Copycat Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding (Easy, No-Bake!)

If you’ve ever had Magnolia Bakery’s famous banana pudding, you already know why it has a cult following. It’s light, creamy, and layered with fluffy vanilla pudding, ripe bananas, and soft Nilla wafers. The best part? You don’t need a trip to New York City to enjoy it—you can make it at home with just a few simple ingredients.

This is the kind of no-bake dessert that’s ridiculously easy, yet always impressive. Whether you’re making it for a potluck, holiday gathering, or just because, this copycat Magnolia Bakery banana pudding is one you’ll come back to again and again.

My Thoughts on Magnolia’s Banana Pudding

Here’s the thing: I’m not usually someone who falls for trends. When I visited New York City last summer, I wasn’t on the hunt for Magnolia Bakery at all. I actually stumbled across it around the corner from my hotel—and figured, okay fine, let’s see what all the hype is about.

I fell in love, folks. It’s delicious and highly addictive. My only critique? All three puddings I bought didn’t have quite enough wafers. I always want more wafers!

Ingredients You’ll Need

The recipe is surprisingly simple—just five ingredients. A few notes:

Bananas: Use just ripe bananas, ideally still slightly green. They stay firmer longer and brown more slowly in the fridge.
Vanilla wafers: If you’re in the U.S., go for Nilla Wafers. In Canada, where I am, those aren’t available—so I use a similar brand and they work perfectly.

Timing: Read Before You Start

This recipe requires chilling in two stages:

Pudding mixture: 3–4 hours
Assembled dessert: at least 7 hours (12 hours is ideal)

I usually make the pudding part the night before, then assemble in the morning for an evening serving.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Make the vanilla pudding mixture

Whisk together:

ice-cold water
sweetened condensed milk
vanilla pudding mix

Cover and refrigerate for 3–4 hours, until thick and scoopable.

2. Whip the cream

Beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

3. Fold

Gently fold the whipped cream into the chilled pudding. Mix until you no longer see streaks.

4. Assemble

An 8×12-inch casserole dish works great if you want that classic “scooped” Magnolia serving look.

Layer in this order:

cream
vanilla wafers
banana slices

Repeat the layers again. Finish with a generous layer of cream on top.

5. Chill

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 7–12 hours.

6. Serve

Right before serving, top with:

freshly sliced bananas
crumbled wafers

The bananas inside the cream stay fresh for up to 24 hours. Surface bananas will brown faster.

Storage Notes

Best served within 24 hours
Still delicious up to 48 hours, though some banana browning may appear
Don’t reduce the chill time—less than 7 hours and the wafers won’t soften enough

Full Recipe

Ingredients

396 g (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups ice-cold water
96 g (1 box / 3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding
3 cups heavy whipping cream (35%)
4–6 bananas, sliced (about 4 cups)
680 g vanilla wafers (2 × 12-oz boxes)

Instructions

Prepare pudding:
In a medium bowl, whisk condensed milk and cold water. Add pudding mix and whisk until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 3–4 hours, until thick.
Whip cream:
Beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
Combine:
Fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until fully incorporated.
Assemble:
In an 8×12-inch dish at least 2 inches deep, add a thin layer of cream. Layer wafers, then bananas. Repeat these layers once more. Finish with a final layer of cream.
Chill:
Add crumbled wafer pieces on top (optional). Cover tightly and refrigerate 7–12 hours.
Serve:
Top with freshly sliced bananas just before serving. Scoop into bowls and enjoy!

Notes

Using a different dish size will change the number of layers.
The bananas inside the pudding keep well because they aren’t exposed to air.
Wafers must rest for several hours to soften—don’t skip the chill time!

DAILY RECIPES

Banana Pudding