This creamy and luxurious Chocolate Pudding is flavored with cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and a splash of vanilla. This easy recipe comes together on the stovetop in minutes. Once you taste this Chocolate Pudding you will never go back to boxed pudding again.
Who’s ready for Homemade Chocolate Pudding?! Extra creamy, topped with whipped cream, and ready to satisfy your chocolate craving immediately. This comforting old fashioned dessert is pure perfection.
If you’ve never made homemade pudding you are in for treat. My Vanilla Pudding is one of my most popular recipes. I love it when readers share that after making it they will never go back to boxed pudding again. Yay for homemade!
You might also like our Chocolate Pie (the filling is a variation on this pudding recipe).
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- Ease: This recipe is made in one pot on the stovetop in a matter of minutes.
- Basic ingredients: You probably have all of these ingredients on hand. More on the ingredients below.
- Flavor: Double the chocolate flavor (from cocoa powder and chocolate chips) plus vanilla extract to round it all out.
- Gluten free: Since this recipe is thickened with cornstarch and egg yolks it is naturally gluten free.
- Versatile: Serve this pudding as is, or serve with whipped cream, cookies, graham crackers, berries, and more. See below for more ideas.
Ingredients
The ingredient list is fairly basic. You might even have all the ingredients on hand right now.
- Milk: This recipe uses whole milk or 2% milk for a rich flavor and texture.
- Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder adds part one of the chocolate flavor. It adds a deep chocolate flavor and color to the pudding.
- Chocolate chips: Chocolate chips add part two of the chocolate flavor. The chocolate chips are added at the end of the cook time, and they melt into the pudding creating an extra smooth, rich, chocolate flavor. I like semisweet chocolate chips, but you can use milk chocolate for a sweeter pudding or bittersweet/dark chocolate for a more intense chocolate flavor.
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar sweetens the pudding. Since it is cooked on the stovetop the sugar dissolves right into the mixture.
- Butter: My favorite puddings are always finished with a tablespoon or two of butter. The butter gets whisked in at the end of cook time (along with the chocolate chips). The warm pudding melts the butter and creates a velvety texture throughout the pudding.
- Vanilla extract: A splash of good vanilla extract is also added at the end of cook time. The vanilla flavor won’t come through much (this pudding is all about the chocolate), but the subtle vanilla undertone really rounds out the chocolate flavors.
- Cornstarch and eggs: These are the thickening agents. The cornstarch does most of the thickening (with a little help from the egg yolks, which also contribute to the velvety texture).
