Vegan Banana Pudding

Vegan Vanilla Wafers

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with a hand or stand mixer until light and fluffy. (This will be somewhere around 5 minutes).Careful not to overbeat. 
4. Beat in the vanilla until just combined.
5. In a small bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. 
6. Add to the butter and sugar mixture, beating until combined. (The dough will appear kind of crumbly like sand.)
7. Use a teaspoon measure to evenly portion cookie dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet. 
8. Space cookies two inches apart. Bake in a preheated oven until the edges are golden brown, 15-18 minutes. (Use 1-3 minutes less time if you’d like a softer cookie.) 
9. Yields 2-3 dozen cookies depending on the cookie size you scoop out.
10. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature or freeze for up to 3 months.

Vegan Vanilla Pudding 

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together cornstarch and white sugar.
2. Add 1/4 cup of the soy milk. Whisk into a thick paste.
3. Turn the stove to medium heat. Slowly whisk in the remaining soy milk and coconut milk.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, keeping the pudding at a simmer. 
5. Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. 
6. Once thickened, remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and pinch of salt. 
7. Cool in the fridge before using. 

Banana Pudding (Assembly) 

1. In a large casserole dish, such as 8x8 or 9x12, evenly layer half of the vanilla wafers. 
2. Cover with half of the vanilla pudding. 
3. Layer half of the sliced bananas on top of the pudding. 
4. Repeat this once more, until all of the vanilla wafers, bananas, and pudding are used. Or, until your dish is filled to the top. 
5. Just before serving, top with non-dairy whipped cream (store bought or your own vegan recipe), using as much as desired. 
6. Lightly sprinkle with ground cinnamon. 
7. Enjoy cold.
8. Keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days, though it looks best served the same day. 

Notes:

•  If you’ve never made whipped cream before, and would rather use store bought, non-dairy whip cream is available in most grocery stores. And, is easy to grab and still have a tasty treat. 
• If you do not like soy milk, you can totally use whatever non-dairy milk you have on hand. After trying the recipe with different plant-based milks, I like the taste of the pudding with oat milk as well. But, I would not omit the coconut milk, it’s richness aids a really luxe creaminess to the dish. 
• I love to use vanilla bean paste in place of the vanilla extract in the wafer recipe. It gives them a bit of an extra vanilla punch. I use the same amount as stated for the extract. 

Photo by alleksana