Incredible Chocolate Pudding {Dairy, Egg and Gluten Free}
A rich and creamy pudding recipe that is dairy, gluten, and egg free! Best chocolate pudding in the world. And definitely the best vegan chocolate pudding EVER!
I wasn’t going to share this recipe because it calls for a specific ingredient that most of you may not have on hand and I kind of pride myself on {mostly} using everyday, non-crazy ingredients. But here’s why I changed my mind and posted it:
a) it is completely amazing – the creamiest pudding in the universe or close to it
(*statistic not based on actual research).
b) for a decadent, rich chocolate pudding, the indulgence comes a little bit lightened up which is a lovely bonus.
c) if you haven’t tried dark chocolate almond milk, you must, you absolutely must.
d) it is dairy, egg and gluten-free and you know, I love giving shout out recipes to all of you who eat some kind of “free.”
To be clear, we don’t have food allergies in our home, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy some dark chocolate almond milk just like my dairy-free friends.
A cup of this creamy nectar is balm to my soul. And so much better (in taste and calories) than the other plastic jug chocolate milk varieties. I’m not kidding – this is a staple in my fridge.
After a few months of loving this plain and simple, I decided the obvious next step would be to make chocolate pudding.
Since I knew it would be dairy free, I decided to go for an egg-free version, too. I wish I could say it was because I love my egg-free friends just as much as my dairy-free friends, but really, it was because I was out of eggs.
Can we pretend it’s because I’m altruistic and selfless? Thanks.
The result ends up being one of the tastiest chocolate puddings ever. Even though it’s lightened up a bit, it’s thick and creamy and completely luxurious.
Try slicing a few bananas over the top. Oh, yum. You can see from the pictures that I also decided to toss a few chopped Toblerone pieces across the top too. Because…well…why not?
I’m sorry if this recipe and/or post causes a dark chocolate almond milk addiction on your part, too. We can enter therapy together.
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Three Years Ago: BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing
Incredible Chocolate Pudding {Dairy and Egg Free}
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, Dutch-process or natural, unsweetened
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups dark chocolate almond milk
- ⅓ cup (85 g) creamy peanut butter (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sliced bananas for serving, optional
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch. Slowly pour in the almond milk and whisk to combine.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the pudding begins to bubble. Cook two minutes longer (while it boils and bubbles). The mixture will be thick but pourable and will set up more while it chills.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla.
- Pour the pudding into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly to the surface to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate until well-chilled, 3-4 hours.
- Serve with sliced bananas (optional). I also sometimes sprinkle chopped Toblerone bars on top, too. Just because I can…and it’s amazing.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
I have chocolate soy milk in the fridge, perhaps I’ll try it with that!
Dark Chocolate Almond Milk is one my favorite “treats” to have each day. I’m wondering you can use natural peanut butter in this, or is too runny?
Suzanne – I haven’t tried natural peanut butter so I don’t know for sure but I definitely think it is worth a try.
Another winner! I made it for the second time yesterday with Nutella rather than peanut butter and it’s delicious!!
I am always so excited to find dairy free treats. Thank you, this pudding looks delicious!
Our family is blessed to have no food allergies, but I made this last night, doubled it for our family of 6, and we licked the bowl clean!! So yum! Thanks Mel!
Yum! I’ve been craving pudding lately but can’t bring myself to buy instant. 😉 I usually buy vanilla almond milk but today I splurged on chocolate to make this!
This looks pretty amazing! My husband is fairly lactose intolerant, my brother in law is vegan and one of my best friends is allergic to soy, eggs and dairy, so this will be a real winner.
Something to try for the people who are concerned about peanut butter flavor, but still want the creaminess: how about Nutella? More or less the same consistency, and I find that it tastes more like chocolate than anything else. -Jif also does a chocolate/hazelnut/espresso spread (essentially an espresso Nutella) which is kind of great if you like a little coffee with your chocolate 🙂
Can you put some protein powder in it, if so how much? Thanks
Okay, I think I live in a smaller little town than you–if you can believe it, and my one small grocery store had this milk! I am excited to make it and have it tonight for FHE treats! Thanks Mel! You rock!
Made this before church today and couldn’t wait to get home and try it. We LOVED it!!!! Such a great flavor and texture!!! Thank you.
Hi Mel!
Wondering what brand of cornstarch you use. Most of what’s can find easily is not gluten free. This would be a perfect dessert for a dinner party as one of our friends is gluten egg and dairy free it I would need to be able to source gluten free cornstarch.
Thanks!
Lauren
Lauren – I use the Argo brand and just did a quick google search and found this article that lists several other gluten-free cornstarch options:
http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/Gluten-Free-Grains/f/Is-Cornstarch-Gluten-Free.htm}
Another keeper. I LOVE LOVED this pudding and by omitting the whole milk and heavy cream I like to think that it is a healthy treat. (:
Hi Mel – I”m curious how you think this compares to your other chocolate pudding recipe? I was already planning on making pudding this coming week and just trying to decide which recipe to use 🙂 I’m guessing this is lower calories….?
Nicole – both are really delicious. This one has a bit of a different texture and I guess I love both for different reasons. I haven’t calculated the nutrition info, but yes, this one is most likely less calories and fat, especially if you leave out the peanut butter.
Hey everyone – I couldn’t resist trying a non-peanut butter version today (2/22/14) since many of you asked about it. Here’s the result: the cooked and chilled pudding without the peanut butter was really good! It was definitely missing that element of creaminess the peanut butter gives, but honestly, I loved it. It wasn’t quite as thick as the peanut butter version so I would suggest upping the cornstarch to 2 1/2 or 3 tablespoons if you are leaving out the peanut butter. Remember to let it boil and bubble (stirring constantly!) for a good 2-3 minutes to help it get as thick as possible. It will still be slightly runny when pouring into a bowl but will thicken up considerably upon chilling. I’ve updated the recipe with those notes!
Hi Mel-Just wanted to tell you that I made this pudding last night to have today and OMG it is BEYOND delicious. As luck would have it, I had purchased the dark chocolate almond milk earlier this week. My kids have been having a glass or two here and there. And while I do enjoy almond milk and it is a staple in our house, I never thought of making a pudding out if it! It is so rich and creamy and the addition of the peanut butter has such a depth of flavor without being overly peanut-buttery. Divine!!! Can’t say enough good things about it. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It will become one I make frequently!
I made this today after commenting yesterday, and it is fabulous and so creamy. I used my good Williams-Sonoma italian dutch processed cocoa powder, which I reserve for a special treat, since it is expensive–I loved the dark, rich flavor. I was worried about a real almond flavor coming through, but it was really more chocolate/peanut butter. Such a great taste combination and very easy to make. Next time I will double the recipe so we can have enough for two days. How do you come up with these amazing creations? Thanks for a great winter pick-me-up treat!
Teresa – I am glad you liked it! I agree, the chocolate and peanut butter shine more than the almond flavor.
Yuh–umm!
have to buy some chocolate almond milk and try it!
Thanks:)
Also, thank you for having normal recipes. It seems so many people are following crazy diet food trends… you can’t cut out entire food groups people!!
normal…i love it!
This looks delicious but I’m a little put-off by the peanut butter. Although I love peanut butter, I’m not a big fan of it in desserts. Does the flavor of the peanut butter come through? If so, can it be omitted or substituted for something else without changing the creaminess or fullness of the pudding? I’m always looking for new puddings and custards and would love to try the almond milk but don’t really want the peanut buttery flavor.
Hi Robin – several others have asked about leaving out the peanut butter. The PB flavor is definitely apparent so if you don’t want to use it you can try omitting it. The pudding will be less thick, though, so you might want to increase the cornstarch just a little.
How did you know?! I just recently got the dark chocolate almond milk and didn’t know what to do with it (it didn’t taste all that great to me by itself). Now I know what to do! Thanks!
My grandson has a nut allergy. Obviously Almond Milk would be a dangerous thing for him. Please change your note above about peanut allergies. Thanks.
Hi Pam, I’ve already edited the notes about nut free…in fact that part of the post was changed yesterday right after it went live. Thanks!
This sounds phenomenal. Silk Dark Chocolate Almond milk is simply the best. I just bought some earlier today at Walmart. I make a great chocolate chia pudding with it but Mel’s pudding recipe sounds great. I’m going to give this a try tomorrow!
As it turns out we do have all those ingredients. We tried the dark chocolate almond milk a little bit ago and have been in serious love ever since.
I love that Almond Milk, but I’ve never tried the chocolate version. I’ll have to pick some up next time I’m at the store and give it a try!
For those allergic to nut milks, bigger grocery stores usually carry hemp, oat, and rice milks. They would work just fine. Mmmm..dark chocolate coconut milk! Mel, if you haven’t tried that, I bet you’d love it too!
There is also chocolate soy milk for anyone who can’t have nuts and wants to keep this dairy free. 🙂
Looks yummy! By the way…. I have a friend with a nut allergy but does eat almonds…..yes, peanuts are legumes so safe for her & she did not realize she could eat almonds until she was an adult. Her dr. informed her that almonds are from the peach family. So those deprived all their lives might want to check it out!
I forgot to mention that the chocolate milk being used is created with the most amazing homemade chocolate sauce …http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2012/08/homemade-chocolate-syrup-for-chocolate-milk.html
Have you heard of this before?? 😉 Thanks for your help!
You mentioned subbing soy butter or sun butter for the peanut butter…What about subbing almond butter instead? I’m allergic to peanuts and I’m not a fan of either of those but love almond butter….???
Melissa – I think almond butter could work great – haven’t tried it myself but if it is similar in texture to PB, you should be good!
Dark Chocolate milk is going on the grocery list for next week! I’ll jump right onto the bandwagon 🙂
So say one doesn’t have the almond milk on hand and set person can’t run to the store today but desires to make such a delightful dessert could you use just make your own chocolate milk? And same measurements?
Abby – if that person is desperate, then yes, I say go for it. 🙂
ooooooh…. I have to try this- because I’ve had that flavor of Almond milk and it’s like liquid chocolate nectar. Seriously rich and chocolatey. Yum!.
My son was egg free dairy free for a year and a half. He’s back on dairy but still off eggs. Even so, I still love and collect the ‘free’ recipes just because when we had to pull him off I had NOTHING to go on. I had to throw out most our recipes and start over. I don’t want to have to do that again.
My dairy free son has never had pudding! So excited to try this! We LOVE chocolate almond milk at our house too! Thanks Mel!
YUM!! I too love the chocolate almond milk! Worked up calories on this one just to be aware and if there are 5 servings, each one is about 190 calories. Definitely do-able for a week-night treat!! Can’t wait to try it! 🙂
My dairy free son is going to love this!! I always have dark chocolate almond milk in the fridge 🙂 I will probably freeze it in our popsicle molds for an “ice cream” treat too.
I was wondering if it worked to make these into popsicles??
I haven’t tried that, but it sounds promising!
i too fell in love the with the dark side of almond milk. If you buy the singles and put them in freezer until they are just slighly frozen and “mushed up a bit”, they are a tasty frozen treat.
Is there any reason this wouldn’t work with regular chocolate milk? My three year old has to stay away from peanuts and tree nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc) so we couldn’t do the almond milk!
Jennifer – definitely worth a try. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work although just based on the fact that the level of sweetness/chocolate flavor is different with each type of chocolate milk, you may need to adjust the sugar. Good luck if you try it!
Gotta try this for my daughter. She has milk and egg allergy and misses out on a lot of good desserts! Thanks Mel!
Costco just had samples of chocolate almond milk. I couldn’t bring myself to buy any since if I wanted chocolate milk I could just squirt some Nesquick into a glass of plain ol’ milk. This post will definitely have me buying some Chocolate almond milk. My girls loved the sample in the store too – Bonus!
I know you posted this for me and my Grace. Thank you! Every time I substitute a non dairy milk in a pudding recipe that calls for eggs it turns out runny. I’m excited for this.
Hey Miss Tami – let me know what you think about this one. You might want to increase the cornstarch just slightly if you want it super thick. It’s definitely thick and creamy but I don’t want you to end up with runny pudding. 🙂
Looks delicious! 🙂 As someone just mentioned above, nut-free folks will not be able to use the dark chocolate almond milk. Nut-free does not mean peanut free and vice versa. Just so you know 🙂
Anna – yep, I’ve been sufficiently corrected (and wisely so!). I swear I know the difference but my brain must have been a bit muddled when typing out the post. I’m grateful for those of you who pointed it out to me! I’ve updated the post a bit so as not to lead anyone else astray. 🙂
This may be a silly question, but does the pudding have a strong almond taste? I wasn’t sure how almond-y it would be with the addition of the chocolate flavor and the peanut butter. I drink almond milk for the increased calcium, and usually buy the vanilla, which masks the almond flavor a bit. I love raw almonds, but for some reason do not love the unflavored almond milk.
Oh Mel, you’re killing me! This looks soooo good, but I had to point out that for your “nut-free friends”, the peanut butter is not the problem. Peanuts are a legume, so it’s actually the almond milk that is a no-can-do in the nut-free world. My oldest with the allergy leaves for college this Fall, so I’ll have to put this recipe in the “to try when he is gone” file!! I’m sure I’ll be swooning and singing your blessings over this one come late September 🙂
Kristin – oh my gosh, you are right! Thanks for pointing that out. I am still learning my way through the food allergy world…apparently I have a long way to go. 🙂
Oh yummy! Could you sub coconut sugar for the granulated? We try to stay away from that.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I am always looking for dairy free recipes, and I can’t wait it try this one.
Both the milk and the pudding look yummy. I should try both.
A pudding without dairy? Awesome! I love almond milk. This is a winner for sure!
I’m happy this is my grocery shopping day, and I can add chocolate almond milk to my list. That means I can taste chocolate almond milk today and make the pudding this weekend! Thanks again for the wonderful recipes you share with us!
This is why I love you, Mel…half of our family is dairy free, and one is egg free. If you say it’s good, it MUST be. I just happen to have some chocolate almond milk in my fridge, so this is going on our snow day (second one this week!) list of things to do!
I love the Mel originals — they are the best! I’m making your No-Bake Nutella Cheesecakes for company after church on Sunday so this will have to wait just a little while to try. Since you can’t have too much chocolate and peanut butter, probably I will put it on the rotation for next week. 🙂
This look delicious! I am loving the almond milk and peanut butter in this pudding, Mel!