Skip the box of powdered mix and make Homemade Double Chocolate Pudding instead.
I love chocolate pudding, but I have never been a fan of the box of pudding mix that you buy in the store.
Growing up my mom never made pudding from the box that you buy at the store. I was probably close to a teenager the first time I remember having store bought pudding.
Homemade pudding was all we had and we loved it.
Most people now only know of the pudding from the box or package at the store. They have always had the store bought kind and not the homemade version.
But I think if they tried the homemade version they would love it even more than the store bought kind. Homemade pudding is so much better.
Why Is Homemade Pudding Better?
You can control the ingredients. You know what is in it.
Homemade pudding is so much better. It is rich and creamy and tastes so good. It is an easy and fast dessert to make.
It does not require fancy ingredients. It contains ingredients that we all have in our pantry or fridge.
Milk, chocolate, cornstarch, cocoa, vanilla, and a few other simple ingredients. That is all you need to make homemade pudding.
Is Homemade Pudding Gluten Free?
Not all homemade pudding is gluten free, but this homemade chocolate pudding is gluten free because it contains cornstarch.
One of the reasons that I love this homemade pudding is because it is normal food that is gluten free.
Can I Make Homemade Pudding Dairy Free?
Yes, you can make homemade pudding dairy free. I have made this many times for my dairy free daughter using coconut milk and it works great. I usually use the coconut milk beverage that is in the dairy case when I make it dairy free.
One of our favorite ways to make it dairy free is to use part regular coconut milk and part chocolate coconut milk beverage. You can either leave out the chocolate chips or use dairy free ones. I am sure that other dairy free milks would work also.
If you usually serve your family pudding from the box mix, please give the real homemade kind a try!
And if you like the chocolate version, be sure to give my homemade vanilla pudding a try.
Easy Homemade Double Chocolate Pudding
Skip the box of pudding mix that you buy at the store and make homemade double chocolate pudding! It is so easy and so good!
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 5 1/4 cups milk
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt.
- Stir in milk and cook over medium heat.
- Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.
- Remove from heat, and stir in butter, chocolate chips, and vanilla.
- Stir until chocolate chips have melted.
- Serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.
- To keep a skin/film from forming on the top of the pudding as it cools, place a piece of plastic wrap over the pudding, you want to press it right against the pudding,
Notes
This can be made dairy free by using coconut milk, leaving out the butter, and using dairy free chocolate chips.
Originally published January 7, 2010. Updated March 2019.
Um I love homemade pudding. Nothing else can compare once you make it homemade.
This sounds like something I’d like to try. I’ve made homemade rice pudding from scratch with cornstarch as the thickener, but I don’t think I’ve ever made just regular pudding. This is a good one to put on my winter “try-me” list!
Yummy! I’m on it! My kids would love to make this!
I have all the ingredients on hand. Thank you.
I think it’s high time I made pudding. This is a great recipe!
This looks yummy! I will have to save it until I am off my diet! I would love to have you link up at Thrifty Thursday too.
MMM! I love homemade pudding and got spoiled on it as my mom would make vanilla, coconut, butterscotch and chocolate when were growing up. Going to have to give your recipe a try.
Thanks, Amy
Thanks for posting this… Another recipe to add to my binder… and no corn-syrup or food dyes! YAY!
This looks delicious and your recipe sounds perfect. I’ll have to give it a try. Have a fabulous Foodie Friday.
Sounds yummy, thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for posting a pudding recipe that does not include corn syrup! Why is that so hard to find? I mean really….
This looks delicious I can’t wait to make it for my daughter (who has never had pudding, I have no idea how I managed that little oversight…).
@mumsyjr, This is a great alternative to store bought pudding. I hope you and your daughter enjoy it.
This was absolutely delicious! We have dye allergies in the home and to “purchase pudding” we have to buy the plastic tubs. (Have never before found a homemade recipe that the children like enough to make again…) It takes two tubs to satisfy their sweet tooth. Needless to say, we did not have pudding very often. This recipe makes a batch large enough for my family of five with generous leftovers for lunch! (All for about $1.50!) Smooth and chocolatey…five thumbs up! Thanks so much…
@Eva Graham, I am so glad that you enjoyed it!
Yummy! I must have missed this post, but I just sit it linked to the Life as mom blog. We are SO trying this tomorrow! We are trialing milk for my daughter right now.
Hi! This looks like a wonderful recipe.. I was wondering though, I would like to make White Choc. pudding. Can you buy white chocolate powder? Or, what would you recommend? Thanks!!
@Lauren, there are so many flavors of candy chips out there now I’m sure you can find some white chocolate chips instead of the regular kind.
I’m about to try your vanilla pudding recipe layered with bananas and got to thinking about the pudding pops I used to eat as a kid. Of course, they were chocolate! Think this would freeze in pop molds well? I’m gonna try it anyway! : )
@onemotherslove, I think these would freeze well. I have frozen other puddings but not this exact recipe. So, yes I think it would make great pudding pops.
I’m trying this for a dinner I’m having this weekend. Do you use the sweet or semisweet chocolate chips?
I usually use semisweet because that is what I normally have, but really most would work fine. You could even use dark chocolate chips for a richer taste. I hope that helps and that you enjoy it!
One more question, does this pudding set up well for a pie? What size of pie shell does this recipe fill? I haven’t done “from scratch” cooking in a lot of years, so I am having to relearn some stuff.
I have never made it into a pie, but I think it would work if you thicken it a little more. I also think it would be enough to use for 2 pies. I would love to hear if it works.
This recipe sounds fantastic and delicious! I’m trying to introduce my family to alot of homemade desserts. I was wondering though, could you use chocolate milk instead of white? I heard it adds even more of a chocolate flavor.
Yes I have done that before. I still put in the cocoa, but usually about 1/2 the amount if I use chocolate milk. If you want it really chocolate you could try is just like it is, but with chocolate milk.
Another great recipe!!! I did use half the sugar and omitted the butter. To me it is very rich! I love your recipes!
hello ! made this pudding as is and was delicious except was short a few choc chips and used white choc chips- still came out dark tho :0 had a question..i made it thurs night and served it friday with homemade oreo cookies (no creAM) , pieces of heath bar and sweet and sour gummy worms on top (my version of cups of dirt- i call it nostalgic heaven hehe) but today is saturday and it has been in the fridge and it is still good but is very runny now almost like a sauce…could i reheat and add more cornstarch? or should i have made it thicker at the beginning? i guess my question is how do u make it so it doesn’t become so runny?
Sometimes as it sits it does kind of become runny and separates. I usually just stir it back together. I don’t usually have this problem though because pudding doesn’t usually last long in my house. 🙂
This is the first time I’ve made pudding from scratch. WOW!
Even though I didn’t cook it long enough so it was kind of runny, and I didn’t have enough coca powder… it still turned out amazing! Thank you!!
Thanks, I am so glad that you enjoyed it!
Hey! This is wonderful! Quick question-how many servings does this make?! Thanks!!! 🙂
I would say 8-10 at least depending on the serving size it might serve a little more than that.
Mmmmm…. I love homemade pudding! Especially when it’s still piping hot over French Vanilla Ice Cream w/ a touch of Peanut butter! YUM! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your recipes with us!!
I’m trying pudding now. 🙂 I watched the basic vanilla pudding video. Why don’t we use eggs for the chocolate pudding version??
Allie
The eggs make homemade pudding custard like, which you want in a vanilla or coconut type homemade pudding. In chocolate it is not needed. Some recipes do call for them, but most homemade chocolate puddings do not. I hope that helps.
Very helpful!! I was confused! It worked out great and is cooling now. I’m going to try vanilla later this weekend to get a feel for it. Thanks!!!
Lynn, I made this on Sunday. It was the best pudding that my family has ever had and I will NEVER use packaged ones again. I can’t wait to try your other puddings. Thanks for sharing!
Yay!! I am so glad to hear that. I love homemade pudding and love helping others experience how good it is. I am so glad your family enjoyed it!
I made this tonight! It is cooling as I type! I cannot thank you enough! I make SO many of your recipes every week! Our special fave is the crock pot sticky chicken!!! TO DIE FOR!!! Thanks Lynn!!!
Thanks, that is really kind. I hope you enjoy the pudding. I love fresh warm pudding. YUM! I am glad you enjoy my recipes. I love sharing them.
What is the yield on this recipe?
It serves 6-8 depending on how large the serving size is. I usually get 6-8 out of it though. I hope you enjoy it!
This recipe is delicious! The second time making it I only used half the sugar and preferred that to the time before, but so delicious and easy to make! I was wondering if you ever get lumps or bits that are not mixed in. I didn’t notice it so much when I ate it when it was warm, but for the leftovers I put in the fridge it was noticeable. Any suggestions? Thank you!
I am so glad you enjoy this homemade pudding. Where the chunks chocolate chunks, like where the chocolate may not have completely melted and then rehardened when it cooled. I have had that happen. I usually strain homemade puddings that have eggs in them and you could easily do that with this pudding as well. Here is a post I did on it. https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/02/making-perfect-homemade-pudding.html
How long does this take to chill properly?
You can eat it warm or after it has cooled to room temperature, but if you want it chilled you can refrigerate it for a few hours. I hope that helps.
Hi Lynn, is there something I can substitute for the corn starch? I would like to make this for one my little ones friend and he is allergic to corn. Thank you
Are you gluten free? If so I would try another one of the starches like potato starch. If you are not gluten free and can have flour, I would just try regular flour in place of it. I have never done flour in this recipe, but I have in other puddings and it works, so I think it would in this. I hope that helps.
Hi Kim, I was wondering if you had tried the pudding with tapioca starch? And how you liked it please?
I need avoid gluten and corn and was thinking of trying tapioca also. Thank you!
Can I make pie filling with home made choco pudding reciepe
Yes you can it just won’t quite be as thick. If I was going to use this for a pie I would add a little more of the thickener to it.
I love this! Do you think it would with with coconut milk? Trying to cut back on dairy. I love that it’s from scratch! Yum!
Yes, I have shared the dairy free version of it. It works great. Here is the link. I hope that helps. https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2014/01/dairy-free-chocolate-pudding-recipe.html
Question: Could I sub honey for sugar?
Yes, you can, but the amount will vary. I have done it in a homemade vanilla pudding, but it is has been a long time so I don’t remember the exact amounts. Honey is liquid, so I always decrease the liquid slightly. I would probably use 1/2 cup honey in this, maybe a little bit more. You might just have to experiment with it a little. But I do know that you can use honey in homemade pudding. I hope that helps.
We just made this a couple weeks ago for our homeschool! I love the curriculum I’m using…but your pudding recipe is better than theirs so now I just pop onto your site when they have us make pudding. 😊 Thanks so much for sharing your recipes!