This creamy and lush salted caramel vegan banana pudding is the perfect no bake dessert packed with sweet vanilla, caramel and banana flavors throughout! Using a from-scratch vegan vanilla pudding that’s SO easy to make, we’re layering in salted caramel, banana, homemade vanilla wafers, and a deliciously creamy vegan whipped cream! Serve it in individual cups or as a classic casserole dish!

salted caramel banana pudding cups on marble

My friends who love banana pudding- you’re in for a treat. This variation on classic banana pudding- made both vegan and gluten free, and with a twist- is an absolute dream.

We have lush layers of creamy homemade vegan vanilla pudding with real specs of vanilla bean, deliciously salty and sweet caramel sauce, fresh bananas, homemade vanilla wafer cookies, and the most creamy dairy free whipped cream.

All served in these cute little cups (but you can absolutely make this in a large serving dish!).

As you know, I’m a lover of all things banana- banana bread, banana cake, banana cream pie, and these delicious banana bread cinnamon rolls. So of course, I had to give you an incredible vegan banana pudding that will shock even my non-vegan eaters. And I know we’ve really accomplished it!

vegan banana pudding cup with spoon in it

This vegan banana pudding recipe is easy, fun, and downright delicious. And if you really love banana pudding, then you must also check out my vegan banana pudding tiramisu and my banana pudding poke cake!

What is banana pudding?

This is not your traditional banana pudding recipe, of course. We’re taking many turns here to arrive at an entirely vegan version, and with that, it still strays heavily from Southern-style banana pudding (check out Shanika from Orchid + Sweet Tea‘s version here!).

Southern banana pudding typically consists of layers of whipped sweetened condensed milk, banana, vanilla wafers, and whipped cream. It can also contain cream cheese and meringue as well!

This banana pudding version, however, is layered with a dreamy and creamy vegan vanilla pudding, adds a lush layer of vegan salted caramel and homemade vanilla wafers.

Since vanilla wafers are not vegan nor are they gluten free, we’re making homemade gluten free vanilla wafers- VEGAN! But don’t worry- they’re so easy to make and only take 5 minutes to prep!

spoon of vegan banana pudding
scooping the banana pudding out of a cup

The Five Vegan Banana Pudding Components:

Here are the five lovely layers that are banana pudding:

  • Vegan vanilla pudding- We’re not using any instant mixes here, but don’t fret. It’s actually just as easy, and the flavor is much more fragrant and rich.
  • Homemade vegan caramel– This isn’t a must for a classic banana pudding, BUT it’s highly recommended. Salted caramel just always adds to the dessert, you know? And despite how sweet caramel is, the hit of salt is a nice balance overall.
  • Bananas- We’ll need about 4 large bananas.
  • Gluten free vegan vanilla wafers- Now this is another component we’re making from scratch, but it takes all of 5 minutes to prepare. It’s the easiest dough, and truly does taste just like a Nilla wafer!
  • Homemade dairy free vegan whipped cream: I love using Silk! vegan heavy cream to make my vegan whipped cream. Then I add in a touch of vanilla bean paste and just 2 tbsp of sugar for 1 cup of heavy whipping cream. It’s delicious!
vegan banana pudding components

How to make vegan banana pudding (step-by-step photos):

Let’s go over the basics for how to make this amazingly easy vegan banana pudding! I recommend starting with the vegan caramel, then proceeding with the vanilla wafers and vanilla pudding.

When it comes to assembling the pudding, you can either do it in individual cups or serve it as the classic style in a casserole dish!

The caramel:

This is a classic Banana Diaries recipe baking basic that I incorporate into so many recipes. It’s so easy to make, and honestly, you would never know it’s dairy free.

For full steps on how to make the caramel, please see my whole blog post on how to make vegan caramel. You’re going to love it!

vegan salted caramel on a plate

The gluten free vegan vanilla wafers:

If you’ve missed vanilla wafers, then your dreams are about to come true. These from scratch gluten free vanilla wafers are an absolute delight to make and enjoy. Honestly, you can make them even without this recipe, and enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.

Here’s how easy they are:

vegan vanilla wafer dough being made
Start by creaming together the wet ingredients in a bowl.
vanilla wafer dough being made
Then fold in the dry ingredients until you have a cookie dough.
cookie dough being formed
Scoop 1 tbsp of cookie dough per vanilla wafer and roll between your palms. Press them lightly into a flat disc, and repeat for all of the cookie dough.
baked gluten free vegan vanilla wafers
Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly golden!

The vanilla pudding:

Don’t let a from-scratch pudding scare you. Vegan vanilla pudding, like my vegan chocolate pudding, is SO easy to make without an instant mix (and honestly tastes so much better! The vegan instant mixes are kind of eh).

Here’s what you’ll do:

making homemade banana pudding
Whisk together all the ingredients. Then heat on medium until it begins to thicken.
vanilla pudding cooling
Stir in the vegan butter. Then cool the vanilla pudding.

Assembling salted caramel banana pudding:

Now for the fun part! I love serving these banana pudding cups because they’re so cute and easily portioned for a dinner party or birthday celebration. If you’re doing a big potluck or summer barbecue, you might want to do the casserole dish option.

You decide! But essentially the layers are vegan vanilla pudding, banana, salted caramel, crushed vanilla wafers, repeat. Then we’ll top with a homemade vegan whipped cream to finish!

assembling banana pudding
assembling the vegan banana pudding
vegan banana pudding cups assembled

Substituions & Tips:

  • Craving chocolate? Swap in my creamy vegan chocolate pudding for an even richer twist on banana pudding. It pairs so well with the caramel!
  • You can make the cookies and caramel the day ahead! Heck, you can even make the pudding the day ahead too to save time. Then assemble the day of, and you’re set.
  • Don’t prep the whipped cream ahead of time: Whipped cream is always best served after freshly being made. Since it takes only 5 minutes to make, you can just prep it right as you’re assembling your pudding if you have cooled pudding. Otherwise, wait until the pudding as cooled!
  • Don’t need gluten free? You can easily swap in regular flour for the gluten free flour in the vanilla wafers.
  • For the casserole dish size: I recommend a 2.5 quart dish. A small or medium casserole dish will do!
scooping vegan banana pudding from a cup
vegan banana pudding cup

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

Creamy Salted Caramel Vegan Banana Pudding Recipe (Gluten Free) 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!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
vegan banana pudding cups on marble

Salted Caramel Vegan Banana Pudding Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 20
  • 120:
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 8–10 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: No Bake
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

This creamy and lush salted caramel vegan banana pudding is the perfect no bake dessert packed with sweet vanilla, caramel and banana flavors throughout! Using a from-scratch vegan vanilla pudding that’s SO easy to make, we’re layering in salted caramel, banana, homemade vanilla wafers, and a deliciously creamy vegan whipped cream! Serve it in individual cups or as a classic casserole dish!

Ingredients

Scale

Vanilla Wafers:

  • 1/4 cup (56 g) vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) vegan sugar
  • 2 tbsp dairy free yogurt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour OR gluten free 1:1 baking flour*
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Vanilla pudding:

  • 3 cups (720 mL) soy milk, divided
  • 1 cup (200 g) sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract + 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/3 cup (40 g) cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp chickpea flour
  • 1/4 cup (58 g) vegan butter, cold

Remaining vegan banana pudding ingredients:

Instructions

  1. First start by making the caramel sauce. Make sure that you’ve made the caramel sauce start to finish and are in the process of cooling the caramel. Then make the vanilla wafers.
  2. Make the vanilla wafers: First, preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure out all ingredients.
  3. Make the dough: Whisk the vegan butter, sugar, dairy free yogurt, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl. Add in the flour, baking powder, and sea salt, and use a rubber spatula to fold the dry into the wet.
  4. Form the cookies: Use a 1 tbsp cookie dough scoop and scoop a cookie dough ball. Roll it between your palms and lightly press it into almost a patty shape. Repeat for the remaining dough. You should make 18-20 cookies.
  5. Bake the vanilla wafers: Place the baking sheet into the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the vanilla wafers are lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the pudding.
  6. Make the vanilla pudding: Reserve 1/4 cup of the soy milk and set aside. In a large pot, and NOT heated right now, whisk together the remaining soy milk, sugar, vanilla extract and bean paste, and sea salt. SIFT in the cornstarch and chickpea flour to the 1/4 cup of soy milk, and whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved into the soy milk. Then pour the slurry into the main pot, and whisk until combined. Turn the heat onto medium heat, and continue to whisk the mixture until it starts to bubble and thicken. It won’t boil, but once it starts to gently bubble, reduce the heat to low, and continue whisking until it’s noticeably thickened.
  7. Add in the butter: Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the butter. It will melt and integrate into the vegan vanilla pudding. Place a piece of parchment paper over the top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming while you gather the banana pudding ingredients for assemble. Set the pudding aside.
  8. Assemble your vegan banana pudding. You can either make this into banana pudding cups (about 4-5 individual cups) or make as one large classic style vegan banana pudding in an 8×8 casserole dish (NOT a brownie pan). First slice the banana. Then add a layer of the vanilla pudding to the casserole dish or individual cups, followed by the caramel, sliced banana, and vanilla wafers (either whole or crumbled up). Repeat for a second layer.
  9. Garnish: Finish with any extra vanilla wafers and banana coins. Place the casserole dish or individual cups into the fridge to set for 1-2 hours, until the pudding has cooled.
  10. Finish with whipped cream: When ready to serve, finish with whipped cream and cookie crumbles. Serve and enjoy!

Equipment

Notes

Gluten free: Everything in this recipe is gluten free naturally except the cookies. I actually made them to be gluten free but if you are not gluten free and want to use all purpose flour, you can. Otherwise, gluten free readers, please use a gluten free flour blend containing xanthan gum, such as King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour (the one I used to test this recipe and used in the photos here!).

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Pudding tends to not freeze well, so I wouldn’t recommend freezing it!