5-ingredient chocolate pudding that is rich, creamy and decadent. It is a perfect dessert for any vegan, paleo, gluten-free and dairy-free diet. Read on to find out what is the secret ingredient. No, it is not avocado or tofu or banana 🙂
I think you can tell by now that we love to hide veggies. It is especially fun to hide them in desserts. I am not talking about the obvious ones, like black bean brownies or zucchini muffins. Oh no, I have some very interesting recipes apart from this one – obviously – for you to try like our Crispy Vegan Waffles or our Fluffy Vegan Pancakes recipes. In both recipes, we hid red lentils for some natural protein boost.
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Tell me the secret ingredient!
Tada! The secret ingredient is a purple sweet potato. Are you surprised?
Now, you are asking me, why?
Well, to me purple sweet potato has this lovely, candied, chestnutty flavor that goes perfectly with chocolate. Not to mention its starchy nature gives this dessert the well-known pudding consistency. If you look around, there is always some kind of starch (corn, tapioca, arrowroot, etc.) in all milk-based puddings to turn them into – well – puddings. What you get with this recipe is a naturally gluten-free chocolate pudding.
What does a vegan chocolate pudding contain?
It is a delicious and light, 5-ingredient vegan chocolate pudding that is also a perfect fit for the paleo diet. There are no eggs, no flour, no nuts, no avocado, and no tofu. This one is special:
- purple sweet potato puree,
- dairy-free milk,
- coconut or cane sugar,
- cocoa powder, and
- vanilla extract.
In the recipe, we use our homemade cashew milk or almond milk, but you can use any milk of your choice to turn it into a dairy-free chocolate pudding. If you add a few drops of peppermint, coconut, orange or other extracts besides vanilla, you can really spice things up.
How to make chocolate pudding?
Let’s start with the sweet potato puree (photo #1), then add dairy-free milk of your choice (photo #2). I used homemade cashew milk. Now, add cane sugar or sweetener of your choice (photo #3). Finally, add the cocoa powder and the vanilla extract and blend them until creamy (photo #4). Your easy vegan chocolate pudding is best served chilled!
Making purple sweet potato puree from scratch
For this recipe, I used homemade purple sweet potato puree, where I baked the sweet potato and used the soft mashed puree as the main ingredient.
So, how to bake the purple sweet potato? You can do it easily in just 3 steps:
Wash the sweet potato (step 1)
It is a root vegetable, so even if it looks clean you need to wash them thoroughly. You can even use a vegetable scrub to get rid of any dirt (like this zero waste scrub made of wood and plant bristles). Now, dry them with a kitchen towel.
Poke the sweet potato (step 2)
Use a fork or a sharp knife to poke the skin of the sweet potatoes. This step is important as sweet potatoes can build up steam while baking. The small wholes release them so they don’t burst.
Bake the sweet potato (step 3)
As I bake them usually without oil or any additional seasoning, I like to use a glass baking dish. Although you can use any baking tray or baking sheet. Depending on the size of the sweet potatoes, the baking time varies. You know the sweet potatoes are ready if the skin looks shriveled and soft and you can pierce it easily with a fork.
Prepare the purple sweet potato puree
Let the baked sweet potatoes cool a bit. If it is not too hot to touch, peel them and mash the insides with a fork. Now, it is ready to be used to make nutrient-packed chocolate pudding.
Toppings for Chocolate Pudding
You can add so many different toppings to make this chocolate pudding even more delicious like
- Fresh fruits (chocolate especially goes well with berries in my opinion)
- Caramelized bananas
- Berry jam or sauce (our homemade mixed berries sauce recipe)
- Chopped nuts or slivered almonds
- Caramel sauce (our homemade caramel sauce recipe)
- Coconut whipped cream (homemade or store-bought)
- Vanilla pudding (my husband loves to mix the two pudding together – he especially loves Alpro’s Vanilla Dessert)
Using chocolate pudding as frosting?
Yes. We do have a quick, 2-ingredient Chocolate Coconut Whipped Cream Frosting recipe, but we love to top our Vegan GF Sweet Potato Brownies or our Vegan GF Chocolate Cake with this Chocolate Pudding as well. If you eat whole foods plant-based, then this is the frosting for you.
Top tips to make perfect sweet potato chocolate pudding
- Wait for the sweet potato puree to chill completely before using it to make the chocolate pudding.
- If you make a small batch, you might want to use a hand blender. It might be a too small portion for the regular blender.
- Depending on the size of the sweet potatoes, the baking time varies. Always pierce it with a fork to see if it is soft enough.
- You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
FAQ and Substitutions
Can I use orange sweet potato instead of purple?
Yes, of course. You’re welcome to use baked orange sweet potato puree. The chocolate pudding will likely have a slightly different taste as purple sweet potato has this lovely, candied, chestnutty flavor, which the orange one can’t seem to have.
Can I use canned sweet potato puree?
I baked the purple sweet potato from scratch and I haven’t tested this recipe with canned sweet potato. Please do let me know in the comments if you try it. I’d love to know.
This Easy Chocolate Pudding recipe is vegan, so dairy-free and egg-free. It is also suitable for WFPB, vegetarian, paleo, gluten-free and whole30 diets.
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More recipes
You can browse through our Vegan and Gluten-free Dessert Recipes or check out
- Chia Seed Pudding with Coconut Milk
- Vegan Baileys
- Sweet Millet Balls with Mixed Berries Sauce
- Vegan Snickers Cake
- Chocolate Peach Galette
What more you need to try it? If you’re ready, watch this short video:
Vegan Chocolate Pudding (Paleo-friendly)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Baked sweet potato puree 200 g
- 1 cup Dairy-free milk 2,3 dl
- 1/4 cup Cane sugar or coconut sugar 55 g
- 2 Tbsp Cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
How to make the baked sweet potato puree from scratch
- Wash the sweet potato thoroughly and dry them with a towel. You can even use a vegetable scrub to get rid of any dirt (like this zero waste scrub made of wood and plant bristles).
- Place the washed whole sweet potato in a glass baking dish with oil and seasoning. Poke it with a fork or a sharp knife a couple of times.
- Bake the sweet potato in a pre-heated oven on 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celcius) for 30 minutes. You know the sweet potatoes are ready if the skin looks shriveled and soft and you can pierce it easily with a fork.
- Let the baked sweet potatoes cool a bit. If it is not too hot to touch, peel them and mash the insides with a fork. Now, it is ready to be used to make the chocolate pudding.
Vegan Chocolate Pudding
- Add baked sweet potato puree, dairy-free milk, cane sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract to a bowl and blend it until smooth with a hand blender.
- Best served chilled with toppings like: Fresh fruits, Caramelized bananas, Berry jam or sauce (our homemade mixed berries sauce recipe), Chopped nuts or slivered almonds, Caramel sauce (our homemade caramel sauce recipe), Coconut whipped cream.
Recipe Notes
- Depending on the size of the sweet potatoes, the baking time varies. Always pierce it with a fork to see if it is soft enough.
- Wait for the sweet potato puree to chill completely before using it to make the chocolate pudding.
- If you make a small batch, you might want to use a hand blender. It might be a too small portion for the regular blender.
- You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Sharon Rausch
That was a great article thank you so much.