Layered dessert of vanilla wafers, banana slices and from-scratch vanilla custard, topped with meringue or whipped cream. Cold service.

Banana pudding migrated South from Northern dessert columns in the late 1800s. The Nashville version that Arnold's, Loveless and most meat-and-three counters serve uses Nabisco Nilla wafers (Northern brand, fully assimilated), home-cooked vanilla custard and ripe bananas. It is the standard dessert closer at a meat-and-three. Hattie B's sells it by the cup as the heat-killer chaser to hot chicken.

3 editor picks for Banana pudding in Nashville, ranked by editorial score. All Nashville signature dishes · Banana pudding across every city.