Easy Microwave Chocolate Pudding is a rich and silky dairy free dark chocolate dessert made in less than 5 minutes in the microwave with only five ingredients. (Vegan and Gluten-free)
We're on a roll with easy microwaved desserts. Whether you are are on the mood for cool creamy chocolate or our warming spiced steamed gingerbread - both can be made in 5 minutes in the microwave.
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Homemade
By the way, the fake stuff in the box does not count. We are talking real homemade chocolate pudding - no weird ingredients. This easy gluten free dessert can be made is a flash and is so thick and rich you can stand a spoon up in it.
Easy Microwave Chocolate Pudding is a deep dark chocolate decadent pudding that satisfies your appetite for a sweet creamy indulgence. Shut the front door as you are going to need a personal moment with your personal pudding cup.
Say Goodbye to Store Bought!
It has been awhile since you made pudding from scratch, right? We totally get it. You don’t make homemade pudding because it’s a hassle.
So, you end up grabbing a box of that instant pudding on the shelf, not even the cooked kind because we cannot be bothered. Are we right? Hey, we totally understand but this recipe is going to change all that forever. Try our homemade pudding or berry and peach pudding tart and say goodbye to the boxed pudding version forever.
What's to Love
Rich
Creamy
Decadent
Deep dark chocolate
Sweet indulgence
Only 3 minutes in the microwave
Only 5 ingredients
Dairy-free
Gluten-free
Egg-free
Vegan
Ingredients
You probably have everything in your pantry to make this right now…Go and check we will wait..
Unsweetened Cocoa powder
Cornstarch
Sugar
Almond milk or dairy free milk or dairy of choice
Vanilla
Dietary Substitutions
How about that? You can pronounce everything on the ingredient list. There are no weird dyes, artificial ingredients or things that you can’t pronounce.
- We used almond milk as we have dairy sensitives here. However, you can use any kind of dairy you desire or even coconut milk or oat milk.
- If you need to keep it gluten-free, there are many organic gluten-free cocoa powders at the market. Otherwise, a good old fashion Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder works just fine. If you like chocolate and want a healthy and quick recipe be sure to try out Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie.
How to Sweeten your Pudding?
Feel free to use regular granulated sugar, coconut sugar (like we did) or sweeteners of choice to sweeten your microwave dessert for one. We did not use a sweetener alternative as for us all sweetener alternatives have that odd metallic taste.
Prevent Pudding Skin
Once you are done mixing your pudding, be sure to place a plastic wrap over and in contact with the pudding so that it does not for a skin. This skin forming starts almost immediately. There is nothing wrong with pudding skin. It can be eaten- it just looks nicer without it.
How to Cool
Waiting for your healthy microwave pudding to be cool enough to eat it can seem like decades. First, you are welcome to eat it hot if you like. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
As a matter of fact, your body prefers room temperature or warmed foods as it has to work less to extract the nutrients. If you like hot puddings, be sure to try our hot black sesame cereal. If you are impatient like us, we placed our bowl in the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes to get it cooled off quicker.
Pro tips
- Make sure you either sift or breakup any lumps in your dry ingredients. Dry ingredients like unsweetened cocoa powder, can get little clumps in it as it sits on the shelf. That is bad news for your pudding. The goal is to a smooth and creamy chocolate pudding. Don’t skip this step.
- Add the non- dairy or dairy of choice in very slowly while whisking. This helps prevent the clumping that might occur.
- Every microwave is different. However, on high power for 1 minute each time with a stir in between took us only 4 minutes in the microwave.
- When you put it in the microwave for the first minute, your pudding will form these thick larger lumps. That is to be expected just stir and whisk to incorporate before microwaving your pudding for the second minute. Then, repeat the process.
- Your goal is for the pudding to just pull together into a slightly thickened pudding. Just like our coconut rice pudding with condensed milk, the pudding will thicken as it sits. Now as you stir it, it will start to get thicker and thicker after you pull it out of the microwave.
- Actually, you could eat your pudding hot out of the microwave. However, it is just as delicious chilled, if you can wait for a little while before eating.
- To prevent a skin from forming on the top of your pudding, you must put a piece of plastic wrap directly over your pudding, so it is not exposed to air.
- We have put the vanilla in before the microwave process and after the microwaving and there was no change in taste if you use “real vanilla extract”. However, if using imitation vanilla extract, then we would add it after the microwaving process so that it does not change its flavor.
Favorite Toppings
We chose to keep it simple with a little homemade whipped coconut cream, However, you may want to try it with a few berries, pomegranate seeds on top or even some chopped nuts.
You can also make a parfait just like our eggless tiramisu individual cups with this easy chocolate pudding.
- First put a layer of ground gingersnap cookies or graham cracker in a cup.
- Then, place a little dollop of chocolate pudding and then a little dollop of coconut whipping cream.
- Add a little more crushed gingersnap cookies and another dollop of chocolate pudding.
- Finally end with a little sprinkle of the ground gingerbread cookies on top.
Topping with sugared cranberries is also a nice touch around the holidays. Now this is our kind of microwave Christmas pudding but really it can eaten all year around. Check out our Velvety Vegan Chocolate Mousse ,if you would like to try a mousse rather than a pudding. Both are decadent.
Storage
These little chocolate pudding cups will last approximately 5 days in the refrigerator covered. Please make sure to put a piece of cling wrap directly on top of the pudding so it does not form a skin.
You can also freeze chocolate pudding. Our favorite way to freeze pudding is to pour them into popsicle molds and freeze overnight for a creamy cold treat.
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Most store bought puddings are made with cornstarch but they are not always made in a gluten free facility and can have other thickeners. The best option is to make your own easy microwavable pudding at home so you know exactly the ingredients that went into this delicious dessert.
Yes, you can freeze pudding. Our favorite way to freeze pudding is to pour them into popsicle molds overnight. Pudding pops are a delicious creamy treat in the summer.
You can use any dairy or non-dairy of choice in instant pudding. However, why would you use instant pudding when microwave pudding only takes 5 minutes from scratch.
More No Bake Desserts
Chocolate Espresso Fig Balls (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and no added sugar)
No Bake Cranberry Bliss Balls (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and no added sugar)
Lemon Rose Cardamom Cheesecake Mousse
Spicy Chai Coconut Jelly (gluten-free, dairy-free)
Matcha Red Bean Energy Balls (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and no added sugar)
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Desserts Served in a Cup
Easy Microwave Chocolate pudding
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
white granulated - ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups almond milk
or dairy of choice - 2 teaspoons vanilla pure extract
Instructions
- In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa and cornstarch. Whisk in almond milk a little at a time so that so you do not have any lumps. (no one likes lumpy pudding)
- Put it in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. Stir, then cook at 1-minute intervals, stirring between cooking times for 2 to 4 minutes (or until shiny and thick). Stir in vanilla. (We cooked our pudding in the microwave for 4 minutes total.) Each microwave heats a little differently. Microwave a minute at a time and stir in between and be patient) Your goal is to have a pudding that is thick enough to be scooped on a spoon. After the initial 3 minutes in the microwave, you will need between 1-3 minutes to achieve this goal. Please note that your pudding will thicken slightly as it sits.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and chill in the refrigerator. (This is a very important step. Unlike the instant kind of pudding, the cooked kind of pudding will form a skin)
- Place your Easy Microwave Chocolate Pudding into individual cups and top with a little Homemade Coconut Cream or fruit and nuts as desired. Enjoy!
- Best enjoyed within 24 hours. Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 3 days then dispose.
Notes
Your goal is for the pudding to just pull together into a slightly thickened pudding. Now as you stir it, it will start to get thicker and thicker after you pull it out of the microwave. Actually, you could eat your pudding hot out of the microwave. However, it is just as delicious chilled, if you can wait for a little while before eating. Then this pudding is really delicious with a dollop of our Homemade Coconut Whipping Cream on top To prevent a skin from forming on the top of your pudding, you must put a piece of plastic wrap directly over your pudding, so it is not exposed to air. We have put the vanilla in before the microwave process and after the microwaving and there was no change in taste if you use “real vanilla extract”. However, if using imitation vanilla extract, then we would add it after the microwaving process so that it does not change its flavor.
Lynn Fenby says
If you are gluten free, you will love this! If you are not gluten free, you will LOVE THIS! It is incredible, it really is.
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much Lynn. Once you make homemade rich chocolate pudding once, you will never go back to that fake pudding in the box. So delighted to hear that you are liking this recipe. Take Care
Aimee B. says
OMG!! This is my new favorite pudding! I love that it's super creamy and a cinch to make. I made it to have for Halloween tomorrow and put it in little clear skeleton glasses. I'm going to serve it with a dollop of Cocowhip and a sprinkling of crushed Oreos. Thank you for the awesome recipe. It's perfect!! 🙂
Aimee B. says
P.S. Where did you find your lovely dishes? Thank you. 🙂
HWC Magazine says
Hi there Aimee! Those cute little glass dishes were my mother's and they are so retro. (smiling) I do not know where she found them. However, I have found some of the cutest little antique dishes at estate sales. Love your festive idea of serving the pudding in little skeleton glass dishes for Halloween. Take Care
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much Aimee. We are delighted that you are loving our Easy Microwave Chocolate pudding. Love your topping ideas. Wishing you and your family a very safe and happy Halloween. Take Care
Choc Chip Uru says
When you say rich, you mean very rich no? Good for you, looking fan-tas-tic 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
gardenfreshtomatoes says
I've always used the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook recipe for chocolate cream pie filling...it's not the holidays around here without it!
Merry Christmas to you and yours, Bobbi!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Dear Marie, I will have to try the Better homes and Garden cookbook recipe. Sounds delicious. Happy holidays to you and your family and take care, BAM
thecompletecookbook says
I am so pleased you found this awesome recipe - it looks superb!
🙂 Mandy
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks Mandy, so rich and soooo easy. Have a happy Holiday to you and your family! BAM
Kathleen Richardson says
Thanks for the reminder of how delicious homemade pudding can be and how easy it is to make -- in the microwave, no less! My mom always made homemade and my brothers and I fought over who got the most "skin" from the top. I'm definitely going to bookmark this one.
Merry Christmas and keep on blogging.
Joanne Ozug says
Mmm, I've never made pudding from scratch either but I need to, yours looks great. I'm sure it's delicious, and right now my opinion of pudding isn't that high because I associate it with those terrible cups you buy prepackaged at the store. Time for a redemption!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Hello Joanne, I agree that the pre-made plastic tasting pudding in the cups is horrible. Try the homemade version and I am sure you will love pudding again. You know if I was not constantly having difficulty with obtaining cooking supplies of western food products in Hong kong, I would have never tried it. It is kind of like a happy accident. Happy holidays to you!
Sawsan@ Chef in disguise says
I love how thick and velvety it looks
I have never made pudding from scratch either
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thank you. I was actually pretty shocked on how easy and great this little recipe is. Great recipe for kids as only need a microwave to make.