Banana Pudding Ice Cream

Just like your favorite old-fashioned pudding dessert, Banana Pudding Ice Cream is creamy and delicious with real bananas and crunchy vanilla wafer cookies inside.

This is a Philadelphia style churned ice cream recipe, which means that it’s egg-free, and easy to make.

Banana Pudding Ice Cream is egg free, nut free and can be made gluten free depending on your choice of vanilla wafer cookies.

If you love bananas in ice cream, you’ll want to try this Chunky Monkey Ice Cream Recipe next. These Banana Popsicles are also a reader favorite. One of my new favorites is Fat Elvis Ice Cream.

Readers are loving our Bananas Foster Ice Cream. For another banana recipe, try this Banana Ice Cream.

Banana Pudding Ice Cream Recipe

I love it when someone brings a casserole dish full of banana pudding to a family party. It’s sweet, creamy, and full of wonderful textures from fresh bananas and crispy wafer cookies. It’s definitely a favorite.

Making banana pudding into this Banana Pudding Ice Cream recipe was a fun project, and it turned out exactly as I imagined it, with tons of banana flavor in the creamiest ice cream base.

To get the flavor really right, we’re adding instant vanilla pudding to the mix, along with fresh, ripe bananas.

Crushed vanilla wafers add delicious texture to banana pudding ice cream too.

Love banana flavored treats? Me too! You have to try this Banana Milkshake recipe too.

Another ice cream recipe that perfectly replicates a beloved dessert is this Mississippi Mud Ice Cream. This Turtle Ice Cream is also amazing.

Why You’re Going to Love this Banana Pudding Ice Cream Recipe

Philadelphia Style. This type of ice cream recipe doesn’t use a custard base like traditional, French style ice creams too. This makes it easier to make and still just as creamy and delicious.

No Eggs. This is a banana pudding ice cream recipe without eggs, so it’s perfect for allergies, or if you just don’t want to bother with using eggs in your ice cream.

Nostalgic Flavors. Banana Pudding is just one of those desserts that you’ve probably been eating forever. It might remind you of your grandma or an aunt who always makes it. You’ll feel warm and fuzzy eating this delicious banana ice cream.

Simple Recipe. Making banana pudding ice cream from scratch is easy if you follow these step by step instructions.

Ingredients in Homemade Banana Pudding Ice Cream

Heavy Cream – The basis for all amazing ice creams is rich heavy cream.

Whole Milk – A mix of both heavy cream and whole milk creates the perfect ice cream texture. 

Granulated Sugar – Any good ice cream will have a good amount of sugar in it, both for sweetness and texture. Ice cream typically has more sugar in it than you’d expect, since our taste buds understand sweetness differently at cold temperatures.

Vanilla Extract – A good quality pure vanilla extract gives the perfect warm flavor to this banana ice cream.

Salt – a small amount of salt balances the sweetness of the recipe.

Ripe Bananas – Make sure that your bananas are yellow with a few brown spots. If they aren’t ripe enough, they won’t mash well.

Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix – A classic banana pudding dessert is made with this shortcut ingredient, and it is the perfect flavor for banana pudding ice cream too.

Vanilla Wafer Cookies – Vanilla wafers are also a classic ingredient in banana pudding. Here we’ll crush or cut them up to add into the mix.

If you have any questions on how to make banana pudding ice cream, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you.

How to Make Banana Pudding Ice Cream from Scratch

1. In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar is fully dissolved into the mixture. Check by rubbing the mixture in between your fingers. You shouldn’t feel any grittiness.
2. In another bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. You need about a cup of mashed bananas.
3. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla pudding mix to the cream mixture, and whisk for 2-3 minutes.
4. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes in the refrigerator to thicken slightly.
5. Churn the ice cream mixture in the frozen bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions until the ice cream is thick and the consistency of soft serve.
6. In the last two minutes of churning, add in the vanilla wafer cookies.
7. Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid.
8. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.

These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes.

For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please see the recipe below.

How to Store Banana Pudding Ice Cream

Store this Banana Pudding ice cream in the freezer in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper pressed on top for up to one month.

Tips for Making this Banana Pudding Ice Cream

Use quality ingredients – When making homemade ice cream, you’ll want to make sure you are using high quality ingredients for the best outcome.

Use Ripe Bananas – Underripe bananas (green ones) will bee too starchy and not sweet enough for this recipe.

Chill out – If possible, always start with chilled ingredients. This is important for homemade no-churn ice cream recipes and ice cream maker recipes.

Don’t skimp on the fat – High fat milks and creams are essential when making homemade ice cream. Opting for a low-fat option often leads to icy ice creams and inconsistency in the texture.

Don’t go crazy with the add-ins – If you’re adding in additional ingredients, pick one or two and make sure they are chopped into pieces no larger than a blueberry or pea.

Don’t skimp on the sugar – Sugar not only adds sweetness to homemade ice creams, it also helps with the texture. Sugar is essential for the creamy texture in ice cream.

No churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream Directions

Chill a shallow container or a loaf pan in the freezer while you mix the ice cream ingredients.

Pour the ice cream mixture into the prepared pan and freeze for 3-4 hours. Stir the ice cream every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours to help add air. This will help create a creamy, smooth texture.

No Churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream will be the best if you add the vanilla wafters during the last time you stir it. This will help the cookies keep their shape and texture.

Banana Pudding Ice Cream Add-ins

This ice cream recipe already has a good amount of add ins, but you could add a little bit more to give it additional flavor and texture.

• Try a swirl of caramel or peanut butter sauce.

• White chocolate chunks or shavings would make this ice cream extra sweet as well.

Should I crush or cut up the cookies for this ice cream recipe?

This will depend on your preference. I like larger cookie pieces in my ice cream, so I will usually take a knife and roughly chop them up.

Crushing produces pieces of varying sizes, which can also be a nice texture in ice cream. Experiment to see which you prefer, but either way will be delicious.

Can I use Banana Pudding in this Banana Pudding Ice Cream?

If you want your ice cream to be extra banana flavored, go ahead and use banana flavored instant pudding mix in place of the vanilla.

I think the vanilla works perfectly though. Let me know if you try it!

How do I know if my bananas are ripe enough?

Bananas that are ripe enough for banana pudding ice cream will be yellow, rather than green, and will have some brown spots on them. Totally brown bananas will be too ripe for this recipe.

Can I use gluten free vanilla wafers?

Yes! I actually used gluten free Kinnikinnick brand vanilla wafer cookies in the images here. The ice cream will be delicious no matter what brand or type of cookies you choose.

How long does it take to make homemade ice cream?

The hands-on time for this banana pudding ice cream recipe is only about 10 minutes. You should plan for about 25 minutes for the ice cream to churn in the machine and at least 4 hours for the churned ice cream to harden in the freezer.

Why didn’t my ice cream freeze in the machine?

The biggest mistake that I see is that people don’t ensure that their ice cream machine bowl is completely frozen before they use it. If the bowl isn’t frozen, your ice cream won’t freeze.

I suggest at least 24 hours in the freezer for the ice cream machine bowl. You should not hear any liquid sloshing around if you shake it.

More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes

• French Silk Ice Cream
• Chocolate Marshmallow Ice Cream
• Toasted Almond Ice Cream
• Ice Cream Flavors
• Cuisinart Ice Cream Recipes
• Rum Raisin Ice Cream

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Did you make this Banana Pudding Ice Cream recipe? Leave a comment below letting us know what you thought and if you added any additional add-ins.