The Best Dairy-free Banana Pudding
Do you ever get a mean craving for dairy-free banana pudding? Like YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT RIGHT NOW?
Me too. In fact, that’s how this recipe was developed. I didn’t have packaged banana pudding on hand but I came up with a version that only requires 6-ingredients and will blow any boxed banana pudding mix out of the water. Or any dairy-laden pudding recipe, for that matter.
It has a decadent creamy texture that also somehow manages to be light and silky. Because it’s made with real banana and sweetened with honey, the natural sugars are able to shine through and it’s just too good. But don’t take my word for it. You’ll have to try it for yourself and decide what you think. ;)
Dairy-free Banana Pudding Ingredients
What’s so great about this recipe is that there’s no starches or cooking required. Just put everything in a blender and BAM. You’ve got yourself banana pudding.
Here’s what you need to make it:
- Raw Cashews– the base and most important ingredient (besides the bananas, obviously) is raw cashews. I have not tested this recipe with roasted cashews and it could be good but to be safe, stick with raw cashews. They’re not cheap, unfortunately, which is why I wrote this recipe to make a single serving. Try it then decide if you want to spend the extra dollars to share. Just a note- you will need to soak the cashews prior to blending to assure they break down properly in the blender. Just 15-20 minutes in boiling hot water, strain, and they’re good to go.
- Banana– Good ol’ yeller bananas. You want to be sure they’re ripe, but not banana bread ripe. We’re not looking for brown here, just yellow.
- Honey– Using honey in this pudding just makes it taste SO GOOD. But if you’re opposed to honey for any reason, pure maple syrup makes a good substitute.
- Vanilla Extract– Not entirely essential but it kind of takes it over the top so highly recommended.
- Plant Milk– Just a little dairy-free milk to help move things along in the blender. Doesn’t really matter what kind so long as it doesn’t have a uniquely opposing flavor.
- Salt– I always like to use a bit of salt in my dessert recipes but it balances out the sweet flavor. However, if you’re sensitive to salt, feel free to omit it.
How to Make The Best Dairy-free Banana Pudding
- Soak raw cashews in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Strain excess water.
- Add cashews with remaining ingredients to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth.
- Taste test to adjust sugar/salt/consistency to your liking.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve!
Do I Really Need a High Speed Blender?
Long ago, I was one of those who tried to make cashew-based recipes in my standard blender. It never turned out pretty. Gritty, chunky, just bleh.
You will have to use either a Vitamix or a NutriBullet to get the smooth, creamy, heavenly texture you see in the photos but I promise it’s worth it.
Looking for more dairy-free desserts?
- The Best Dairy-free Chocolate Fruit Dip
- The Best Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Vegan Avocado Brownies
- Best-Ever Chocolate Quinoa Cake
- The Best Healthy Vegan Chocolate Frosting
- Vegan Almond Butter Banana Bread
- Perfect Strawberry Cake
- Vegan Silk Chocolate Pie
- Easy Chocolate Avocado Pudding
The Best Dairy-free Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked for 15-20 minutes in hot water
- ¼ cup dairy-free milk
- 1 medium-size banana
- 2 tablespoons honey, or pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of fine sea salt
Instructions
- First step: soak cashews in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Strain excess water.
- To a high speed blender, add the soaked cashews, banana, milk, honey, vanilla and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to scrape down the sides in between blending.
- Taste test to see if you prefer more sweetness, salt, or would like a thinner consistency (add more milk) and adjust accordingly. Note: the texture will thicken slightly during refrigeration (if prepping in advance).
- Serve immediately layered with coconut whipped cream and vanilla wafers (optional), and enjoy!
I just made this and wow! It is fantastic. I’ve never made anything with soaked cashews (I used spouted and they worked perfectly) and it was a great success. :) I added only 1 teaspoon of maple syrup and it was plenty sweet. Next time I might omit it all together. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for leaving a review :)
Which vanilla wafers and whipped cream do you use?
The vanilla wafers are Greenwise brand from Publix (they are vegan but not GF) and the whipped cream is from So Delicious!
Holy yum, I need to try this recipe out Sarah! I couldn’t even tell you when I had banana pudding last, but this sounds delicious.