Rich and creamy banana pudding with no dairy in sight — baked bananas, coconut milk, palm sugar, and vanilla cook into a glossy, spoonable pudding that chills into pure comfort. Quick-roasting the bananas in their skins deepens the flavor far beyond ordinary banana desserts. Layered with fresh banana slices, it's the kind of pudding that converts coconut skeptics on the spot.
SERVES 12
Ingredients
7 slightly underripe large bananas
4 cups (960 ml) coconut milk
½ cup palm sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla
3½ tablespoons of tapioca flour
Preparation
1.В В Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place bananas with skin intact on a baking sheet and place in oven. Bake until skin blackens, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool until skin can be comfortably peeled without burning your hands. Peel bananas. Mash 3 of the bananas and set aside.
2.В В Combine mashed bananas, coconut milk, palm sugar, vanilla and tapioca flour in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture becomes thick and glossy (about 3 minutes).
3.В В Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled (at least four hours, or up to two days). Gently stir pudding before serving.
4.В В Slice remaining bananas to a quarter-inch thickness and layer with pudding in bowls. Start with a pudding layer, then add bananas, and repeat, ending with pudding on top.
Pro Tips
- Bake the bananas in their skins until blackened before peeling — this concentrates their sweetness and removes the starchy edge that raw underripe bananas bring.
- Use slightly underripe bananas for the pudding base; they hold up to baking and mashing, while very ripe bananas turn gluey when thickened with tapioca.
- Whisk constantly once the coconut milk mixture hits the heat — tapioca thickens fast and catches on the pan bottom within seconds.
- Strain the finished pudding through a fine-mesh sieve for the silkiest texture, and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface so no skin forms while it chills.
- Layer the pudding with banana slices starting and ending with pudding; the fruit stays fresher when it's sealed between creamy layers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far ahead can I make this banana pudding?
It chills well for up to two days in the refrigerator. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes and stir gently before layering, since it firms up noticeably as it cools.
Why are the bananas baked first?
Five minutes in a hot oven softens the flesh and caramelizes the sugars, giving the pudding a deep, cooked-banana flavor you can't get from mashing raw fruit.
Can I use a different milk instead of coconut milk?
The pudding's richness depends on coconut milk's fat content, so other plant milks will set thinner and taste lighter. If you try one, increase the tapioca flour slightly.
Is this pudding paleo?
Yes — it's sweetened with palm sugar and thickened with tapioca flour, with coconut milk standing in for dairy cream and eggs.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- 1. В В Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place bananas with skin intact on a baking sheet and place in oven.
- Bake until skin blackens, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool until skin can be comfortably peeled without burning your hands.
- Peel bananas. Mash 3 of the bananas and set aside. 2. В В Combine mashed bananas, coconut milk, palm sugar, vanilla and tapioca flour in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.
- Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture becomes thick and glossy (about 3 minutes). 3. В В Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl.
- Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding to prevent a skin from forming.
- Refrigerate until well chilled (at least four hours, or up to two days). Gently stir pudding before serving. 4. В В Slice remaining bananas to a quarter-inch thickness and layer with pudding in bowls. Start with a pudding layer, then add bananas, and repeat, ending with pudding on top.
