Before moving to the south, I had never heard of banana pudding. Sure, I. grew up eating the occasional vanilla or chocolate [rice milk] pudding from the grocery store, but banana? nah. However, after moving to Nashville and realizing that banana puddin’ was a real thing, I have wanted to re-invent it ever since. If you know me by now, you know that I typically create new recipes using ingredients that have been sitting around the kitchen for awhile. While our fruit purchases tend to be limited in this family (My husband and I don’t really eat it, and thus, tend to forget to buy it) my in-laws were in town recently and bought pretty much everything the kid’s requested (of course). Therefore, with a couple old bananas sitting around and an opened packaged of coconut milk that I couldn’t seem to drink fast enough, I decided it was finally my time to try out some banana pudding. The recipe is simple as simple can be. While traditional banana puddin’ is served with vanilla wafers, I decided to put a spin on things and make a vanilla cookie crumble. I used tigernut flour to give the crumble a sweet, nutty flavor that just so happens to compliment the banana flavor perfectly. I also chose to use maple sugar a dear friend gifted from Vermont, though this can easily be replaced with coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, or no sweetener at all (depending on how ripe your bananers are). Overall, I could not be happier with how this recipe came out. The pudding is thick, sweet, but not too sweet, and the cookie crumble adds just the right amount of crunchy texture to satisfy all the mouth feels.
AIP Paleo Banana Pudding
Serves 4-6
Pudding Ingredients
- 14 oz can coconut milk
- 4 ripe bananas
- 2 tbsp arrowroot flour + 2 water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
Cookie Crumble Ingredients
- 1/3 cup tigernut flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup maple sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- Pinch of sea salt
Process
- Whisk together cookie crumble ingredients until a crumble dough has formed, then crumble onto a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 10 minutes until golden.
- Once golden remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- In a food processor, blend together coconut milk, 2 bananas, vanilla extract, maple sugar, and sea salt until smooth.
- Pour mixture into a sauce pot and heat until just beginning to bubble.
- Stir together 2 tbsp arrowroot flour and 2 tbsp water in a small bowl and whisk into hot banana mixture, whisking until mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Cut remaining 2 bananas into 1/4 inch slices, then pour the pudding into desired serving bowls or glasses, layering with sliced banana and pudding.
- Once ready to serve, sprinkle pudding with cookie crumble and enjoy!
Notes: reduce the amount of maple sugar depending on the ripeness of your bananas and (or) desired sweetness.
Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”