This healthy, no-cook chocolate pudding is naturally sweetened with honey and takes just 5 minutes to make. It’s also dairy-free, gluten-free and can be vegan!
I feel like I accidentally re-invented pudding.
I threw this together one weekday afternoon when I realized I had a single ripe banana in the pantry that needed to be used. Just one banana.
Oh, and I didn’t want to bake anything because we were gonna head out as soon as the kids had snack.
And I was feeling lazy.
Also, it had been at least a day since I’d had something chocolate, which is a cruelly long time in my book.
So I threw all of this in my little immersion blender and blended it up.
I licked the spoon and knew I had done good.
I wasn’t sure what it was, but I liked it. Really liked it.
I licked the spoon several more times and managed to finally pour the rest into a bowl and stick it in the fridge.
At which point, I licked the immersion blender clean, except for the blades. I know, aren’t you impressed with my self-restraint?
When I checked it later, it had thickened into a deliciously rich, deliciously thick pudding.
Magic!
Healthy chocolate pudding was born.
Though I did consider calling this "When you’ve only got one ripe banana and don’t know what to do with it” or “Chocolate must happen immediately,” but pudding seems *slightly* more descriptive.
OK, let's get to fixing. (Not cooking since we don't have to cook anything - yay!)
And definitely check out this healthy cookie dough if you love healthy snacks and desserts like this.
Ingredient Notes:
- Banana - Your banana needs to be very ripe since it's added sweetness to this recipe as well. I haven't tried substituting unsweetened applesauce, but that might work as well in a pinch.
- Cocoa powder - I use regular cocoa powder but a special dark version would be good, too.
- Peanut butter - Any brand of creamy peanut butter will do. You can substitute an almond butter or other nut butter if needed.
- Honey - I prefer this for the flavor but you could make this pudding with maple syrup instead. Or try agave.
- Oats - Regular old-fashioned rolled oats work great here. Quick cook oats would be a good fit as well. (Don't use steel cut oats though.)
Bonus points that this recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free (make sure to use certified gluten-free oats) as well as being naturally sweetened.
It can also be made vegan - just substitute maple syrup for the honey.
Pudding for everyone! Cause everyone should have some of this.
Speaking of, the recipe makes 2 large servings - about ½ cup each - and it's pretty filling.
You can double or triple the recipe if needed to make it for a group.
(Oh and if you love healthy dessert recipes and ideas like me, check out that link to a collection for more inspiration.)
Blend up this easy pudding next time you find yourself with a ripe banana. Or two - just double the recipe! (Check out these ripe banana recipes for more ideas.)
But please, be careful with those blender blades.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Healthy Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe banana
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup honey (see notes)
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor (I used my hand blender, since it’s a small batch) and blend very well, scraping down the sides if necessary.
- Pour into a bowl and cover and chill. The pudding thickens and sets up in 25-30 minutes.
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
You had me at 5 minute. I can't even wash my hair in 5 minutes... or put on my shoes that quickly (i'm slow), so if I can MAKE something in 5 minutes?! SCORE! This is seriously VERY clever, Kathryn!! I like turning my *ONE* banana into frozen "ice cream", but turning it into chocolate pudding?? DANG GENIUS! Boy will absolutely LOOOOVE this! And I am going to sub out the cocoa for white chocolate powder so I can LOOOOOVE it along with him! P.S. I am proud of your self restraint and BOTH of your other options for titles had me LMAO! <3 Cheers to a fabulous weekend, girlfriend!
Kathryn
Haha, thanks Cheyanne! What is it about necessity being the mother of invention? 🙂 The lone banana wins again! Hope you and the BOY enjoy your respective portions. Have a great weekend! XO
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile
What!!!?? This has just totally blown my mind!! Healthy + chocolatey = perfection!!!
Kathryn
Thanks Lucy! It blew my mind, too... right before I collected myself and devoured it 🙂 Happy weekend!
Laura | The Kiwi Country Girl
This is AWESOME!!! Guilt free 5 minute dessert?? YES!
Kathryn
Thanks Laura! I'm all about a chocolate dessert that's ready, oh, NOW 😉
Jessica Powell
The kiddos and are this recipe the time today! I'm grateful find healthier alternative to store variety. I'm pretty the sugars not 0 though.
Kathryn
Yay, I hope you love it! 🙂 And no, sugars shouldn't be zero- ha! I'll have to ask the tech people with my recipe plugin if there's some sort of glitch!
Krisztinke
This is brilliant! Thanks so much!!
Kathryn
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!
Ashley
Oh my! This is FABULOUS! I am always looking for a healthy treat that I don't feel too guilty eating and man this sure did the trick! I used a frozen banana to make it thick right away. Such goodness! Make it!
Kathryn
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Ashley! I made this again just recently too - so easy and so yummy! 😊
Bipasha Bhattacharya
I am a 12 year old and want to make it for my sis who has gluten allergy and she might have allergy with peanut butter also . Can't we make it WITHOUT peanut butter? P.s : I am doing it myself.
Kathryn
Hi there! You could certainly substitute another nut butter instead of the peanut butter for this recipe. You could also try substituting applesauce, but that will take away some of the richness from this pudding. Let me know how it goes!
Bipasha Bhattacharya
Thanks a lot 😊. I will certainly take a look everyday for your next upload! P.s.: It went great!
Laura D.
This was disgusting. To call this pudding is quite a stretch. Sadly no one would eat it in my house and I am having a hard time eating it to not waste the ingredients. I am disappointed because I really wanted to celebrate National Chocolate Pudding Day. 🙁
Kathryn
Hi Laura, I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy this, I know that's disappointing. I am so in love with it and upon seeing these pictures as I read your comment, my 8-year-old daughter begged me to make some for her today. I know others have made and loved it as well. I tried to make clear in the post that it's an invented pudding-like dessert so maybe it just wasn't what you were looking for. Hope you find something else to hit the spot!
Marilyn Vickers
I’ve just made this pudding for this evening, had a sneaky taste and it is gorgeous, I doubled the quantities as I made it for four people (used three bananas not 4) and I’m chilling it, maybe top with a little natural Greek yoghurt and a couple of chocolate chips for appearance although it looks yummy as it is! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Kathryn Doherty
Oh yay, I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank YOU for commenting! 😊
Shell Surgeon
Thank you for your great invention. I am 83+ and do my own cooking & baking, mill my own flour ,use raw honey, and for cookies, raw sugar. So, I was very happy to find this recipe. I hate corn starch, refine flour and refined sugar, main reason for type 2 diabetes.
For your recipe, I could not get it to loosen up in the stick blender and had to add a 1/4 cup of milk. It did work well though.
I live at 4300 feet in elevation so I have to change recipes and oven temps, etc. Especially in baking yeast bread.
I grew up when mom made a lot of Jello brand puddings. Tasty, but...
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy you found and love this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
Lisa Lisa
We use this as the topping to donuts for our kids. It is a huge hit!
Kathryn Doherty
Oooh, YUM! I love that idea!