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
Used tapioca as thickener (2:1 to cornstarch). Looked great at the beginning. Turn to liquid overnight. :/
No fault of this recipe, just mystifying.
Has anyone figured out why this pudding is not setting yet?! I made it with coconut milk and used honey as the sweetener. It was thickening on the stove and turned to soup in the fridge! What the heck?! So upsetting and wasteful. Ugh.
Made this a couple days ago. Maybe not as thick as I expected but delicious – very decadent!!
Couple questions: (1) How many days does this last in the fridge?
(2) Can this be frozen in single size servings?
We haven’t ever tried freezing so honestly don’t know. It lasts the same as traditional chocolate pudding – maybe 3-4 days? We always eat it after two, just because chocolate doesn’t last long with Katie 🙂
This was amazing. I used a can of coconut milk and 3/4 cup (split) of unsweetened almond milk and monkfruit sweetener. I enjoyed it warm because it was freezing today and it makes me think of childhood.
Thank you so much for making it!
i made half the quantity using 1 cup almond milk and half the amount of cocoa etc. Instead of the cornstarch a mixed 1 heaping tablespoon blanched almond flour and 1/16th tsp xanthan gum. its been sitting in the fridge for an hour now and is already semi-solid. it is already a good texture and very yumm. if it does not set any further, i’ll increase the quantity of xanthum just a wee bit next time.. because for sure i’m making it again.
I think I just made this for the 5th time now. Sometimes I add a little mint extract. Today it was added espresso powder. Tomorrow for my family dinner we are going to use it for dirt dessert, adding some GF Oreos. I have used it for trifle, using my GF & DF chocolate cake recipe, Coco Whip, and almond whipped cream Thank you Katie, for my whole family loves this and can eat it! BTW, I triple the recipe each time I make it.
Thank you so much for making it! Your trifle sounds amazing!
I made this 2 days ago and 2 days later it tastes even better than on the first day. I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, raw cacao powder, half the amount of chocolate chips, and 3 little scoops of stevia and it turned out great! I am going to try it with monkfruit next time. When I added it up with the substitutions, it was 3 smartpoints on WW. I just started WW and looking forward to trying more recipies–black bean brownies are next 🙂
Thank you so much for making it 🙂
We made this recipe using oat milk, and it was the most incredible pudding I have ever had… even family who tend to not like plant based deserts thought it was amazing! Thanks so much 😊
Thank YOU for trying it 🙂
Used coconut milk and it came out perfect!!!
❤❤
So surprisingly good! I had low to moderate expectations, but truly enjoyed this quick and tasty recipe. I did add the chocolate chips, which of course increased my sugar intake, but likely added to the yumminess factor. As an aside, I looked up the ingredients in packaged chocolate pudding, and was somewhat shocked to see that one of the ingredients, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, is used in household and industrial cleaning compounds – yikes!
Looking forward to experimenting with more of your recipes – thanks.