This creamy, rich, and decadent Vegan Pudding is a 1 pot recipe made with 7 pantry-staple ingredients. It’s the perfect after school snack or kid-friendly dessert!
This Vegan Pudding is made in just 1 pot with 7 ingredients, tastes better than store bought and is loaded with chocolatey-goodness! Top it off with vegan whipped cream to make each bite extra special.
You and your kids are going to love this creamy vegan pudding because it’s:
- Made with only 7 ingredients.
- A breeze to clean up! All you need is 1 pot.
- Naturally gluten free.
- Rich, chocolatey, and delicious!
You won’t find any avocado, coconut, or black beans in this pudding either. Simple ingredients only! Plus, you can play around with the flavors if you aren’t a fan of chocolate (or have picky eaters to feed).
Craving more chocolate desserts? Then you have to try my Vegan Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Cheesecake!
How to make vegan chocolate pudding
Grab a medium pot because it’s all you need to make this dessert! It’s simple to whip up in only 4 steps:
- Whisk the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt together in your pot. Turn the heat to medium and slowly stir in the milk.
- Bring it up to a simmer and stir constantly until the mixture thickens.
- Take the pot off of the heat and stir in the vegan butter and vanilla.
- Transfer the chocolate pudding to a container and let it chill for a few hours. Serve the chilled pudding in individual dessert cups with whipped cream and chocolate chips, then enjoy!
Tips and substitutions
- Is it too sweet? Feel free to use a bit less sugar or use coconut sugar instead.
- Non-dairy milk – Any kind you like will work! Try to use one that’s higher in fat, like oat, coconut, hemp, almond, cashew, or soy milk, to help the pudding stay creamy. I don’t recommend using rice milk for this reason.
- Thickener – ​​Cornstarch works best as a thickener for the pudding. I don’t think arrowroot or tapioca would produce the same pudding texture.
- Are there lumps in the pudding? This shouldn’t happen if you whisk the mixture well enough, but if you do end up with little lumps of cornstarch after heating, use an immersion blender to smooth it out.
- To store – Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Variations
Mix and match the flavors of your dairy free vegan pudding. There’s something for everyone!
- Vanilla – Just leave the cocoa powder, espresso powder and butter out of this recipe so the vanilla extract can shine through.
- Double chocolate – Melt vegan chocolate (dark chocolate or vegan chocolate chips) and stir it into the pudding. Don’t skip the espresso powder as it brings out the deep, chocolatey flavors.
- Peanut butter – Swap the cocoa powder for creamy melted peanut butter.
- Butterscotch – Use brown sugar instead of white sugar, leave the cocoa powder out, and use full fat coconut milk. A splash of whiskey also helps the flavors really pop!
More kid-friendly vegan treats
Vegan Pudding
This creamy, rich, and decadent Vegan Pudding is a 1 pot recipe made with 7 pantry-staple ingredients. It’s the perfect after school snack or kid-friendly dessert!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder optional
Instructions
- In a medium pot, add the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Turn the heat to medium heat. Slowly stir in the milk, whisking well to remove all clumps.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, stir constantly for 2 minutes, until the pudding thickens somewhat. It won't be quite as firm as pudding yet, as it will thicken up as it chills.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the vegan butter, vanilla and espresso powder, if using, until the butter has melted and the pudding is smooth.
- Pour or spoon the pudding into a container (or multiple containers.) Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding, to prevent a skin from forming as it chills.
- Place in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours until cold. Serve with optional vegan whipped cream/coconut cream and perhaps some mini chocolate chips.
Notes
- Any non dairy milk you like will work here – oat, coconut, hemp, almond, cashew or soy. Something higher fat is best for creaminess, so I wouldn’t use rice milk.
- For a less sweet pudding, add a bit less sugar. Or sub coconut sugar.
- Cornstarch works best here, I don’t think arrowroot or tapioca would produce the same pudding texture.
- If you have any little lumps of cornstarch after heating, you can use an immersion blender to smooth it out, but if you whisk well you shouldn’t have any lumps.
Nutrition
Serving: 1of 6 servings | Calories: 186kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 388IU | Calcium: 133mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!
Do you have a silken tofu pudding recipe?
I don’t have one posted yet, but I have been making this at home and testing the recipe. I will be posting in the near future!
Hi Nora! I wanted to make a pudding style chocolate pie and used this recipe and a simple vegan Oreo crust and it was a huge hit! It was the perfect texture and firmness for pudding, but since I’m using the pudding as a pie filling, I would like to make it a little more firm next time. Should I maybe add more cornstarch? Or less milk?
That sounds really good! To thicken it more, you could probably add more cornstarch, perhaps double the amount, but I’m not sure as I haven’t tried it. Hope that helps!
This is this second time to make this pudding and it’s been great both times. I’ve used it to mix with coconut cool whip and a lemon juice for a topping for my strawberry poke cake. I actually use a store bought cake mix which is accidentally vegan lol to make it. Then bake it, poke some holes after it’s done and pore over puréed strawberries. Then the pudding, coconut cool whip and lemon juice are folded together and then put on top of the cake. From there to the fridge overnight. Yum! Thanks for the recipe and for the others I’ve also tried. Love the banana bread and pecan bars too 😊.
Hi Christine. I appreciate your idea for the cake you make! Sounds delicious! I’m thrilled you are loving the pudding! Thanks for sharing your fabulous review and feedback!
Can you use maple sugar instead of granulated sugar?
I haven’t tried it personally but it should work okay. I’d probably use a bit less, perhaps just 1/2 cup, or to taste.
Could you use a sweetened Vanilla almond or soy milk instead of unsweetened?
You could, but the pudding might taste overly sweet. Just cut the granulated sugar down to 1/4 to 1/2 cup if you don’t want it to taste really sweet!
My pudding isn’t setting. I tripled the batch. Not sure if I messed up on the cornstarch count. Is there any way I can thicken it after. Maybe adding more cornstarch to some of the batter and then regret and add back?Â
I haven’t tested this, but you could try pouring the pudding back into a saucepan over medium heat and whisking in more cornstarch to help it thicken. Hopefully this helps!
Perfect and so delicious! We love this, I love how quick it is with my littles.
My mother made vanilla pudding while I was growing up and I would love to share the experience with my son. Have you tried this without the chocolate powder? (Not to commit coco-sacrilege. I am a devoted chocolate fan, but there’s something so rich about vanilla pudding.) Thanks!
I haven’t tried it, but I may just have to do that!
I love all your recipes! I have seen a lot of peach pound cake recipes on Facebook. Could you please come up with a vegan version?Â
Oh my goodness that sounds incredible! I’ll certainly think about it! 🙂 Time to get some peaches and get baking. Thanks so much!
Can the butter be reduced or maybe replaced if trying to avoid oils and fats?
Yes, you can just leave it out if needed.
I had a general idea how to make vegan chocolate pudding, but I sure appreciate these specifics (I hadn’t thought to add vegan butter, for example). And I often add a banana to the vanilla pudding recipe. But the butterscotch pudding recipe! I never would have come up with that on my own. I’m so excited to try it! Thank you!
Thanks so much for sharing your review and comments. I’m so glad you are enjoying the pudding!
If you are using the espresso powder, at what point does it get added? With the other dry ingredients?
Oops! I can see I did not say when to add it. I will update it now.