HELPFUL TIPS NOT MENTIONED: My extremely picky never satisfied husband loved this as well as my toddlers, so what more could I want! I wanted to note for those making this for the 1st time that this calls for heavy cream aka heavy whipping cream which is not whipping cream (cool whip) in the freezer section. I believe THIS is why people complain about this being too sweet b/c quite frankly I CHOSE THIS RECIPE because it was the least sweetest of ALL the recipes on here which I DID try. Heavy Whipping Cream doesn't have that nice sugary taste as the frozen whipped creams you put on top of desserts nor is it something people can eat right out of the carton w/o adding something else. Outside of that, I just eyeball the amount of nilla wafers or Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies (try it!), and set it in the fridge for a few hours (necessary) to allow them to soften up. THIS ALSO allows the lemon taste of bananas to go away! It also helps delay browning. 3 THINLY sliced Bananas with 1/4C lemon (used my measuring cup to place juice&dunked the slices as I put it on the layer) was the perfect amount w/o letting anything go to waste. I chose this recipe b/c unlike others, I didn't have to wait for my cream cheese & frozen whipped cream to soften at room temp. UPDATE: To cut down even more on the sweetness, this works better with just ONE CUP of heavy whipped cream. Tastes more like pudding instead of "whipped" and I use fat-free condensed milk
I got this recipe from a coworker who brought the pudding for a dinner at work. boy-oh-boy!!! It was a big hit and everyone wanted the recipe. since then i have made it numerous times and I always hear "THIS IS THE BEST...blahblahblah" and it's true. I think 3 bananas is kinda skimpy--i usually use 6 large. Definitely make it...put it in the fridge and forget about it for at least a day or two. The pudding part is what sets this recipe apart. don't substitute cool whip for the whipped cream because the w.c. cuts the sweetness of the pudding mix/sweetened condensed milk--cool whip is already sweet. if you like bananas you will love this recipe. it's nummy!!
Awesome recipe VERY VERY rich! I have a suggestion- follow the recipe exactly except leave out the bananas. Let the pudding and wafer mixture stay in the fridge overnight. This way you can have very soft wafers! Add bananas the next morning. Again a very good recipe and extremely rich.:)
This is the BEST recipe for banana pudding I have used. I did not use heavy cream but used a large tub of cool whip instead. I have printed this recipe out to everyone I serve it to because they always ask for it.
I had never made a banana pudding before so I was really happy with how well this turned out! It tasted better the 2nd day when the wafers had gone a little soft. I agree with some reviewers - a little too sweet; next time I might use 1/2 milk and 1/2 condensed milk.
I don't normally care for banana pudding but I LOVED this! My boyfriend didn't like the fact that he could taste the lemon juice on the bananas. Next time we will either use orange juice or skip that step altogether.
This is a wonderful shortcut for those of us who have slaved over a stove trying to get milk to thicken into a nice smooth pudding without curdling lol. I personally prefer the homemade version simply because the sweetened condensed milk makes this version a bit too sweet for my taste (and I have a major sweet-tooth). I did however make it again using slightly less than the whole can and it tasted lovely. French Vanilla pudding also works well. In all fairness though I must add that my boyfriend said he couldnt tell the difference btwn this one that took 20 minutes and the homemade version that has been know to take...well...let's just say..it took a lot longer and he felt the sweetness was fine. Thanx for a lifesaver of a recipe!
This is the only way I make banana pudding...with REAL WHIPPING CREAM! It has the perfect amount of sweetness. The only thing I change is not to use lemon juice. You can briefly soak the banana slices in Sprite or 7-Up and it will keep them from turning brown, works as well if not better than lemon without giving any strong acidic flavor.
I made this for my boyfriend's holiday work party which I understand is more like a cooking competition. That day I got a call from him with no less than 8 women in his office demanding the recipe. Need I say more?? Since then I've made it twice with similar results. I did use twice the bananas and a few extra vanilla wafers. Great recipe!
