yogurt or baked into banana bread. From breakfast to dessert…and everything in between…peanut butter is a go-to pantry staple for me. It’s so versatile, so affordable and so delicious! 

In addition to putting a peanut butter spin on my mom’s banana pudding, I also made it dairy-free. It was an easy modification since I know that so many people prefer to avoid/limit dairy. You won’t miss the dairy in the custard thanks to thick and creamy coconut milk. Oh and I also used organic vanilla wafer cookies to make sure that they were dairy-free and free of high fructose corn syrup. 

I can honestly say that this peanut butter banana pudding is one of the best things that I have EVER baked. For real, ever! And before you start thinking that homemade custard and meringue is not in your baking skill set…it’s so deceptively easy! I promise that this is a relatively simple dessert to whip up. and you can have it in the oven in under 30 minutes and done in under an hour. 

It all starts with homemade peanut butter custard. Trust me when I say that making your own custard makes all of the difference in this dish. I promise that it’s not hard to make and it’s The custard is a mix of flour, coconut milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla. The custard is thickened with flour so you don’t need to use cornstarch. 

The peanut butter is swirled in at the end of the custard cooking. And for the record…you could just stop here and eat this peanut butter custard. It’s amazing.

The peanut butter custard gets layered in a baking dish with sliced bananas and vanilla wafer cookies. 

The layers of custard, cookies and bananas are topped off with a homemade meringue made from egg whites and sugar. It’s so light and fluffy and the perfect way to finish the dish. 

Once assembled the peanut butter banana pudding goes into the oven for a quick bake to brown the meringue and bring it all together. 

PERFECTION! Banana pudding makes for a beautiful dish and one that is great for summer entertaining. It’s impressive without being fussy. 

I can assure you that anyone who dips their spoon into this peanut butter banana pudding will be happy that you decided to bake it. The peanut butter flavor is balanced just right. It’s noticeable but not overpowering. It still tastes mostly like banana pudding at its core but with a peanut butter twist. 

You can serve the pudding warm or chilled. It tastes great warm on the day you make it and also chilled the following day. This makes it easy to prepare ahead of time to serve at a gathering or take to a summer barbecue.

I hope that you will try this peanut butter banana pudding recipe, especially if you’ve never experienced the deliciousness of southern-style banana pudding! It’s a fun dessert to make and a family and crowd pleaser. You’ll be surprised by how easy it is to make…and how good it tastes! 

Here’s the recipe. 

SOUTHERN-STYLE PEANUT BUTTER BANANA PUDDING

Southern-Style Peanut Butter Banana Pudding

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• Author: Jen
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 8-10 servings 1x

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Description

Peanut butter meets banana pudding in this southern-style peanut butter banana pudding recipe. Homemade peanut butter custard is layered with fresh banana slices and vanilla wafer cookies and then topped with a light and fluffy homemade meringue. A perfect dessert for summer entertaining.

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Ingredients

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3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups coconut milk (I recommend using canned coconut milk…full-fat is preferable, you can also do one can of full-fat and one can of lite)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup natural-style peanut butter
4 large egg whites
1 box vanilla wafers
4 cups sliced bananas (about 4–5 large bananas)

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Find a 3-quart baking dish to bake your pudding in.
2. Combine flour, 1 1/4 cup of the sugar (you could even go down to 1 cup here) and salt in a large saucepan. Stir until mixture is combined and then turn heat to medium. Slowly stir in milks and keep stirring until smooth. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until thick and bubbly.
3. Place the 2 whole eggs in a separate bowl and whisk to combine. SLOWLY add hot milk mixture, stirring constantly as you do this. Once you’ve incorporated the hot milk mixture into the eggs, return the mixture back to original pan and stir in the 1/2 cup peanut butter. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, until thick and bubbly. Set aside.
4. Place egg whites in a large bowl and beat at high speed with a hand mixture or stand mixer. Once egg whites are foamy, start to add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar to the egg whites, one tablespoon at a time. Beat until stiff peaks form.
5. Arrange 25-30 vanilla wafers in the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish. Place half of bananas over wafers and then pour half of the peanut butter custard over the banana. Repeat with 25-30 more wafers, banana and custard. Top with meringue and arrange remaining vanilla wafers around the edge of the meringue.
6. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or chilled.

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YOUR TURN 

I want to hear how you’re going to be cooking and baking with peanut butter this summer! Share your favorite peanut butter recipe in the comments with the hashtag #HowDoYouPB. 

And if you’re looking for more peanut butter recipe inspiration, don’t miss this site where you can find recipes for every occasion!