Desserts Recipes

Paleo Chocolate Mocha Pudding

The other night, a miracle happened. I had my kitchen cleaned from top to bottom, dinner was somehow ready ahead of schedule, and I had about 20 minutes to spare. Seriously, I can’t tell you the last time that happened. Maybe sometime when I was pregnant with my first baby? Let’s just say it’s been a long time.

We recently lost our kitty to liver failure so I wanted to do something special for my family, especially the girls. Instead of jumping back on my computer and time wasting on Facebook, I decided to whip up some chocolate mocha pudding for dessert.

Your standard chocolate pudding is made from sugar, cocoa, milk, and cornstarch. Um, not something I actually want to feed my family on any semi-regular basis. Health-conscious people know that avocado is a wonder fruit (yep, I said a fruit!) full of healthy monounsaturated fats and fiber, and a great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and folate. But did you also know that you can whip avocado into a satiny smooth “pudding”?

My recipe uses avocado as the base for a rich, creamy, and satisfying pudding. Avocado is fairly neutral tasting to begin with, and I guarantee you will not taste it in the finished dessert. Plus, unlike traditional pudding, this doesn’t need to be cooked. So it’s raw food, vegetarian, paleo, gluten-free, and dairy-free. But tasty, because that’s the most important thing when it comes to dessert!

My pudding is made from avocado, cocoa powder, coconut oil, nut butter, and vanilla extract, and sweetened with a combo of honey and maple syrup. For the nut butter I used almond butter, but cashew or peanut (smooth not crunchy!) would work fine too, though of course they will change the flavour a bit. The mocha flavour is easily achieved with some instant coffee (I used a teaspoon of Starbucks Via) mixed in with the milk. I wanted to keep this dairy-free so I used cashew milk to help blend the ingredients. Depending on what you have, almond milk and coconut milk are good choices too, but of course you can also use dairy milk if it’s not an issue for you.

I chopped up some macadamia nuts to serve on top, and the girls loved their pudding with fresh raspberries. This no-cook recipe was quick and easy to make and a huge hit with everyone!

Paleo Chocolate Mocha Pudding

Ingredients
  

Pudding

  • 2 medium ripe avocados peeled and pitted
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/3 - 1/2 cup nut milk coconut, almond, or cashew
  • 1/4 cup raw honey
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon smooth almond butter or cashew or peanut
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee
  • Pinch of salt

Toppings

  • Handful of washed raspberries or chopped nuts

Instructions
 

  • Mix instant coffee crystals into milk until dissolved.
  • Use a food processor or stick blender to blend all pudding ingredients together until completely smooth. Add more nut milk as needed to facilitate blending and to achieve desired thickness.
  • Once smooth, refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes before serving.
  • Top with raspberries or chopped nuts and serve.

Notes

Can omit instant coffee for plain chocolate pudding.
Can substitute nut milk with dairy milk.
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Leave a Comment

25 Comments

  • Oh my , my mouth is watering right now!! Never even knew there was a recipe like this for chocolate pudding! Def saving this, thanks!!

  • Sounds like a really tasty treat. I love anything/everything with avocado!

    Thanks for sharing this….hoping to try it soon πŸ™‚

  • Now this looks like something I could give to my kids!
    I have a question: what is the purpose of coconut oil? I cook with it (and use as little as I can), but I can’t force myself to taste it straight from the jar. For some reason it reminds me of bacon fat, visually probably.

    • The coconut oil helps with the creamy texture. I agree it may not look that appetizing, but I really like the mild coconut taste. Rest assured though, you can’t taste it in this pudding. If you really want to avoid using coconut oil, you can substitute it with nut butter instead.

  • I have to bookmark this!! I don’t like avocados on their own. Throw in chocolate and I’m convinced! Lol.

  • I recently found out I cant have dairy and its really quite tricky to avoid foods with dairy in them. So I am so overjoyed to find this recipe! Will def be making this one! thanks!!!

  • This is so cool! I’ve heard of making ‘ice cream’ out of avocados, but not pudding. I have to try this! Thanks for sharing πŸ™‚

  • My husband just figured out that he’s lactose intolerant so we’ve been looking for dairy-free yummy treats. This one looks amazing! Love the great ingredients… thanks for sharing. πŸ™‚

  • I can’t wait to share this with my friend who is lactose intolerant.She loves chocolate pudding.LOL and is going to love this extra creamy looking recipe.This is already in my favorites file for future references.Thank you so much.

  • This looks so good. I can’t wait to try it. A lot more healthier than just chocolate pudding. Thanks for the recipe.

  • I made this and it was delicious! My only thought is next time I will forgo the nut butter because it tasted a little too strong for me. My love couldn’t believe this was made from avocados, very sneaky.

    • Lol, I know! It’s hard to believe it’s almost entirely avocado! If you don’t like the nut butter, you can just leave it out add a little extra coconut oil instead.