This vegan avocado chocolate pudding is made with just a few simple ingredients to create the ultimate, decadent dessert or snack.
It’s incredibly rich and creamy, loaded with chocolate, yet perfectly sweet. You won’t taste any avocado through all the chocolatey goodness!
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Is Avocado Pudding Vegan?
Avocado pudding is not typically vegan as it often uses milk to get a smooth, blended consistency. However, it’s easy to replace milk with plant-based options.
Some pudding recipes may also call for honey, milk chocolate or other non-vegan ingredients. When making avocado pudding at home, you can also replace all of these with vegan options.
This recipe uses plant-based milk, maple syrup and cocoa powder to get all the flavor you want from a chocolate pudding while being completely vegan!
Chocolate Avocado Pudding Ingredients
This recipe uses a few simple ingredients to create a quick, easy and unbelievably delicious dessert.
- Avocados: Avocados make the base of this rich snack or dessert. They need to be very ripe so they blend into a smooth, creamy pudding. This is a great way to use overripe avocados; just remove any dark spots first. You can also use frozen avocado, but make sure to thaw completely before using.
- Cocoa powder: To get a luxurious, ultra-chocolatey flavor, this recipe uses cocoa powder; and quite a lot of it. To completely hide the taste of avocado and make this recipe truly taste like chocolate pudding, you’ll need a lot of cocoa powder.
- Maple syrup: To sweeten the recipe, I use maple syrup. Not only does it add needed sweetness, it’s also a liquid that can help the pudding blend nicely. Other liquid sweeteners, like agave syrup, should work in place of maple syrup (but keep in mind the flavor of your syrup may come through in the final product). As with cocoa powder, a fair amount is needed to get delicious, perfectly sweet pudding. You can adjust the amount of maple syrup to your needs (add extra if you like a sweeter dessert).
- Plant-based milk: You’ll also need some plant-based milk to help the other ingredients blend into a richly creamy pudding. I use unsweetened soy milk, but any type of plant-based milk should work.
- Vanilla extract: Some vanilla helps enhance the chocolate flavor in this recipe! It’s technically optional, but truly boosts the flavor.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Pudding
This recipe is so easy and quick to make. I make it in a food processor, but a high-powered blender should work; especially if you have a smaller blender attachment to use.
Step 1: Blend Pudding
Start by adding all the ingredients to the food processor. This includes avocados (with skin and pit removed), cocoa powder, maple syrup, plant-based milk and vanilla extract.
Then, blend on a high-speed setting until the pudding is super smooth. You’ll need to stop a few times to scrape down the edges of your food processor.
Step 2: Taste and Adjust
When the pudding looks nice and smooth, give it a taste.
Some avocados seem to have more flavor compared to others. There are times when you may need some extra cocoa powder to “hide” that avocado flavor. Go ahead and add extra cocoa powder and/or maple syrup, as needed, to get the taste you prefer.
I find this recipe sweet enough for my tastes, but some people prefer more sweetness in a dessert. If you want to add extra sweetness or other ingredients, blend them in now.
Scrape all the pudding into a single container to place in the fridge, or portion it out into smaller containers/ jars.
You can serve this pudding right away, but I find it tastes better once chilled. Cover the pudding and let it chill for 30 minutes or overnight. The pudding should thicken once it’s chilled.
Avocado Pudding Variations
There are a few ways you can make avocado pudding. I love this chocolate option, but it’s also delicious to add some mint extract for a chocolate-mint pudding. Another option is to use coconut milk for a chocolate-coconut flavored pudding!
The main way to innovate this pudding recipe is how you serve it. It’s amazing when topped with coconut whipped cream. You can also top the avocado pudding with:
- A sprinkle of cocoa powder
- Cacao nibs for a nice crunch
- Shaved dark chocolate
- Strawberries, raspberries, cherries or other berries
- Orange slices, for a chocolate-orange treat!
- Peanuts or other nuts and seeds
- Vegan chocolate or caramel drizzle
Sometimes people want a lighter chocolate mousse-style dessert. This pudding is thick, but you can easily turn it into a mousse.
Simply cut the recipe in half, whip 1 cup of coconut cream with about 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, then carefully fold the coconut whip into your chocolate pudding. This creates a delicious, lighter texture like a mousse!
How to Refrigerate and Freeze Pudding
Refrigerate any leftover pudding in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
This recipe also freezes perfectly! I love making chocolate pudding whenever I have lots of overripe avocados so I can freeze the extra and have delicious pudding anytime.
Freeze in any freezer-safe container for up to 3 months (but it likely lasts longer). To thaw, simply place it into your fridge overnight and you’ll be ready to enjoy some rich, creamy chocolate pudding!
This recipe is great to meal prep as it’s an ideal snack for school or work!
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Avocado Chocolate Pudding
Equipment
- Spoon
Ingredients
- 4 large avocados , or 6 small (445 g)*
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder (65 g)
- ½ cup maple syrup (125 mL)
- ⅓ cup plant-based milk (80 mL, I use soy milk)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (10 mL, optional)
Instructions
Step 1: Blend Pudding
- Scoop the avocado into a food processor (remove skin and pits first).4 large avocados
- Add cocoa powder, maple syrup, plant-based milk and vanilla extract.⅔ cup cocoa powder, ½ cup maple syrup, ⅓ cup plant-based milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Blend on high speed, stopping to scrape down the edges as you go, until the mixture is very smooth.
Step 2: Taste and Adjust
- Taste the pudding and adjust with more cocoa powder and/ or maple syrup if desired. Blend again to mix in any additional ingredients.
- You can serve the pudding immediately, but for best taste and texture, chill for at least 30 min.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More Vegan Snack Recipes
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
Maria Deltondo says
I've made this pudding several times. Every person who has tasted it has no idea it's made from avocados. I'm a cancer survivor and my husband found this recipe and made it for me to satisfy my sweet tooth. It's not only delicious but healthy! Give it a try!
Nicole says
So glad to hear you all enjoyed!
Carole A says
This was very easy and quick. I made with ingredients as listed. Couldn’t catch a trace of avocado flavor. I like avocado but it adopts the flavor added to it. It was amazingly creamy.
After tasting I doubled the amount of maple syrup. Wish I had only added 1/2 the amount of chocolate powder, that’s just personal preference as I like more subtle chocolate flavor. That being said, it is a velvety deep chocolate flavorful dessert. Everyone loved it! I can see this in a layered parfait with fruit & whipped cream. In a chocolate cream pie, a dip with fruit.
Etc!!!
Nicole says
Glad you enjoyed and it definitely tastes amazing with fruit and whipped cream 🙂 I've also used it as a cake frosting once, delicious!
Annie says
This came out lovely. I mixed it with plain Greek yogurt to cut the sweetness and add extra protein for a healthier treat!
Nicole says
Glad you enjoyed!
Stephanie Kreppein says
Can you freeze the mousse and upon defrosting, how is it?
Nicole Stevens says
Hi Stephanie - you can freeze this, I've done it many times and it thaws perfectly! Just let it sit in the fridge until it's thawed; overnight works well.
Maureen says
This might sound like a really stupid question, but I have never used avocados for ANYTHING! I'm not crazy about the taste of them, but they are really good for you nutritionally and was looking for recipes to use with them that might cover up their taste, and since I'm crazy about chocolate, I thought I'd try this.
My question might have the obvious answer - I'm assuming you would scoop the avocado out of it's shell, wouldn't you? It doesn't specify that in the directions, but can't imagine that the shell would be put in too.
Maureen
Nicole Stevens says
No stupid questions! And yes, you scoop the green portions out of the shell (and discard the shell and the pit). Hope you enjoy as much as I do!!
Alicia Dobbs says
This was very delicious and super easy to make! Such a great recipe ❤️
Nicole Stevens says
Thank you! Its my go-to for a decadent dessert 🙂
Dana says
Hello!! Thanks for the recipe. Since avocado can be so hit and miss - often with brown bits inside or not perfectly ripe when I'm in the mood I like the idea of using the frozen cubes. Can you tell me HOW MUCH avocado I should end up with ( by weight or by cups please ) after blending to equal the same amount of fresh avocado? Even a ballpark number woukd help and im having trouble figuring it out. Thanks so much!!♡
Nicole Stevens says
Hi Dana, thanks for the question and hope you enjoy the recipe. With frozen cubes of avocado, I'd recommend using about 3.5 cups. Allow your cubes to thaw first before blending for the best result possible! 🙂
Laurie L says
"4 large avocados , or 6 small (445 g)" is too vague. Please clarify the 445 g amount: is that for the whole avocados or is that weight for the scooped out fruit?
Nicole says
Sorry for the confusion; I'll update the recipe to clarify but the recipe is for 445 grams of the avocado flesh, not including skins or pits. Since avocados are so variable in size and pit sizes can be different, it's best to measure the avocado after removing the pits.