These easy Banana Pudding Cupcakes turn Southern banana pudding into a handheld treat. They feature vanilla cupcakes filled with creamy vanilla pudding and fresh banana chunks. They’re frosted with whipped cream and a sprinkle of crushed vanilla wafers for the finish.

Best Banana Pudding Cupcakes Recipe

We love cupcakes at our house! What’s not to love, right? The versatility of flavor combinations and sweet fillings are only limited by your imagination. They don’t require forks or spoons with the bonus of being portable! I often make multiple flavors of frosted and filled cupcakes and have done so for many years. These filled banana pudding filled cupcakes are the epitome of homestyle desserts and they’re always a hit whenever they’re served. How to make Banana Pudding Cupcakes: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

Prepare Pans – Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two 12 cup muffin pans with liners.
Cake Batter – Prepare the cake mix per the instructions on the box using milk or buttermilk in place of the water. Use the same quantity of eggs recommended by the package directions. Bake the cupcakes per the directions then set aside to cool.
Banana Pudding Filling – Whip together the cream cheese and the sweetened condensed milk. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Milk – Add milk, vanilla and instant vanilla pudding mix. Whip the ingredients together on medium-high speed until the mixture thickens.
Whipped Cream – Fold in 1 cup of whipped topping by hand.
Bananas – Slice and quarter the bananas just before adding to the custard to prevent browning.
Fold banana chunks into the custard.
Assemble – Using a sharp knife cut a cone in the middle of each cupcake removing the cake leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. (Avoid cutting all the way to the bottom.)
Sprinkle crushed vanilla wafer crumbs into the bottom of the cupcake, spoon the banana pudding into the center.
Pipe a dollop of whipped topping on top and garnish with reserved vanilla wafer crumbs.
Chill for 2-4 hours, then serve.

How to Make Southern Banana Pudding Cupcakes Recipe

My lifelong obsession with banana pudding recipes brought this particular cupcake to life and it remains one of my most popular recipes to date. I’ve even had brides who loved these pudding filled cupcakes so much that they served them at their wedding receptions. My dream for this banana pudding cupcake was to combine two desserts to make one delectable handheld treat and that’s exactly what it does.

Ingredients you’ll need to make easy Banana Pudding Cupcakes: One box of yellow cake mix, instant banana pudding mix, whole milk, condensed milk, plain cream cheese, bananas, vanilla wafers, vanilla extract and frozen whipped topping. (i.e. Cool Whip or similar)
Kitchen tools you’ll need: A stand mixer or a hand mixer, large bowl, cupcake pans, cupcake liners, a sharp knife and cutting board, cooling rack and large rubber spatula. You can also use an ice cream scoop to evenly divide the batter between the cupcake wells. To decorate as pictured, you’ll need a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. One such as Wilton 1M or similar.
Can I make a homemade vanilla cake for the cupcakes? Yes, you can! If you prefer to bake completely from scratch, you may like to use my recipe for Old Fashioned Butter Cake in place of the cake mix. It works like a charm.
How do you keep bananas from turning brown? You can toss the banana chunks with a small amount of lemon juice to slow the oxidation, if you’re concerned. Mainly it’s important that they stay submerged in the pudding without exposure to air. While you can’t stop it altogether, rest assured it doesn’t happen immediately either.
This recipe uses instant pudding not cook and serve. If you’d like to make homemade pudding, checkout my recipe for Old Fashioned Banana Pudding.
When filling the centers of the cupcakes keep in mind it will set in the fridge and doesn’t have to be fully set when it’s initially made.
How far in advance can you make these banana cupcakes? Due to the potential for the bananas to brown, it’s best to fill cupcakes no more than one day in advance. You can also prepare the banana pudding filling and bake the cupcakes one day ahead of time. When doing so, you can then assemble them and frost them with whipped cream just before serving to save time.
Can I garnish these cupcakes with fresh banana slices? Only if you plan to do so just before serving or they’ll turn brown. A vanilla wafer or a dried banana slice are the best choices for garnishing.
Store filled cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Cupcakes can be baked and cooled then frozen for up to 1 month, then thaw and fill before serving. Do not fill and freeze these banana pudding cupcakes.

More Easy Cupcake Recipes to Make

Bake a batch of pudding filled cupcakes and watch kids of all ages gobble them up for dessert. More cupcake recipes you may also like to try:

Pretty Strawberries and Cream Filled Cupcakes will make a stunning addition to your desserts table.
Sour Cream Angel Food Cupcakes are a cake mix hack and no one will ever know.
French Vanilla Cupcakes with Dreamsicle Filling are warm weather ready.
Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes are like a party in your mouth.
Chocolate Somoa Cupcakes.
The frosting for these Double Chocolate Cupcakes with a Peanut Buttercream Icing is to die for.
You may also like these Key Lime Cupcakes from Daisy Brand.

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