This Banana Pudding With Chessmen Cookies Recipe is the BEST EVER
Do you love Paula Deen banana pudding? Then you MUST try this banana pudding with chessmen cookies recipe! It’s the BEST EVER!
Love bananas and want a delicious dessert to share with friends and family?
You’ve gotta try one of my very favorite potluck dessert recipes EVER – this easy Southern-style Paula Deen banana pudding! The best part is that it’s simple to make ahead of time and keep in the fridge before serving.
Fresh bananas, creamy pudding, and shortbread cookies come together in just a few minutes to form this delicious no-bake dessert guaranteed to please a crowd. It’s the perfect time to dive in and give this banana pudding with chessmen cookies recipe a try!
The result is a creamy dessert with soft cookies that’s the perfect combo with the cream cheese and bananas.
This banana pudding with chessmen cookies recipe has honestly become such a family favorite!
Hip tips on how to make banana pudding with chessmen cookies:
- Open your Chessmen cookie packages before starting. Use any broken cookies on the bottom layer, and save the pretty cookies for the top! You can also use Vanilla Wafers instead of Chessmen, if desired. Graham crackers would also work!
- Not a Cool whip fan? Use Tru-Whip instead! It’s found in the frozen foods section at the grocery store and has no hydrogenated oils or high-fructose corn syrup. You could also whip up 2 cups of heavy cream instead to make homemade whipped cream instead!
- Keep bananas from browning using Ball Fruit-Fresh. If brown bananas bother you, try using Fruit-Fresh to slow the process. You can also try using bananas that are barely ripe and still very firm.
- Make walking banana pudding using snack-sized nilla wafer packages! It would be great for entertaining, or maybe even as a creative camping dessert.
- Try using Neufchâtel cheese for a little fewer calories than regular cream cheese! If sweetened condensed milk is too sweet for your liking, try evaporated milk instead. I have also used half the can of the sweetened condensed milk, and it’s still sweet enough!
- If you have bananas leftover from this recipe that get too ripe, check out these seven best ways to use them!
Banana Pudding With Chessmen Cookies
yield: 12 SERVINGS
prep time: 3 HOURS 20 MINUTES
total time: 3 HOURS 20 MINUTES
Get ready to enjoy the BEST banana dessert ever! The cookies get soft and almost cake-like, for an incredible no-bake dessert idea inspired by the famous Paula Deen banana pudding.
Ingredients
Directions
1
Slice the bananas on a cutting board.
2
Place the cookies from one package so that they line the bottom of the pan. (I inspect both packages first to identify any broken cookies to place them at the bottom.) Add the sliced bananas on top of the cookies.
3
With a hand mixer, beat together the vanilla pudding mix and milk. In another bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.
4
Fold in whipped topping with cream cheese mixture and then fold that in with the vanilla pudding.
5
Pour the mixture all over the bananas and smooth out until even.
6
Place the second box of cookies on the top. Chill for a few hours until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Additional Notes
Recipe from FoodNetwork.com (Paula Deen)
Everyone goes BANANAS for this Paula Deen banana pudding dessert!
You’ll want to keep the recipe handy because folks will ask how you made this banana masterpiece! I love how this tastes after it has been in the fridge because the shortbread cookies soften – it’s almost like refrigerator cake.
We made this for my daughter’s birthday one year because she LOVES bananas. It was such a big hit and has now become one of our “go-to” favorite special occasion desserts. I love that it’s very simple to make that my now older kids can make it themselves!
Can’t get enough banana? Try out our Nutella swirl banana bread next!
Game changing dessert y’all! Delicious!
I made this for a church potluck and it was a huge hit!
that looks delicious. I will try this and use nuefachel cheese instead of cream cheese to lower the calories a bit. I use it all the time and can not tell a difference from the regular version.
Oh nice! Let us know!
It works great!!
Thanks for sharing! This was good, but I prefer Nilla wafers (and they’re a lot cheaper, too) 😉
Oh thanks for sharing!
I agree! I tried and I like the vanilla wafers better too. The other cookies looked pretty but changed the taste of the whole thing. With that being said I do like this recipe but with the vanilla wafers! 🙂
I use Banana pudding instead of vanilla.
I found this to be shockingly sweet…….like circus peanuts candy. Next time I might try using evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk.
Sometimes I just omit or use a very small amount of sweetened condensed milk in recipes… I once read an article that you can reduce the sugar in most recipes by half before you start screwing up the chemistry. I have found that to be true, and nobody complains in my family either so that’s a win! Of course teenage boys eat anything that isn’t nailed down!
Evaporated milk will make it too runny
I agree, it was really sweet. I will try evaporated milk instead also.
I have made this as written, but I agree, the chessman cookies are too expensive if you can’t catch them on sale. I have started using shortbread cookies or pecan sandies. I crunch them up, but not too much, for the bottom and save several to crush and put on the top. Rave reviews and the dish is almost licked clean, everytime!
I made this the first time it was posted (following the recipe) and everyone LOVED it. The chessman cookies really give it an extra boost in flavor!!!
I plan to make the banana pudding recipe from the box of Aldi vanilla wafers this weekend. We shall see! All Aldi ingredients so….🤷🏼♀️
I use this recipe and almost always use either Aldi or Kroger vanilla wafers. Delicious. I do suggest you only use half the suggested condensed milk.
What size pan did you use?
I used a 9×13 casserole dish.
I just found out I can (easily) make sweetened condensed milk. So, I’m going to reduce the sugar by 1/2 and make this ASAP!! Looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
That sounds like a great plan!
My sister makes banana pudding this way & it is the only one I’ll eat (and only if she makes it). I live in the south but not a fan of most banana puddings – just the look of it sometimes!
I tried this and loved it. I do prefer Nilla wafers, because I was raised on them and they are a LOT cheaper. Also, I prefer the French Vanilla pudding but have made it with White Chocolate, Cheesecake and Banana. And, it is just as good if you leave the bananas out of it, or add pineapples 🙂 YUM!
WOW this dessert is fabulous and easy to prepare. It is also so refreshing!
What can I use instead of cream cheese? More of another ingredient? Not a fan of cream cheese but this sounds sooo good!!!
Mascarpone or greek yogurt maybe?
Anyone try this with the Aldi alphabet cookies in the box? Hoping to try that for a baby shower dish.
Can you use graham crackers instead of vanilla wafers or chessman cookies?
Yes I think that would be a yummy option too!
The Chessman cookies make this overly sweet and difficult to eat because of the thickness. It totally changes the flavor too. We use Nilla.
hahaha.i really love this
Making this for a work potluck. Would making the filling the night before then doing the rest in morning make the taste off ? Any advice will help. I jut don’t like the bananas to turn brown
Making this for a work potluck. Would making the filling the night before then doing the rest in morning. Will still come out okay?
Yep! I think that’s a great idea!
I substitute half and half for the milk and use extra creamy cool whip. I also add a half teaspoon of pure vanilla this. Really adds to the flavor.
How do you get bananas not to turn brown
Hi Bina! Be sure to check out the tips above on using Ball Fruit-Fresh. ❤️🙌 Hoping that works well for you too! 🤗
I have been making this recipe for years! It is the BEST banana pudding I’ve ever had. I have tried it with the chessmen cookies, but prefer it with Nilla Wafers and that is what I use. This is so easy to whip together the night before!
Aww, yay! So glad to hear how much you enjoy this banana pudding, Autumn! 🤗 Good to know it’s easy to make and you enjoy it best with the Nilla Wafers! 🍌❤️
My mom switches the chessmen for world market ginger snaps each Christmas, it is the most delish tradition!
Ooh! What a yummy switch! Thanks for the idea! 😋