Bob Evans Kicks Off New Banana Pudding Menu with Savannah Baseball Stars and More Exciting Surprises

Bob Evans is stepping up to the plate with a sweet new lineup. The Ohio-based family restaurant chain has just introduced an entire Banana Pudding menu, and it’s not riding in alone. Five Savannah baseball stars are teaming up for the “Bob Evans Loves Nanas Sweepstakes,” a celebration that ties together fresh bananas, beloved grandmothers, and the kind of comfort food that brings generations to the same table. It’s a food launch that feels less like a promotion and more like a family reunion — and the surprises keep coming.

Here’s what to remember as the news unfolds:

• 🍌 A brand-new Banana Pudding menu arrives at Bob Evans locations across 18 states.
• ⚾️ Five Savannah baseball players are fronting the Bob Evans Loves Nanas Sweepstakes with a breakfast-for-a-year prize.
• 📅 The sweepstakes runs daily through October 7, 2026, with winners drawn on or about October 12.
• 🥧 Six new menu items include hotcakes, French toast, a family-style breakfast, and a show-stopping Banana Pudding Pie.
• 👵 The campaign honors “Nanas” everywhere just in time for Grandparents Day on September 13.

The Bob Evans Loves Nanas Sweepstakes: A Sweet Way to Win

At Bob Evans, “Nana” means two things: the fresh bananas folded into every spoonful of the new Banana Pudding menu, and the special people who make life a little sweeter. The brand is celebrating both with a partnership that feels as natural as a Sunday morning breakfast. From now through October 7, guests can enter once per day at bobevans.com/sweeps. Fifty lucky winners will be selected in a random drawing on or about October 12, each receiving free breakfast for a year. No purchase is necessary, and the entry process is simple enough that even a busy Nana can do it from her phone.

The campaign stars five Savannah baseball players who are known for turning the game into a family-friendly spectacle. “The Savannah baseball stars have a unique way of bringing people together through fun, family-friendly experiences, which makes them a natural fit for Bob Evans,” said Amy Litzinger, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Bob Evans Restaurants. “This sweepstakes is a fun way to celebrate the taste and traditions that have brought generations together around our table.” Whether you are a Nana, know a Nana, or simply love a stack of pancakes, the promotion is designed to be inclusive, warm, and a little playful.

The sweepstakes is not just a giveaway; it is a bridge between the ballpark and the breakfast table. The Savannah baseball team, famous for its viral “Banana Ball” experiences, has a way of making every moment feel like a celebration. That energy translates perfectly to Bob Evans, where the farmhouse kitchen ethos meets a modern desire for comfort with a twist. The sports event crossover is a clever nod to the team’s devoted following, and it introduces the restaurant to a younger, experience-driven audience who might not have considered the brand for dessert.

Meet the Savannah Baseball Stars Joining the Lineup

Five players are stepping up to the plate alongside the new menu. Each brings their own flavor to the campaign, from social media charisma to on-field flair. Fans will see them across Bob Evans social channels throughout the campaign, rallying behind the sweepstakes and, of course, tasting the pudding.

• ⚾️ Reese Alexiades – Find him on Instagram @reesealexiades and TikTok @reese_alexiades
• ⚾️ Ryan Cox – The glove magician himself at @theglovemagician across both platforms
• ⚾️ Ty Jackson – Known for high-flying plays, at @tyy2flyyy on IG and @tyy2flyy on TikTok
• ⚾️ DR Meadows – A fan favorite at @dr_meadows and @david.meadows on TikTok
• ⚾️ Alex Ziegler – With the unmistakable beard, at @zigzigzog and @beardyzig on TikTok

These players have already given the banana pudding a proper taste test. The clips are pure gold: a group of athletes, accustomed to dugout snacks and post-game feasts, genuinely pausing to consider the layers of vanilla wafers and caramel. It’s the kind of authentic moment that works because it is not overproduced. The team’s approach to baseball is theatrical, but their love for a good dessert is refreshingly real.

The New Banana Pudding Menu: Six Ways to Savor Comfort

The sweepstakes launches alongside a menu that treats banana pudding not as a topping but as a foundation. Inspired by one of America’s most beloved comfort-food desserts, the new offerings are built on buttermilk hotcakes, thick-cut brioche French toast, and a family-style feast. Each item is finished with creamy banana pudding, fresh banana slices, caramel drizzle, vanilla wafers, powdered sugar, and a cloud of whipped topping. This is not a subtle flavor whisper; it is a full-throated celebration.

Breakfast Meets Dessert: The Griddle Collection

The Banana Pudding Farmer’s Choice is the showpiece. Guests can choose three buttermilk hotcakes or two slices of thick-cut brioche French toast, both finished in that signature pudding style. The dish comes with a choice of breakfast meat and two farm-fresh eggs, plus hash browns, home fries, or fresh seasonal fruit. It is a full breakfast that moonlights as a dessert, and that duality is exactly what makes it a smart food launch move. For those who prefer to keep things streamlined, the Banana Pudding Hotcakes Combo serves four hotcakes with a side of breakfast meat, while the Banana Pudding French Toast Combo delivers two slices of golden brioche with the same indulgent treatment.

The Kids Banana Pudding Griddle is a smaller portion with one sausage link or bacon strip and a beverage, proving that the menu is built for every generation. And for a table of up to six, the Banana Pudding Farmer’s Choice Family Breakfast brings the full spread: hotcakes or French toast, breakfast meat, farm-fresh eggs, and choose-your-side hash browns, home fries, or fruit. It is designed for the kind of gathering where conversations run long and coffee gets refilled twice.

The Sweetest Surprise: Banana Pudding Pie

Amid the griddle offerings, the Banana Pudding Pie stands alone. A cream cheese filling is layered with bananas, banana pudding, a caramel drizzle, whipped topping, and vanilla wafers. It is everything you love about the classic dessert, but with a sliceable structure that feels new. This pie is likely to be the sleeper hit of the campaign, the one you order “for the table” and then quietly hope no one else reaches for the last piece.

Arriving just ahead of Grandparents Day on September 13, the menu is intentionally timed to encourage families to share a meal with the people they love most. There is a poetry to that timing: banana pudding has always been a dish passed down, a recipe scribbled on index cards and guarded jealously. Bob Evans is tapping into that nostalgia while making it convenient for a restaurant setting. The dessert is no longer an afterthought; it is the reason to visit.

Why This Launch Works: A Designer’s Eye on Banana Pudding

From a visual perspective, banana pudding is surprisingly photogenic. The custard’s pale gold tone, the caramel’s deep amber, the bright banana slices, and the crisp geometric pattern of vanilla wafers create a palette that is warm and inviting. Bob Evans has embraced that aesthetic across its social channels, and the images run beautifully on everything from TikTok to a family group chat. The brand’s “farmhouse kitchen” heritage is still present, but there is a modern restraint in the styling that could have come straight off a food magazine cover.

The collaboration with the Savannah baseball stars adds a layer of cultural relevance that a typical chain campaign might miss. The players are already internet natives, comfortable with behind-the-scenes content and self-aware humor. Their “try the pudding” videos feel like something a friend would post, not a corporate endorsement. That authenticity is exactly what Cook and Design champions: food that connects people, and marketing that respects the intelligence of the audience.

The surprises are not limited to the menu and the sweepstakes. Bob Evans has positioned this as a multi-channel celebration, with players appearing across the brand’s social feeds, community features, and local events. There is a sense that this is not just a limited-time offering, but the beginning of a longer conversation about how breakfast and dessert can coexist. Given that the restaurant chain operates nearly 415 locations in 18 states, the reach is significant.

Bringing the Celebration Home

You do not need a Bob Evans nearby to enjoy the spirit of the campaign. The recipe is simple enough to adapt in a home kitchen: buttermilk pancakes, a thick banana pudding, and a generous crumble of vanilla wafers. The magic is in the assembly, and the brand is betting that home cooks will want to recreate that experience for their own families. This is where the community aspect shines. The “Nana” theme is universal — everyone has a someone who fed them with love, whether they were a grandmother, an aunt, a neighbor, or a friend.

The sweepstakes is a reminder that food brings people together, but it is also a driver for new habits. Once guests taste the Banana Pudding Griddle, they might find themselves ordering it again with a side of eggs, or picking up a whole Banana Pudding Pie for a Sunday dinner. The entry mechanics are generous — one chance per day for more than a month — which keeps the brand top of mind in a fun, low-pressure way. Fifty winners is a meaningful number; it creates a sense of possibility without feeling gimmicky.

At its core, this launch is about attention to detail. The caramel is drizzled, not drowned. The bananas are sliced fresh, not pre-mushed. The vanilla wafers retain their crunch, a textural contrast that is essential to the original dessert. Bob Evans has taken a classic and treated it with respect, while adding enough novelty to make it feel exciting. That is a balance many brands struggle to strike, and it is precisely why this promotion is worth watching.

For those planning a post-game meal with the family, or a Grandparents Day brunch, the new menu arrives just in time. And for those who simply want a reason to smile, a plate of banana pudding hotcakes is a pretty good start. The Savannah baseball stars have already cast their votes, and the verdict is clear: this is a breakfast worth waking up for, and a dessert worth skipping lunch for. Bob Evans may have started with a farmhouse kitchen, but with this launch, it is squarely in the modern food conversation.

Landon Brooks

Hi, I’m Landon Brooks. I am the editor-in-chief of Cook and Design, but for the first decade of my working life I was actually a product designer in New York.