Nanny’s Blueberry Banana Delight

We are so excited to present this recipe for our version of Nanny’s Blueberry Banana Delight! We grew up eating this dessert at our Aunt Pam’s house, at church potlucks, and it was a must-have for summer holiday desserts. It always reminds us of our Nanny in Louisiana. In honor of our southern roots, we hope you enjoy this nostalgic layered dessert.

Our Mother’s Southern Roots

Our mother grew up in the south and she brought the traditions of church potlucks with her to the north country, where we grew up. As we get older, we feel the importance of remembering our roots and the memories we have around food, family, and celebration. We remember our mom making this dessert, filling our kitchen with the smell of shortbread and blueberries on the stove. What a delight to help her “clean” the bowl and spatula! It’s amazing how something so simple can take you back to childhood and make you feel young again. 

nannys blueberry banana delight blueberries and lemon

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. When you click on our affiliate links and make any purchase, we will make a small commission at no extra cost to you! It’s a simple and convenient way to support the sisters of Life Full and Frugal! To read our full affiliate disclosure click here.

Nostalgic Desserts from our Childhood

While researching this recipe, we came across so many other desserts that we remember from our childhood. There were so many retro desserts like Mississippi Mud pie, banana pudding, cherry dump cake and Texas sheet cake. Our mom was the QUEEN of Texas sheet cake! Every birthday, you could bet the farm on a Texas sheet cake. It was a simple and inexpensive recipe that fed our large family. Our mom knew how to feed a crowd on a shoestring budget!

a layered blueberry and banana dessert life full and frugal

A Healthier Version of this Retro Blueberry Banana Delight 

Our take on Nanny’s blueberry banana delight is a from-scratch version using whole food ingredients. Nanny would have used Kool Whip, and canned blueberry filling. That’s fine, but we are switching these out with homemade whipped cream and a simple stove-top blueberry filling. We just prefer to be able to control the quality of the ingredients and leave out stuff like high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. 
frozen blueberries and bananas

Nanny’s Blueberry Banana Delight

For the Shortbread Cookie Crust

2 Cups of Flour
3/4 Cup Butter, Softened
Pinch Salt
1/4 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional) 

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take a large mixing bowl and add the flour, sugar and salt. Next, whisk all these ingredients together. Then you will add the butter, cutting it in with your fingers or a pastry cutter. When you have a sand-like consistency, add your walnuts, if using them. Lastly, dump your shortbread mixture into a 9×13 baking dish and pat it down into an even layer. Prick it with a fork. You will bake this for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Finally, set it aside to cool.

walnut shortbread crust

Cream Cheese Filling

1 Cup Whipping Cream
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 8 Oz. Block of Softened Cream Cheese
Pinch of Salt
3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar + 2 TBSP.
1 tsp. Vanilla

To Make Homemade Whipped Cream

Add 1 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream to a large mixing bowl. Next, add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt to the heavy cream. Using a hand mixer, you will whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Be sure not to overdo it, or you’ll end up with butter! Cover the whipped cream and place it in the fridge.

cream and cream cheese with a whisk

To Assemble the Cream Cheese Filling

First, in a large mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, the powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, and vanilla. Cream these ingredients together with a silicone spatula. Next, mix in the sour cream until incorporated. Now remove the whipped cream from the fridge, and gently fold it into the cream cheese mixture. Lastly, you will need to cover the filling and place it in the fridge.

making cream cheese filling life full and frugal

For the Blueberry Topping

3 Cups Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
Pinch Salt
Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Cup + 1/2 Cup Water
3 heaping TBSPs Non GMO Corn Starch
1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions for Blueberry Topping

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, add the blueberries, salt, lemon juice and zest, along with the sugar and 1 Cup of water. After that, simmer this mixture on medium heat until it comes to a gentle boil. Next, you will make a slurry with the corn starch. Add the 3 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch to 1/2 Cup of water. Mix together thoroughly with a whisk.

Next, turn down the heat on the blueberry mixture.  Add the cornstarch slurry to the gently boiling blueberries. Stir vigorously for about 30 seconds, being careful not to scorch the filling. Lastly, turn off the heat and add the vanilla. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the liquid into another bowl, cover with saran wrap, then place it in the fridge to cool. 

blueberry and banana delight

Time to Assemble the Blueberry Banana Delight!

Starting with your cooled shortbread crust, slice 3 ripened bananas, and create an even layer of slices on the cookie crust. Next, pour the cream cheese filling over the layer of bananas and spread evenly. Lastly, add the blueberry filling to the top. Now, you can either eat this delicious blueberry banana delight right away, or store it in the fridge…if you can resist it…

a slice of nanny's blueberry and banana delight on a plate life full and frugal

Blueberries; A Summertime Favorite

Blueberry picking season is here (or just around the corner!), so hopefully this recipe helps you decide what to do with all that fresh blueberry goodness! Once you try it, we’re sure it will become a regular recipe in your summertime rotation. We can’t wait to make one for our upcoming July 4th celebration! 

Feeling inspired? Pin it for later!

how to make blueberry banana delight life full and frugal

9 Comments

  1. Tish Jowers

    Yum! I may have to make this for Father’s Day but I’ll have to make an almond flour crust so it will be gluten free! This looks delicious 😋

    Reply
    • Shanna

      Oh I bet that will taste delicious, too:) Love that idea! Let us know how it turns out! Thanks, Tish!!

      Reply
  2. JoAn Floyd

    I can’t seem to get the recipe. I wonder what I am doing wrong

    Reply
    • Sierra

      Hi JoAn, the recipe is in the body of the blog post. Can you see it at all?

      Reply
  3. Tina Otwell

    This was so good! I used gluten free flour blend and dairy free sour cream, dairy free cream cheese, and dairy free coconut whipped cream. It was delightful! My grandmother made something similar and it reminded me so much of that! Thanks for sharing this.

    Reply
    • Tina Otwell

      Oh yeah! I also used arrowroot instead of corn starch. I may not have needed ‘heaping’ tablespoons because the blueberry was almost like a stiff jelly. Hahaha! So, next time I will use 3 even tablespoons. 😉

      Reply
      • Shanna

        I LOVE this, Tina! So glad this inspired you to make something yummy that fits your needs! Hope you are doing well, sweet friend! God bless you! =) ~Shanna

        Reply
      • Shanna

        Oh! Haha! Who knew there was so much chemistry involved in cooking?! HAHA!

        Reply
    • Shanna

      So glad you found a way to make this work for you, Tina! I always say that recipes are really just a guide. I bet yours turned out delicious! Thanks so much for sharing! =)

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin It on Pinterest

Shares
Share This

Share This

Share this post with your friends!