The best dairy-free banana pudding

Ever get a nasty craving for dairy-free banana pudding? HOW DO YOU NEED TO HAVE IT NOW?

Me too. In fact, that’s how this recipe was developed. I didn’t have pre-packaged banana pudding on hand, but I made up a version requires only 6 ingredients and blows any packaged banana pudding mix out of the water. Or a dairy-loaded pudding recipe.

It has a decadent creamy texture that also somehow manages to be light and silky. Because it’s made from real banana and sweetened with honey, the natural sugar can shine through and it’s just too good. But don’t take my word for it. You have to try it yourself and decide what you think. 😉

Ingredients for dairy-free banana pudding

The great thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t require starching or cooking. Just put everything in a blender and BAM. You have banana pudding.

Here’s what you need to make it:

• Raw cashew nuts– The basis and most important ingredient (besides the bananas of course) are raw cashew nuts. I haven’t tested this recipe with roasted cashews and it might be good, but to be safe, stick with raw cashews. Unfortunately, they don’t come cheap, which is why I wrote this recipe for a single serving. Give it a try and then decide if you want to spend the extra bucks to share. Just a note – you need to soak the cashews before blending to ensure they break down properly in the blender. Just 15-20 minutes in boiling hot water, strain and you’re done.
• banana– Good old writing pineapples. You want to be sure they’re ripe, but not ripe banana bread. We’re not looking for brown here, we’re looking for yellow.
• Honey– The use of honey in this pudding just makes it taste SO GOOD. But if you’re against honey for any reason, plain maple syrup is a good substitute.
• vanilla extract– Not essential, but overdoing it, so highly recommended.
• plant milk– Just a little non-dairy milk to get things moving in the blender. It doesn’t matter what kind, as long as they don’t have a clearly opposing taste.
• Salt– I always like to use a bit of salt in my dessert recipes, but it balances out the sweet taste. However, if you are sensitive to salt, feel free to omit it.

How to make the best dairy-free banana pudding

1. Soak raw cashew nuts in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Strain off excess water.
2. Place the cashews in a high speed blender with the remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth.
3. Taste test to adjust sugar/salt/consistency to your liking.
4. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve!

Do I really need a high power blender?

A long time ago I was one of those people trying to make cashew based recipes in my standard blender. It never got pretty. Gritty, chunky, just bleh.

You’ll 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?