Chocolate Pudding
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Why settle for store-bought chocolate pudding when homemade is so easy to make?
If you’ve never had homemade chocolate pudding, you’re in for a real treat. It’s silky-smooth and intensely chocolatey—a world apart from the instant or store-bought varieties. While kids always love chocolate pudding, its nostalgic appeal makes it a fun and crowd-pleasing dessert for grown-ups too. Despite the ease and convenience of ready-made mixes, making chocolate pudding from scratch is surprisingly simple. The only challenge is waiting for it to set up in the fridge—you’ll need to allow at least 5 hours—but the wait is well worth it!
“Something this chocolatey and decadent shouldn’t be so easy to make. This recipe is so easy and so delicious!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Pudding
- Sugar: Sweetens the pudding, balancing the cocoa’s bitterness and enhancing its flavor.
- Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder: Provides the rich chocolate flavor that defines chocolate pudding.
- Cornstarch: Acts as a thickening agent, giving the pudding its smooth and creamy consistency.
- Whole Milk: Forms the base of the pudding, and contributes to its creamy texture and richness.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Adds depth to the pudding, intensifying the chocolate flavor. Be sure to use good quality chocolate, such as Ghirardelli)
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor profile of the pudding with its aromatic notes.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a heavy medium saucepan.
Whisk to combine.
Add half of the milk and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the remaining milk.
Continue whisking over medium heat until the pudding thickens and comes to boil, about 8 minutes. Continue to boil 1 minute longer, whisking constantly.
Off the heat, add the chopped chocolate and vanilla.
Whisk until the chocolate melts and the pudding is smooth. Pour the pudding into a medium bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pudding to prevent a film from forming at the top.
Cool in the refrigerator until set, 5 to 6 hours. Before serving, whisk the chilled pudding until smooth.
Spoon the pudding evenly into 4 dessert bowls.
Top with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired, and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’d recommend sticking with solid chocolate here; chocolate chips are made with stabilizers to help them retain their shape when heated, so they’re not the best option for pudding.
Sure! It keeps nicely in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I don’t recommend it as the pudding isn’t firm enough to hold up when sliced. This chocolate cream pie recipe may meet your needs – it’s delish!
You May Also Like
Chocolate Pudding
Why settle for store-bought chocolate pudding when homemade is so easy to make?
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's
- 2½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups whole milk
- 1½ ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (best quality, such as Ghirardelli)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Homemade whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a heavy medium saucepan. Add half of the milk and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the remaining milk. Continue whisking over medium heat until the pudding thickens and comes to boil, about 8 minutes. Continue to boil 1 minute longer, whisking constantly.
- Remove the pudding from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate and vanilla; whisk until the chocolate melts and the pudding is smooth. Pour the pudding into a medium bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pudding to prevent a film from forming at the top. Cool in the refrigerator until set, 5 to 6 hours. Whisk the chilled pudding until smooth, and then spoon it evenly into 4 dessert bowls. Top each pudding with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired, and serve.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 310
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Sugar: 47 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Sodium: 142 mg
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Our whole family loved this pudding-including grandma! This is the third time I’ve made the pudding this month! It is delicious and so easy to make. Do you have a vanilla and/or butterscotch pudding recipe I could make as well? Thank you for the easy to navigate website and wonderful recipes!
Diane
So glad it was a hit! If you own my second cookbook, I have a butterscotch pudding on page 255. If you don’t have it, let me know – I’d be happy to send you the recipe. 😊
I’m still giving it a 5-star review because this is obviously my fault: this pudding didn’t set for me. I followed the recipe. I whisked it for the correct amount of time, and then a minute longer after it started to boil. I placed it in the fridge overnight. It’s still delicious: I’m adding it to milk for an after-lunch treat. I’ll try again. Maybe the milk needs to be added more slowly as we continue whisking? I poured half in and whisked and then the second half of the milk, just as the recipe mentioned. I’ll figure it out. Your site is my favorite of ALL. Thank you for your fine work.
Hi Janet, I’m sorry you had a hard time getting this to thicken up! Did you use whole milk? If not, that would likely be the problem.
made the chocolate pudding last weekend. Made a triple batch. Never made before. Followed the recipe to the letter. It was fabulous. Took @ 4 days to finish off, just the two of us.😂
Great recipe
Hi Jenn!
I am a fan but my pudding never set. I followed the recipe closely. 🙁
Jerry
Hi Jerry, I’m sorry you had a problem with this! Did you whisk the pudding mixture for about 9 minutes? What was the texture then? And did you cool it in the refrigerator for at least five hours?
Could I use this as the filling between a cake layer?
I think that should work. Hope you enjoy!
hello, the recipe says 1½ ounces of semi-sweet chocolate – is this correct – this seems like a small quantity.
Regis, I know it’s not much, but it’s correct. 🙂
I asked my wife if I could give some of the pudding I made to my mom. She said no (doesn’t want to share)!
Haha!!
Can you put the measures in metric please?
Done!
This is very similar to a recipe I use from Let’s Eat In by Brooke Dojny and Melanie Barnard. They make the claim that it only takes about three minutes longer to make than a mix, and say they did an unscientific test to determine that it tastes much better by rounding up neighborhood children and the mail man who all agreed it tasted much better. I’m sure this recipe does, too. I thought you would enjoy this story.
That’s funny!