Easy Banana Pudding Cupcakes

If you love banana cupcakes, you’re going to really love these banana pudding cupcakes! They taste just like a banana cream pie but in the form of a cupcake! Light cupcakes filled with banana pudding and topped with whipped cream, banana slices, and a Vanilla wafer! They’re easy to make and delicious. 

Easy Banana Cupcakes with Pudding Filling

I first made banana cupcakes for my dad’s 50th birthday party because well my dad likes bananas. It’s actually funny because my dad loves bananas and my mom can’t stand them.

It’s not often we have things with bananas but for my dad’s party, it was all about him! The original version of these banana cupcakes was made with a cake mix, but I’ve since upgraded these cupcakes into an even more delicious version!

So I hope you’re ready to take your dessert game to a whole new level with these scrumptious banana pudding cupcakes. They combine two of my favorite things – banana pudding and cupcakes – into one heavenly treat!

They combine homemade vanilla cupcakes, a banana pudding filling, and a whipped cream frosting in a treat that both banana lovers and cupcake lovers won’t be able to get enough of!

Why You’ll Love These Cupcakes

• Moist and fluffy – the use of egg whites in the cupcake batter makes for super moist and fluffy cupcakes, perfect for these banana cupcakes!
• Banana pudding center – the center of these is filled with a delicious banana pudding filled with real bananas!
• Perfect for parties – these are not only delicious, they’re adorable, making them perfect for parties and any time you want an impressive but easy treat!

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Butter – I recommend used unsalted butter that’s nice and soft for the batter, this will allow it to really combine with the other ingredients.
• Vanilla Wafers – I like to use the full-size vanilla wafers but the little ones work as well, they just won’t make quite as much of a statement as the big ones.
• Flour – all-purpose flour is going to be your best bet here! It works really well in the vanilla cupcakes that make the base on these banana pudding cupcakes!
• Egg whites – using just egg whites in these opposed to full eggs is the secret to this banana pudding cupcake recipe and makes for super light and fluffy cupcakes!
• Banana pudding mix – if you want to make these something other than banana filled, you could technically use a different type of pudding mix (like instant vanilla pudding) instead but then this wouldn’t be banana pudding cupcakes recipe! Make sure it’s instant banana pudding mix or you’ll be waiting a while for the pudding to set.
• Frosting – I really like to use a homemade whipped cream frosting on these cupcakes to go along with the idea of having whipped cream on banana pudding, but you can really use any frosting you’d like. A cream cheese or vanilla frosting would work as well.
• Bananas – make sure your bananas are ripe but not overripe (like you’d want for this peanut butter banana bread) because you still want them to have a bit of texture! If you have leftover bananas, use them in a batch of these easy banana pancakes!

How to Make Banana Pudding Cupcakes

Making these banana cupcakes is just about as easy as it seems. That’s my kind of baking recipe!

Before you do anything, line two cupcake tins (aka muffin tins) with paper cupcake liners. I like to use yellow to match the banana in these tasty banana pudding cupcakes but anything works.

Then preheat the oven to 350 degrees and allow the oven to heat up while you’re making the batter.

1 – Make the Cupcake Batter

To make the cupcake batter, start by whisking the wet ingredients – milk, egg whites, and vanilla – together in a medium bowl. You can either use a hand mixer, whisk by hand, or even do this at low speed in a stand mixer.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl of a stand mixer (or you could use an electric mixer as well). Once they’re combined, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.

Add in the softened butter and mix just until incorporated, you don’t want to over mix the batter at this point.

2 – Bake Cupcakes

Using a cookie scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup, fill each of the prepared muffin cups about 2/3 full to allow the cupcakes room to rise.

Put the cupcakes in the oven and bake the cupcakes for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick placed into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. They should also spring back when you touch the tops of them.

Remove from the muffin tin and place on a wire cooling rack until the cupcakes are completely cooled. Placing them on the wire rack compared to leaving them in the pan allows air to go all around the cool the cupcakes completely (compared to the hot pan continuing to heat them up).

If you don’t let them cool, the whipped cream frosting melt right off. 

2 – Make your pudding

While the cupcakes are baking, make your instant banana pudding according to package instructions for pudding (not pie filling) in a large mixing bowl.

Place the pudding in the fridge and allow it to chill for 10-15 minutes to allow it to set completely.

Right before you’re ready to add the creamy banana pudding filling to the cupcakes, dice up bananas and whip them into the pudding mixture. The fresh banana chunks really elevate the filling in these cupcakes and makes it taste more like the classic dessert, old fashioned banana pudding.

3 – Fill the banana pudding cupcakes

Use a spoon, cupcake corer, or a the wide part of a piping tip like this one to take out a small section in the middle top of the cupcakes. 

Use a spoon to fill the cupcakes just to right underneath the top with banana pudding. Replace the piece you scooped out from the center of each cupcake and put it on top of the pudding. 

Once you’ve reached this point, if you’re not going to serve them right away, put the filled cupcake in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to actually serve these. 

The frosting and toppings won’t be good for too long so you’ll want to add the frosting and toppings just before serving. 

4 – Make the Frosting

Place your mixing bowl and a wire whisk (or your stand mixer bowl and whisk tool) in the freezer for 15-30 minutes to chill them. You also want the heavy cream to be nice and cold as well, but I assume you’ll probably already have that in the fridge!

When you’re ready to make the frosting, place the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar together in the bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.

Transfer the whipped cream frosting to a piping bag fitting with a cupcake decorating tip then it’s time to frost and decorate!

5 – Frost & Decorate the Banana Pudding cupcakes

Give yourself about 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve these to frost and decorate the cupcakes. This will give you time to make the frosting, frost the cupcakes, and decorate them with banana slices and Vanilla Wafers.

Using either a piping bag and tip or a plastic bag to pipe the whipped cream frosting on top. 

Once the cupcakes are frosted, add one Vanilla Wafer and one banana slice to garnish just before serving. If you prep them way too early, the wafers will end up getting soggy and that’s fine but maybe don’t do it hours beforehand. 

Unless you like soggy Vanilla Wafers of course. 

Once your cupcakes are decorated, it’s time to serve them! Just look at that amazing banana pudding filling inside and the best part – no one will even know it’s there until they bite into these scrumptious cupcakes!

Ways to Use Leftover Banana Pudding Cupcake Filling

If you have leftover banana cupcake filling, try using it for one of these leftover desserts!

• Mini banana cream pies
• Banana parfaits with layers of banana, granola (or Vanilla wafers), and banana pudding
• A topping for banana splits
• Make a strawberry banana trifle that layers Angel Food cake with fresh strawberries, bananas, banana pudding, and whipped cream
• Eat it with a spoon while singing the Chiquita Banana song!

Tips & Storage Information

Make sure not to over bake the cupcakes – once a toothpick comes out clean, they are done. If you over bake, these will be hard as rocks!

Don’t top the cupcakes until right before serving. The whipped cream frosting will last for a while but not days, so you really want to be able to serve these right away.

Store any leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator (because of the banana pudding inside) then allow them to come to room temperature before serving.

Cupcakes should not be frozen once filled and decorated. If you’d like to freeze the cupcakes prior to filling, you can place them in a freezer safe bag or airtight container and freeze for up to six months. Allow the cupcakes to come to room temperature prior to eating.

FAQs

More Cupcake Recipes

If you think a cupcake is the perfect dessert, make sure to try out these delicious cupcake recipes for next time!

• Samoa cupcakes – chocolate, coconut, and cupcake all come together in this Girl Scout cookie inspired dessert!
• Campfire cupcakes – these decadent chocolate cupcakes get a fiery twist – perfect for a camping party!
• Lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting – a homemade cupcake wit ha lemon flavor, topped with a creamy cream cheese frosting!
• Hot chocolate cupcakes – delicious chocolate cupcakes with marshmallows, chocolate, and more on tops of cupcakes!
• Jelly bean cupcakes – simple vanilla cupcakes topped with jelly beans, making them perfect for spring!