Chocolate Pudding
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Why settle for store-bought or instant chocolate pudding when homemade is so easy to make? This chocolate pudding recipe is the answer to your chocolate cravings—rich, creamy, and oh-so-chocolatey!
If you’ve never had homemade chocolate pudding, you’re in for a treat. It’s silky-smooth, full of rich chocolate flavor, and so much better than the instant kind. Making it from scratch is surprisingly simple—the hardest part is waiting for it to chill. Unlike most recipes that rely on just cocoa powder, this one uses both cocoa powder and real chocolate, so it’s extra luscious and chocolatey. Kids always love it, but there’s plenty of nostalgic appeal for grown-ups, too. Bonus: it’s naturally gluten-free.
Love chocolate pudding? Take it up a notch with my chocolate cream pie—or try my chocolate mousse or homemade chocolate ice cream for more chocolatey goodness.
“Chocolate desserts are our thing, and this easy chocolate pudding recipe has wonderful texture and depth. Sometimes we top with strawberries—chef’s kiss!”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Chocolate Pudding
- Sugar: Sweetens the pudding and balances the cocoa’s natural bitterness.
- Cornstarch: Gently thickens the pudding so it turns out smooth and spoonable.
- Whole Milk: The creamy backbone of the pudding—whole milk keeps it velvety and rich.
- Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder & Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Team up to deliver deep, layered chocolate flavor—use good-quality chocolate, such as Ghirardelli, for the best results.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the chocolate with warm, aromatic notes for a well-balanced flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients. In a heavy medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt.
Step 2: Gradually add the milk. Add half the milk and whisk until smooth, then add the rest of the milk and stir to incorporate.
Step 3: Cook the Pudding. Set the pot over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the pudding thickens and starts to bubble—about 8 minutes. Let it boil for 1 more minute, whisking the whole time.
Step 4: Finish. Off the heat, whisk in the chopped chocolate and vanilla until the pudding mixture is completely smooth.
Step 5: Chill. Pour the contents of the pot into a medium bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin. Refrigerate until the pudding is set—it will take 5 to 6 hours.
Step 5: Serve. Give the chilled pudding a good stir, then spoon into dessert bowls and top with a dollop of whipped cream or chocolate shavings if you’d like. For a fun twist, line the bottom of the bowls with crushed cookies like biscotti, Oreos, or graham crackers, or sprinkle some on top. Chocolate pudding keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing it, but leftover pudding is perfect for pudding pops if you have molds!
More Chocolate Recipes You May Like
Chocolate Pudding
What fun is life without chocolate pudding? This from-scratch version is the ultimate chocolate comfort food.
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
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- 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.
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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!