This Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding hits the spot when you have a craving for something lusciously smooth and decadently chocolatey.  It’s so easy to make, and it’s completely sugar free – so you can indulge AND feel good about yourself.  Win-win.  Try dipping fresh berries in it, too, for an additional health boost.

Chocolate pudding is such a comfort food.  Who doesn’t have some memory of digging a spoon into a plastic cup of wobbly chocolate pudding while watching cartoons after school?  Well, maybe that was just me.  But I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a fondness for chocolate pudding.  It’s smooth and comforting.

And now you can have all of that nostalgia and comfort without the sugar rush or guilt.  This Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding recipe has all the richness and flavor without any sugar at all.  It’s sweetened only with stevia. 

A lot of recipes that want to replace the richness of dairy use coconut milk.  And coconut milk works beautifully – it’s so smooth and rich.  But unfortunately, I just can’t digest it very well.  A little bit is okay, but I pay later if I give in to the temptations of luxuriantly creamy coconut milk.

So, here, I’m using a ration of 1 to 2 of coconut cream and almond milk.  That way, the coconut cream gives the desired creamy texture, but it’s not overwhelmingly rich and fatty. 

This recipe is very easy and quick to make, but a word of caution – don’t walk away from the stove once you start whisking the cornstarch in!  I’m totally a multitasker, and I love to put something on the stove or in the oven and then go get something else done.  Don’t do that here. 

You need to keep whisking and you need to watch the mixture until it thickens.  Because, seriously, you will blink, and it will have thickened.  It happens in an instant.  If you’re not whisking when it thickens, you risk having a lumpy pudding.  So, just stay there with your pudding and whisk and… think about the beautiful pudding you’re about to eat. 

My Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding is totally decadent on its own, but it’s really amazing with fresh berries to dip into it.  Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries – they’re all delicious, and it’s a great way to sneak more antioxidant-rich berries into your kids’ (or your) diet. 

Of course, this makes a scrumptious dessert that you could easily make ahead of time for guests.  But why not enjoy it for breakfast?  Or a filling snack?  Enjoy!

Why You’ll LOVE this Recipe:

• Super fast and easy
• Only 5 ingredients
• Completely Sugar Free
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free
• Great for kids!

Ingredients for Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding:

• coconut cream
• almond milk
• liquid stevia
• salt
• cornstarch
• cocoa powder

Notes on Ingredients:

Coconut cream – We’re using coconut cream here to get the richness and smoothness that the fat in the coconut cream imparts. 

Almond milk – Almond milk dilutes the coconut cream so that the pudding still has that rich creaminess without being overwhelming. Please check the ingredients to make sure that your almond milk is unsweetened to keep this recipe sugar free.

Liquid stevia – My magical sweetener.  Liquid always works better for me than powdered. 

Salt – Salt is always a flavor enhancer in most recipes, but here it’s also a counterbalance to the natural bitterness of cocoa powder.

Cornstarch – Cornstarch is one of the best thickeners out there.  It can get really smooth without lumps. 

Cocoa powder – We’re using non-alkalized cocoa powder here (not Dutch-processed), because non-alkalized cocoa powder tends to have a sweeter, more chocolatey flavor. 

How to Make Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding From Scratch

Get out a medium sized pot.  Scoop the coconut cream into the pot.  Add the almond milk, liquid stevia and pinch of salt.  Whisk, whisk, whisk until the coconut cream is completely incorporated into the almond milk and smooth. 

Place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat.  Add the cornstarch in a few spoonfuls at a time, and whisk after each addition.  Adding a little at a time makes it easier to incorporate the cornstarch into the liquid and to avoid lumps.

Keep whisking as the pot heats up.  After a few minutes, the liquid will being to thicken, and when this happens, you want to whisk vigorously to prevent any clumps from forming.  How thick should the pudding be?  The general rule is that the pudding should coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Right.  So what does that look like exactly?  It means that when you dip a wooden spoon in the pudding, the liquid will be opaque on the spoon and it won’t run off.  It won’t be like plaster, either, but it will stay on the spoon. 

Don’t worry about it too much.  As long as you stay standing over your pudding on the stove (don’t walk away during this part, as tempting as it is to get other tasks done!), you will know when it starts to thicken.  And when you whisk as it thickens, you will say – Wow, this is pudding! 

Once the liquid has thickened, remove the pot from the heat, and add the cocoa powder.  Continue to whisk, whisk, whisk until the cocoa powder is completely incorporated and the pudding is silky smooth.

Spoon the pudding into 4 small bowls and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.  Indulge and enjoy!