Banana Pudding Cheesecake

Silky creamy vanilla cheesecake filling over light graham cracker crust topped with indulgent whipped cream topping and ripe bananas.

This Banana pudding cheesecake is my easy take on a popular decadent dessert that takes us back to childhood.

I love simple yet sweet and tasty desserts, I do use shortcuts in my recipes, but somehow baking a cheesecake is always an achievement. Even though you still will have to wait until it is fully set in the fridge, the crust and filling come together quickly.

I don’t use water baths, and my cheesecakes don’t crack.

This Banana Pudding Cheesecake is:

• Easy to assemble in under 30 minutes. And all you need afterward is a bit of patience before you can enjoy a slice of banana pudding.
• A delicious mix of two staples of dessert cuisine: banana pudding and vanilla cheesecake.
• Classic bake recipe without a water bath. Turns out moist anytime!
• Perfect dessert for birthdays, Mother’s Days, or Easter holidays.

Key Ingredients

A lot of the ingredients for a tasty cheesecake recipe need to be at room temperature. Pull them out of the fridge 2 hours before cooking.

Graham Cracker Crust

• Graham crackers crumbs. Even though vanilla wafer crumbs have a perfect vanilla flavor to go in this cake, and they are indeed in many other recipes, I find them too soft for the crust. As a topping – great, but for the crust I stick to good old graham cracker crust. To make 2 cups of crust crumbs you need to use at least 8 oz of crackers. Store-bought crust works well too.
• Brown sugar adds velvety caramel flavor.
• Melted unsalted butter binds together the crust mixture.

Banana pudding cheesecake filling

• Room-temperature cream cheese. Full-fat cream cheese is what makes our filling so silky and creamy. Use cream cheese in bricks, Philadelphia is good. We will sweeten it with granulated sugar.
• Banana pudding mix – bring the banana flavors on! Use instant pudding mix and simply mix it in with cheesecake ingredients. It is that easy. Do not make the pudding. Add it to the mixture as a dry mix.
• Room temperature eggs – they can make or break the recipe. They are mandatory to have that baked, warm cheesecake, but if you overdo them, they will make the filling crack.
• Room-temperature sour cream – another ingredient responsible for moist and soft cheesecake filling. Many recipes skip it but I think it is a big yes to make a perfect cheesecake recipe.
• Vanilla extract to highlight the bananas but also add some subtle aroma.

For more banana flavor, you can add mashed banana and banana extract to the cheesecake filling.

For my liking, it is already a bit too much of bananas so I usually don’t do it. I do more of a classic banana pudding version.

Topping

• Whipped Cream topping. Make your own whipped topping with heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar or use store-bought whipped cream.
• Fresh Banana slices. Prepare the fresh bananas but only slice them right before decorating and serving to prevent them from browning.
• Crushed Vanilla Wafers. Crushed nilla wafers work for crust and topping. They have a light sweet flavor and match the bananas very nicely.

Kitchen Equipment You’ll Need

• 9-inch Springform Pan – classic cheesecake size.
• Parchment Paper to line the pan. I always recommend greasing the sides of the pan too.
• Food Processor/Blender to crush the crackers into fine crumbs. The simple way to crush cookies, crackers, and wafers is to place them in a freezer or Ziploc bag and roll the rolling pin over and over again until you only have fine crumbs.
• Hand Mixer for making the pudding and whipped topping.
• Optional, piping bag and tips to decorate the cheesecake with whipped cream.

How To Make Banana Pudding Cheesecake

1 – Make Graham Cracker Crust

1. Prepare the springform pan by lining it with parchment paper on the bottom and up the sides. Set aside.
2. Blend the graham crackers in the food processor or blender until you have fine crumbs. 
3. Combine the crumbs with the brown sugar and mix with a fork until evenly distributed.
4. Pour in the melted butter and stir again until combined.
5. Transfer the mixture to the prepared springform pan. Press firmly into the bottom of the pan. A flat-bottom glass works perfectly for smoothing the crust mixture into an even layer. 
6. Place it in the freezer to firm while you work on the filling. 

2 – Making banana pudding cheesecake

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl at low medium speed until smooth stiff peaks form, around 3 minutes.
3. Add the sugar, pudding mix, flour, and salt to the cream cheese mixture. Blend again until combined.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each addition. 
5. On the last egg, also add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Mix the cheesecake mixture one last time until smooth.

3 – Bake banana pudding cheesecake

1. Smooth the cheesecake batter into an even layer on top of the chilled crust.
2. Bake banana pudding cheesecake for 55-60 minutes or until the edges of the cheesecake are set and the center is still a bit jiggly. Then turn off the oven and open the oven door halfway. Let the cheesecake sit in the warm oven and finish cooking for another hour.
3. Remove from the oven and cover with plastic wrap.
4. Chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight to finish setting. 

Alternatively, use the water bath method to cook the cheesecake.

Making Banana Pudding Cheesecake Over A Water Bath

A water bath helps the cheesecake filling to cook slowly and creates more moisture in the oven. It is optional and I don’t use a water bath to cook my cheesecake.

Wrap the springform pan tightly in 2 layers of aluminum foil and set it on the middle rack in the oven.

Fill a medium bowl or a baking dish with 1-2 inches of hot water and place it right under the cheesecake on the lower rack.

Once done, let the banana pudding cheesecake sit in the turned-off oven for 30 minutes to fully set, then open the oven door and leave the cheesecake in for another 15-20 minutes. Then, take it out and allow it to cool completely for about 1-2 hours.

4 – Toppings & Serving

1. Release the sides from the springform pan and remove the parchment paper.
2. Finish the cheesecake by adding whipped cream, banana slices, mint leaves, shredded coconut, or vanilla wafers around the edge before cutting and serving.

You can use Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream topping – it is heavenly good with fresh sliced bananas.

Make a homemade caramel sauce to drizzle over the cheesecake before serving. Simmer butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, salt, chopped nuts, and corn syrup.

Storage

Store any leftover cheesecake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Remove the cheesecake from the pan right before slicing and serving.

When serving don’t let the cheesecake sit out for more than 2 hours, it affects how well it holds its shape and ultimately, the taste.

Baked cheesecakes freeze better than no-bake. You can freeze the banana pudding cheesecake without whipped topping for 1 month.

To defrost, thaw in the fridge overnight. You can’t freeze it again afterward.

Make Ahead

You can make the banana pudding cheesecake at least 1 day ahead as it requires chilling.

Prepare all the ingredients ahead of time, up to 3 days, only without topping to keep sliced bananas from browning. Add the whipped cream topping and bananas before serving.

Substitutions

• Crust substitutions.

Oreo cookies, Biscoff, ginger spice cookies, or vanilla wafer crust are amazing crust options for banana pudding cheesecake. Nilla wafer crust is second best after Graham crackers for banana pudding cheesecakes. It is a no-bake crust with a light vanilla flavor.

You can add banana slices on top of the crust too before pouring in the cheesecake filling.

• Special diet substitutions

Vegan cheesecake recipes can use vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, coconut or soy yogurt, and vegan or coconut whipped cream.

For a celiac diet, use gluten-free graham crackers and gluten-free flour like almond, amaranth, or buckwheat flour.

• No-bake cheesecake recipes omit eggs and fully rely on chilling time for the cheesecake to set.
• Layers. This cheesecake can have an additional layer of sliced bananas (and Nilla wafer crumbs) inside the filling. In that case, fill the crust only with half of the cheesecake batter, layer the bananas, and then pour the remaining filling.

Tips & Tricks

• To release the cheesecake once it is done slide the knife around the edges and then open the sides of the springform pan.
• Fine crumb mixture is the rule of thumb no matter what cookie base you choose. It needs to be finely ground to make sure it won’t break easily once you pour the batter and let it sit overnight.
• Only use room-temperature ingredients. They are easier to combine without lumps.
• Cooking for a party or potluck? Instead of one banana cheesecake make mini cheesecakes or cheesecake bars. The same steps apply, only fill each tin 3/4.
• You can always roast the bananas for this cheesecake recipe or caramelize them. Both have a stronger and sweeter banana flavor.
• Add colors to the filling with organic powder (turmeric), instant banana pudding, or yellow food coloring.
• You can blind-bake the crust with weights for just 10 minutes to make it firmer. Once it’s cooled down, you can pour batter.
• Don’t overbeat the cream cheese, especially the eggs, for the cheesecake layer. It is often why baked cheesecakes crack or sink.
• Never skip the chilling in cheesecake recipes. 4-6 hours is a bare minimum, the easiest and most reliable way is to simply leave the cheesecake in the fridge overnight.
• To easily cut banana pudding cheesecake, keep the cake in the refrigerator right until serving, then take it out, dip the knife into hot water, wipe it, and slice the cheesecake.
• If the topping is not spreading well, quickly pop it in the fridge before spreading it to cool it down lower than room temperature.
• Do not open the oven door often while the cheesecake is baking it can change the internal temperature of the oven and mess up the slow cooking of the filling.

Popular Questions

Can I Use Instant Pudding Mix?

I use pudding mix to save prep time and have a strong banana flavor in the cheesecake. Simply mix it with cold milk and add the filling mixture to the crust.

Banana pudding mix is what I use, vanilla pudding or caramel pudding mixes are some great ideas too.

Jell-o puddings are the most popular option to buy.

How Do You Keep Bananas From Turning Brown In A Cheesecake?

I use firm ripe bananas for the topping and they can stay fresh for a few hours. Slice bananas only before serving banana pudding cheesecake and they won’t have enough time to oxidize and brown.

Lemon juice is an easy fix to keep bananas from turning brown – brush sliced bananas with a little bit of lemon juice and it will slow down the oxidizing.

How To Tell If The Cheesecake Is Done?

The cheesecake is done when only the spot in the center is jiggly but all of the rest of the cake is well set. The cake thermometer would show 150 degrees F of internet temperature but the tester can leave a hole in the surface.

Don’t bake the cheesecake until the center hardens, you’ll dry and cracking, not tasty, cheesecake.

How To Prevent Cheesecake Cracks?

To keep cheesecake from cracking do not overbeat cream cheese and eggs, use a water bath baking method or no-bake method, and don’t pull the cheesecake out of the oven immediately after it’s done.

Bake a cheesecake slowly, at no more than 325F, and use a water bath to create a steamy environment that will trap moisture inside the cheesecake.

If you love this cheesecake recipe, you’re going to love these other tasty cheesecakes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Banana Recipes

Banana Cream Pie

Banana Pudding Ice Cream

Twinkies Banana Cream Pie

Banana Pudding Recipe

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