This peanut butter banana pudding is a beautifully layered dessert (like a trifle) that is easy to make and loaded with creamy textures and rich flavors. Quick to prep with 8 simple ingredients, like banana cream pudding and vanilla wafers, this no-bake recipe is simply delicious because peanut butter and bananas are the perfect pair!
The Perfect Pair: Peanut Butter and Banana in a Trifle
Peanut butter and banana are a classic combination because their flavors completely complement each other. That’s why they make a perfect pair for this recipe–the peanut butter flavor is balanced just right with a traditional banana pudding at its core, and a bonus non-traditional peanut-y twist.
This light and creamy, decadent dessert is so easy to make because we’ve added a shortcut: boxed pudding mix! From top to bottom, it’s simply luscious layers of sweet, smooth pudding, slices of fresh banana, and crispy vanilla wafers. And because the cookies slightly soften from the filling, each bite is like eating the best version of peanut butter banana pudding that’s layered into the ultimate semblance of a no-bake, multi-tiered trifle!
Why We Love This Peanut Butter Banana Pudding Recipe
- Delicious nutty twist on traditional banana pudding.
- Peanut butter banana flavor from top to bottom.
- Simple no-bake recipe that feeds a crowd.
- Perfect for potlucks, family gatherings, and barbecues.
- Easy to prepare ahead of time.
- Rich, creamy, and sweet.
Ingredients / Shopping List
- Banana cream pudding mix: You can replace this with vanilla pudding mix if you prefer or cannot find banana cream.
- Peanut butter: I recommend using creamy peanut butter for this recipe. I also like to look for natural peanut butter without any added oil or sugar.
- Evaporated milk: You can also use regular milk or half and half. Depending on which you use, you might need to add more or less milk.
- Allspice: If you don’t have any allspice, a 50/50 combination of cinnamon and nutmeg will be wonderful in this dessert.
- Heavy cream: If you would rather not make your own whipped cream, feel free to use store bought whipped topping instead.
- Powdered sugar
- Bananas: Make sure your bananas are soft and ripe for the sweetest flavor.
- Vanilla wafers: Nutter Butters or Oreos are a delicious and wonderful alternative in this recipe.
Substitutions and Additions
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie: Substitute chocolate pudding for banana cream pudding, use Oreo cookies instead of vanilla wafers, and add a chocolate drizzle or mini chocolate chips on top.
- Lower Calorie Version: You can use sugar free pudding, fat-free whipped topping, and reduced fat peanut butter to cut back on the calories.
- Make it Nuttier: Decorate the top with Reese’s Pieces, chopped peanut butter cups, crushed Nutter Butters, or peanuts.
- Toppings: Top it off with chocolate chips, chocolate candy pieces, or a caramel drizzle.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Stand mixer and/or hand mixer
- Mixing bowls and tools
- Measuring tools
- 4 (8 ounce) wide mouth mason jars or 1 (8 inch) glass trifle bowl
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How to Make the Recipe
It is so easy to make this delicious peanut butter banana pudding, with its light and creamy texture, banana slices, crispy vanilla wafers, and peanut butter-y twist.
- Whisk together pudding mix, peanut butter, evaporated milk, and allspice until soft and refrigerate.
- Beat together the heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Stir the whipped cream (reserve 1 cup for the topping) into the pudding mix until smooth.
- Assemble: Start with a layer of vanilla wafers, then a layer of pudding, followed by a layer of banana slices. Continue layering until the glass is filled.
- Top the last layer with whipped cream, sliced bananas, vanilla wafers, and then drizzle with melted peanut butter.
Pro Tip: For the prettiest appearance, use a large trifle bowl or 4 mason jars when placing the ingredients in layers.
Tips
- You can easily make this dessert the day before and it will still be nice and fresh when served.
- Since this dessert is layered, you will want to use a glass bowl with straight edges to show off the beautiful layers of this dessert! This is my go-to Trifle bowl!
Storage Tips
- To Store: Cover the peanut butter banana pudding and place it in the refrigerator. This delicious dessert will be good in the fridge for 3-4 days before the bananas start to go bad. It should not be frozen!
Frequently Asked Questions
Chilling the pudding is an important step you may not want to skip. As the assembled peanut butter banana pudding chills, the cookies will absorb some of the banana flavor and soften up. Plus the pudding will solidify a bit more so you have a scoopable, sharable treat. Plus, chilling means that you can use this as a make-ahead dish for entertaining.
If you prefer to make individual servings of dessert, you can layer the vanilla wafers, banana slices, and pudding in small glass mason jars for a cute and portable dessert.
You can use any type of glass container that you want. I like to make smaller trifles in 8 ounce mason jars in order to individualize them and let everyone have their own. But you can also use a large 8 inch classic trifle serving bowl to make the serving easier. Of course, this dessert will taste just as delicious in a container that is not glass, but the beautiful layers won’t be seen.
Other Easy No-Bake Recipes
- No-Bake Cheesecake Bites
- S’mores Trifle
- No-Bake Berry Icebox Cake
- Chocolate Trifle
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Lasagna
- Lemon Lush Dessert Recipe
- Raspberry Lasagna
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie
- Not Yo Mamas Banana Pudding
- Copycat Magnolia Banana Pudding
Peanut Butter Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 3.4 ounce banana cream pudding mix
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter plus more for decoration
- 12 ounce evaporated milk
- ¼ tsp allspice
- 1¾ cups cold heavy cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 5-6 bananas sliced
- 16 ounce vanilla wafers
Instructions
- Mix the banana cream pudding mix, melted creamy peanut butter, evaporated milk, and allspice in a large bowl. Whisk until it reaches a soft consistency and then refrigerate for ten minutes.
- While the pudding mixture is chilling, use a mixer and beat together the cold heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form, about 2-5 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of whipped cream for the topping.
- Fold remaining whipped cream into the refrigerated pudding mix. Stir until it reaches a smooth consistency.
- To assemble, use a large trifle bowl or 4 mason jars and place the ingredients in layers. Start off with a layer of vanilla wafers, then a layer of pudding, followed by a layer of banana slices. Continue this method while alternating the layers until the glass is filled. Top the last layer with the set aside 1 cup of whipped cream, sliced bananas, vanilla wafers, and remaining melted peanut butter drizzled on top, optional
Jenn’s Notes
- You can easily make this dessert the day before and it will still be nice and fresh when served.
- Since this dessert is layered, you will want to use a glass bowl with straight edges to show off the beautiful layers of this dessert!
absolutely delicious I have never heard of this recipe before now and will definitely be making it again my husband just loves it
do I need to have whipped cream added into the pudding mix? My family was exception of me of course does not like whipped cream at all. so does it really need it or is there something else I could use or could I just leave it out altogether?
I have not tried the recipe, not using whip cream. So I’m not sure how it will come out without it. It will definitely change the end product.
Sounds good. A hit with the family!