Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding Calculator
Scale the famous NYC recipe, convert measurements & plan your pudding
Magnolia Bakery's Famous Banana Pudding
NYC's most iconic dessert — layers of vanilla pudding mousse, fresh bananas & Nilla Wafers. Base recipe serves 8. Use the scaler below for any crowd size.
Scaled Ingredients ×1
Base Recipe (8 servings)
Convert between cups, tablespoons, milliliters, ounces and more — useful when scaling pudding and cream measurements.
Quick Reference for This Recipe
Estimated nutrition per serving (based on 8 servings). Adjust the serving count to recalculate totals.
Estimated Nutrition Facts
Per ¾ cup serving. Values are approximate.
| Nutrient | Per Serving | Total (1 serving) |
|---|
* Percent Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Nutrition values are estimates and may vary based on brands used.
Ingredient Breakdown (per base recipe)
Plan your prep schedule. Enter your target serving time to get a backwards prep timeline.
Your Prep Timeline
Pro Tips from Magnolia Bakery
Use instant vanilla pudding — NOT banana flavored (too artificial)
Water must be ice cold for best pudding texture
Fold cream into pudding gently — preserve the mousse-like fluffiness
Cover bananas with pudding to prevent browning
For individual cups: layer wafers → banana → pudding, ending with pudding
Make pudding base overnight for deepest flavor and firmest set
About the Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding Recipe
What makes Magnolia Bakery banana pudding different?
Magnolia Bakery's famous banana pudding — from their NYC flagship on Bleecker Street — is not a traditional cooked pudding. Instead it uses a unique three-ingredient base: sweetened condensed milk, cold water, and instant vanilla pudding mix, which is chilled until completely firm and then folded into freshly whipped heavy cream. This creates an ultra-light, mousse-like texture that sets it apart from every other banana pudding.
Recipe Scaler:
- The base recipe serves 8 at standard ¾ cup portions
- Ingredient counts for whole items (cans, boxes, bananas) are always rounded up — you can't use half a can
- For large batches (20+ servings), assemble in two separate dishes for easier serving and chilling
- Seasoning and flavoring rarely need proportional scaling
Measurement Conversions:
- Volume: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 240 ml = 8 fl oz
- 1 cup heavy cream = 238 g (cream is slightly denser than water)
- These are approximate — always measure liquids by volume for this recipe
Timing Notes:
- Pudding base must chill at least 4 hours — overnight gives best results
- Active prep (mixing + assembly) takes roughly 20–25 minutes
- After assembly, chill at least 30 minutes before serving
- Consume within 8 hours of assembly for best texture
Nutrition Notes:
- Nutrition estimates are based on standard USDA values for each ingredient
- Values will vary slightly depending on exact brands used
- Using light whipped topping in place of heavy cream reduces calories significantly
- The recipe is naturally gluten-present (Nilla Wafers contain wheat)
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Can I make this ahead? Yes — assemble up to 12 hours before. Keep refrigerated and covered.
- Can I freeze it? Not recommended — cream and banana texture degrades when frozen.
- Why is my pudding runny? The pudding base must chill a full 4 hours minimum before folding in cream.
- What if I can't find Nilla Wafers? Any vanilla wafer or digestive biscuit works as a substitute.
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