Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding Recipe

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding Recipe

Today we are making a Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding Recipe! This is a healthy dessert recipe to use up those overripe avocados, aside from making the traditional avocado toast.

Before we get to the recipe, I have to ask – who loved these Chocolate/Vanilla pudding snack packs as a kid? I would always have one in my lunch during elementary school. Ah, the days when the only thing that mattered was whether I had chocolate or vanilla snack pack (and maybe if my mom had slipped in a secret Honey Bun or Dunkaroos in there).

What’s In Your Pudding?

But pudding wasn’t something I ate on the regular, especially high school and later years when I became vegan – the ingredients in these pudding cups was as follows: WATER, NONFAT MILK, SUGAR, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, PALM OIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS.

Alright, so the first ingredient is water. That’s a plus, because that means there is the largest amount of water compared to any other ingredient (that’s usually how an ingredients list is read). Nonfat milk, sugar, modified corn starch, palm oil, cocoa. These are common pudding ingredients, aside from “less than 2% of” chemicals that follow.

But what is one to do if (a) you’re vegan (b) if you do find vegan pudding cups, you don’t want to spend money on gourmet vegan snack items (c) you don’t want to throw away plastic because of your pudding cups (d) you want to enjoy pudding in a healthy way? I think I have just the right recipe for this – today’s vegan chocolate pudding, made out of avocados! They give a creamy texture without imparting too much of an aftertaste. Avocados are really super versatile to adding a rich feeling to desserts because of the naturally high fat content.

Health Benefits of Avocado

Did you know that avocados are also called the alligator pear or butter fruit? They have nearly 20 vitamins and minerals, ranging from Vitamins C, E, K, B6, magnesium, potassium, and more. They are also thought to help to decrease one’s chances of cancer, improve vision, lower the risk of depression and more (due to high levels of folate to prevent depression/cancer, and including phytochemicals lutein and zeaxanthin to improve vision). So now you can eat this vegan avocado chocolate pudding knowing all the benefits, plus the benefits of all the raw cacao in it. A double kick!

Why You’ll Love This Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding Recipe

Healthy Yet Decadent Dessert: This vegan recipe is full of healthy fats, antioxidants and overall whole foods, simple ingredients to satisfy your chocolate cravings. It doesn’t seem like it though – a decadent chocolate pudding with hidden fruits? It’s not too good to be true!

The great thing is also that the avocado flavor doesn’t come off too strong. Especially because of the sugar from the maple syrup and the bitter cacao masking it. This is a great way to get in three servings of fruit (one-third of an avocado is one serving) in one dessert!

Substitutions: Avocado, Maple Syrup, Milk & Cream

Avocado: Use a fully ripe avocado, pitted. Do not substitute for any other fruit. If the avocados are getting brown spots, use your judgement. Too many brown spots and they’re spoiled, but some mild spots should be fine if they’re just starting to get too ripe.

Maple Syrup: Use pure (one ingredient) maple syrup, where the only ingredient is maple syrup on the bottle! You can also use agave nectar instead.

For a raw sweetener, try soft, pitted Medjool dates. The pudding may not be as smooth as using maple syrup though, since dates will leave a texture in the pudding versus completely creamy pudding.

Oat Milk: Use any other plant-based milk of your choice, such as unsweetened almond milk or soy milk. Full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream will make this recipe taste even richer, albeit leaving behind a coconut flavor. Taste the milk straight out of the fridge before using here. If you like how it tastes, you’ll like the taste of it in this recipe.

Whipped Cream: I use Gay Lea brand of vegan coconut whipped cream. You can also find soy-based vegan whipped creams that come in a can like Cool Whip. However, I haven’t seen these in my local grocery stores.

Substitutions: Chocolate

Raw Cacao Powder: This is the raw, unprocessed form of cocoa powder, which is common in baking (like in brownies). You can find this in the natural aisle of your grocery store, or at a health food store. I like Organic Traditions brand. You can also substitute with regular cocoa powder, as it can provide the same rich chocolate flavor.

Chocolate Chips: Check the label to make sure your chocolate chips don’t have added animal products. Many brands are already “accidentally vegan” too, where the chocolate chips don’t contain any milk ingredients anyways. However, the pack isn’t specifically labeled as vegan. I used dark chocolate chips, but you can also use semisweet if you don’t like the bitterness of dark chocolate.

Melting these chocolate chips before using, as stated in the recipe card, makes for an even creamier pudding texture.

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding Recipe Notes

• Top with raw cacao nibs on top of the whipped cream, or mixed into the pudding, for an added crunch and nutritional benefits.
• Make this on Valentine’s Day with raspberries mixed in by hand to the pudding, for a raspberry chocolate flavor!

More Recipes You’ll Love

Toasted Hazelnut & Fig Balls: Toasted hazelnuts and dried figs bring a delicious flavor to these snack balls, using dates and pure maple syrup for sweetness.

Raspberry Lamington Bites: A Lamington is an Australian sponge cake coated in a chocolate sauce layer and rolled in shredded coconut. This recipe is a raw energy balls version of the favorite cake!

Raw Key Lime Pie Bites: This is like a raw key lime cookie dough bite! A little bit of lime zest with almond flour, dates and coconut make buttery energy balls.

Peanut Butter Cup Bites: These peanut butter energy balls are a basic recipe with natural peanut butter, maple syrup or date syrup, and raisins!

Mango Coconut Date Balls: This is another date energy balls recipe that makes the perfect bite with shredded coconut, coconut flour, dried mango and dates for a tropical flavor!

If you make this Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!