by Megan Keno on Apr 24, 2023 (updated Jun 5, 2023) 57 comments »
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There is nothing like pudding right off the stove, and with five simple ingredients you can put this Chocolate Pudding Mix together quickly with no added preservatives or ingredients.
At one point in my early life, it was just me and my mom. It was hard, more so on my mom than for me. She worked very hard but never left me wanting for love or her time. And one of my earliest recollections of my mom’s cooking was her making cook-and-serve chocolate pudding over the stove. There was always a saucepan to scrape clean, a big whisk to lick and then we would both skim off the top layer that would form on the top of the still warm pudding. Apple meet tree.
Those memories repeated themselves often, we love our cook and serve pudding, and whether or not our family had grown to include my bonus dad and bonus sister at the time these cook and serve memories had formed, I can’t recollect – but I always remember that warm chocolate pudding was a solely mother and daughter experience. And one that was always full of love.
Ben and I had been scrounging for an instant pudding for a quick dessert this weekend and I knew after tearing apart a lone package in the back of the cupboard that I had all but forgotten about, there had to be a better way to do this. And one that didn’t include things I couldn’t pronounce. Now I can relieve those childhood memories with mom and always have pudding mix on hand.
What makes Cook and Serve Pudding Mix Different from Instant Pudding Mix?
Cook and serve pudding mix, like this homemade chocolate pudding mix, and instant pudding mix that you find in the store are different because of the ingredients they use to thicken the pudding. Cook and serve pudding uses standard cornstarch as a thickener. It requires it to be boiled with the milk and sugar over the stove to activate and thicken. Once cooled it creates the firm pudding consistency.
Instant pudding mixes from the store utilize gelatinized corn starches that absorb liquid and solidify. This means that no heating is required and they can use the cold milk to create the pudding consistency. Science!
The downside with making Instant Pudding at home is that gelatinized cornstarch isn’t something most people have readily available, so this homemade chocolate pudding mix is much more efficiently and handy to keep stored on your own shelves and cost effective too!
Ingredients are needed for Chocolate Pudding Mix
- Milk Powder – Use nonfat for added shelf stability. Whole milk powder can go rancid if you live in humid climates if not used quickly.
- Sugar
- Cornstarch
- Cocoa Powder – Use whatever you have on hand, or something special if you like!
- Vanilla Bean – Optional
- Salt – This creates an added depth of flavor to the sweetness of the sugar.
A big thanks to Brown Eyed Baker for this recipe inspiration – It brought back utterly fond childhood memories. Try out Michelle’s Vanilla Instant Pudding, too! You can’t have chocolate without vanilla!
More Inspired Homemade Recipe Ideas
Classic Homemade Banana Pudding
White Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Pudding
Spiced Pear and Chocolate Bread Pudding
Cranberry Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce
Homemade Chocolate Pudding Mix
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 StarNo reviews
- Author: Megan Keno
- Prep Time: 5 Minutes
- Cook Time: 8 Minutes
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: 2 1/2 Cups Mix 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
UnitsScale
- 1 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 1 cup Milk Powder, non-fat preferred for longer shelf stability.
- 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 1/2 Vanilla Bean caviar, split and seeded (optional)
Instructions
For Pudding Mix:
In a bowl, whisk all the ingredients together. Seal in an airtight container for later use.
To Make Pudding:
In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of milk and 1/2 cup of Homemade Chocolate Pudding Mix to a boil. Reduce the milk to a simmer and stir constantly for about 5 minutes or until the pudding thickens. If it isn’t thickening enough, you can add more mix as needed.
Remove from stove top, pour into a large bowl and let rest for 5-10 minutes until warm and ready to eat, or place in the fridge and let cool completely.
To prevent the “skin” that forms on cook and serve puddings, press plastic wrap onto the top of the pudding and place in the fridge to chill.
Serve.
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57 comments on “Homemade Chocolate Pudding Mix”
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Erin | The Law Student's Wife — Reply
What a special memory and an incredible way to re-create it! I loved reading about your time with your mom–
thanks so much for sharing. I wish I could give you a giant hug, and then dive
into a giant bowl of this chocolate pudding! It is one of my ultimate comfort foods too, and I will never again be tempted with the scary ingredient prepackaged mix. As per usual, you are amazing. -
Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain — Reply
Moms are the best! This DIY pudding mix looks amazing and totally mom approved:) Thanks for sharing, friend!
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Ali | Gimme Some Oven — Reply
This is brilliant, Megan. We used to make chocolate pudding growing up all the time too. And big cheers to your mom! 🙂
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Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar — Reply
Bah!! Such a cool idea! Love this!
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Marie @ Little Kitchie — Reply
Such a great DIY, Megan!
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Karly — Reply
My dad LOVES instant pudding. He’s always making a bowl. I should make him a batch of this mix for his birthday!
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Tanya B — Reply
I love it. I always think of my great aunt when I think of cook and serve chocolate pudding since that was out thing together. I was always too impatient for it to completely cool, so I developed a love of warm chocolate pudding along with the thick skin. I can’t wait to give it a try.
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Norma | Allspice and Nutmeg — Reply
Oh how fun! I’ll be making this.
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Patricia — Reply
What an awesome recipe! Love it!
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Kim Wilson — Reply
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I grew up in a house where my mom cooked everything from scratch. Then, I got married and had a full-time job so I quickly introduced myself to the world of prepackaged everything. I recently “retired” and I’m so enjoying trying the “cooking from scratch” method! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
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Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic — Reply
What a cool idea! I love stove top pudding, but when I’m feeling lazy I grab the long-forgotten box in the back of the cupboard. Now I have an option with few just a few pantry staples!
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Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen — Reply
Such a fun recipe, Megan! I love the story of you and your mom making and sharing pudding together. I used to love the butterscotch and chocolate flavors most and how the pudding would form a skin, too. I’ve gotta try this! Thanks for sharing.
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Tieghan — Reply
Such a great recipe. I love pudding! Also, cute story about you an you mom!
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Sophie — Reply
this looks great! Thanks for sharing. Do you think this would work with a sugar substitute like splenda? I’m trying to use less sugar in my cooking..!
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Marly — Reply
I love homemade versions of store-bought goodies!
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Claire Gallam — Reply
See AlsoCake in a Jar – Hive and NestGREAT recipe love!!!
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Jennie @themessybakerblog — Reply
You always amaze me with your brilliant DIY recipes. Love this! It is so happening.
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Lauren — Reply
Great idea! I’ll have to give this a whirl!
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Courtney @ Neighborfood — Reply
I love this! I still have such a fondness for instant pudding (plus it’s so easy!), but I always feel a little bit of food blogger shame when I pull out that little box. Love this recipe and that I can have instant pudding with pantry basics!
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Gaby — Reply
Such a fun idea!
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Laurie {SimplyScratch} — Reply
Awww snap! This is awesome!
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Sandy @ ReluctantEntertainer — Reply
Love your recipe, girl. Fun gift to give, too!
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Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction — Reply
What a great idea! Love how simple it is!
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Danae @ reciperunner — Reply
Such a great memory! A bowl of pudding is so satisfying and such a simple delicious dessert. Thanks for sharing this DIY instant version, so much better to know exactly what’s going in it!
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Carol at Wild Goose Tea — Reply
Thank you for sharing such a great memory. I prefer the cooked pudding over the instant, but sometimes the instant is just what is needed for either a recipe or a time slot. Soooooo then I could really and truly claim this was homemade. Laughing—–
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Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles — Reply
Excellent! I need to try this!
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Shaina — Reply
Such a wonderful idea! I can’t wait to try it out.
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Amelia @ Eating Made Easy — Reply
I absolutely LOVE when people like you come up with a homemade version of something processed (yet delectable). Thank you! Can’t wait to have a stock of this on-hand for pudding cravings!
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Julie — Reply
I’m trying to find a way to make an instant strawberry pudding mix. Any ideas?
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Jen — Reply
I was super excited when I found this recipe and no matter how many changes I make it just is not good 🙁 I used milk, water, halved it, doubled it even added more unsweetened cocoa and there’s almost no flavor :/
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Megan —
I’m so sorry it didn’t meet your expectations! Try adding a different cocoa powder to the mix instead – different cocoas have different tones and flavors that might meet your liking. I will give this recipe another go and see what improvements I can make.
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Doug Williams — Reply
The first time I made this mix I felt it needed more cocoa powder in it, it looked a tad pale, but I followed the recipe. Also, following the cooking instructions, the pudding came out very thick like cold mashed potatoes and did not have much chocolate flavor. After my first batch of cooked pudding, I added a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder to the 1/2 cup mix and increased the milk to 2 1/4 cups and the result was much better and had the normally expected pudding consistency and ‘mouth feel’. I have used up my first batch of mix (using my modifications to the recipe) and have made a new batch doubling the cocoa but have not as yet cooked any. Nonetheless, I was happy to find this mix recipe as well as one for a no cook version using instant clear jell in the mix, which also needed a little ‘tweaking’. I love to cook and I certainly enjoyed the challenge of tweaking these pudding recipes to get the end product I desired!!!
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Purity — Reply
Does anyone know if I can make a pudding with this mix without cooking it? Just adding milk and cream?
I have a chocolate mousse recipe that calls for the chocolate pudding mix, and there is no cooking required.
Please let me know.-
Megan —
Hi Purity – The cornstarch is the thickener in this, so it does require heat to set. Sorry for any inconvenience!
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Denise — Reply
This is a great alternative to those store-bought chemical packs. The only thing I did differently was to add in some finely chopped dark bittersweet chocolate after removing the pudding from the heat and whisk until it melted. I thought it gave a little extra intense chocolate kick to the final product. Perfect for Fudge Brownie Chocolate Trifle Cups….mmmmm…chocolate. 🙂
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J'Marinde — Reply
Sorry, but this isn’t “instant” pudding. Instant pudding does not have to be cooked. That’s why it’s called “instant” pudding. But thank you for this very helpful mix recipe.
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Skeeter — Reply
Instant Chocolate Pudding refers to the pudding mix you just add cold
milk to.
Chocolate Pudding mix you have to cook -
Diane Addison — Reply
Purity , to make it instant you have to use instant clear gel.I think Amazon carries it. I live in Utah and they have it in a couple places out here.Look on the internet for a recipe . You can make instant. I have it’s just been awhile since I made it. Hubby and I are getting older and do not eat as much.
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Anthtex81 — Reply
This is a homemade pudding, but it is not an instant pudding. Instant pudding doesn’t require cooking.
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Amy C — Reply
Has anyone tried a truvia or sugar free version?
Any suggestions would be appreciated
Thanks!
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Want raw! — Reply
This isn’t instant pudding. This is cooked pudding.
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Heather M. Whipple — Reply
I do not get it. This is titled instant pudding mix, but you cook it on the stove. I am looking for instant pudding that you make in a bowl with cold milk until it thickens chill in the refrigerator then serve. Or just the instant pudding powder I put in my easy pudding cookies recipe.
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Mia —
But this isn’t ‘instant’ pudding… this is ‘cook and serve’ pudding..! I was so excited that I’d finally found ‘instant’ pudding, but this isn’t IT..! You don’t COOK instant pudding, hence ‘instant’..?
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Sara Ann Quiroz — Reply
My Mom would make her famous Banana Pudding but she
Would only use the cooking Vanilla Pudding for
her Banana pudding,one time one of my Brother’s bought
Everything for my Mom to make Banana Pudding he bought instant Pudding My mom made my Brother go back to
the store to get the cooking Vanilla Jello Pudding.We miss
Our Mom she passed away 12/24/09 ALL OF US 12 KIDS AND GRANKIDS AND GREATGRANKIDS MISS OYE MOM VERY MUCH WE LOVE YOU MOM FROM ALL YOUR FAMILY
I’m the oldest of 12. -
Pingback: Mélange à Pudding/Flan au chocolat ( Cadeaux Gourmand) - J'amène Le Dessert
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Deana — Reply
Please change the name of your recipe so that those of us that are searching down true “instant” pudding don’t keep finding these cooked pudding versions. I tried it and it was delicious but not what I needed. Instant pudding you don’t cook. Thanks!
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Jayne — Reply
The best way to eat warm chocolate pudding is with a scoop of ice cream on top that melts into it yummy!
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Megan —
I have never even thought of that!!!
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Pingback: Stocking Your Pantry the Essential Way -
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Nancy — Reply
Looks Delicious! I will try it for sure
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Carm — Reply
Hi I am glad to try this recipe because I don’t like the taste of the ones in the premade cups in the store. How many servings does this make? Thanks
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Lee — Reply
Please don’t call this instant pudding. It isn’t instant if you have to cook it.
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Carla Marie Brewer — Reply
I like to keep my cabinets full of food items that make my life easier. This looks like it will fit right in! Thank you for sharing.
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Tracy — Reply
Can you use almond milk?
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Hi Tracy! I haven’t tried it with almond milk, or any other alternative milks, so I can’t testify to the results. If you do try it, please let me know how it turns out!
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