This soft and tender moist vegan banana pudding cake has pools of vanilla pudding and layers of fresh banana and crushed vanilla wafer cookies. Basically banana pudding in cake form, and you don’t need any eggs nor dairy!

slice of vegan banana pudding cake

Banana pudding meets cake!

If you’re a lover of banana pudding and banana cake, then you must try this deliciously moist vegan banana pudding poke cake.

As you know from my banana pudding tiramisu, my obsession with banana pudding is at an all time high. So my next move had to be one of my favorite desserts of all time: cake.

It’s like banana pudding, but add a layer of the *fluffiest* vegan banana cake as the base…with holes poked through it so the vanilla pudding can soak through. Heaven in a bite.

slice of vegan banana pudding cake on a plate

Then we layer with fresh banana, vegan vanilla wafer cookies, more vanilla pudding, and a vanilla pudding buttercream frosting. It’s even more delicious with a dollop of vegan salted caramel on top too.

And guess what? The cake is made in just one bowl (naturally- I mean, I’m known for my one bowl cakes! Just check my vegan lemon blueberry cake from my cookbook!), and the vanilla pudding comes together in just 10 minutes- and without a pudding mix!

You’re just going to love this vegan banana pudding cake recipe!

How is this vegan banana pudding cake…vegan?

Okay, so this is a big question, because I bet many are wondering, “but don’t you need cream or eggs or butter?!”

Yes, the traditional version of this recipe uses all of those. But you actually don’t need them to make a delicious tasting and entirely vegan banana pudding cake recipe.

In fact, the bananas in the banana cake act as the egg replacement (how simple, right!?), and the vanilla pudding is made from all dairy free milk- coconut milk and oat milk!

side angle of banana pudding cake

Assembling banana pudding sheet cake:

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

bowl of banana cake batter
First we’ll make the quick banana cake batter. It comes together in just one bowl, and is so easy!
banana cake after baking
Once you’ve baked the cake, we’ll make the vanilla pudding.
vanilla pudding
While the cake is cooling, make the 10 minute vegan vanilla pudding. Then we’ll assemble our banana cake!
poked holes in banana cake
Once the cake is fully cool, poke holes in the cake to spread the pudding on top.
banana pudding spread on top of cake
Spread the pudding on top, then allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes.
assembling the banana pudding
Add banana slices, crushed vanilla wafer cookies, and more pudding. Then allow the cake to fully cool before assembling with the frosting.
frosted vegan banana pudding cake
Once the pudding is cooled, top with the vanilla pudding frosting and more banana slices and crushed cookies!
sliced vegan banana cake
Slice and serve! Enjoy!

Swaps for coconut milk:

If you want to use a different vegan milk other than coconut milk, you can swap in soy milk or vegan heavy cream. The soy milk is personally my favorite, as it creates a bit of a lighter vegan vanilla pudding that’s really lovely!

bitten slice of vegan banana pudding cake

Can I make this cake gluten free?

Absolutely! I love using King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten free flour blend for the banana cake part. It works wonderfully both in gram measurements and in cups, and you honestly will not know that your vegan banana pudding cake is also gluten free with it.

For the vanilla wafers, I recommend using Home Free Vanilla Cookies, which are vegan and gluten free. However, they’re not certified gluten-free, so for those with gluten allergies, please be aware!

slices of banana pudding cake

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

Easy Vegan Banana Pudding Cake pinterest pin

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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slice of vegan banana pudding cake

Easy Vegan Banana Pudding Cake

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  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

This soft and tender moist vegan banana pudding cake has pools of vanilla pudding and layers of fresh banana and crushed vanilla wafer cookies. Basically banana pudding in cake form, and you don’t need any eggs nor dairy!

Ingredients

Scale

Vegan Banana Cake:

  • 3 cups (375) g all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour*
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (150 g) brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tbsp dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large bananas, mashed
  • 1 cup (240 mL) vegan buttermilk, room temperature

Vegan Vanilla Pudding:

  • 2 cups (480 mL) coconut milk
  • 1 cup (240 mL) oat milk or soy milk
  • 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
  • 7 tbsp (70 g) cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 5 tbsp (70 g) vegan butter, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract + 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Vegan Vanilla Pudding Buttercream:

  • 1/2 batch vegan buttercream frosting
  • 1/3 reserved vegan vanilla pudding
  • 2–3 ripe large bananas
  • 1/2 cup crushed vegan vanilla wafer cookies

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 8×13″ baking pan with parchment paper greased lightly with oil.
  2. Make the batter: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the vegan butter, mashed banana, brown sugar, sugar, dairy free yogurt, and vanilla extract. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, along with the vegan buttermilk, and whisk until just combined.
  3. Bake: Pour the banana cake batter into the prepared baking pan, and bake for 30-35  minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool.
  4. While the cake is cooling, make the pudding: In a medium saucepan and NOT on heat, whisk together the coconut milk, oat milk, sugar, cornstarch, and sea salt vigorously until the cornstarch is dissolved. Then bring the mixture to medium heat, and continue stirring until it thickens, about 5-7 minutes. Once thickened, remove from heat, and stir in the vegan butter and vanilla extract (and paste) until melted. Set aside to cool while you return to the cake.
  5. Poke the cake: Remove the cake from the cake pan and onto a cooling rack (or for ease of serving, keep the cake in the pan). Using a cupcake corer or a butterknife, poke a few holes all over the top of the cake.
  6. Spread the pudding: Take about 1/3 of the pudding, and spread it over the top of the cake. Add banana slices on top followed by crushed cookie (save some for topping). Then spread another 1/3 of the pudding on top. Set aside to cool (you can cover with a piece of tinfoil to protect it).
  7. Make the frosting: Once the cake is cooled and set, and the pudding is room temperature,  make the buttercream according to instructions in the linked post. Add in the remaining 1/3 of the pudding and whisk together until creamed.
  8. Frost the cake: Spoon the frosting on top, and top with remaining bananas and crushed cookie. Slice and serve!
  9. Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

Gluten free: Swap in King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten free flour for the cake, and use gluten free vegan vanilla wafers for the cookies.

Corn-free: Swap in arrowroot starch.