by Monica - 29 Comments
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This vegan pudding is rich, creamy, and authentic tasting, without any fancy ingredients. It's easily made in any flavor like chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, or butterscotch with a few simple modifications to the recipe.
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This is not pudding disguised as health food. Just great-tasting pudding like you remember from when you were a kid. No one will ever guess that it's dairy-free and it's made from a few simple ingredients on the stovetop in about 10 minutes!
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- 🍮 Are boxed pudding mixes vegan?
- 🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- 🥄 How to make vegan pudding
- 🌟 Flavor variations
- 👩🏻🍳ProTips
- 🥡 Storage
- 🍨 More no-bake desserts
- 📋 Vegan pudding recipe
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- It's classic-tasting pudding with no weird ingredients.
- This pudding is gluten-free, dairy-free, and easily made soy or nut-free too!
- It's a classic kid favorite that can be whipped up on the stovetop in minutes.
- This can easily be made in any flavor with a few simple modifications.
🍮 Are boxed pudding mixes vegan?
Most of the instant boxed pudding that they sell at the grocery store is actually vegan (jello is not, but you can make homemade vegan jello). However, instant puddings will not set correctly with plant-based milk.
You have to cook it on the stovetop to get vegan pudding that will set. If you have never made homemade pudding before, you will be amazed by how simple it actually is!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Plant-Based Milk - any type that you like will work. Soy, almond, oat, cashew, coconut, or rice milk are all good choices.
- Sugar - to sweeten the pudding. You can use any sweetener that you want like maple syrup or agave, but white sugar will keep your vanilla pudding the whitest. (Feel free to adjust the amount to suit your taste).
- Corn Starch - to thicken the pudding. You can also use potato starch or arrowroot powder in place of corn starch in equal amounts.
- Salt - for flavor.
- Vanilla Extract - for flavor.
- Vegan Butter - for a rich and creamy texture. You can use any non-dairy margarine or my homemade vegan butter. You can leave it out for an oil-free pudding if you choose.
Extras
- Cocoa Powder - if you are making chocolate pudding. Peanut butter - for peanut butter pudding or brown sugar for butterscotch pudding.
- Vegan Whipped Cream - (optional) Use my vegan whipped cream frosting if you want a super-rich whipped cream that won't deflate or if you want a lighter whipped cream use myaquafaba whipped creamand decorate just before serving.
🥄 How to make vegan pudding
Step 1 - Put sugar, starch, and salt into a saucepan and slowly stir in the cold milk to avoid clumps.
Step 2 -Turn on the heat to medium and stir frequently until it begins to boil. (Don't turn on the heat until all of the clumps are stirred out.)
Step 3 - Stir constantly for 1 minute then remove from heat.
Step 4 - Add butter and vanilla and stir again until the butter has melted and is incorporated.
Step 5 - Serve either warm or cold.
To serve, you can layer different flavors of pudding in a glass jar and top it with vegan whipped cream.
🌟 Flavor variations
Vegan Chocolate Pudding
- Add 1/3 cup of cocoa powder plus 2 additional tbsp of sugar along with the dry ingredients in step 1. Follow the remainder of the steps the same.
Vegan Peanut Butter Pudding
- Add 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter to the other ingredients in step one and stir very well with a whisk. (It will be a little clumpy until it warms up, then it will dissolve completely. Follow the remainder of the steps the same. Tip - brown sugar taste great in the peanut butter pudding!
Vegan Butterscotch Pudding
- Make my vegan butterscotch sauce recipe and then let it cool in the pan to room temperature. Once cooled mix 2 3/4 cups of cold plant-based milk with 1/4 cup of cornstarch and slowly add it to the butterscotch stirring well with a whisk. Turn on the heat to medium and continue to stir until it boils for 1 minute. (No need to add more butter or vanilla at the end since it's already in it.)
If you want a healthy vegan pudding, check out my easy chia seed pudding recipe!
👩🏻🍳ProTips
- Sift the cornstarch and cocoa powder through a flour sifter or wire mesh strainer if yours seems clumpy. This will help give you a smoother pudding in the end.
- Add the cold plant-based milk slowly and stir well while you are adding it. This will stir out any remaining clumps.
- If you don't want a layer of pudding skin on the top, allow it to cool with a lid on top. Take the lid off about every 5 minutes and give it a stir while it's cooling.
🥡 Storage
Cover your pudding with a lid or a piece of plastic wrap to ensure that it doesn't get a hard film on top unless, of course, you want the pudding skin. Store in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. I don't recommend freezing the pudding.
If you want to learn how to make other homemade vegan staples like butter, cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, and mayo be sure to sign up for my free ebook.
If you know that you are ready to dive in and want over 40 recipes that taste better than store-bought vegan items and will save you a ton of money, check out my cookbook,The Ultimate Guide to Vegan Staples.
🍨 More no-bake desserts
- Vegan Chocolate Pie
- Aquafaba Icecream
- Vegan No-Bake Cheesecake
- Vegan Grasshopper Pie
- Aquafaba Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan Key Lime Pie
- Silken Tofu Chocolate Mousse
📌 Be sure tofollow me on Pinterestfor new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan pudding recipe
5 from 8 votes
Print Recipe
Vegan Pudding - Any Flavor
A classic pudding recipe made vegan. A sweet, creamy, and delicious treat that everyone will love!
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time5 minutes mins
Total Time10 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: dairy-free pudding, vegan chocolate pudding, vegan pudding, vegan vanilla pudding
Servings: 4
Calories: 244kcal
Author: Monica Davis
Ingredients
Basic Pudding
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 3/4 cup soy milk or any other plant-based milk
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For Chocolate Pudding
- 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoon sugar (in addition to the 1/2 cup)
For Peanut Butter Pudding
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
For Butterscotch Pudding
- 1 batch vegan butterscotch sauce
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
Put 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup corn starch, and 1/8 tsp salt into a saucepan. (Plus cocoa powder and additional sugar if making chocolate flavored pudding.)
Slowly stir in the 2 3/4 cup of cold plant-based milk to avoid clumps.
Turn on heat to medium and stir frequently until it begins to boil. (Don't turn on the heat until all of the clumps are stirred out.)
Stir constantly for 1 minute then remove from heat.
Add 2 tablespoons vegan butter and 1 tsp vanilla and stir again until the butter has melted and is incorporated.
Serve either warm or cold.
To serve, you can layer different flavors of pudding in a glass jar and top with vegan whipped cream.
Video
Notes
- Sift the corn starch and cocoa powder through a flour sifter or wire mesh strainer if yours seems clumpy. This will help give you a smoother pudding in the end.
- Add the cold plant-based milk slowly and stir well while you are adding it. This will stir out any remaining clumps.
- If you don't want a layer of pudding skin on the top, allow it to cool with a lid on top. Take the lid off about every 5 minutes and give it a stir while it's cooling.
Flavor Variations:
Chocolate Pudding
Add 1/3 cup of cocoa powder plus 2 additional tbsp of sugar along with the dry ingredients in step 1. Follow the remainder of the steps the same.
Peanut Butter Pudding
Add 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter to the other ingredients in step one and stir very well with a whisk. (It will be a little clumpy until it warms up, then it will dissolve completely. Follow the remainder of the steps the same. Tip - brown sugar taste great in the peanut butter pudding!
Butterscotch Pudding
Make my vegan butterscotch sauce recipe and then let it cool in the pan to room temperature. Once cooled mix 2 3/4 cups of cold plant-based milk with 1/4 cup of corn starch and slowly add it to the butterscotch stirring well with a whisk. Turn on the heat to medium and continue to stir until it boils for 1 minute. (No need to add more butter or vanilla at the end since it's already in it.)
If you want a healthy vegan pudding, check out my easy chia seed pudding recipe!
Nutrition
Serving: 0.75cup | Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 229mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 905IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 227mg | Iron: 1mg
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Elaine saysI make your pudding often for my husband who has to eat soft foods. He loves it!! This time I doubled up and it didn’t thicken. I don’t know what could have gone wrong.
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- Monica says
I'm not sure why it wouldn't set as long as you also doubled the cornstarch and boiled it long enough. I'm glad that you like the recipe though.
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- Meran says
This looks like a nice, simple "just like the pudding I grew up with" recipe. Definitely going to try it soon. I have a question though: have you ever used a jello pudding pkg as base? Just adding more cornstarch? I have pkgs and would love to use them up.
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- Monica says
This is my mom's old recipe that I made vegan. You can use the jello pudding pkg, but they usually don't set as well with plant-based milk.
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- E says
We made the chocolate version without the extra sugar. We used sunbutter instead of vegan butter. It was delicious!
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- Monica says
I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
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- Priscilla says
Fabulous! I made chocolate and stirred pb in mine as hubby didn’t want any. If you put cling wrap on top of the pudding, pressed down gently onto the top of the pudding, a skin won’t develop. Also, for anyone not used to using cornstarch, make sure you bring to a boil as cornstarch won’t activate until it’s brought up to that temp. So delicious, thank you!! 😋
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- Monica says
I'm glad that you liked the recipe, Priscilla! 🙂
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- Jessica Arjet says
This was delicious! I can't eat chocolate so I was looking for something creamy and delicious. I do love butterscotch so I made that version.
I was surprised at how long it took to boil the second time. But it finally did!
I was too impatient last night and ate it warm- soooo good.
I'm excited to try it cold today.
Thank you!Reply
- Monica says
I'm so happy that you liked it, Jessica! The butterscotch is my favorite flavor!
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- Therese says
How do i make the vegan butterscotch sauce?
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- Monica says
Here is the link to the butterscotch sauce... https://thehiddenveggies.com/vegan-butterscotch/
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- Leah says
I made this tonight and it turned out really well! It took a long time for mine to come to a boil, but our fridge is old and super cold. I used oat milk and arrowroot powder and made the vanilla version. It was so good that the rest of my family wanted some of my late night snack - we ended up devouring it all haha. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
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- Monica says
I'm so happy that you liked it, Leah! It makes a great snack!
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- Gregory Jones says
I laughed out loud, like , when I saw it thicken up. It literally went from liquid to ‘bam’ chocolate pudding. I used coconut sugar and a little agave. Going to try it with monk fruit next time!!! Excited to try it cool, because it was amaaaaazing hot!!!!! Thank you
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- Monica says
It's kind of like magic when it thickens. I'm so glad that you liked it. I'm sure that it will be good with monk fruit too. You can use the same basic recipe and get creative with flavorings. Enjoy! 🙂
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- Tazmañia Martin says
I made the chocolate one, it taste like the store bought one (in a v e r y good way) i recommend adding strawberries after cooled into it <3
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- Monica says
I'm happy that you enjoyed it! 🙂
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- Kim says
I made this but the pudding never set. Any suggestions? Can I salvage it?
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- Monica says
Did you use enough corn starch? Did you bring it to a boil? I'm not sure how it could have not set for you. Did it thicken at all? You can stir in more cornstarch (maybe a tablespoon) into the cold pudding and reheat it until it comes to a slow boil. That should help it set.
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- Kim says
You were right. I didn’t let it get to a boil the first time. I added the cornstarch and brought it to a boil and it thickened right up! Thanks! And it’s DELISH!
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- Monica says
Oh good! I'm glad that you figured it out and that you like it! 🙂
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- marsha says
Hello,
can i use any starch replacement for the corn starch? do you have a vegan recipe for the whipped cream?Reply
- Monica says
You can use potato starch instead of corn starch in equal amounts. I do have a vegan whipped cream. Here is the link... https://thehiddenveggies.com/aquafaba-whipped-cream-vegan-cool-whip/
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- Sara says
Hi Monica 🙂 I'll be making this for NYE dinner. Is it best to serve cold? If yes, does it go in the fridge and for how long? Thanks!
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- Beth says
I made this pudding for my family and they loved it
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- Monica says
Hi Beth, I'm happy that you all liked it! 🙂
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- Francoise says
I'm going to make this recipe iwood like have the recipe for the butter please and thank you
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- Monica says
If you click the blue words that say vegan butter it will take you to the butter recipe! Or you can use this url: https://thehiddenveggies.com/butter/ Enjoy! 🙂
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