These gluten-free banana pudding cups are layered with all sorts of goodness! From the softened gluten-free cookie crumbs to the silky smooth pudding, these banana pudding cups are loaded with flavor and sweetness. They can easily be customized to meet various dietary restrictions and everything can even be made from scratch! With every bite you’ll get a mouthful of softened cookies, smooth pudding, fluffy whipped cream, and sweet banana. You can even play with flavor combinations! Try peanut butter cookie banana pudding cups or chocolate cookie banana pudding cups. The options are endless with this fun gluten-free banana pudding cup recipe!

a glass of dairy-free banana pudding made with gluten-free peanut butter cookie crumbs

Modern Pioneer Recipe

These gluten-free banana pudding cups are a modern pioneer recipe! Even though they aren’t a heritage recipe, you can easily build modern pioneer kitchen life skills while making this recipe. Learn to make your own dairy-free pudding from scratch, bake your own cookies for the pudding cups assembly, and even find out how you can easily make stabilized dairy-free whipped cream!

Aside from learning modern pioneer kitchen hacks, you’ll also love this recipe because it can easily be made allergy-friendly! These banana pudding cups can be made…

gluten-free
grain-free
dairy-free
egg free
nut free
peanut free
corn free

And, this recipe is practically a no-bake recipe! Once you have made the cookies, the actual banana pudding cup recipe doesn’t require any baking. You can even make the cookies ahead of time and freeze them until they are needed for making these banana pudding cups. This recipe is a great option for a sweet and refreshing summer treat that won’t heat up the kitchen!

After you realize how easy it is to make your own pudding from scratch, you’ll definitely want to check out my dairy-free chocolate pudding pie recipe!

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glasses layered with peanut butter cookie crumbs, banaana pudding, and whipped cream

Banana Pudding Assembly Options

To keep these banana pudding cups allergy-friendly, you may choose some different ingredient options to meet your dietary needs. You can even experiment with different flavor combinations! Vanilla wafers are often the go-to pairing for banana pudding. But one of my favorite alternatives is to use peanut butter cookies! Peanut butter cookies are easy to make gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and even egg free.

Grain-free Option: To make these banana pudding cups grain-free you will just need to choose grain-free cookies for the cookie crumb base and cookie garnish. You can find countless grain-free cookie recipes in The Pioneer Chicks Cookie Cookbook, including recipes for grain-free peanut butter cookies or grain-free almond butter cookies!

Dairy-free Option: The pudding and stabilizes whipped cream are already dairy-free, so you just need to use dairy-free cookies to make these pudding cups completely free from dairy products. There are several dairy-free cookie options you can choose from, including store-bought options and homemade options:

Egg-free Option: The pudding recipe for these banana pudding cups is already free from eggs, so you just need to choose an egg-free cookie option for assembling the pudding cups. The Kinnikinnick vanilla wafers and Partake mini vanilla wafers I mentioned above are both store-bought options that are gluten-free and egg-free. You can also make your own egg-free cookies! I like to use the grain-free and egg-free caramel chip cookies in The Pioneer Chicks Cookbook. You can also make these grain-free double chocolate cookies if you want chocolate banana pudding cups!

banana pudding cups garnished with gluten-free peanut butter cookies and banana slices

Recipe Questions

Can I make the pudding without canned coconut milk?

I don’t recommend using an alternative for the canned coconut milk in this recipe. The fat from the canned coconut milk helps the pudding set up without needing to add a lot of flour to the pudding. With that said, you can use classic canned coconut milk or you can use the guar gum free canned coconut milk sold by some brands.

How can I get banana pudding to be yellow without using eggs?

There are several options to get yellow banana pudding even when the pudding is free from eggs! The best option is to use all-natural yellow food dye. Another option is to use a dash of turmeric powder. I have not tried this option myself, but from what I’ve read the turmeric does not flavor the pudding. Don’t use more than 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric and only add just enough to get the pudding to be yellow.

Can I use an alternative sugar rather than cane sugar?

You can use maple sugar or coconut sugar, but both of those sugars will alter the color of the pudding. The maple sugar will be less noticeable. You may even be able to cover up the color with all-natural yellow food coloring or turmeric. Coconut sugar will yield brown colored pudding, which is fine if you are making chocolate banana pudding cups!

Will this pudding recipe work for banana pudding pie?

No, the pudding recipe for these pudding cups will not work for pudding pie. This pudding is silky and creamy, but it won’t hold its shape if it is cut into a pie slice.

How far in advance can I make the pudding cups and still have them look fresh?

Most of the ingredients for these banana pudding cups can be made in advance, however, I don’t recommend assembling them until right before serving or at least within a few hours of when you plan to serve them. The pudding can be made in advance and kept refrigerated for 1-2 days. The stabilized whipped cream can also be made and kept refrigerated for 1-2 days, however, it will get a little firm. Whatever gluten-free cookies you choose to use can be made in advance and even frozen until you need them.

The only reason why you would not want to assemble the pudding cups too far in advance is because the banana slices will oxygenize and turn brown. You will want to slice the banana and assemble the cups as close to the time as you are going to serve them for the prettiest appearance.

homemade banana pudding cups with yellow pudding and stabilized whipped cream

These gluten-free banana pudding cups are loaded with softened cookie crumbs, silky smooth pudding, sweet banana slices, and fluffy whipped cream topping! They are a perfect no-bake dessert or snack!

Gluten-free Banana Pudding Cups

Recipe by The Pioneer Chicks

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 4 30

Servings 4 pudding cups

Author Alexa Lehr

Ingredients

Pudding

1 13.5 oz canned coconut milk
1/3 cup dairy-free milk beverage
3 T. tapioca flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 tsp. natural yellow food coloring

Stabilized Whipped Cream

1 cup SoDelicious cocowhip, refridgerated
3.5 oz. dairy-free cream cheese, room temperature

Assembly

1-2 large organic bananas, ripe
2 cups gluten-free cookies, crushed
4-8 gluten-free cookies, whole

Instructions

Start by making the pudding. Combine the canned coconut milk, milk beverage, tapioca flour, and cane sugar in a large saucepan.
Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue to whisk and heat until the mixture starts to thicken and is just starting to boil. This may take 10-12 minutes.
Once the mixture has just reached a boil, remove it from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and natural yellow food coloring. Transfer the pudding to a glass container. Allow the pudding to cool to room temperature, then cover it and put it in the fridge. Allow the pudding to set up in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
When you are ready to assemble the pudding cups, make the stabilized whipped cream. Chill a medium mixing bowl and your beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Place the cream cheese in the chilled bowl and beat on low speed until it is creamy. Add the cocowhip and beat until combined, fluffy, and stiff peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. If the whipped cream is still not holding its shape, chill it in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
To assemble the pudding cups, measure out about 1/2 cup of cookie crumbs into the bottoms of 4 small glasses. Slice the ripe bananas and place several slices in each glass.
Give the pudding a good whisk to loosen it up and smooth out any clumps. Then divide the pudding between the 4 glasses.
Top the pudding cups with the stabilized whipped cream, more banana slices, and the whole gluten-free cookies. Serve immediately!

Where to Find the Ingredients

gluten-free banana pudding cups with cookie crumbs, homemade pudding, and whipped cream

These gluten-free banana pudding cups are refreshing, sweet, and full of flavor! They can easily be made grain-free, dairy-free, and egg free when you choose allergy-friendly cookie options or make your own cookies. I like making peanut butter banana pudding cups by using homemade peanut butter cookie crumbs and peanut butter cookies for garnish. You will also learn how to make pudding from scratch and stabilize whipped cream for this recipe… both helpful kitchen life skills to know! Enjoy the silky smooth texture of this banana pudding paired with the cookies of your choice!

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