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Easy Chocolate Pudding

Easy Chocolate Pudding makes for a quick sweet treat or an elegant dessert! Make your favorite creamy childhood snack from scratch ! Full of rich chocolate flavor, and is best served with some whipped cream on top, this homemade version will be a family favorite.

(This recipe was originally posted in 2017. The images were updated in 2021. The recipe remains the same!)

Easy Homemade Chocolate Pudding

My kids LOVE chocolate pudding. Me? Not so much. I love a good chocolate mousse, a Pot de Créme, or heck, even a pudding pop. But, actual pudding is usually a solid pass for me. So, I let my kids take the lead with this recipe. They helped me make it, taste test it, and they gave the final stamp of approval, too.

What started as humoring their favorite snack, though, ended with me “cleaning” the edges of the sauce pan. With a spoon. Hey, adults can taste test too – don’t let your kids tell you any different!

Getting back to the point, this sweet chocolate pudding recipe is crazy simple, and crazy delicious. It’s the perfect texture (thick-but-not-too-dense), and it’s sweet without being overly sugary. Plus, you most likely have everything you need in your kitchen to make it right now.

Easy, creamy chocolate pudding is great for after-school snacks, last-minute dessert emergencies (yes, those are a thing!), chocolate cravings… you get the gist.

Three cups of pudding with cream.

Why Make Pudding From Scratch?

Once you dip a spoon in your bowl, you’ll see why. But in addition to that, don’t you feel so accomplished when you make your own treats? There’s just something about preparing – from scratch – a recipe you might typically lean on a box mix for.

Here are a few more reasons why I like to make homemade pudding:

  • It’s Super Easy: There are lots of versions of chocolate pudding out there in the universe. Some start with chopped chocolate, some have heavy cream, etc. But the beauty of this recipe is the simplicity of the ingredients. There is minimal effort required in mixing sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and a couple of other essentials together.
  • It’s Quick: 10 minute dessert, anybody? That’s right. 10 MINUTES. Why are you still reading this when you could be halfway done making this pudding recipe? Kidding, kidding, we’ve got a little more to cover first.
  • It’s Customizable: If you like your pudding plain, that’s fine. However, if you’ve got a huge sweet tooth like me, you’ll add whipped cream or crushed Oreos or Kit Kat bars to your pudding. (Technically you could do this with store-bought pudding too, but it tastes better when you make it yourself, because you know what’s in it!)
Ingredients for easy chocolate pudding.

What You’ll Need

What goes into a batch of homemade chocolate pudding? There are 7 necessary ingredients. Let’s get exact, though – here are the specifics of what you’ll need to round up:

  • Sugar: Stick to granulated sugar for this pudding recipe.
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: You could technically use chopped chocolate for the chocolate flavoring, but using cocoa powder is just so darn easy.
  • Cornstarch: This will thicken up the pudding for you.
  • Salt: I like to use Kosher salt – it enhances the sweet chocolate flavor.
  • Milk: Whole milk makes for the creamiest pudding, as does half and half, but whatever milk you’ve got in your fridge is just fine.
  • Vanilla: For extra sweet flavor!
  • Butter: This adds extra creamy goodness to your pudding. Make sure it’s room temperature before starting.
Chocolate pudding cups with whipped cream.

How to Make Chocolate Pudding

Let’s recap for a second. This creamy chocolate pudding takes 10 minutes to make, it’s a total fan favorite, and it will instantaneously cure your chocolate cravings. Who could say no?

Here are the quick steps you’ll need to take to mix it together:

Combine Ingredients: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt. Over medium heat, slowly add the milk, whisking constantly.

Let the Mixture Thicken: Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to whisk for an additional minute. The mixture will be thick at this point. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and butter until melted. Pour into individual serving dishes if desired.

Tips for Success

Looking for subtle tips and tricks to improve your pudding-making skills? I’ve got you! Here are a couple ways to make your chocolate pudding shine:

  • Really Try to Whisk Constantly: If you don’t whisk the pudding enough while adding the milk, it might begin to stick to the pan. It’s okay if you have to stop for a moment, but just make sure you’re keeping an eye on the mixture.
  • Refrigerate Before Serving: Chill your pudding for at least an hour before you serve it so that it’s cool and refreshing. Also, don’t forget to press your cling wrap right onto the pudding so it doesn’t form that weird pudding skin.
  • Mix Your Pudding Before Serving: This makes it nice and creamy – it can be a little dense when you try to eat it straight from the fridge.
  • Serve with Whipped Cream: I highly recommend a little whipped cream on top of your pudding! It’s a pudding essential that you don’t want to leave out. 🙂
Chocolate pudding in three bowls.

How to Store Pudding

Store your homemade pudding in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also store individual bowls of pudding, tightly covered with plastic wrap, for a day or two if you want.

Print
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Three cups of pudding with cream.

Easy Chocolate Pudding

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 25 reviews
  • Author: Cookies & Cups
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Chill Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: No Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Easy Chocolate Pudding makes for a quick sweet treat or an elegant dessert! Your favorite creamy childhood snack is full of rich chocolate flavor, and is best served with some whipped cream on top.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 1/4 cups milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt. Over medium heat, slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to whisk for an additional minute. The mixture will be thick at this point. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and butter until melted.
  2. Pour into individual serving dishes if desired. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the pudding to avoid forming a “skin”, and chill for at least one hour.

Notes

Serve topped with whipped cream, if desired.
Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 245
  • Sugar: 32.3 g
  • Sodium: 138.6 mg
  • Fat: 6.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 43.5 g
  • Protein: 6 g
  • Cholesterol: 18 mg

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54 comments on “Easy Chocolate Pudding”

  1. Yeah this was good! I actually almost lost hope making it half way through because I was stirring for SO long and it seemed so thin. But it eventually came together and it came out delicious. Thanks!






  2. Made this for my son. He really enjoyed it. Just wondering if you can freeze this pudding. Thank you






  3. Delicious! (‘Nuff said) ☺️I did use half unsweetened almond milk/half 1 % milk. I chickened out but next time will bravely try all almond milk!






  4. Love this homemade chocolate pudding!! This is definitely going to be my go to recipe whenever I’m craving it! I love the texture, almost similar to the store bought but better. It’s creamy and pretty thick which I love and also doesn’t get watery at all! Love it, you need to make this recipe!!






  5. I love, love pudding!!!!! I just made this for a late night snack (I know it’s late for pudding) it is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS THANK YOU






  6. My new favorite chocolate pudding recipe.So easy, I had all the ingredients and it came out perfect! So delicious and full of creamy chocolate flavor. Thankyou for sharing this recipe.






  7. Kimberly Guzan

    Made this pudding on a very cold day … served it warm. We were blown away on how good it was.






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