An Easy Banana Trifle Recipe When On A Time Crunch!
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Were you asked to bring dessert but need to whip something up quickly? And you have just a few hours for the party/gathering? Then this Banana Trifle recipe is one to save the day!
I love easy recipes, but I get that sometimes you don’t mind spending time making everything from scratch. This is not one of those times.
You have some time before heading out for work or taking the kids to school to pull a few ingredients together and throw stuff into the refrigerator to do its thing.
This banana trifle recipe will not disappoint as it checks all the boxes above!
An Easy Banana Trifle Recipe
These are the ingredients you will need:
- Banana cake; boxed, homemade, or store-bought. (Here’s an easy, from-scratch, banana cake recipe)
- Vanilla instant pudding
- Cream cheese, softened
- Whipping cream
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Strawberries, cut into pieces or sliced
- Blueberries
- Nilla wafers
Scroll down to the recipe to jot down the specific measurements for each.
How to make this Easy Banana Trifle
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Prepare the Cake: Bake or purchase a banana cake and allow it to cool completely. Once cooled, cut the cake into generous cubes/slices.
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Assemble the First Layer: Place a single layer of cake pieces at the bottom of a trifle bowl.
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Make the Pudding Mixture:
In a separate bowl, combine softened cream cheese and instant pudding mix. Beat on low speed until the mixture forms small pea-sized crumbles. Add 2 cups of cold milk and continue mixing on low. Gradually increase the speed as the mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency.
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Layer the Pudding: Spread half of the pudding mixture evenly over the layer of banana cake pieces.
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Add Fruit: Top the pudding layer with sliced strawberries.
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Repeat Layers: Add another layer of banana cake and spread the remaining pudding mixture on top. Finish this section with a layer of blueberries.
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Make the Whipped Cream:
In a clean bowl, whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract using a hand mixer. Beat until soft peaks form and the whipped cream holds its shape. -
Finish the Trifle: Spread the whipped cream over the top of the trifle and garnish with Nilla wafers.
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Chill and Serve: Refrigerate the trifle for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the layers to set and flavors to marry well.
So good, and so easy to whip up!
A quick and easy dessert to take to that next potluck you’ve been invited to.
Note: You could also add fresh banana slices to the pudding mix, along with the strawberries.
And if preferred, swap out the vanilla pudding with a banana pudding, to make this a Banana Pudding Trifle recipe!
Here’s a printable version of the recipe:
Easy Banana Trifle Recipe
A delicious banana trifle recipe that's quick to whip up for the next potluck.
Ingredients
- 1 9x13 banana cake; boxed, homemade, or store-bought.
- 1 box of vanilla instant pudding
- 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened (use the brick cream cheese)
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups strawberries, cut into pieces or sliced
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
- Box of Nilla wafers
Instructions
- Prepare the Cake: Bake or purchase a banana cake and allow it to cool completely. Once cooled, cut the cake into generous cubes/slices.
- Assemble the First Layer: Place a single layer of cake pieces at the bottom of a trifle bowl.
- Make the Pudding Mixture:
- In a separate bowl, combine softened cream cheese and instant pudding mix. Beat on low speed until the mixture forms small pea-sized crumbles. Add 2 cups of cold milk and continue mixing on low. Gradually increase the speed as the mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency.
- Layer the Pudding: Spread half of the pudding mixture evenly over the layer of banana cake pieces.
- Add Fruit: Top the pudding layer with sliced strawberries.
- Repeat Layers: Add another layer of banana cake and spread the remaining pudding mixture on top. Finish this section with a layer of blueberries.
- Make the Whipped Cream:
- In a clean bowl, whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract using a hand mixer. Beat until soft peaks form and the whipped cream holds its shape.
- Finish the Trifle: Spread the whipped cream over the top of the trifle and garnish with Nilla wafers.
- Chill and Serve: Refrigerate the trifle for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the layers to set and flavors to marry well.
