This recipe for Banana Pudding Brownies uses 7 simple ingredients to create a delicious dessert. Enjoy a buttery blondie topped with a creamy banana pudding layer.
💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's a memorable dessert. Everyone loves a fun twist on a classic!
- These have a great texture combo. Get a rich, buttery cake layer topped with a creamy, light banana pudding mixture. Add crushed vanilla wafers to the top for even more depth!
- It's a shortcut dessert (but no one will know). We're using cake mix and instant pudding mix to make this recipe as simple as possible. There are only 7 ingredients!
🍌 Ingredients
(See recipe card at the bottom of the blog post for specific ingredient measurements.)
For Buttery Cake Layer
- instant banana pudding mix - You will use this for both the cake and the banana pudding layers. It gives the whole dish that bright banana flavor!
- yellow cake mix - Yellow cake mix tends to have a buttery taste, which works perfectly with these brownies. If you can find a banana cake mix, it works even better!
- eggs
- butter - The butter should be melted for this recipe.
For Creamy Banana Pudding Layer
- cream cheese - Make sure your cream cheese is softened prior to making this recipe. You can either leave it on the counter for an hour or two or pop it in a warm (not hot, slightly warmer than room temperature) oven for a few minutes.
- eggs
- powdered sugar - Powdered sugar will give this layer a smooth finish - it's a must! Don't go with granulated sugar, your filling will be too grainy.
- vanilla wafers - I prefer to use lightly crushed wafers so you don't get a huge bite of vanilla after in your brownie. I have seen whole wafers used on the top of each individual brownie if you'd prefer to make them that way.
Variations & Additions
- If you'd like more crunch in your brownies, add crushed walnuts or pecans to the top of the brownies after baking.
- Top your brownies with whipped cream.
- You can also add sliced bananas to the top of the brownies - however, I'd do this just before serving so the bananas do not brown.
- If you'd like to make these brownies another flavor, simply change the pudding flavor. These would be great with vanilla pudding mix, chocolate pudding mix, or even something like pistachio pudding mix.
- You could even substitute brownie mix for the yellow cake mix to give your brownies more of a chocolatey/banana combo!
Related: Try my Crock Pot Tropical Dump Cake or this Strawberry Tres Leches Cake for other delicious summer desserts.
⏲️ How to Make Banana Pudding Brownies
First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Step 1: Make the buttery cake layer.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, yellow cake mix, half of the pudding mix, and 2 eggs. Stir well (this mixture will be thick).
Spread this mixture in the bottom of a greased 7x11" baking dish in an even layer.
Step 2: Add the creamy banana pudding layer.
Using a hand mixer, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, 2 eggs, and the other half of the banana pudding mix. Mix until blended.
Pour this cream cheese mixture over the cake mix layer.
Step 3: Bake and garnish with vanilla wafers.
Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes, until the edges of the cream cheese layer start to brown.
Once you remove the brownies from the oven, sprinkle lightly crushed vanilla wafers over the top of the still-warm brownies. Lightly press them into the surface.
Allow brownies to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.
🧊 Leftovers & Storage
Because of the cream cheese, these need to be stored in the refrigerator. Make sure to top your container with an airtight lid or plastic wrap. I'd enjoy these brownies within 3 days of baking them.
These are delicious warm or cool! Either serve them straight out of the fridge (my preference) or pop them in the air fryer for a few minutes to warm them.
Can I freeze these brownies?
I don't recommend freezing this one - most recipes with a cream cheese layer aren't going to freeze well because of texture changes.
💡 More Helpful Tips & Tricks
- The middle of your brownies might still be a little jiggly when you take it out of the oven. That's totally normal - it will firm up as the brownies cool.
- As your brownies cool, the vanilla wafers you're adding to the top will soften. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you want your wafers to stay crunchy, wait until you're ready to serve to add them.
- I use a 7x11" glass baking dish for my brownies. Your cooking time might vary slightly if you use a different-sized dish or a metal baking pan.
Hope you love this bright, summery dessert! 🍌 If you try this recipe, I'd love for you to rate ⭐️ and review 💭 the recipe in the comments. Before you go, make sure to follow along for the latest from the blog!
Banana Pudding Brownies
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Ingredients
For the Brownie Base
- 5.1 oz instant banana pudding mix divided
- 15.25 oz yellow cake mix
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup butter melted (1 stick)
For the Banana Pudding Filling
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups vanilla wafers lightly crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, yellow cake mix, half of the instant pudding mix, and 2 eggs. Stir well (this mixture will be thick, almost like cookie dough).
- Spread this mixture in the bottom of a greased 7x11" baking dish in an even layer.
- Next, make the banana pudding filling. Using a hand mixer, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, 2 eggs, and the other half of the banana pudding mix. Stir until blended.
- Pour this cream cheese mixture over the cake mix layer.
- Bake the brownies at 325 degrees for 60 minutes, until the top of the cream cheese layer starts to brown.
- Once you remove the brownies from the oven, sprinkle lightly crushed vanilla wafers over the top of the still-warm brownies. Gently press the wafers into the surface.
