Homemade chocolate pudding from scratch

This recipe is for every chocolate lover out there :). There is nothing more satisfying than making your homemade chocolate pudding. This recipe is simple, extremely creamy, and bursting with chocolate flavors.

Chocolate pudding is the most common and popular pudding among all ages. This homemade pudding is made with pure chocolate and thickened with egg yolks. So, you have landed at the correct place, if you are looking for a chocolate pudding recipe that does not use cocoa powder for chocolate flavor.

I can assure you that this homemade pudding is far better compared to store-bought because, first, it is prepared fresh and contains no preservatives, you can make it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. And second, it is cheaper than store-bought pudding.

Why you will love this homemade chocolate treat?

I have made this recipe by tweaking my favorite vanilla pudding recipe. Me and my son could indulge in that pudding for hours and hours. I encourage you to make if you have not already. I am pretty confident that this chocolate pudding will not disappoint you either. Here are the reasons:

1. Bursting with chocolate flavor.
2. Can be prepared ahead of time.
3. Perfect to satisfy your sweet cravings.
4. Can be made with dark, milk or semi sweet chocolate.
5. Smooth and velvety texture.
6. Customizable.

Ingredients for homemade chocolate pudding

Let us see what we need to make this delicious chocolate treat. Make sure to check the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities.

Dry ingredients

• Salt – Salt always enhances the flavors. Skip this if you are using salted butter.

• Corn starch – Use this in addition to the eggs to thicken it. The thickening process starts when you add the cornstarch with wet ingredients and cook them. You can get this easily in any grocery store. Do not get confused with yellow corn meal or corn flour. This is white and available as cornstarch.

• Granulated sugar – Also known as caster sugar. Not only it helps to sweeten the pudding but it also gives a smooth texture.

• Chocolate chips – As I mentioned before, the deep chocolate flavor in this recipe comes from real chocolate. You can easily replace this with a chocolate bar. You can get this in the baking aisle of any grocery store. Do not use compound chocolate as it contains oil, reduces the chocolate flavor, and damages the texture.

Wet ingredients

• Milk – Use full-fat milk to make rich and creamy pudding. You can replace it with 2% milk if you are ok to compromise the texture. I would not recommend the evaporated milk for the same reason.

• Egg yolks – This acts as a natural thickener, helps bind the ingredients together, and gives the pudding a silky, smooth texture. This will take your pudding from regular pudding to an unforgettable chocolate treat. The best way to separate egg yolks from whites is when they are cold. This approach has always never failed for me. If you know of another option, please let me know in the comments below.

• Vanilla extract – Use either pure vanilla extract or vanilla imitation, depending on what you have in your pantry. Like coffee, vanilla brings out the richness of chocolate without overpowering it. It requires only a tiny splash :). Although extract would work equally well, you can use vanilla bean paste, which is not necessary in my opinion because it is expensive.

• Unsalted butter – I always like to use unsalted butter because I can control the amount of salt but you can use salted butter if that is all you have. Just omit the salt in that case. You can use any brand of butter, no specific brand.

Any substitutions?

You can tweak in the ingredients and make different variations.

Dairy-free chocolate pudding– To make the dairy-free pudding, use daily free butter along with soy milk or any nut milk. I would not recommend coconut milk as it would change the taste of the chocolate pudding.

Sugar-free chocolate pudding – You can replace sugar with an exact amount of sugar-free alternative. So, you need a sugar-free solution that is an exact replacement or is easily dissolvable. I recommend using Allulose or monk fruit sweetener made with erythritol.

Milk – I do not recommend replacing full-fat milk with 2% milk as it will change the taste. However, if you want to make a richer and creamier version, you can replace 1/4th quantity of milk with heavy cream but do so after adding the chocolate and cook on low flame.

Chocolate – I have used semi-sweet chocolate chips in this recipe. You can easily replace it with milk chocolate or dark chocolate. I would not suggest using white chocolate as it would be too sweet. To include white chocolate in this recipe, we will need to make changes to other ingredients.

Topping suggestions

Here are a few suggestions for decorating and serving your homemade chocolate pudding.

1. Whipped cream – This classic topping goes well with almost every dessert. You can use store bought whipped topping or make your own whipped cream.

2. Any berries – Any berry would work here. They pair beautifully with chocolate as they have a tangy taste that compliments with the chocolatey taste.

3. Chocolate shavings – A little bit more chocolate will take your pudding to the next level. Nice way to impress your guests.

4. Crushed nuts – You can use any crushed nuts of your choice. My favorites are walnuts and hazelnuts as they pair perfectly with chocolate. Crushed nuts will give crunchy bites in contrast to smooth pudding.

5. Salted Caramel – I would recommend to swirl little salted caramel in chocolate pudding rather than as a topping.

These are some of my favorites. Please let me know if you know any more 🙂.

Tools required

1. Mixing bowl
2. Measuring spoons
3. Weighing scale
4. Deep pan
5. Hot pan
6. Serving bowls/glasses

Homemade chocolate pudding (step-step instructions)

You can follow this step-by-step process to make the best homemade chocolate pudding ever.

1. Mix egg yolks, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup of milk in a large bowl. Whisk to form a smooth paste. Set aside.

2. Place 1+3/4 cup of milk and sugar in a big saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Heat the mixture until it starts forming steam.

3. The next step is to temper the eggs. Pour about ½ cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously.

4. Transfer the tempered egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.

5. Start mixing. After 4 to 5 minutes, add the chocolate chips and cook the pudding mixture over medium heat until it starts to thicken. Make sure you are continuously mixing it and getting to the edges and the bottom of the saucepan. Otherwise, the pudding will stick to the bottom and burn. This requires approximately 10 to 12 minutes.

6. Remove the pudding from the heat and mix in the vanilla extract, softened butter, and salt. Mix until the butter completely is melted and mixed with the pudding, vanilla, and salt.

7. Transfer the pudding to a large mixing bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Please ensure that the plastic wrap touches the entire surface of the pudding to avoid skin formation.

8. After refrigerating the pudding for 4 hours, remove the cling (plastic) wrap. If it has not been set completely, put it back in the refrigerator.

9. Using a rubber spatula, mix the pudding again.

10. Serve the pudding in individual bowls.

11. Decorate with whipped cream and cocoa powder.

12. Serve chilled and enjoy!

Watch how to make chocolate pudding

Storing and freezing instructions for chocolate pudding

Storing instructions

Do you really want to store? Do you really have any leftovers? I never have any 🙂. But if you want, you can make this ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Once it is prepared, transfer to any mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

This is mandatory so that skin does not form on top. Skin will not get mixed properly with pudding again and ruin the texture.

Once it is cool to touch store in refrigerator and consume within 4 days. Store in freezer if you want to store more than that.

Freezing instructions

Follow the same instructions as refrigeration but use air tight container instead of mixing bowl. Once it is cooled down, you can freeze it.

You can freeze the pudding up to 1 or 1 and half months.

Thawing instructions

To thaw, keep the container overnight in refrigerator and you are all set. You may want to whip it a bit but it’s completely optional.

Secret tips for success

• Tempering of eggs – To prevent eggs from cooking, follow these two step process. First, add hot milk in small quantities and second, continuously whisk the eggs while adding milk.

• High-quality chocolate – The star ingredient of this recipe is chocolate so please use high-quality chocolate. You can use chocolate chips or chocolate bars or any brand of coverture chocolate. I would not recommend using chocolate candy or compound chocolate. These do not get melted easily and ruin the texture.

• Cook on low-medium flame – This recipe contains cooking the pudding with eggs added to it. To mix the eggs with the rest of the ingredients and uniformly thicken the pudding, keep your flame on low-medium heat.

• Keep stirring- Do not leave the pudding on gas and proceed with other work. Keep stirring the pudding continuously otherwise, it will form lumps and we do not want that in our smooth and velvety pudding, right? 🙂

Other recipes you might love

If you love this homemade chocolate pudding try out my other recipes:

1. Chocolate mousse
2. Eggless dark chocolate mousse
3. Vanilla pudding

Did you make the recipe?

Please make this homemade chocolate pudding and let me know how this turns out for you in the comments! I honestly love to hear from you, and your feedback is really important to me.

If you post the chocolate pudding pictures on Instagram, do not forget to tag me. Tag @DessertKatta or use the hashtag #DessertKatta.

Recipe card + FAQ’s