Easy Banana Pudding Tart

It’s hard to overstate how easy this banana pudding tart recipe is. And the results are scrumptious; a creamy, delicious, light and fluffy, sweet and crunchy delight.

I never loved banana pudding, but I adore this tart.

The thing is, I don’t love bananas (but… I don’t hate them either, so those who hate bananas should probably move on to the next recipe). And what I don’t like about most banana pudding recipes I’ve had is that they are made with Nilla Wafers, which get really soggy after a while. And they taste fake to me.

Don’t get me wrong; my recipe is not all natural; it just tastes like it. I’ve used instant pudding, but if someone wants to make pudding from scratch; more power to you. The pudding is what makes this easy. And consistently good. Every. Time.

My Secret Weapon

Here is the difference between this tart and the typical banana pudding; the crust is made from Chessmen cookies. What could be better than delicious cookies? Add more butter and sugar, then bake it to crispy perfection! I could eat this crust by itself. And this crust never gets soggy.

How can I describe it? This banana pudding tart has a combo of pure creaminess and crispiness that just come together. One person told me that this recipe “changed their life”. That may be an exaggeration, but it has always gotten rave reviews.

Here is what you need:

2 bananas
1 bag of chessmen cookies
6 tbsp of butter (melted)
2 tbsp of sugar
instant vanilla pudding (the 5.1oz package which requires 3 cups of milk)
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
a 9 inch spring-form pan (a pie dish will do in a pinch)

Instructions for Easy Banana Pudding Tart

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Crush all but 4 of the Chessmen cookies. (I’ve found that the whole bag isn’t needed. So go ahead and eat them if you want). Drop them into a medium sized mixing bowl.
Add the melted butter and 2 tbsp of sugar and mix to combine.
Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the spring-form pan (if using a regular pie dish, you may want press it up the sides a bit as well).
Bake for 9 minutes (or until fragrant and slightly more brown on the edges). Set aside to cool.
Add pudding packet, 2 cups of whipped cream and 1 cup of milk to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine a bit, then whip (with an electronic mixer) until the mixture forms stiff peaks, maybe about 3 minutes.
Almost done! Slice the bananas and arrange them in 2 layers evenly over the crust. Gently spread the pudding mixture as evenly as possible over the bananas. Chill the tart for an hour (or more) in the fridge before serving.

All done!

I garnished this with some whipped cream, but it is not needed for the flavor. It’s creamy enough. And once you take the side off the springform pan, your tart has a simple beauty all its own. Cut it with a sharp knife; the crust has the texture of a cookie. If you do try this recipe, let us know!!!

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Pro Tips

To crush: I put some cookes in the food processor, and crushed some in a plastic bag by pounding it with a mug. This allows some to be more like a fine powder, but then some of the cookies still maintain a bit of texture.
Before whipping up the heavy cream, freeze it for 15 minutes or so. I try to freeze the bowl as well, if possible. It will whip up much faster if it is very cold (not frozen!!!)
For this recipe, I typically make the crust the night before, and cover it loosely. The next day I whip up the cream and assemble the tart.