This Is the Secret Ingredient to the World Famous Banana Pudding Recipe

Save your $50 and make it at home!

As a home cook, one of the easiest no-bake dessert recipes you can make is banana pudding. Many of you probably have a well-loved recipe from your grandma floating around in your kitchen somewhere—and if you don’t, we know at least 1,000 of you love our Best Banana Pudding recipe.

While our five-star recipe is number one in our hearts, there’s one banana pudding that’s actually world-famous, and it doesn’t come from Memaw’s kitchen. Rather, the most well-known banana pudding is made in a shop in New York City.

Magnolia Bakery, which originated in Manhattan’s West Village, has been dishing out its fluffy, fruity banana pudding for nearly 30 years.

Today, Magnolia Bakery is a hot spot for residents and tourists alike looking to try the dessert, made with light and creamy vanilla pudding, real bananas, and vanilla wafers, at one of the bakery’s 11 locations in NYC, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The banana pudding has become so popular that Magnolia Bakery has perfected multiple flavors in addition to its classic pudding—like Red Velvet, Chocolate Hazelnut, and more seasonal flavors at its bakeries.

Even though you can buy the banana pudding in cookie form at grocery stores or hand out upwards of $50 to get the real deal shipped directly to you, it just isn’t the same as enjoying the freshly made sweet treat.

The Secret to Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding

So the good news for us is that Magnolia Bakery recently shared its banana pudding recipe with “Food Network” and you might be surprised at just how easy it is. The secret ingredient? Well, it’s not so secret after all because you probably use it in your banana pudding, too: instant vanilla pudding mix.

We know, we were just as shocked as you to find out the world-renowned bakery uses the same instant Jell-O pudding packets that we do instead of making pudding from scratch.

“I used to be magnolias baker and YES they use jello instant pudding,” TikTok user @therealbakedbaker commented under “Food Network’s” video.

In addition to the instant pudding surprise, Magnolia Bakery opts for iced cold water to make the pudding instead of the more traditional milk. And, after the pudding sets up, Magnolia’s recipe calls for beating the pudding into the homemade whipped cream instead of folding it in.

If you’re looking for the full recipe, “Food Network” wrote it down in the comments section.

“One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups ice-cold water 
One 3.4-ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups heavy cream 
One 11-ounce box Nilla wafers 
4 to 5 ripe bananas, sliced”

Simply make your pudding with sweetened condensed milk, water, and instant vanilla pudding mix, and let it stand for at least one hour. When it’s ready, beat the heavy cream to stiff peaks, then mix in the pudding. Layer the pudding with Nilla wafers and bananas, cover, and refrigerate for about four to six hours.

Did we just save you a trip to the real Magnolia Bakery? Who’s to say. But you certainly have an easy banana pudding recipe in your back pocket now—you’re welcome.

Read the original article on All Recipes.