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The homemade vegan pudding uses 5 ingredients and is made within 5 minutes! It is lighter in calories and fat than traditional vanilla pudding and it’s made with more wholesome ingredients without any food coloring and unnecessary additives.
Sometimes instant-pudding mixes are so quick and convenient when you need a quick treat. But they are filled with many unnecessary ingredients and food coloring. Try this homemade version that’s not only easy to make, but also dairy-free and egg-free and perfect for any toppings!
ingredients for homemade pudding
- Almond milk: The base for the vanilla pudding is vanilla flavored almond milk. You can use any other type of milk you’d like for the recipe.
- Sugar: The sugar dissolves into the warm milk to create a sweet taste. You can use any type of granulated sugar or cane sugar. You can even use honey or maple syrup, but they will lend a slightly darker hue to the pudding
- Cornstarch: The non-vegan homemade pudding recipes will usually contain eggs to bind the mixture and add a more rich flavor to it, but the mixture binds really well with the cornstarch.
- Vanilla extract: This adds a lovely richness to the recipe to balance the cornstarch, especially since we’re not using eggs in the recipe.
How to make vegan pudding
Here’s the cool thing about this recipe. You throw it all in a small saucepan. You whisk gently for a few minutes and you have pudding.
- Add the milk and sugar to a pot.
- Add in the cornstarch.
- Simmer and whisk together so that the pudding is thick and smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla extract.
Tips to for making vegan pudding
- Simmer but don’t boil. The mixture should be a control-able low simmer so that the milk doesn’t bubble over.
- Whisk constantly. Keep whisking the pudding throughout cooking so that you end up with a smooth and thick mixture. It’s a good workout for your arms!
- Allow the pudding to chill before serving. As it chills, the pudding will set and become firm, allow for at least an hour of chilling time.
- Make different flavors! We used vanilla extract to flavor this vegan pudding, but you can try other extracts like peppermint or lemon if you prefer.
frequently asked questions
This pudding is perfect to enjoy with some fruit and whipped cream. But you can also incorporate it into other desserts or use it as a base for other desserts like
Yes, you can use dairy milk if not vegan. Other plant based milks like coconut or soy will work well too.
Once your pudding has fully cooled, place it in to an air tight container and keep it refrigerated. It will keep well for up to 7 days and can be served right from the fridge for a delicious dessert.
There are so many ways to enjoy this vegan pudding, and it’s so easy to make that you’ll find yourself making this all the time…it’s the perfect simple dessert!
For more pudding recipes
- 3 Ingredient Chia Pudding
- Almond Milk Rice Pudding
- Lemon Pudding
- Banana Pudding Parfait
- Layered Strawberry Chia Pudding
If you try this healthy-ish feel good Vegan Vanilla Pudding recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
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Vegan Vanilla Pudding
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- Whipped cream for serving
- Berries for serving
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the almond milk, cornstarch and sugar, and stir well to combine all the ingredients together.
- Turn down the heat to a low simmer, and start whisking lightly but constantly as the mixture heats. It’s important not to stop whisking in order to avoid any clumps.
- After whisking for about 5-7 minutes, the mixture will thicken like pudding. Stir in the vanilla extract and pinch of salt, then divide the pudding equally into four cups or containers.
- Place the containers in the fridge for at least one hour to allow the pudding to set and chill.
- Served with whipped cream and berries, if desired, and enjoy cold.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Followed to the letter, stainless pan but with oat milk. 20 minutes of whisking and 2 extra tblsps of corn starch finally showed some thickening. In the refrigerator chilling BUT with the extra cornstarch (8g carbs per tblsp) now it is not a dairy free dessert I planned to be suitable for my diabetic husband. Brings the count from your stated 19 to 27 per serving. Ugh.
So sorry this didn’t come out as expected. Just so I understand, you had to add 2 additional tablespoons of cornstarch for it to thicken? Did you add anything else?
Yeah, because of the oat milk. They are not interchangable in these recipes.
And yet the recipe states one can use any kind of milk…
“INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE PUDDING
Almond milk: The base for the vanilla pudding is vanilla flavored almond milk. You can use any other type of milk you’d like for the recipe.”
I used this recipe to build a banana pudding. I doubled the recipe and used some banana flavoring as well as the vanilla, and used sugar substitute (2tb Truvia and 3tb Stevia in the Raw for a double batch) instead of sugar. The pudding didn’t get thick enough for my liking even after chilling for several hours. I’ll definitely make this again but I might add an extra tb of cornstarch to make it thicker. I think maybe the lack of “real” sugar changed the consistency. Thank you for a great recipe!
So glad you liked it, Jack! I love the idea of turning it into a banana pudding!!
If I substitute the sugar for honey or maple syrup, how much do I use?
You can use a 1:1 ratio for this recipe. Hope you enjoy!
I’m usually pretty good in following all your recipes but this recipe won’t thicken. I followed the instructions and now I have this mixture I don’t want to throw out. I was whisking it for an hour and nothing happened. What do you recommend I do to thickened this recipe without messing up the flavor. I’m making it for a special meal Saturday and is too late for me to start over again. Please help!
Did you let it chill? The real thickening process happens in the refrigerator.
I was hoping that would be the trick but is still too thin and I don’t want this to go to waste. Is going to be dessert for my guests and I don’t have time to start something else so I’m hoping I could fix it. I would like to add more starch but I don’t want to mess it up and have it taste too starchy. What do you think?
Hmm, I am sorry. I am not sure what is going on in that case. You can try adding one more tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot powder if you have it.
Problem solved as you mentioned. I took the chance of adding a couple of tablespoons of starch mixed a water and poured in the pudding boiling in low heat and it worked. What I did different this time was using a non-reactive pan a friend advised me to use. I was using a non-stick pot. She told me that was very important when making pudding. Thank you for the rescue. My 40 guest I fed this weekend was happy with the pudding and I caught them licking the cups I served them in after theirs was gone.
Phew!!!! I am so relieved to hear that it turned out after all. I was feeling really stressed for you and trying to rack my brain on what was causing it not to set. That is a great tip from your friend as well. Thanks for coming back and letting me know it worked out in the end.
OOPS! I did it again with coconut milk, for me to snack and it came out perfect. I used stainless steel sauce pan and that made a huge difference. I layered on top of toasted Graham crust. Sorry, I didn’t mean to stress you out.
Yay!!! Problem solved! Oh no, I didn’t mean you stressed me out in a bad way. Just that I was worried it wasn’t going to turn out for your guests and that my recipe had put you in a pickle. It turned into a “happy accident” because now we know that the stainless steel saucepan is the way to go! I appreciate you troubleshooting it with me!
It say in the Baking and Pastry book I have from Culinary school to only use non-reactive pan for pudding, custard, pastry cream or anything like it. Look up non-reactive so you can see the type of pans. Porcelain is non-reactive as well. You may want to add that information on your recipe book I can’t wait to get.
Outstanding and easy to make! Required stirring longer than indicated, but well worth it!
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it and found the recipe to be worth the time!
Can I use maple syrup instead of granulated sugar?
You can use honey or maple syrup, but they will lend a slightly darker hue to the pudding.
Hi, is this thick enough to use as a pie filling?
I have yet to try that!
Can oat milk be used instead of coconut milk?
Yes, oat milk can be used instead!
I goofed, I added 2 cups of cashew milk to instant pudding. How can I thicken it? Thanks
You can use some arrowroot starch. Let me know if that works!
An interesting video to watch. New tricks to scoop kiwi & mango. I tried it with all the fruits in one bowl. Simple and delicious.
Can oat milk be used instead of coconut milk?
Yes!
I’m trying this for Memorial Day! Thanks for the recipe!!
Yay! Hope you loved it!
This looks so refreshing for summer!!! Can I use KOH coconut milk though? Or should I use the canned ones?
Thank you! It tastes great, and I actually used Califia coconut milk in the bottle, so you can definitely use KOH coconut milk! It would work better than canned in this recipe. Enjoy!