Mother's Day Delight: "Southern Breeze Banana Pudding" and a Winner!

If you're looking for a crowd-pleasing dessert for upcoming Mother's Day weekend activities or for a fun dessert for two with enough for tasty leftovers, banana pudding is an excellent choice. The origins of this distinctly Southern recipe date back to 1901, when the Nabisco company began selling their vanilla wafers and printed a banana pudding recipe on their boxes that called for lining the sides of the pudding dish with these wafers. This recipe caught on quickly and through the years, has found its way to countless dinner tables and many a potluck in just as many variations.
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The traditional recipes I have seen for banana pudding sometimes seem to almost require jumping through hoops with all kinds of contraptions to come out with a bowl of pudding. I have created a recipe in my kitchen that I have found to be a much easier way to prepare and at the same time, a lightened up version of this dish.  By substituting traditional banana pudding recipe ingredients of whole milk, 4 egg yolks and twice as much heavy cream with the ingredients in this recipe, each serving is spared nearly 250 calories, 20 grams of fat and 100 milligrams of cholesterol. Here’s to healthier choices!

“Southern Fried Bride's Easy Southern Breeze Banana Pudding”

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups low-fat milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon banana extract

40 Nabisco reduced-fat vanilla wafers (half of one 11oz. box)

2 medium bananas, ripe and chopped

Topping: 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
               1 tablespoon sugar

Garnish: ¼ cup chopped walnuts
             1 banana, chopped


In 4-quart saucepan, combine 1/3 cup sugar with cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk; heat to boiling on medium, stirring frequently. Gradually add eggs, beating vigorously. Cook 1 minute, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in banana extract. In 2-quart casserole or serving dish, place 20 vanilla wafers. Pour 1 1/4 cups pudding over wafers, covering wafers completely. Top with one chopped bananas. Repeat layering once. Top with remaining pudding, making sure to completely cover chopped banana layer. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Before serving, prepare whipped cream topping in medium bowl by adding cream and 1 tablespoon sugar. Beat with mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over pudding. Garnish, if desired, with chopped walnuts and chopped banana. Enjoy!

We have a winner in the "SFB Facebook Page 6 Month Anniversary Giveaway"! The Jewel Kade "Jack Stamp" personalized charm necklace with ring charm, valued at $38, goes to...All Hummer!

Thank you to the fabulous giveaway sponsor Jennifer Peterson, Jewel Kade stylist! If you would like to see more of the beautiful, hand-crafted creations, you can view them on Jennifer's JK website here and they can be delivered right to your door.

Stay tuned for a fun giveaway here on the blog, just in time for Mother's Day!

FTC Disclaimer: I was provided with a giveaway prize of a Jack Stamp personalized charm necklace with ring charm, valued at $38, provided by Jennifer Peterson, Jewel Kade stylist. I was not financially compensated for writing this blog post. All opinions expressed in this blog post are my own.