This homemade chocolate pudding recipe is easy to make, and SO much better than those packets of instant pudding you can buy.
Pudding is just one of those things that’s best when homemade. In fact, I can’t stand store-bought pudding. Even when I was a little girl, those pudding cups that come in plastic containers were repulsive to me.
And pudding is so easy to make from scratch, there’s hardly any excuse to do otherwise. All that’s required is to mix the ingredients together and boil. The most annoying part is stirring the pudding so it doesn’t scorch. But if you’re particularly lazy (like me), you can just stir it frequently (or occasionally) if you don’t mind the pudding getting extra cooked on the bottom.
You may remember waaaay back in November of 2010 when I first posted this recipe. It’s been nearly three years and this is still my favorite recipe.
Make some tonight. Serve it hot like fudge sauce over ice cream. Or wait for it to cool (if you’re that patient) and serve it with whipped cream. Any way you eat it, it’s good.
Is there any store-bought food that’s better than homemade?
P.S. Here is another delicious homemade pudding recipe: Pumpkin Pie Pudding!
Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Homemade chocolate pudding tastes SO much better than store-bought, and it's easy to make as well!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon just a pinch salt
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or sweetener of choice
- 2 large egg yolks lightly beaten
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
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1) In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch, salt, cocoa powder, and maple syrup until smooth. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and egg yolks.
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2) Slowly whisk the milk & yolks into the mixture in the pan. Set the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Boil and stir for 1 minute.
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3) Remove from heat and stir in the butter & vanilla. Serve warm (over ice cream) or chilled (with whipped cream).
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Betty Crocker
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Brittany
Sunday 26th of December 2021
I'm a chocolate-lover, so I'll keep this recipe for me. 😊 My husband doesn't like chocolate though - to make the vanilla version, would I just leave out the cocoa powder and add a little extra vanilla? Thanks for the recipe!
Julia
Sunday 12th of December 2021
I’ve made this twice now and it’s a total hit, everyone in my extended family loves it. Chilled and topped with homemade whipped cream and blueberries.
Ethan
Friday 12th of July 2019
I made this today with maple syrup and it turned out amazing! It tastes like it was sweetened with regular sugar!
Erica Kastner
Monday 15th of July 2019
Thank you so much, for your review, Ethan! So glad you enjoyed it! ?
Charleszep
Monday 24th of September 2018
Hello. And Bye.
Anna W.
Monday 1st of May 2017
Can I just say, this recipe got me cooking homemade chocolate pudding a looooot. :) Just a thought: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/01/how-to-make-jello-pudding-from-scratch-chocolate-pudding-recipe.html Try with gelatin....it blew my mind as it legitimately tasted like Jello brand, and I used grassfed beef gelatin--upping the nutritional content. And recent research on the benefits of gelatin has made me want to use it as much as possible (think: bone broth benefits). It is very much a different pudding and I would love to see your take on it with a healthy sweetener as well (maple syrup is my favorite), as I always have to guess/try to figure out how much because I never write my notes down from the last time I made it! The main difference is with gelatin it has to be eaten cold. (So I will still have a place in my heart for warm cornstarch-y pudding that I pour over ice cream!) So blessed by you, Erica.
Erica Kastner
Tuesday 2nd of May 2017
Thank you so much for the tip, Anna! Now I really want to try that out. I'll put it on my list of possible posts. ?