As regular readers of my blog no doubt know, it is an understatement to say that I am pretty into chocolate. But sometimes you just want something simple, creamy, and lightly sweetened, and on those occasions, nothing beats a bowl of vanilla pudding.
I’ve tried a dozen renditions of tofu pudding, and while I admit I kind of have a sick thing for its grainy texture and earthy flavor, I know that some people have mental blocks when it comes to bean curd. I’ll be the first to say I love the stuff, but come on, vegans! Though my musical tastes might lead you to believe otherwise, it ain’t the nineties, so update your cookbooks already. Tofu doesn’t have to be in everything!
There are packaged vegan puddings on the market as well as animal-friendly pudding mixes that you just add non-dairy milk to and cook, but a basic cornstarch pudding is super simple (and cheap!) to mix up at home. There are just two important rules of cornstarch-based pudding:
1. Never ever add plain cornstarch directly to a hot liquid. It will clump and leave awful chewy lumps that you’ll never be able to pick out in a million years. Seriously.
2. Once you’ve poured your hot pudding into a vessel, do not break the skin of your pudding until it is completely and thoroughly cooled and you are ready to eat it. If you cheat and sneak a bite or two before it sets, the rest of it will quickly break down into a soupy liquid. Just wait it out; your willpower will be rewarded.
Got it? Promise? Then you’re ready to proceed:
Β
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 2½ c vegan milk, divided
- ⅔ c sugar
- 2 tbsp vegan butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- In a small bowl, whisk together ½ c vegan milk and cornstarch.
- Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together remaining vegan milk and sugar.
- When mixture begins to steam, add cornstarch mixture.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to thicken and just reaches a boil, about 5 minutes.
- Turn down heat to very low and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until thick.
- Turn off heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract.
- Pour into a 1-quart dish or 4-6 (heat-resistant) ramekins or bowls.
- Cover dishes and refrigerate for a couple of hours, until firm and fully cooled.
- Serve as is or with non-dairy whipped cream and sliced fruit.
45 comments
Susan Robinson says:
Aug 28, 2012
Ok, I will try any pudding you recommend after your hit with the Chocolate Chia pudding! I love it and I’m sure this is just as good. Thanks!
claryn says:
Aug 28, 2012
Haha, thanks Susan! I find it really creamy and refreshing. Let me know how you like it!
Amanda says:
Aug 29, 2012
Oh my gosh, that’s amazing! How did I never know it was so easy to make pudding?!? I’m so excited to try this!
Also, I never knew the thing about not breaking the skin, but it sure explains a lot!!!
Thanks!
Also, I have been a long time fan of your blog – though I admit I haven’t commented all that much. Still, I’m an admirer, and wonder if you would consider writing a guest post or allowing me to syndicate one of your recipes on Urban Earthworm? Or, if you’d like to write about veganism in a non-recipe format, that would be great, too. Let me know if you’re interested!
Barb@ThatWasVegan says:
Aug 30, 2012
As one of those weirdos who prefers vanilla to chocolate, this recipe looks perfect to me! π
claryn says:
Sep 4, 2012
Haha, nothing wrong with that! I am definitely a huge vanilla fan, too π
Vegan Chocolate Pudding | Hell Yeah It's Vegan! says:
Oct 4, 2012
[…] There are a couple of different ways to make chocolate pudding.Β This kind has a creamy, almost milk chocolatey taste. If you’re looking for something richer, I recommend using a cornstarch-based recipe like this that also contains melted chocolate. But this is as quick and easy as it gets — just don’t forget the rules! […]
urbanvegan says:
Oct 16, 2012
I never get tired of creamy vanilla pudding. I always prefer vanilla to chocolate.
claryn says:
Oct 16, 2012
I think my reasoning for preferring chocolate to vanilla when I was younger was probably that I defined vanilla as the absence of flavor (ie chocolate). Now that I think of vanilla as its own, distinct flavor, I appreciate it a lot more! That realization may or may not have coincided with the discovery of vanilla beans and high-quality extracts.
Dirt Cake | Hell Yeah It's Vegan! says:
Oct 26, 2012
[…] as desired. Notes I make 1.5 batches of my vegan vanilla pudding recipe, but you can use instant pudding mix if you prefer. Just aim for 3.5 cups of liquid. […]
gretchen says:
Dec 1, 2012
I made this last night, and it was delicious! It tastes like butter pecan ice cream! Well, sans pecans, of course but… yeah.
claryn says:
Dec 2, 2012
Haha, I totally get that! Awesome.
Susan says:
Jan 19, 2013
Thank you for sharing all these wonderful recipes. Which vegan milk is best for the vanilla pudding, soy, coconut, almond?
claryn says:
Jan 21, 2013
You can use any one you like the taste of or have on hand. I use almond milk for most things these days, but I’ve made this pudding with soy milk, coconut milk (the beverage — the canned stuff is fine, too, but obviously a lot richer), and a blend of different milks. I don’t particularly recommend rice milk because it’s generally thinner and less creamy.
Celeste says:
Jan 21, 2013
I had my wisdom teeth removed last week and was searching for soft food recipes when I came across this. This is so delicious that I am already on my second batch. I used almond milk and added some fresh ground nutmeg at the end.
claryn says:
Jan 21, 2013
Awesome! I am a sucker for nutmeg in desserts so I bet I would love it that way. Get well soon!
Farzana says:
May 15, 2013
Hey ! I think I am gonna try this and make ice cream in my ice cream maker! Yay! Thank you!!
Sara Eckard says:
May 22, 2013
I made this last night and let it chill overnight in the fridge(I did the plastic wrap method because I don’t like the skin), just ate my first bowl and this may be the best vanilla pudding I’ve ever had! I used very vanilla silk and it turned out fantastic. Completely smooth and just the right thickness, it was perfect! Thanks for the great recipe π
claryn says:
Jun 1, 2013
Aw, glad you liked it, Sara! Thanks for reading π
Karen says:
May 27, 2013
It seemed like it was taking forever to cook, so I out heat up to medium, and I used tapioca flour. The texture turned out very slimy π Then I read on cook’s thesaurus http://www.foodsubs.com/ThickenStarch.html
that arrowroot becomes slimy when mixed with milk products. So it was probably the tapioca that did it. Lesson learned!
Bourbon Vanilla Pudding | The Fierceness says:
Jun 7, 2013
[…] exciting ways to put a new spin on it, but this time around, I wanted to stick with a classic and this recipe definitely delivered. I added a quick blueberry sauce for extra flavor and am very glad I […]
Michelle W says:
Aug 4, 2013
Found your recipe and it looks yummy! One quick question – I am trying to avoid oil and vegan butter – would the recipe suffer if I elimated the vegan butter? Thanks so much!
claryn says:
Aug 4, 2013
You can definitely leave it out. I think it lends butterscotch-y tones to the pudding, so if that’s a selling point for you, you might want to get your hands on vegan butter flavor and add a few drops instead. You can also stir in additional extracts (like more vanilla, or almond) at the end of the cooking process if you think it tastes bland!
Summer says:
Aug 21, 2013
In my family we always have the pudding warm out of the pot and put chocolate chips on top so they melt. You should try it this way for a warm homey dessert.
claryn says:
Aug 26, 2013
Sounds delish, Summer! π
Vegan Icebox Cake | Hell Yeah It's Vegan! says:
Sep 3, 2013
[…] Store-bought, ready-to-eat vegan pudding is a thing, as are boxed pudding mixes, but I like to use this recipe for vanilla pudding and this one for the chocolate pudding. They’re both really fast […]
Katie says:
Nov 6, 2013
I made this as an ingredient in my vegan kitty litter cake for Halloween (to keep the crumbled cakes soft). There was some pudding left over, but it sure didn’t last long! Absolutely delicious! I’ll be making this recipe over and over again.
Edible Paint | within talking trees says:
Feb 17, 2014
[…] You can just buy some vanilla pudding at the g-store or you can make your own! Here’s the recipe I used: http://hellyeahitsvegan.com/vegan-vanilla-pudding/ […]
Jersey Girl says:
Apr 22, 2014
This recipe sounds delish can’t wait to make it. One thing when i use the vegan milk should i use unsweetened?
claryn says:
May 31, 2014
Yes! I promise it’s plenty sweet using unsweetened milk. π
Jessica says:
Feb 18, 2015
I always want to try cooked vanilla pudding recipes, but I never have any success with vegan vanilla ANYTHING. From cake, to ice cream, to puddings. There is always a ‘taste’. Not to mention the last time I tried to make pudding it turned out as early gelatinous masses in bowls, despite being a very nice pourable-but thickened- consistency when I went to eat it. Have you experienced this before? I’m going to try this recipe tonight and can’t wait to give it a go.
Heidi says:
Apr 4, 2015
Do you think tapioca flour will work? I can not eat cornstarch. π
claryn says:
Apr 7, 2015
Any kind of starch (including tapioca starch and potato starch) should work just fine, Heidi!
Vegan potluck and a killer dessert | Rambling Prose says:
Dec 21, 2015
[…] based my custard on a vanilla pudding recipe from Hell Yeah It’s Vegan, a great website forΒ vegan recipes that I discovered […]
Susie Valenzuela says:
Jan 29, 2016
It was delicious! I used cashew milk. I Added the vanilla pudding to some oatmeal with a tad of cinnamon and bananas. Amazing!
Niki says:
Feb 19, 2016
I’m making it with macadamia milk. Can I swap coconut oil and a pinch of salt for the margarine?
claryn says:
Feb 22, 2016
You sure can, Niki, but you can also leave it out altogether if you like. The margarine is mostly just in there for flavor. That said, I bet a bit of unrefined coconut oil would complement the macadamia milk in a really excellent way.
amy says:
Jul 3, 2016
I was going to try this pudding to use as a layer over a cake for a 4th of july dessert, and your rule #2 has me curious… will it still work? I was thinking I would make the pudding in a larger bowl & let it set all the way, and then spoon it over the cake & top with fruit. Thoughts?
Amy says:
Jul 3, 2016
but I would be taking it to a potluck so i need it to not separate once I put it over the cake since i won’t be immediately serving. (hope that makes sense!)
Susan O'Brien says:
Jul 23, 2016
Great recipe! For dietary reasons, I substituted a little Stevia in the Raw for sugar, and I left out the vegan “butter.” Happy this worked. Thank you!
claryn says:
Jul 31, 2016
Glad to hear you liked it, Susan, and thanks for sharing your substitutions!
Sammy says:
Jan 7, 2017
This recipe tastes amazing! It really only takes about 15 minutes to make, and one hour to chill. It tastes s lot like tapioca pudding! Does anyone know how many calories this may have per cup? I used 30 calorie coconut milk.
Jessica says:
Mar 19, 2017
Do you think this would work well as the custard for a vegan banana pudding?
Connie Moultroup. says:
Apr 12, 2017
I made the vanilla and the chocolate puddings last night and have just had the vanilla pudding with sliced strawberries and it is DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!! I’m too full to try the chocolate tonight but tomorrow……
Connie Moultroup says:
Apr 12, 2017
Do you have a cookbook out yet?????
Darya says:
May 17, 2017
I’ve made this pudding four times in the past two weeks and I’m about to make another batch! I love the creamy texture and delicious, non-artificial vanilla flavor. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe! π