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
Have you ever used this in a chocolate cream pie?
https://lett-trim.today/2015/07/23/homemade-chocolate-pudding-pie-no-tofu/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I just made and tasted this pudding. It has barely cooled, and is sitting on the counter. This is the best chocolate pudding I have ever made. That it has NO sugar is awesome. I will be serving this at future family and friends gatherings. I can’t wait to see if anyone can tell this is no sugar chocolate pudding. Thank you
Hi Katie
I tried the recipe and loved it. Are there any other flavours we can make with this recipe? I know I could probably make a mocha chocolate flavour, but what about flavours that don’t have cocoa in them, like a berry flavour or something like that? Or are your dessert recipes basically mostly chocolate????
I really like this one: https://lett-trim.today/2014/10/02/sugar-free-vanilla-pudding-recipe/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I used normal cocoa powder and added a little bit of raw coconut sugar and it was delicious 🙂
it looks thick but not as creamy and thick as your picture,Looks more like a thick soup but it does stick to the spoon really thickly.Will it get thicker once its cool?Also i used almond milk and no choc chips would that make any difference to how thick it will get?
Amazing pudding!! Used whole milk, honey and choc chips. Came out perfectly and oh, so delicious!! Won’t buy a box mix again…this is WAY too easy and much better for you!! Thank you for the recipe!!! ?
Hi, Katie! Quick question: if using arrowroot powder, do I need to use less? I doubled the recipe (so 6 TBSP of arrowroot powder), and if came out almost the same texture as kids slime. ?Tasted great, though. I used full fat coconut milk, with lite coconut milk for the extra milk that gets mixed with the thickener. I kept everything else the same. Any ideas what went wrong? I so appreciate your help! I would love to get the texture right! It tasted so good!
Yum – good stuff! I used a mix of coconut milk and organic whole milk, coconut sugar, regular (not Dutch cocoa), and some chocolate chips. This would be really good with sliced bananas and whipped cream!
Thank you Katie for the best pudding recipe. I used arrowroot instead of the cornstarch and it turned out wonderful. My daughter is allergic to corn, so it’s nice having an alternative and it is sooooo much better than any other pudding we have tried.
Is it ok to make this with almond milk?
Yes!