This vanilla pudding is easy, creamy, and perfectly sweet! The best vanilla pudding you can make at home! So much better than store-bought.
Simple ingredients. The best vanilla pudding ever!
First of all, how are you guys holding up? I hope everyone is safe and healthy! These are some weird ass times to say the least.
With flour at a premium these days, I had to look at other ways to satisfy our occasional dessert craving. One of the easiest desserts that we turn to often is this very simple but classic homemade vanilla pudding.
There’s nothing complicated about this recipe. And the results are super delicious and satisfying. I’ve never been a fan of store-bought vanilla pudding. Even as a kid – if you can believe that. But now that I make my own, I could never have enough of it.
Why I love making this vanilla pudding recipe
- Super simple to make.
- And quick to whip up.
- The base ingredients are simple and can almost always be found at home.
- Versatile recipe that can easily be upgraded, or changed to your taste.
- This recipe is gluten free, and can be made dairy free too!
- Make it as thick or as thin as you like.
- Perfect for serving with fruit or cake.
Vanilla pudding is a lighter version of pastry cream (or custard), but made with the same ingredients. My husband likes his pudding super thick and set, whereas I like mine to be thick but creamy. And you can make this either way – depending on your preference.
Reduce the cornstarch even more and make a classic vanilla pudding that is less thick. Either way, this is an adaptable vanilla pudding recipe that your family will love!
Ingredients for homemade vanilla pudding
This is also why homemade vanilla pudding is so much better than store-bought. Just a handful of ingredients, and no preservatives at all.
- Milk
- Egg yolks
- Cornstarch (or cornflour in the UK/AUS)
- Vanilla
- Butter
How to make homemade vanilla pudding even better
- Substitute half of the milk with evaporated milk, OR
- Add a little dry milk powder to the mixture.
- Add a touch of salt. I always do this because salt elevates dessert. ALWAYS.
- If you can, use vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste.
- You could even use vanilla infused sugar instead of regular sugar.
- Add 2 tbsp of bourbon or rum (for the adults of course).
So, let’s do this!
Making homemade vanilla pudding is easy.
In one bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch and about 1/4 cup of the milk. Make sure the mixture is nice and smooth. You can also mix all the sugar cornstarch and salt with the egg yolks if you are planning on infusing the milk with any flavors.
In a medium saucepan, place the rest of the milk, sugar and salt (if using). Heat milk + sugar mixture until it starts to steam and the sugar dissolves completely. You do NOT need to bring the milk to a boil.
The next step is to add the egg yolks. However, you need to temper the egg yolks BEFORE you add it to the milk. If you add the eggs directly to the hot milk, you will end up with scrambled eggs.
Tempering eggs
Take about 1/2 cup (or more) of the hot milk and slowly pour it into the egg – cornstarch mix, while whisking constantly. This will raise the temperature of the egg mixture, without scrambling it. Then, it’ll be safe to add the warmed milk mixture back into the hot milk mixture. Whisk to combine.
Return the milk mixture to the stove and heat it again. Heat and whisk the pudding base constantly. Make sure to whisk all the corners and the bottom of the saucepan to prevent the custard from sticking. The custard will now start to thicken.
When the pudding mixture comes to a boil (bubbles will break the surface), remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla. Whisk the butter in until it has melted and completely mixed into the pudding.
Cover the pudding with plastic wrap, while making sure the plastic wrap is touching the whole surface of the pudding. This prevents a skin from forming on the surface.
Let the pudding chill in fridge for at least a few hours until completely chilled.
Once chilled, the pudding should be set (if you make the thicker version). My husband prefers the “set version” that you can scoop like jello. But I like to whisk the chilled pudding, which then becomes a really thick but creamy pudding consistency.
If you make the runny version, then this isn’t an issue.
Top it with some berry coulis or fresh berries and whipped cream and serve!
How to substitute ingredients
This is already gluten free because this recipe uses cornstarch.
Instead of white sugar, you can substitute brown sugar for a butterscotch version.
Add 2 tbsp of cocoa powder for an easy chocolate pudding version.
Add some chopped ripe bananas for a classic banana pudding.
Mix in some espresso powder to make a coffee pudding instead.
Or instead of milk and butter, use any plant-based milk and butter for a dairy free version.
Use coconut milk and top it with toasted coconut for a coconut pudding.
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Homemade Vanilla Pudding
Ingredients:
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tbsp dry milk powder (optional)
- ¾ cup sugar for a sweet version, (add only ½ cup or 100 g for a less sweet version)
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tbsp cornstarch 2 tbsp (20 g) for a thinner version
- 2 tsp good quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, place the egg yolks, cornstarch and about ¼ cup of the milk. Whisk to form a smooth paste. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, place the rest of the milk, milk powder (if using), sugar and salt. Heat over medium heat and whisk to dissolve the sugar and salt. Heat until the milk starts to steam.
- Remove the milk from the heat.
- Place the bowl with the egg yolk mixture on a non-slip surface (e.g. on a cloth napkin or non-slip mat).
- Take about ½ cup of the hot milk and slowly pour it into the egg yolk mixture, while whisking the egg yolk mixture constantly. Here you're only adding enough milk to warm the egg yolk mixture.
- Add the warmed egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the hot milk.
- Heat the pudding mixture while whisking constantly until it starts to thicken. Make sure you reach the edges and the bottom of the saucepan as well while whisking. Otherwise the pudding will catch at the bottom of the pan and become lumpy and burnt.
- Whisk and heat the pudding mixture until a few bubbles break the surface.
- Remove the pudding from the heat and add the vanilla extract and softened butter. Whisk until the butter completely melts and mixes in with the pudding, along with the vanilla.
- Transfer the pudding into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap touches the whole surface of the pudding (this is to prevent a skin from forming on the surface).
- Let it chill in the fridge for at least a few hours, or until the pudding is completely chilled.
- Remove the plastic wrap and scoop the pudding into individual bowls. If you like a thinner, creamier pudding, whisk the set vanilla pudding with a whisk until smooth and creamy (using a balloon whisk). This can then be spooned into individual bowls for serving.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Jehrica M says
Thanks! God bless!
Amy F says
I changed the recipe so that is why it didn’t work for me, but I WILL try it again! I don’t make any deserts or breads with ANY sugar, so I googled and found someone who said to replace sugar with a banana, divide the sugar amount in half and that is your amount of banana. I did this and it all tastes good BUT after 3 hours it still won’t set, I am thinking because the banana acted like a liquid and so the cornstarch needed to be more? What do you or anyone think?
Dini says
Hi Amy
Changing ingredients can definitely change the outcome of recipes.
I don’t know why the banana would have prevented the cornstarch from thickening though. Since I haven’t made pudding the same way as you have, I can’t give you an exact answer.
I do know that cornstarch is activated by boiling, so it is REALLY important that the milk mixture boils (bubbles coming to the surface). Only then will the cornstarch activate and thicken the milk. Most people don’t let the milk boil properly, and so the cornstarch doesn’t thicken the milk.
If the volume of the milk with the banana added, is greater than the volume of milk with the sugar added, then you will need to add more cornstarch. But again, I cannot comment on the substitutions, as I haven’t tried it myself.
amyF says
THANKS for your quick response! For sure the amount of banana and milk together were less than the combo of milk and sugar and I did let a few bubbles pop on the surface, but I started to see the cornstarch “thickening” in streaks as I stirred, so I thought this was not going to be the correct consistency so I pulled it off… will try it again and let you know!
Dini says
Hi Amy
No problem!
If the amount was less, then it is likely the pudding will be thicker than what I made as well. Banana is also thick in consistency adding to that! I would still cook it a little further so that the base is uniformly thick and bubbling (make sure to whisk so it doesn’t catch at the bottom). The result will be a thicker than usual pudding, but it should still taste good.
I hope that helps! And good luck!
Kat says
This is perfect! 🙂 May i know for how long the vanilla pudding will keep?
Dini says
Hi Kat
Ours never really last longer than 3 days. But due to the eggs in the pudding, I wouldn’t recommend keeping it longer than 5 days.
I hope that helps
Patty says
Hi! Can I make this with 2% milk? Love the idea of using vanilla bean paste.
Dini says
Hi Patty
Yes you can make this with 2% milk.
I hope that helps!
Becky says
My kids and I were talking about what the wanted for school lunches and one of them mentioned pudding. I said that we should try homemade. We have made 3 batches of this in 2 days. So good and so easy. Thank you for sharing!
Diana says
I only had 1 egg so I used the whole egg instead of 2 yolks. I also used 2/3 cups of sugar. It turned out great!
Charon says
Delicious recipe, made this yesterday and woke up to make it again today. It almost tastes like a custard it’s so rich. I used half evaporated milk.
KT says
This was an easy recipe to make with ingredients I usually have around. I made it twice, the thin and thick version, both equally yummy good.
Mary Todhunter says
use to be recipe on the corn starch Box they don’t do that no more so I am glad I found this recipe. what I like to do when I make this, get a Box a Graham cracker crust and put the crust after you mix it up on the bottom of the Pan and on the sides poor pudding in while it is hot, coat the top with more Graham cracker, and put it in the fridge to cool your family will love it.
Dini says
Thank you Mary, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Ceci says
I made this today and it was delicious but it didn’t set well. I noticed in your photos you show four eggs but in your recipe you said two. I went with the recipe and I’m assuming that was the culprit.
My question is .. Is it two eggs or four?
Dini says
Hi Ceci
As noted in the photo caption you mentioned, the ingredients were for a double batch. So 2 egg yolks is the correct amount.
Vanilla pudding doesn’t set like jello, it’s a pudding with a thick consistency as noted in the pictures.
If it didn’t thicken at all, it’s likely because the pudding wasn’t boiled to activate the cornstarch or the cornstarch wasn’t measured properly (packed tablespoons). I hope that helps!
BigRed says
This is a super EASY recipe, and delicious , too.
What makes it SOUND complicated is the tempering .
I’ve made his many times now WITHOUT tempering the eggs. Just add the eggs to the cold milk, and let them heat together until done.
Perfect every time.
Sheza Neospinster says
Perfect with the lesser amount of sugar and higher amount of cornstarch. My new go-to pudding!
Iris McSwain says
I really loved this recipe. It’s just like what my Mother made for us many years ago. So glad I found it.
Christine F Nelson says
This is by far the absolute best pudding I have ever made. Since I printed this recipe a couple months ago, I have made it at least once a week. My DH and I enjoy it with sliced banana. I take care of a wonderful 90 y/o lady, who is not interested in eating much anymore, but when I took her some of this pudding, she perked right up, ate the entire serving, and asked for more. I know take it to her every time I make it. Thank you for such a great comfort food recipe. We all need a little more comfort food these trying days.