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Easy homemade vanilla pudding recipe, the ultimate comfort food, using just a few whole food ingredients just like Grandma used to make on the stovetop. Includes how-to video!
Ah, homemade vanilla pudding …. truly, one of the ultimate comfort foods.
Kids especially love pudding and a homemade pudding cup makes a wonderful healthy addition to the lunchbox if you make it yourself with wholesome ingredients.
Whatever you do, skip those pudding boxes from the supermarket. They are nothing but white sugar, GMO corn starch, artificial colors, and flavors plus preservatives.
Even if boxed pudding is made with good quality whole milk, the end result is not be something that would be of overall benefit. Kind of like raw milk served with a bowl of Fruit Loops, wouldn’t you agree?
It’s time to ditch the pudding boxes and processed pudding snack cups and learn how to make homemade vanilla pudding the old-fashioned way.
The stovetop recipe for vanilla pudding below uses only six, whole food ingredients.
Even the organic pudding boxes, while a much better choice, don’t compare nutritionally! The vanilla is not real vanilla extract, for example. It’s cheap vanilla flavoring. 🤮
Worse, only milk is required to make the boxed organic version, omitting the very important eggs and butter! These are critical ingredients to make the pudding very filling, which prevents overeating! The traditional inclusion of plentiful healthy fats also greatly slows the insulin response from consuming a sweet pudding treat.
Preparation and Serving Tips
In this video, I show you how my Grandma used to make vanilla pudding on the stovetop. She called it blancmange although she never bothered to set it in a mould as is sometimes done.
It serves up wonderfully warm straight from the pot with no need to refrigerate first unless you prefer your pudding served cold.
You may substitute whole coconut milk (where to find) for a dairy free version.
Organic cornstarch may be substituted for the flour. I don’t recommend arrowroot powder as the cooking of the pudding tends to reduce its thickening properties.
Stovetop Vanilla Pudding
Easy homemade vanilla pudding recipe, the ultimate comfort food, using only whole ingredients just like Grandma used to make.
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2 eggs extra large, preferably free range
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup flour preferably sprouted (wheat or gluten free)
- 1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 dash sea salt
Instructions
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Mix the flour and about a half cup of the milk in a small bowl and whisk until very smooth with no lumps.
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In a large saucepan, combine the flour/milk mixture, sugar and the rest of the milk. Cook and stir with a whisk over medium heat until the mixture starts to slightly bubble. Cook for 2 minutes more and remove saucepan from the heat.
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In a small glass bowl, beat eggs and then gradually stir in about 1-2 cups of the cooked mixture all the while whisking vigorously. Pour egg mixture into the saucepan and return to medium heat. Cook/stir until nearly bubbly but not a boil. Reduce heat and cook/stir for 2 more minutes.
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Remove pan of homemade vanilla pudding from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.
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Let vanilla pudding cool for 5-10 minutes on the counter to continue to thicken. Serve warm.
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Refrigerate uneaten portion and use for homemade vanilla pudding cups for your children's lunches or for quick snacks. Pudding will thicken even more when cold.
Recipe Video
Love pudding? Try these other recipes!
Egg Custard Pudding
Bread and Butter Pudding
Jello Pudding
Macademia Nut Pudding
Thai Custard Pudding
Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Russian Custard
Coconut Milk Pudding
Same result as Katrina…a tasty soup, but far from pudding…I think it might not be the arrowroot, but 1 cup too much of milk…???
If you overcook arrowroot, it loses its thickening power. It’s definitely tricky to use. Try a bit of flour next time if you are having trouble.
I have to say I am very disappointed in this recipe. 🙁 I searched online for a healthy banana pudding recipe and thought I’d try this, and just add some bananas and whipped cream. I followed the instructions to the letter, even watching the video while I made it. I used arrowroot powder to keep it grain free (initially). By the time I got to the end of the process, I had a very soupy mixture on my hands. I thought maybe the key was in letting it cool so it would thicken more. I put it in the fridge for two hours but still just had soupy, brown mixture. NOTHING like pudding at ALL. It literally slid off my spoon like a sauce. Determined, though, to have some pudding for my husband’s dessert this evening, I dumped it back in the pot and decided to try cooking it longer, even bringing it to a boil this time. Finally, it started to thicken…a little. Now it was more like a thick gravy, but definitely NOT pudding. After letting it cook at a low boil/simmer for several minutes, I finally broke down and put 1/3 cup whole wheat flour in, plus a few tablespoons extra and whisked it in to get a thickness that was sort of like pudding. The texture is not very smooth and the taste, while sweet and pleasant, is – again – nothing like pudding. Sigh. So much for a healthy pudding this evening. Here’s to a bowl full of sweet brown gravy. I’m just thankful my raw milk doesn’t cost a fortune here where I live or I would feel this to be a terrible waste of the precious white liquid!
Making this recipe with arrowroot is *definitely* tricker than using flour as the thickener. If you overcook arrowroot even for just a minute, it loses it’s thickening power. If you want to use a gluten free thickener, I would suggest a gluten free flour mix rather than arrowroot next time. It will give you much more reliability! I use this gluten free flour mix if I don’t make my own. http://amzn.to/2l8xkEb
Could you use stevia, honey, or agave in this recipe? They seem to be the only sweeteners I can use that don’t freak my system out.
I haven’t tried them myself, but give it a go. I would skip the honey though as cooking honey isn’t a healthful practice.
Here’s more info on that: https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/is-cooking-honey-unhealthy/
Thank you so much for this recipe and tutorial! I’m pregnant and craving pudding! Looked at the jello box at the store and the ingredient list was awful so I put it back and came home to look up a recipe. I thought I would find a recipe but it would be too hard. This recipe was so easy!!!! And everything I used was my organic ingredients!!! It’s cooling now! I can’t wait to eat it all up!!! Thank you!
This is yummy pudding!!
Here in Australia we call this custard & use it has a condiment for pudding, pudding is a self saucing cake that when you bake it it makes it’s own sauce on the bottom.
mmm Im going to make banana pudding pie:)
Could you use coconut flour instead and if so how much?
my 2 year old son begs for this pudding almost everyday! we all love it and it tastes a million times better than anything out of a box!
10 mins?! It takes me like 45 mins. Jealous!