5 Ingredient Homemade Chocolate Pudding

This chocolate pudding is not your typical grocery store pudding cup! It’s thicker and creamier than a mousse, but just as decadent and rich. It’s the perfect quick after-school treat with ingredients you can feel good about, or an indulgent dessert for later!

For more delicious pudding, try our Salted Caramel Rice Pudding or our From Scratch Banana Pudding.

This homemade pudding is all about that rich, chocolatey goodness that’s smooth as silk. And with just five ingredients, it’s my go-to for a quick and easy sweet treat. You can serve it on its own or use it to make a trifle, an easy chocolate pie, or a dip for your favorite fruits. You can totally dress this pudding up or down depending on the day or occasion!

Ingredient Notes

• Butter: Adds richness and provides a fat to bind with the thickening agent.
• Cornstarch: Acts as a thickener, giving the pudding its classic, firm texture.
• Heavy Cream: Contributes to the creamy and smooth texture of the pudding. Use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream. We much prefer the heavy whipping cream for that extra luxurious taste, but it is also possible to use whole milk.
• Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the pudding and balances the bitterness of the chocolate.
• Chocolate Chips: Semi-sweet chocolate chips are the primary source of chocolate flavor in the pudding. Use dark chocolate chips for a less sweet, more intense chocolate flavor, or go for milk chocolate chips.

Chocolate Options

You need to use high-quality chocolate in this recipe. We love semi-sweet in chocolate pudding, but you can also use milk chocolate, or go even darker with a higher cacao percentage. Our favorite brand is Guittard, but we also like Ghirardelli, and Lindt baking chocolate.

Serving Suggestions

Presentation: Serve in plastic cups, mini glass jars, champagne flutes, or even small cocottes for an easy, grab-and-go dessert. It looks cute and makes serving a breeze!

Toppings: Keep it simple and give it a light dusting of cocoa powder, or make it fancy with chocolate shavings. Just take a vegetable peeler and use it to shave a chocolate bar into little chocolate curls. Or top with fresh berries for a pop of color.

As a Pie: This pudding is wonderful as a chocolate pie. You will want to double the recipe if you are filling a 9-inch pie plate that is one and a half inches deep or deeper. You can also just prepare the recipe as directed and add a layer of whipped cream.

In a Trifle: Layer pudding with pieces of cake (angel food, sponge cake, or pound cake), whipped cream, and your favorite berries. This simple dessert tastes just as good as it looks!