quick chocolate pudding $1.50 recipe / $0.38 serving

quick chocolate pudding

$1.50 recipe / $0.38 serving

Quick! There's only five more days until the first of the year - the day when we all suddenly decide to be healthy and forsake all of those delicious sweets that have plagued us throughout December... So, here's one more delicious treat to enjoy before you close the door on the goodies. It's simple, delicious, and can be made into a million different flavors.

I remember making this pudding once when I was a child but had forgotten all about it until one of my readers emailed me the recipe and reminded me of its tasty simplicity. I just combed through my emails but couldn't find the one, so unfortunately I can't give a proper shout out :(

I made this pudding with 1% milk and it was divine. I also want to experiment with using less sugar because I'm not into super sweet things and I'm sure it would be just as good. If you want it extra rich, use full fat milk. I haven't experimented with soy or almond milk, but I suspect they will work swimmingly.

You can add a few drops of peppermint extract to make a chocolate mint pudding, eliminate the cocoa powder and add extra vanilla for a vanilla pudding, or add some other spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom. You can do so many different things with this. So many.




Total Recipe cost: $1.50
Servings Per Recipe: 4 (1/2 cup each)
Cost per serving: $0.38
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 6 min. Total: 11 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1/2 cup	white sugar	$0.08
1/3 cup	unsweetened cocoa powder	$0.21
3 Tbsp	corn starch	$0.18
2 cups	milk	$0.75
1 tsp	vanilla extract	$0.28
TOTAL		$1.50

STEP 1: In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and corn starch. Whisk to combine and remove any lumps. Whisk in the milk until everything is evenly mixed.

STEP 2: Microwave the mixture on high for three minutes. Remove the bowl and give it a good stir. Microwave for one minute more, then whisk again. Continue to microwave and stir at one minute intervals until the pudding has thickened (about 3 cycles of cooking/stirring).

STEP 3: Stir in the vanilla extract. Either serve warm or refrigerate until chilled. Press plastic wrap over the surface of the pudding before refrigerating to prevent the formation of a thick skin.

Step By Step Photos

Place the dry ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl. Whisk them together until they are evenly mixed and there are no lumps. If you want to add any other dry spices (cinnamon, etc.) do it in this step.


Whisk in the milk, making sure there are no lumps.


Microwave the mixture on high for three minutes. This is what it will look like - not much different because it's just starting to warm up. Give it a good stir.


Microwave it for one minute more. Take the bowl out and stir again. This is what it looked like after microwaving but before stirring. You can see it's starting to change color and texture.


Microwave again for one minute. This is what it looks like. It's really starting to thicken. Give it another good stir.


Microwave for one more minute and then stir again. After the third interval, I felt that it was thick enough. This is what it looked like before I stirred it for the last time. You may need to do more intervals of cooking and stirring, depending on your microwave.


This is what it looked like after I stirred it. Remember, it gets a little thicker upon cooling. So, in total, I only microwaved for 6 minutes. The initial 3 minutes and then 3 intervals of one minute each. How easy is that?


If you're going to refrigerate it, make sure to press some plastic wrap down onto the surface so that it doesn't form a thick skin on top.


This recipe makes four servings that are a half cup each... but if you're not careful, it's completely possible to eat the whole batch at once. So BE CAREFUL! ;)