Delicious Homemade Southern Banana Pudding From Scratch & Variations

Here’s where some Southerners might call me out. I do not like meringue. It’s just not a pleasant texture for me. I’m including how to make meringue for those who want the full Southern banana pudding experience.

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tarter
• ¼ cup sugar

Instructions:

1. Mix with electric mixer until frothy.

2. Pour over banana pudding and bake at 325° F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Growing up in the South with a close-knit extended family, we got together for dinners, later called “eatin’ meetins,” several times a year. We almost always had banana pudding. My mom and all my aunts made great banana pudding from scratch.

A variation of banana pudding is pineapple pudding. My Aunt Ola Belle used to make the banana pudding recipe with vanilla wafers, cooked custard, and pineapple. Use a large can of crushed pineapple, drained, layering with vanilla wafers and custard.

Seems like someone in the family used to make a strawberry pudding, but I’ll have to ask my mom about that. You’d have to do something to render some of the liquid out of the strawberries, like maybe cook them just a little bit, and drain. Seems like it would also be a good idea to use extra wafers to soak up the extra liquid.

Another tasty variation of the banana pudding recipe is to make a chocolate pudding. Prepare the custard, and add two tablespoons of Hershey’s Cocoa. Layer vanilla wafers and chocolate custard. Allow to cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate. Serve chilled.

You could try some warm, but it takes a few hours to get the gooey vanilla wafer texture, and you don’t want to leave the pudding out this long. This can be incredibly rich and decadent. You may want to use less cocoa, and try small servings.