Rich, chocolatey, and ultra creamy, this delicious healthy chocolate pudding recipe is surprisingly easy to make at home!
A classic chocolate pudding recipe with no tofu, no banana, and no avocado!
Not that there is anything wrong with avocado, but sometimes you just want traditional homemade chocolate pudding without any surprise ingredients.
As much as I love recipes where you can’t taste the hidden vegetable, such as in the famous Sweet Potato Brownies, my everyday meals are usually much more simple.
This thick and healthy chocolate pudding can be soy free, sugar free, egg free, gluten free, nut free, and dairy free.
Also be sure to try these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Creamy vegan chocolate pudding
In sixth grade, I went through a chocolate pudding phase, where I’d make a package of Jell-O chocolate pudding, add an obscene amount of Cool Whip to the top, and savor it slowly with a small spoon as I watched the Dallas Stars games.
(Hockey was another of my sixth-grade obsessions. I am a girl of many obsessions!)
Today’s recipe is a homemade version of that packaged chocolate pudding. And like most homemade recipes, it is so much better than anything that comes in a box.
This healthy chocolate pudding is super creamy, chocolatey, and absolutely fantastic!
If you want to avoid the hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, and hard-to-pronounce ingredients found in store bought Cool Whip, try topping the dairy free chocolate pudding with Coconut Whipped Cream or Coconut Ice Cream.
Healthy chocolate pudding ingredients
Here is what you need: milk, cocoa, sweetener, salt, cornstarch, and vanilla extract.
A few readers have substituted arrowroot for cornstarch and say it works if you use less arrowroot. I have not personally tried this substitution.
For healthy chocolate pudding with no cornstarch, try my Vegan Chocolate Mousse or this sugar free and paleo Keto Chocolate Mousse.
Feel free to test out different milks in this recipe to find your favorite taste and texture. If you use canned coconut milk, it is super thick and velvety like chocolate mousse.
I also love making the dairy free pudding with almond milk or cashew milk.
You can also change up the flavor if you wish, by adding a few drops of pure peppermint extract, maple extract, or even coconut extract along with the vanilla.
Still craving chocolate? Make your own Chocolate Truffles
How to make the healthy dessert
Start by heating two cups of milk in a small pot with the salt, cocoa powder, and sweetener of choice.
Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch and the remaining half cup of milk in a small bowl until the cornstarch is completely dissolved.
When the mixture in the saucepan is warm, whisk in the milk with cornstarch and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir constantly with a whisk or spoon for two minutes.
Lower the heat to a simmer for an additional minute, then turn off the heat and add the pure vanilla extract. If using the optional chocolate, stir it until completely melted.
Transfer the chocolate pudding to the refrigerator to thicken. It gets thicker and thicker the longer it sits and will be ready to eat after a few hours or overnight.
*If you do want a recipe with avocado, make this Avocado Chocolate Mousse.
Watch the healthy chocolate pudding video above
Healthy Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk of choice OR canned coconut milk
- heaping 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup dutch cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup sweetener (sugar, pure maple syrup, erythritol, or honey)
- 1/2 cup milk of choice + 3 tbsp cornstarch
- optional 3 oz chocolate chips or broken-up bar
- 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Healthy Chocolate Pudding Recipe: Heat the 2 cups milk of choice in a saucepan with the salt, cocoa powder, and sweetener. Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl until dissolved. When the 2 cups milk are warm, add the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir constantly for 2 minutes. Lower to a simmer for an additional minute, then turn off the heat. Once the heat is off, stir in the vanilla and broken-up chocolate pieces until the chocolate melts. Transfer the pudding to the refrigerator to thicken. It gets thicker the longer it sits and will be ready to consume after a few hours or overnight. *Note: I’ve not tried arrowroot and have only tried this recipe with Dutch cocoa powder so can’t vouch for the taste if regular unsweetened cocoa powder is used in its place. But you are always free to experiment!View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy Desserts
Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yum! Love that this uses coconut milk 🙂
WOW! This pudding looks so creamy and delicious! I love that you used Dutch cocoa powder here – I’m seriously addicted to that dark chocolate taste!
Dutch processed cocoa uses alkali to remove the bitter taste, with the unfortunate side effect of also removing the flavanoids, thus removing “that dark chocolate taste.” Am I missing something?
Hi, I’m in the UK and I use raw cacao powder so nothing added or taken away, I’m not sure what dutch cocoa is but doesn’t sound as healthy as using pure unrefined cacao which I always have excellent results with in my chocolate recipes.
Oh, thank you for reminding me, Debi!
We just bought a big bag of organic cacao powder, which was being used in the smoothies they were offering as samples, & which I saw before I found the regular cocoa aisle in Costco last week. So it’s a good thing all around; I guess I should start looking for even more recipes calling for cocoa/cacao so I can make my own “healthy decadent’ foods.
Btw, apparently Dutch(ed) cocoa has been treated with an alkalizing agent to make it less acidic, and also makes it look darker.
I don’t think there’s anything particularly harmful about dutch cocoa. The usual reason why you’d use dutch as opposed to regular cocoa is for a more mellow flavor or for more lift in baked goods. I would think that in this instance the flavor and texture wouldn’t really be affected by using regular cocoa powder. Dutch cocoa doesn’t react with baking soda so it is commonly used with baking powder. Regular cocoa power still has its acidity so it reacts with baking soda and creates great lift. Luckily there is neither baking soda or baking powder in this recipe so you can use whatever you want.
There is nothing harmful in consuming Dutch processed cocoa, but the nutritional benefits from cocoa are destroyed in the process!
Absolutely delicious, easy and amazing texture. Loved it. My choc was quite rich, so I think with strawberries next time would be perfect. I divided into 4 servings and given the richness, it was a nice serve. This will be my “go to” going forward. Might have to try a vanilla/white choc one next with some Vego white choc. Thank you.
Thank YOU for making it 🙂
What type of milk was used in the photographed pudding? (Almond or canned coconut?) want to make mine so it looks as thick & luxurious! 🙂
Canned coconut milk 🙂
Do you use the whole can-full, or just the solid part?
Stir it up and use it all. Or you can use just the solid part here: https://lett-trim.today/2012/01/16/chocolate-frosting-shots/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi! If one wanted to make a vanilla pudding, what would change besides taking out the cocoa?? (Sorry, very very new to cooking)
You probably need a little more cornstarch, then.or it will be thinner.
Along with adding a little vanilla extract :). Might have to try a vanilla version now that you’ve said this.
I make a similar recipe with unsweetened cocoa and up the sugar to 1/3 or 1/2 cup. We like to pour them into popsicle molds for chocolate pudding pops!
What a fantastic idea! Love it.
Susan, What happens to the pops if they melt? Do they still have a mousse texture or do they become watery?
If I may ask, what Dutch cocoa powder do you like best? I’ve been trying different cocoa powders and am not sure if I like the taste of it or if I purchased a lousy cocoa powder brand. 😀
Thank you for this recipe! I’ve been trying to find a healthy pudding alternative, and everything I’ve tried so far has been “eh.” LOL. One vegan pudding recipe turned out so sticky, I could put my spoon into it and lift the entire chunk of pudding out of the bowl, on my spoon! You couldn’t even stir it, the pudding had no creaminess whatsoever. It was so weird. Of course, it could have been me, maybe I made a mistake, but the overall recipe was kind of strange so… who knows? *GRIN*
So I am more than eager to try your pudding recipe – it looks creamy and delicious and like real pudding! Thank you for creating such yummy recipes.
I will usually buy whatever is cheapest as long as it’s fair trade. I like Equal Exchange and have good luck finding that one at whole foods 🙂
Can I add agar agar instead corn starch?
This looks so delicious! But I’m a little confused by the nutritional info since a third of the recipe is listed as 29 calories but 1 tablespoon of cornstarch alone is more than that? Should it be 129?
Sorry about that. It was indeed a typo! Nutrition facts are fixed now 🙂
Do your nutrition facts reflect the recipe without the chocolate chips? I’m coming up with 124 calories and 1 gram of fat with stevia, and the chocolate omitted. With it, I’m getting 276 calories, 9 grams of fat – and drastically more with whole coconut milk…What did I do wrong here…
Very rich and delicious! I made a double batch with macadamia milk and canned coconut milk, organic cocoa powder and raw sugar. I only added 4 oz. of an 80% cacao chocolate bar at the end. I layered it with barely sweetened chia pudding in some dessert glasses and it was amazing. When I make it in the future I will reduce the sugar if I am going to melt in the chocolate pieces at the end, that made it a little too sweet. Easy and satisfying recipe- I licked the pot, the spoon and the dessert glass clean, haha.
This looks amazing!! Love that it’s different than the typical avocado pudding!
Oh, that pudding looks so lucious and smooth! I want some right now, even though it’s only 11 where I live.
I love making chocolate pudding out of brown rice protein powder and chocolate coconut water! Such a refreshing and guilt free treat!
Can you share the recipe for that😊 sounds so good!
I got Fat 3g, Carb 12 g, Protein 2 g … without the chocolate chips. 70 cal. total. Did I enter incorrectly?
Sorry for the typo. Nutrition page is fixed now and does indeed closely resemble the numbers you got as well 🙂
Thanks! It looks amazing, by the way. Definitely going to try it!