Traditional Egg Custard Pudding

Delicious, nourishing egg custard made the traditional way, loaded with healthy fats for your creamy enjoyment as the ultimate comfort food.

Egg custard pudding was my favorite treat growing up. 

I usually made a couple of bowls a week at my Grandparents’ house, who lived not far down the road.

My Grandfather, also a huge egg custard fan, and I would happily enjoy a bowl while sitting in his favorite chair, watching baseball on the rabbit-eared black and white TV in the living room.

Egg custard was basically the only thing I could cook in my middle school years, and it didn’t really get much better until I had kids!

The reason I learned how to make this one dish at my Grandparents’ house at such an early age was my nearly constant craving for eggs, which were rarely served in my own home.

I have no idea why I craved eggs so much –  I don’t crave them at all anymore probably because I get so many good fats elsewhere in my diet and eggs are often on the menu. 

I think these tween cravings were likely because the wholesome fats in the yolk provided such excellent nourishment at such a fast-growing and hormonally charged time of life.

In my opinion, egg custard is a great first dish to teach your children (along with scrambled eggs). When you skip the white sugar in most versions and substitute unprocessed, whole cane sugar or dark maple syrup instead, the flavor even resembles flan!

If your children are tweens or teens and still haven’t shown much interest in cooking (this is an important life skill to teach!), haul them into the kitchen and show them how to whip up a bowl of egg custard or another healthy dessert recipe that might interest them. 

Be sure to serve each bowl with a spoonful of homemade whipped cream on top.

More Homestyle Puddings to Enjoy!

While this egg custard recipe uses dairy milk, there are many ways to make nondairy pudding if you prefer. Here are some alternative recipes to consider.

• Jello Pudding
• Thai Custard Pudding
• Russian Custard
• Pumpkin Pudding
• Coconut Milk Pudding

4.18 from 41 votes

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Classic Egg Custard Recipe

An easy, traditional recipe for egg custard pudding that will delight both young and old with its rich flavor and easy digestibility.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword baked, classic, healthy, natural sweetener, traditional, whole food

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 8

Calories 137 kcal

Author Sarah Pope

Ingredients

• 6 eggs preferably pastured or free range
• 3 cups whole milk preferably grassfed
• 1/2 cup maple syrup preferably dark or Grade B
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• ground nutmeg optional

Instructions

1. Crack eggs into a medium-sized, oven safe glass bowl (I use this one) and whip until just blended.

2. Add sea salt and vanilla and mix well. Blend in maple syrup and whole milk with a whisk.

3. Bake egg custard in the same mixing bowl at 400 °F/204 °C for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned on top, and a knife inserted in the center of the bowl comes out clean. 

4. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the optional nutmeg on top.

5. Egg custard is delicious served warm! After the bowl is cooled, refrigerate leftovers for up to 4-5 days.

Recipe Notes

Goat or cow milk both work well in this recipe.

If you wish to use duck eggs instead of chicken eggs, use 4 instead of 6 eggs. Duck eggs are quite a bit larger than chicken eggs.

Nutrition Facts

Classic Egg Custard Recipe

Amount Per Serving (0.5 cup)

Calories 137 Calories from Fat 61

% Daily Value*

Fat 6.8g10%

Saturated Fat 3g15%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 3g

Cholesterol 149mg50%

Sodium 128mg5%

Potassium 210mg6%

Carbohydrates 11.5g4%

Sugar 10g11%

Protein 7.4g15%

Vitamin A 351IU7%

Vitamin C 1.7mg2%

Calcium 133mg13%

Iron 0.7mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.