Roasted Banana Pudding Parfaits {Gluten Free}

Roasted Banana Pudding Parfaits with layers of banana pudding, roasted bananas, and candied pecans. They are a rich, creamy, and delicious end to any meal!

We always seem to have lots of bananas in various stages of ripeness. I like to pop half a banana in my morning smoothie, in yogurt, or even as a topping for ice cream, when I make Bananas Tropical with Toasted Coconut.

But this time, I purposely bought an entire “hand” of bananas just for this recipe. It’s another one that’s been burning a hole in my files, and I finally decided it would be a great autumn dessert. I don’t know why, there’s nothing particularly seasonal about bananas. But autumn just feels like comfort food weather, and this Roasted Banana Pudding sounded like the perfect comfort food dessert!

The original recipe comes from Cooking Light, about 5 years ago. As I was reviewing, I was a bit surprised at how dated the ingredients seems. Fat-free frozen whipped topping? I hope Cooking Light has made some changes in the last few years, because it’s hard to believe that a chemical-filled “whipped topping” would be preferable to real cream. Fortunately, the nutritional pendulum has finally swung back to center, and fats are no longer the foe they were in the 80s and 90s. (Thank goodness!) So while the original recipe called for fat free topping and reduced fat milk, I adapted it, and used real cream and whole milk. In order to keep it gluten free, I omitted the vanilla wafers, (it’s so rich, you’ll never miss them) and used candied pecans. Since roasting brings out the intense flavor in the bananas, the whole recipe only uses 2/3 of a cup of sugar for 10 servings. The smaller portions were just the right amount for my family!

These Roasted Banana Pudding Parfaits are creamy and rich with bits of roasted banana and candied pecans in every bite!

Gluten Free Roasted Banana Pudding Parfaits

Cynthia

Gluten free Roasted Banana Pudding Parfaits with candied pecans. Adapted from Cooking Light.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 -10

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 5 ripe unpeeled medium bananas (about 2 pounds) I used 4, since they were large and weighed 2 pounds.
• 2 cups whole or 2% milk
• 2/3 cup sugar divided
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 ounces whipping cream
• 3/4 cup pecans
• 2 Tablespoons sugar

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place bananas on a jelly roll pan, lined with parchment or foil. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes. Remove 3 bananas and allow to cool completely. Peel and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Set aside. Continue baking the remaining 2 bananas for an additional 20 minutes. Peel and mash remaining bananas in a small bowl with a fork.
• Combine milk and 1/3 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, but do not boil.
• Combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, salt and eggs in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk.
• Gradually add hot milk to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 3 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add mashed bananas, butter, and vanilla, stirring until butter is melts. Place pan in a large, ice-filled bowl for 15 minutes or until mixture comes to room temperature.
• While pudding cools, in a bowl fitted with a wire whip, whip cream until it forms soft peaks. Set aside.
• Fold in half of whipped cream into pudding. Chill until ready to assemble parfaits.
• In a saute pan over a medium heat, heat pecans and 2 Tablespoons of sugar, shaking and stirring pan constantly until pecans have caramelized and sugar is golden brown. Turn pecans out onto a sheet pan to cool. When cool, coarsely chop pecans.
• To assemble parfaits, fill 8-10 small dishes or glasses with 1/2 pudding mixture. Top pudding mixture with sliced bananas, dividing between dishes. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon chopped, candied pecans over bananas. Top parfaits with remaining pudding and chopped pecans. Finish with a dollop of the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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