Chocolate Pudding is a classic favorite dessert! This easy, kid friendly treat is a cinch to prepare and a great make-ahead option!
My family loves fruit desserts like Rhubarb Crisp and Strawberry Pie but sometimes I just need my chocolate fix! Light, creamy, rich, and chocolatey, this easy chocolate pudding recipe goes perfectly with fruit or on its own!
How to Make Chocolate Pudding
This chocolate pudding recipe takes no time at all on the stovetop, and then a quick chill while you’re eating dinner and voila! Homemade chocolate pudding can be made in advance and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy it.
To make homemade chocolate pudding:
- Combine dry ingredients (sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch). Whisk in milk.
- Bring to a low boil and remove from the heat as soon as the pudding has thickened.
- Cool the chocolate pudding completely.
Tips for Making Pudding
- Use medium heat and sugar and milk can scorch or burn at a higher temperature.
- Whisk constantly while it comes to a boil.
- To keep the pudding from having a skin, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding while it cools.
How Long Does Homemade Chocolate Pudding Last
Homemade chocolate pudding has to be stored in the fridge. I like to store it in serving-sized plastic containers for ease. It will last 5-7 days.
This recipe makes a pretty good amount so it’s perfect for packing in lunches. Grab some single-serving plastic containers and you have delicious chocolate pudding to send with your kids (or yourself) for the whole week.
Chocolate pudding can change texture when frozen because of the corn starch so it’s not great to defrost but it does make great drip-free pudding pops!
More Chocolate Love
- Caramel Chocolate Trifle – always impresses
- Best Ever Chocolate Cake – decadent!
- Chocolate Macaroons (No Bake) – so easy
- Easy Triple Chocolate Cookies – kid approved
- Easy Chocolate Truffles – a holiday favorite!
- Oreo Dirt Cups – fun snack or dessert
Did you enjoy this Chocolate Pudding? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- pinch salt
- 4 ½ cups milk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and cornstarch. Mix well. Add in cold milk, whisk until combined.
- Increase heat to medium, stirring constantly until mixture reaches a boil*.
- As soon as the pudding has thickened, remove from the heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
- Allow mixture to cool completely, stirring occasionally to avoid a skin forming on the pudding.
- Serve chilled or warm.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
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Even More Chocolate Desserts You’ll Love
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Ganache Frosting – Just 2 ingredients.
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies – Popular recipe!
My family’s favorite!!!
My husband loved this recipe! He said the pudding was delicious, so silky and rich. I made it because I was out of pudding mix and he had a hankering for chocolate pudding. Now, I don’t think he will ever want pudding made from a mix again. This recipe is as easy as making it from a mix, only with fresher ingredients.
The pudding turned out well and thickened exactly as the recipe stated. I used 4 cups unsweetened almond milk. It did lack a bit of richness and sweetness. but that’s probably because of my choice in milk.
Very easy to fallow recipe. Mine came out the perfect consistency for pudding. So smooth and creamy. However it was a we bit on the sweet side for my taste, so my next batch I’ll try a bit over half the amount of sugar like 3/4 cup or so and work from there. Two thumbs up and 5 stars! Thanks for the recipe.
Super easy to make and absolutely delicious. I used three 12-oz cans of evaporated milk rather than whole milk. A few weeks ago, I made a different version of chocolate pudding that had egg yolks in it. I made this one because we are on school vacation, my daughter requested it, and I was out of eggs. This one is just as good and will be my go-to for homemade chocolate pudding from now on.
made this today, my milk was near its expiration date so i figured this would be a good way to use it. The pudding is very tasty and easy to make, will use this recipe again
Great easy pudding! I only had 2% Lactose Free milk so that’s what I used. I thought the pudding was a little sweet but I think Lactose Free milk is sweeter than regular whole milk. I added 2 tablespoons of instant coffee and that calmed down the sweetness. I love your recipes.
Holly,
We put on a Community Supper and two fifth graders are our dessert cooks on a monthly basis where we work with them to create desserts from scratch for our 70 guests. They arrive about two hours before we begin serving.
So in reading this recipe, I am wondering about how much time is needed after the mixture reaches a boil to begin to thicken. We can certainly do the recipe in 3 pots to help and put into plastic cups to help with the cooling process.
Hi Harriet, that is such a neat program for them to be a part of! We usually let it cool for 20-30 minutes while eating dinner. But it can also be made in advance and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy it.
And just a reminder to remove the pudding from the heat as soon as it begins to boil and thicken. If left to continue boiling the starch will start to break down and it will not properly thicken, resulting in watery pudding. I hope that helps!
So Holly, once the pot comes to a boil – say with an amount that would make 40 servings – how long will it take to thicken BEFORE removing it from the heat.
I have never made this recipe at that volume so I honestly have no idea. But it usually happens quite quickly. As soon as it starts to boil you would usually see it thickening and want to remove it from the heat.
A+
I haven’t tried this recipe yet but would be a pinch of salt? like is it ¼ tsp or ⅛ tsp, I could have an actual measurement?
A pinch is generally 1/16th of a teaspoon. I pinch salt with my fingers from a little salt bowl.
Do you by chance have this recipe converted to grams? Also, about how long do you usually have the pudding on the heat before it begins to boil? Thanks!
It can take up to 20 minutes or so to come to a boil. I do not have this recipe converted to grams. Enjoy!
Delicious recipe! Definitely a keeper. Couple of things though:
1) The pudding has some flexibility with how long to cook it. It’s forgiving. For the best consistency, when the pot is on the stove, once the liquid gets to a hot gravy consistency, that’s the perfect time to take it off the heat. Just bring it to boiling somewhat quickly, then bring it back to medium immediately when you see the first boiling bubble and stir for about 20-30 minutes, that’s about what it took for me.
2) If you want an ULTRA rich pudding, use dutch processed cacao (same amount as the regular), half a cup of your favorite semi-sweet chocolate chips, and half a teaspoon of instant espresso powder. You won’t regret it. The servings go from 8 to 16 because of how rich it gets!
Thanks for sharing your tips, Alana! I am glad you enjoyed the recipe.
How much would you say this makes in comparison to one box of instant pudding? I have a recipe I need to make but it calls for 2 packages instant pudding and I just have 1! I live overseas where we can’t get instant pudding so trying to problem solve haha! Thank you! Look forward to making it.
1 smaller box of pudding uses 2 cups of milk, this recipe uses 4 ½ cups so I’d guess it’d be just over smaller 2 boxes. I hope that helps!
So I have made this several times and I always make a half batch since it’s just my husband and I. I only use 0.5 c of sugar and that works for us. It took almost 30 minutes for the pudding to thicken on my induction stovetop on medium. I whisked pretty much the whole time and had no lumps whatsoever, there is no need to sift anything beforehand if you whisk. I tried to rush it one time and burned the pudding and that was really sad, so I learned my lesson lol!
Splendid pudding with marvelous deep chocolate flavor.