Put away that box of instant pudding. Put it away right now. I am offering you a healthier dessert that contains natural sweetener and antioxidants. And it only requires 15 minutes of cooking time. One pot is all it takes, with ingredients that can most likely be found in your pantry.
There is no reason to complicate an old fashioned comfort food. This Paleo version of pudding is made mostly with coconut milk. Full-fat coconut milk works better for this recipe. And don’t forget the vanilla at the end! I have done that before and missed the added flavor.
This should be prepared a little ahead of time to when you want to eat it, because it is best served chilled. You can top it with additional shaved chocolate or coconut flakes, or even whipped coconut cream. My favorite is dipping strawberries in it – so delicious! It is indulgent but at the same time not too rich.
This simple and easy dark chocolate pudding deserves a place at the dinner table. Kids would love it, but at the same time it is a suitable, rich dessert for a romantic dinner.
Ingredients
- 14 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, whish together the milk, cocoa powder, syrup, and salt.
- Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.
Thanks for a great recipe! So delicious and rich! It would make a nice smooth hot chocolate sauce over homemade coconut ice cream or frozen pureed bananas. 5 stars!
That sounds like an amazing idea! Thanks for sharing.
Great tasting pudding. It was a bit runny, but very tasty. The first time I made it I used a full can of Thai Kitchen (organic) full fat coconut milk. I dumped in the whole can. I am making it again right now and decided to add a little bit of grass-fed bovine gelatin. I am NOT Paleo so I do not know if this is the rules, but this is a natural thickener. I want to see if this helps out the consistency any. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Debbie- it might also help to simmer the mixture on the stove longer to help it thicken more. I know some Paleo recipes that use gelatin, let us know the results!
My Mum used to make this pudding for us as kids but she called it Chocolate Blancmange (a very 70s thing I think) and we loved it! She used cornflour to thicken it but tapioca starch or potato starch would do the same thing. Not much is needed, about a dessert spoon or two as it thickens quickly and the dessert thickens more as it cools. Mum suggests to mix the quantity of tapioca flour with a little water or coconut milk to make a runny paste and then pour it into the chocolate mix slowly until the mixture thickens to your liking. Stir well though as the thickener can quickly clump and result in lumpy pudding.
An awesome variation is Chocolate Blancmang pie where Mum used to pour the mix into a pie case and decorate with marshmallows around the edges and pop in the fridge to set. This would be very easy to ‘paleofy’ with your favorite nut pie base and I am sure there is a good Paleo marshmallow recipe around! Thanks for the memories Paleogrubs 🙂
Great suggestions, thank you!
Erica,
Thanks for the tapioca suggestion – worked perfectly! I doubled the pudding recipe and ended up using about 1 tablespoon of tapioca (mixed with a bit of water) and it thickened the pudding perfectly!
This recipe will be my new go-to chocolate pudding (albeit with tapioca added)!
I have made this twice with zero thickening. I think you may just need to let it simmer longer. It is so smooth and creamy, this recipe is perfect!
Absolutely delicious! A bit thin, as far as puddings go, but still one of my new favorite desserts.
Glad that you enjoyed it. If it is turning out too thin for your taste, try simmering it longer on the stove to cook the mixture down more.
I agree with Rebecca, you may need to let it cook longer…I’ve made it twice following the recipe exactly (be sure you’re not using that watered down coconut milk from the carton, either), and mine has set nice and thick.
Just what I was looking for. Soooooo tasty. Thank You !!!!!!!
Hi Rebecca, a substitute for the maple syrup?
Instead of maple syrup, sub with coconut nectar.
OMG, could it get any easier. What an amazing snack to have on occasion.
Rebecca-I just made the chocolate pudding. I just had to write. After my Dr. Said no gluten, soy, corn, now beans rice and oatmeal-this was a super-satisfying treat. It will be shared with many and so will your fabulous website. You have saved me in so many ways. Paleo+pudding, yea!
Just made this the other night – super yummy! I doubled the recipe for a paleo trifle I made for the holidays.
As others have mentioned, I did have problems with it thickening even though I let it cook for close to 45 minutes (lots of whisking, but a good workout, right?). In the end, what did the trick was to add some tapioca flour (mixed with water) to the pudding and it came to the proper consistency within 5 minutes, as Erica, above, suggested. But, overall, it was a very simple recipe and I loved not having to separate egg yolks to get a delish pudding!
Hi there! Thanks for the recipe! I followed but somehow it wasn’t smooth like yours. It’s clumpy. Have I over boiled it? It’s clumpy and very sticky.
Oh my goodness! I made this over the weekend for my husband & family & it was a big hit. After reading other comments I decided to chill the coconut milk in the fridge to let it separate, then stopped pouring the milk into the saucepan when i reached the gray liquid part. I made the recipe just as suggested & served with fruit like a fondue to dip, in case it was still too thin. Everyone loved it! & the best surprise was that the next day the left over pudding turned into the thickest richest chocolate dessert I’ve ever had. I will make this ALL the time! Thank you, from a serious chocolate snob!