Sandra Chessmen butter cookies, sliced bananas, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and a whipped topping layer go into Paula Deen Banana Pudding without any baking or stove time. The full dish assembles in 20 minutes and makes about 12 servings.
The recipe is Paula Deen’s Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding, from her official site. She replaces vanilla wafers with Chessmen butter cookies and adds cream cheese to the pudding base. Those two changes are what make this version denser and richer than any traditional banana pudding.
The cream cheese and condensed milk go into their own bowl and get beaten smooth before they touch the pudding mixture. Cold cream cheese added directly to milk stays lumpy no matter how long you mix it. Condensed milk is thick enough to loosen the cream cheese into a smooth paste before both bowls combine.
Paula Deen Banana Pudding Recipe
Description
The cookies start crunchy but absorb the cream cheese filling overnight, turning almost cake-like by the next morning. This is one of those dishes that improves with more chill time rather than being best straight from assembly.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Line the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch dish with one bag of Chessmen cookies. Layer the sliced bananas evenly over the cookies.
- In a large bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix. Beat well with a handheld electric mixer until smooth and thickened.
- In a separate bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together until completely smooth with no lumps.
- Fold the thawed whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture until fully combined.
- Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until blended throughout.
- Pour the filling over the cookies and bananas. Spread evenly to the edges.
- Cover the top with the remaining bag of Chessmen cookies.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Overnight gives the best texture.
FAQs
Why Chessmen cookies instead of vanilla wafers?
Chessmen are butter cookies, so they have a richer, more buttery base than vanilla wafers and absorb the cream cheese filling more slowly. That slower absorption means they stay in distinct soft layers rather than turning to mush. The result is a pudding with more texture contrast than the traditional version has.
How long does this really need to chill?
Two hours is the minimum, but overnight gives significantly better results because the cookies need time to soften properly throughout. A freshly assembled dish has crunchy cookies and a filling that has not yet set into layers. Make it the day before and the whole thing becomes a sliceable, layered dessert rather than a loose scoop.
Can I use Cool Whip or fresh whipped cream?
The original recipe calls for a 12-ounce container of frozen whipped topping, thawed, which is Cool Whip. Paula Deen also lists sweetened whipped cream as an equal substitute in the same quantity. Cool Whip holds its texture longer in the fridge, which matters if the dish will sit out at a gathering for more than an hour.
What bananas work best?
Just-ripe bananas hold their shape in the layers without breaking down or browning quickly in the filling. Overripe bananas turn soft in the layers and can discolor the cream cheese mixture as they sit. If yours are too ripe for this dish, Paula Deen’s banana bread is the best use for them at that stage.
Can I make this ahead for a crowd?
Yes, and it is actually better made ahead. Assemble the full dish the evening before, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight so the cookies absorb the filling and the layers set. It holds well in the fridge up to the point of serving, and the texture on day one after chilling overnight is the best it will be.
What other Paula Deen dessert works at the same table?
Something with a different texture and flavor rounds out a Southern dessert spread. Paula Deen’s caramel cake gives you a warm, sticky layer cake that contrasts with the cold, creamy pudding. Together they cover both ends of the table without repeating flavors or textures.
