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Homemade banana pudding ice cream with Nilla wafers and bananas on white kitchen counter. Classic Southern frozen dessert in bowl.

Banana Pudding Ice Cream

Creamy banana pudding ice cream made with real bananas, buttery wafers, and smooth vanilla custard. A nostalgic frozen dessert made from scratch.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chill Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Dessert, Frozen Treats
Cuisine: American, southern
Calories: 325
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana Base
  • 4 Bananas Very ripe with brown spots
  • 2 tablespoon Lemon juice Freshly squeezed
  • ⅓ cup Sugar Granulated, for macerating
Custard Base
  • 2 cups Heavy cream Full-fat
  • 1 cup Whole milk Do not use low-fat
  • 4 Egg yolks Large
  • ½ cup Sugar Granulated
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract Use real, not imitation
Cookie Mix-In
  • 1 cup Nilla wafers Crushed, not too fine
  • 2 tablespoon Butter Melted, to coat cookies lightly

Equipment

  • 1 Ice cream maker Or use no-churn method as alternative
  • 1 Heavy saucepan For cooking the custard base
  • 1 Fine-mesh strainer For ultra-smooth custard texture
  • 1 Mixing bowl To mix banana and sugar
  • 1 Whisk For tempering eggs and mixing custard
  • 1 Instant-read thermometer Ensures custard reaches 170°F
  • 1 Freezer-safe container With parchment to prevent ice crystals

Method
 

  1. Mash bananas with sugar and lemon juice, then let sit 15 minutes
  2. Heat cream and milk; whisk yolks with sugar until pale
  3. Slowly combine hot cream with yolks, cook until 170°F
  4. Mix in banana blend, strain custard, cover, and chill 4 hours
  5. Churn custard in ice cream maker for 20–25 minutes
  6. Add cookie-butter mix during last 5 minutes of churning
  7. Transfer to container, press parchment on top, and freeze 4 hours

Notes

We test everything in our cozy kitchen (with Sprout as the taste-tester!), but nutrition info is just a ballpark figure. For exact numbers; especially if someone’s counting, try using your own ingredients in a nutrition calculator you trust.