This Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding is unbelievably smooth and creamy. It takes only 20 minutes to make and can be made dairy-free too. A wonderful keto-friendly treat for the whole family.
I was never really been much of a pudding person growing up. I’ve always loved keto chocolate mousse, keto cheesecake, and other creamy, rich desserts, but pudding wasn’t particularly high on my list.
That is, until I started making my own keto chocolate pudding at home. Boy did I change my tune quickly! It is so much better than the boxed varieties I remember from my childhood.
And I daresay it’s become one of my favorite desserts. I even used it as the filling for my keto chocolate cake!
Why you will love this recipe
If chocolate pudding evokes wonderful memories of childhood, but you no longer want to consume sugar, then this is the recipe for you. Done right, it’s an incredibly delicious treat that’s worthy of a spot at your dessert table.
Why make your own sugar free pudding at home?
- Smooth and creamy
- Deeper chocolate flavor
- Dairy free option
- No questionable ingredients
- Just as easy as making it from a box (seriously!)
- It has only 3.1g net carbs per serving
It beats out boxed mixes every time for flavor and consistency, and you have the advantage of knowing exactly what’s going into your dessert. And really is easy to make!
Reader Reviews
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“This recipe is awesome! I tried it yesterday and it’s the first time I’ve had chocolate pudding come out well (I’ve tried so many recipes). It had a mousse-like texture that I really loved.” – Carol
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“OMG you must make this! Seriously one of the best desserts ever, keto aside! Can’t keep it in the fridge for more than a day or 2 between my husband and I. It is perfect exactly as written (I do the dairy version).” – Nikki
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“Thank you for the wonderful recipes…this is one of our favorites!” – Mary
Ingredients needed
- Heavy cream (or coconut milk): Full fat dairy or coconut milk helps give this sugar-free pudding a rich, creamy consistency.
- Hemp or almond milk (or more coconut milk): Adding a little nut milk helps lighten it up a bit and make it less calorific. If you are making the dairy free option, just use more canned coconut milk.
- Sweetener: I like a mix of allulose and Swerve for this recipe. See the Expert Tips for more options.
- Eggs/egg yolks: You will need 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks for this recipe.
- Glucomannan: You do need a thickening agent to help the pudding set properly. I have used both xanthan gum and glucomannan, and I like glucomannan better.
- Cocoa powder: Choose a good quality cocoa powder like Rodelle or Ghirardelli. Do not use natural cacao as it won’t mix in well and the pudding may end up lumpy.
- Butter: This makes the pudding smoother and richer in flavor and texture, and it helps set properly. You can use coconut oil for dairy-free.
- Pantry Staples: Vanilla extract and salt.
Step-by-step directions
1. Heat the liquid: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the heavy cream and hemp milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and whisk in the sweetener.
2. Temper the eggs: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolks together until smooth. Slowly add ½ cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, whisking continuously.
3. Combine the mixtures: Slowly whisk the tempered eggs back into the saucepan of hot cream mixture.
4. Add the cocoa powder: Stir in the cocoa powder and return the mixture to medium low heat. Continue to whisk continuously until the mixture is smooth and begins to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Then sprinkle the surface with glucomannan and whisk vigorously to combine.
5. Add the butter: Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth. Divide between 6 dessert cups and refrigerate until set, 2 to 3 hours.
6. Serve: Garnish with lightly sweetened whipped cream and some berries or chocolate shavings.
Expert tips
Tempering the eggs is a critical step for making homemade pudding so don’t rush it or skip it. It helps keep the mixture from curdling and becoming lumpy.
Keep your eye on the prize! This is not a dessert you can walk away from, as it can thicken up without warning, so keep your eye on it.
The process for the dairy and the dairy-free versions are identical. For dairy-free, use full fat canned coconut milk for all 2 cups of the liquid.
Sweetener Options
This Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding works best with a bulk (granular) sweetener rather than a concentrated extract. I like to use a combination of Swerve and allulose, but you can do one or the other. Allulose does make the pudding take a lot longer to set so be aware of that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Curdling happens when you add eggs too quickly to hot liquids without bringing them up to temperature first. That’s why tempering is an important step. However, there is an easy fix for curdled pudding. Simply transfer all of it into a blender and blend until smooth.
You can make this pudding up to three days in advance. Keep covered in the refrigerator. I don’t recommend freezing pudding as it changes the texture.
This sugar free pudding recipe has 4.9g of carbs and 1.8g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.1g net carbs per serving.
More luscious chocolate dessert recipes
Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream (or full fat coconut milk)
- ¾ cup almond/hemp/macadamia milk (or more coconut milk)
- 3 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener
- 3 tablespoon allulose
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon glucomannan (or xanthan gum)
- 6 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoon butter cut into 3 pieces
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the heavy cream and hemp milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and whisk in the sweetener.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolks together until smooth. Slowly add ½ cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, whisking continuously.
- Slowly whisk the tempered eggs back into the saucepan of hot cream mixture.
- Stir in the cocoa powder and return the mixture to medium low heat. Continue to whisk continuously until the mixture is smooth and begins to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Then sprinkle the surface with glucomannan and whisk vigorously to combine.
- Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth. Divide between 6 dessert cups and refrigerate until set, 2 to 3 hours.
- Garnish with lightly sweetened whipped cream and some berries or chocolate shavings
Video
Notes
E Meyer says
This was delicious and worked perfectly as written. I used the egg whites to make meringue cookies with a few Lily’s chocolate chips and served alongside for a special Valentines Day treat.
Kim says
Made this today using organic raw Cacao powder (very dark and somewhat bitter when compared to dutch processed cocoa powder). It was FANTASTIC! Quick and simple recipe that will be one of my new go-to sweets – thanks so much for sharing.
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
Anamika @ Supplement Crunch says
Amazing, Looks like a fabulous chocolate pudding recipe. i will try to make this recipe.
Monica says
I have made this several times and it always comes out perfect. I never had an immediate use for the egg whites so I beat them to stiff peaks and mixed in the pudding and now I have chocolate mousse. Thank you!
Dilek says
OMG! This is the best keto pudding ever! It has the perfect taste and consistency. I put less sweetener in it. All the desserts are too sweet for me. I like the fact that it tastes like dark chocolate pudding. Finally i found my perfect pudding! Thank you very much.
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!!!
Taylor says
Hello, I made this pudding recipe and it was delicious! There were some small lumps that didn’t get dissolved. Any tips on what I may be doing wrong? Also could you sub heavy cream for the coconut milk if you don’t like the coconut taste?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
Well the question is… small lumps of what?
Colleen Marble says
This was great but a little too sweet for my taste. I will use less sweetener next time. I’ll also put the pudding through a sieve before chilling next time. Even though I tempered the eggs, there were still little eggy bits. Most pudding recipes call for using a sieve as the final step, and I almost did that with this recipe but since it wasn’t listed as a step I didn’t, and the texture just wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. I’m currently heating up a second batch, so just wanted to mention the two changes that I’ll be making.
Carolyn says
Your heat was a little too high if you got some curdling. If you can’t lower your heat more, try doing it double boiler style. The reason that I don’t strain is that it’s unnecessary if you have your heat low enough AND you lose some of the delicious pudding and these ingredients are too expensive to do that.
KELLY says
I JUST LOVE YOUR RECIPES!, TRYING TO DO A KETO DAIRY FREE & EGG FREE TYPE OF DIET
Bridget Palmer says
Made this tonight. I could have done with a little less cocoa powder but all in all amazing! Love the consistency. Highly recommend if you’re wanting chocolate pudding. ????
Lorraine says
I just tried this recipe and it seemed to be going well until I put in the coconut oil at the end.
I couldn’t get it to mix in.
I don’t know why.
I was trying this recipe for my grandson who can’t have dairy except egg yolks, so no butter.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Carolyn says
What exactly was happening to it? You should add it and then whisk and it should incorporate quite easily. Is there a layer of coconut oil on top? Try just pouring that off and letting the pudding set as is.
Lorraine says
Yes Carolyn there was a layer of coconut on top that just wouldn’t mix in. Before I put the oil in the pudding was a great consistency and very tasty too. So I don’t know what went wrong but I am going to try again. Thank you for your reply.
I always go to your recipes first. You provide such good detailed instructions and I love every one I’ve tried! Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
Okay so if that ever happens again, it’s likely your chocolate seized. And the best way to make it re-combine is with a blender. I’ve done that a few times recently (not with this recipe, I’ve not had an issue with it). And it’s worked perfectly. I just dump the whole thing in my Blendtec but apparently it works with an immersion blender too.
Susan Fowler says
So glad I found this recipe. Making a Pie for my boyfriend.
Southern Thing like Sweet Tea ????
Gail Blain says
Have LOVED this recipe for years! My daughter-in-law is new to keto and asked me to make a chocolate lasagna type dessert. I looked at several recipes but adapted to use THIS pudding recipe. BTW, not a fan of x-gum so I always use 4 yolks and add a chopped 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate bar at the end. Reminds me of my grandma’s chocolate pie!
Stephanie Deal says
Made this recipe yesterday and it was great. I used my sweet neighbors as guinea pigs and we all gave it 2 thumbs up. Truthfully, I like my desserts pretty sweet (darn sweet tooth), so I used a heaping 1/3 cup of Swerve and it was perfect. I topped it with whipped cream and raspberries and OH so pretty! Thanks for another super recipe — that was incredibly easy to whip up!!
Carol says
This recipe is awesome! I tried it yesterday and it’s the first time I’ve had chocolate pudding come out well (I’ve tried so many recipes). It had a mousse-like texture that I really loved. So many recipes include dairy (HWC or cream cheese), which causes issues for me. I can’t wait for more flavors, Carolyn! Well done!
Mary says
Hi Carolyn the recipe sounds delicious. One question please why don”t you use the whole egg ?
Carolyn says
Because it changes the consistency.
Brenda says
I do love pudding and your recipes are always good, so I can’t wait to try this one!
I do have a question…you used coconut milk, can it be made with coconut cream?
Carolyn says
I did not try it with coconut cream but I think it may end up too thick.
Gjeanieg says
Carolyn, the link for the coconut milk coffee creamer (just above the recipe) points to a different recipe. I would love to see your pick for the coffee creamer! Can you fix the link? Thank you. 🙂
Barbara Schlatter says
Carolyn. How do you get your calcium ? I was just diagnosed with osteoporosis. I hope you do not mid my question.
Supplementation is not a good way to go apparently . I think in my case it was the amount of coffee I drank , which interferes with the absorption of calcium . I am in a panic since I have been advised to not even bend over in order to protect my back.
Your pudding was so delicious, I made it right away, lol.
Linda says
Do we use the entire can of coconut milk including the water, or drain off the water and use only the thick part?
Carolyn says
Entire can. I promise I am very specific in my recipes. If I wanted you to just use the coconut cream, I would be sure to say so! 🙂
Linda says
You shouldn’t need xanthan gum to make pudding as lang as you have the right proportion of egg yolks and full fat coconut milk or heavy cream. If you want to use nut milks, you have to use a mix of cream and nut milk, too, or it won’t thicken because you do need fat for the emulsion. But the pudding wil thicken right up, if you cook it until it gets to between 175º and 180º on an instant read thermometer. The folks at America’s Test Kitchen measured it. Since I started using my thermometer, I’ve never had a problem with my puddings not setting and I don’t use xanthan gum in them. I ise it in other dishes, but not puddings. I think they started using cornstarch in order to be able to leave out the egg yolks or to get it to set faster so you don’t have to stand there and stir it os long.
Carolyn says
Hi there. I honestly like my recipe just the way it is. But thanks.
Erica says
I’m not a gastronomical expert, but I believe real sugar also helps conventional pudding set. Of course, Carolyn’s recipe is deliciously devoid of sugar.
Carolyn says
Sugar certainly does have properties that low carb sweeteners lack. So we have to find ways to make up for that!