Creamy, rich, and easy to make, this is the best vegan chocolate pudding you’ll ever make, and the last recipe you’ll need. Only a few minutes to absolutely incredible chocolaty goodness.
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Hey Internet, I fricken love pudding. Do you? My mom always used to buy those delicious chocolate puddings at the store and my brother and I would always consume them quicker than we should.
But like most kids, we were too weirded out by homemade pudding--that skin that forms on the top? Eugh.
Anyway, I missed chocolate pudding so much I had to make a recipe for it. I was delighted to find that even during several rounds of testing (I had to get that texture just right!), no gross skin formed, only delicious chocolate pudding that also didn’t seem to last long. I’m looking at my husband from across our shared office.
Okay, I have to get something out of the way first though. I feel like a pompous jerk for saying this is the best vegan chocolate pudding recipe out there, but I really think it is.
Just using cocoa powder doesn’t give you that chocolaty depth of flavor, so I melted chocolate chips and used those too (I promise it’s super easy).
I also added a pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla extract to boost that rich chocolaty flavor.
I have a few other tricks up my sleeve but you’ll just have to read the recipe to find out. I hope you agree with me though, because I really do believe this is the best vegan pudding ever, haha.
P.S. If you're into easy desserts, try my list of 50+ No Bake Vegan Desserts!
What You’ll Need
- Semi-sweet chocolate: Really any chocolate will work, but semi-sweet is nice and rich, and I can commonly find dairy-free chocolate chips in my grocery store’s baking aisle. Chips are the easiest, but you can also chop up a bar into small pieces. Check the ingredients of the brands of chocolate chips in your store. If you can’t find them, you can buy vegan chocolate chips online or you may omit them (for a less chocolaty but still delicious flavor).
- Coconut oil or canned coconut cream: Totally optional, but a little bit of coconut oil or cream in the pan helps both melt the chocolate and also gives the chocolate pudding a lovely rich flavor and consistency.
- Cocoa powder: More chocolate, right? This gives the base for the flavor in this vegan chocolate pudding. Unsweetened is fine as we’ll add our own sugar. Dutch process cocoa is a little bit deeper of a flavor, but I just used regular cocoa powder and thought this was great.
- Unsweetened non-dairy milk: Any will work. I like to use soy milk with this recipe. Some non-dairy milks do form a skin when they are cooked. Look for one with added gums if you are overly concerned with the skin. If not, just skim off the top before adding to a container and storing.
- Sugar: You can use any sugar you like. I used organic cane sugar for simplicity, but coconut sugar, maple syrup, agave, or even blended dates would work just fine. If you prefer to just use stevia, use that.
- Salt: Not necessary, but a pinch of salt really brings out the flavor in the chocolate.
- Vanilla extract: A dash of vanilla extract adds a lovely flavor to the pudding.
- Cornstarch or arrowroot powder: Used as a thickener--either will work fine.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Pudding
- Before you start, you’ll need a nonstick pot, a whisk, a spatula, and somewhere to store your pudding. We used these individual Weck glass jars but anything heat safe should work. You can use a bowl to store it all together or individual containers.
- To a blender, add the non-dairy milk, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Blend until smooth and everything is dissolved.
- Next, add a bit of coconut oil or cream (if using) to a medium nonstick pot and allow to melt over medium heat. Once it is hot, add the chocolate chips and stir constantly until fully melted.
- Now add the contents of the blender to the pot and whisk until everything is well incorporated. Keep whisking frequently (but you don’t need to do it constantly once everything is fully combined) until the mixture has thickened, between 4 and 7 minutes. Mine always thickens in 3-4 minutes but that’s because I use the power burner. Because the power burner gets really hot I do recommend whisking constantly if you want to go that route. It’s faster but a bit higher maintenance.
- If you find that it is not thickening enough (remember it will thicken some in the fridge), you can mix another tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot powder in a small bowl (whisk until dissolved) and pour that into the pot and mix to combine.
- Once the pudding has thickened, add it to the heat safe container(s) and allow to cool for 15 minutes before putting on a lid (or some kind of cover, like plastic wrap).
- Refrigerate until cold (at least 3-4 hours). It will firm up a bit more in the fridge.
- Serve, optionally with vegan whipped cream and chocolate shavings or sprinkles. Enjoy!
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days.
More Easy Vegan Desserts
This vegan chocolate pudding has got to be one of the best and easiest things I’ve made in awhile.
Now I want to make other pudding flavors. What flavor should I do next? I’m thinking vanilla, so I can layer them. :)
But for now, here’s some of my favorite easy vegan desserts on my site.
- Vegan Mug Brownie
- Vegan Ice Cream Cake
- Chocolate Bliss Balls
- Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Smores Cookie Bake
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies (no chill)
- Vegan Coffee and Walnut Cake
- Matcha Pound Cake
- Coconut Almond Butter Cookies
Anything Else?
As always, I hope you love this recipe–I know I do and so does Mr. Zardyplants. We keep making this over and over again because it’s so easy and a great way to get your (my) chocolate fix.
This vegan chocolate pudding is:
- Chocolaty (I’d hope!)
- Fudgy
- Lush
- Silky
- Sweet
- Rich
- (Can be) single serving
- And the perfect dessert for kids and adults!
Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)
Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!
<3 Liz
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The Best Vegan Chocolate Pudding
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 ½ cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Creamy, rich, and easy to make, this is the best vegan chocolate pudding you’ll ever make, and the last recipe you’ll need.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or canned coconut cream, optional
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk (see note 2)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup sugar of choice (see note 3)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
Instructions
- Equipment note: Before you start, you’ll need a nonstick pot, a whisk, a spatula, and somewhere to store your pudding. We used these individual Weck glass jars but anything heat safe should work. You can use a bowl to store it all together or individual containers.
- Blend: To a blender, add the non-dairy milk, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Blend until smooth and everything is dissolved.
- Melt chocolate chips: Next, add a bit of coconut oil or cream (if using) to a medium nonstick pot and allow to melt over medium heat. Once it is hot, add the chocolate chips and stir constantly until fully melted.
- Mix everything and cook until thickened: Now add the contents of the blender to the pot and whisk until everything is well incorporated. Keep whisking frequently (but you don’t need to do it constantly once everything is fully combined) until the mixture has thickened, between 4 and 7 minutes. Mine always thickens in 3-4 minutes but that’s because I use the power burner. Because the power burner gets really hot I do recommend whisking constantly if you want to go that route. It’s faster but a bit higher maintenance.
- Troubleshooting: If you find that it is not thickening enough (remember it will thicken some in the fridge), you can mix another tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot powder in a small bowl (whisk until dissolved) and pour that into the pot and mix to combine.
- Cool: Once the pudding has thickened, add it to the heat safe container(s) and allow to cool for 15 minutes before putting on a lid (or some kind of cover, like plastic wrap).
- Cool some more: Refrigerate until cold (at least 3-4 hours). It will firm up a bit more in the fridge.
- Eat: Serve, optionally with vegan whipped cream and chocolate shavings or sprinkles. Enjoy!
- Store leftovers (what’s that?): Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days.
Notes
- Note 1: Really any chocolate will work, but semi-sweet is nice and rich, and I can commonly find dairy-free chocolate chips in my grocery store’s baking aisle. Chips are the easiest, but you can also chop up a bar into small pieces. Check the ingredients of the brands of chocolate chips in your store. If you can’t find them, you can buy vegan chocolate chips online or you may omit them (for a less chocolaty but still delicious flavor).
- Note 2: Any unsweetened non-dairy milk will work. I like to use soy milk with this recipe. Some non-dairy milks do form a skin when they are cooked. Look for one with added gums if you are overly concerned with the skin. If not, just skim any weirdness off the top before adding to a container and storing. I didn’t notice that happening when I used soy milk with this recipe. I also tried it with store-bought almond milk with no issue.
- Note 3: You can use any sugar you like. I used organic cane sugar for simplicity, but coconut sugar, maple syrup, agave, or even blended dates would work just fine. If you prefer to just use stevia, use that.
- Prep Time: 1 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan Chocolate Pudding
Jessy
This was super easy and the pudding tastes gorgeous! Really satisfied my cravings!
★★★★★
💚 Liz
Thank you Jessy, I'm so glad you liked it!
Mandy
Never figured out what the 2TB of water was for. This recipe is also super rich- more like dark chocolate- so if you’re looking to recreate jell-o, kozyshack, or similar, I’d suggest reducing the cocoa powder. Otherwise the consistency was good and tasted great!
★★★★
Resh
Thank you!! The recipe was easy to follow and even with my misstep of not constantly stirring the chocolate chips, it turned out lovely. The pudding tastes like chocolate ice cream to me. I haven’t had chocolate rounding in years and this hit the spot.
★★★★★