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Ah, homemade vanilla pudding …. truly, one of the ultimate comfort foods especially when the weather turns cool.
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? What’s the point in that?
Homemade Vanilla Pudding
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 with nothing but wholesome ingredients.
The stovetop recipe for vanilla pudding below uses only six 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 is cheap vanilla flavoring. And, only milk is necessary to make it with no eggs or butter. These are important ingredients in this homemade recipe to make the pudding very filling so you don’t overeat!
How to Make Vanilla Pudding [VIDEO]
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 wonderful and warm straight from the pot with no need to refrigerate first unless you prefer your pudding served cold.
Homemade Vanilla Pudding Recipe
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
- 1/3 cup flour wheat based or gluten free
- 1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar
- 1 Tbl butter
- 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 minutes and serve warm.
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Refrigerate uneaten portion and use for homemade vanilla pudding cups for your children's lunches or for quick at home snacks.
Recipe Notes
You may substitute whole coconut milk (where to find) for a dairy free homemade vanilla pudding 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.
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
@Kimberly – yes, slightly clabbered/soured raw milk works well for pudding. If it is too sour though, best to use in scrambled eggs or quiche.
My husband is not only allergic to dairy, he’s also allergic to egg whites. What would be the best egg substitute for this recipe and still have it come out right?
Dawn, here’s a link to my post plus video on egg substitutes in cooking:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/video-the-best-baking-substitute-for-eggs/
I have to say…I can smell it cooking as you work…this looks magnificent. I cant wait to try this out. I have a dairy intolerant toddler…do you think I could also use Almond milk? He is a picky eater..but I bet he would love this as a treat! Thank you so much!
Yes, almond milk would work as would coconut milk. Make sure it’s homemade though as the almond and coconut milk in cartons at the store are not a good choice:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/coconut-and-almond-milk-in-cartons-not-a-healthy-buy/
Making this!
The Feds will probably remove it from the child’s lunch box..
haha, Susan! You are prolly right!
ha!!
-jason and lisa-
Would it be okay to use coconut flour?
Coconut flour just doesn’t thicken it right. Try arrowroot if you need a grain free thickener.
You could probably try potato starch or tapioca here as well. Those are usually interchangeable with cornstarch and arrowroot.
I recall that I heard that we can make pudding with clabbored milk as well– in other words, if our milk is past drinkable should we use it for pudding so it doesn’t go to waste?
Kimberly, I used milk that was past it’s prime (about three weeks old) – not clabbored but definately not something I’d want to drink straight up. It worked beautifully.
do you think raw goats milk will work about the same? love being able to see it all on video, it helps a lot!
Yes, raw goats milk would work beautifully as well.
You just gotta wonder what the Food Police at public schools would do with a homemade pudding cup in a child’s lunchbox? They would be scratching their heads on that one for sure!
Thanks for the recipe! I grew up on cornstarch puddings for breakfast, and I still make them for my son. I’m happy that I now have a recipe with more wholesome ingredients, like an alternative to white sugar, and butter. I also love that it contains eggs – my recipes don’t, and I go out of my way to sneak more eggs into his diet.
This looks delicious! We make homemade tapioca pudding, but I think my kids would really love to have vanilla pudding.
Your pudding recipe reminds me that after my Great-Grandma passed on, my mom inherited some of her old cookbooks. In them were delicious recipes for full-fat, homemade meals and desserts. These recipes call for less sugar than their modern counterparts. My Grammy used to make us custard and cook everything in animal fat. She lived until she was 98. Unfortunately, her last couple of years were full of store bought and assisted living foods that offered very little nutrition (and taste). As soon as she went to assisted living and stopped cooking for herself, I believe her health deteriorated greatly.
Thank you for sharing your recipe! We’ll make this tomorrow night for dinner, after we get some more good milk. 🙂
Wow, Beth what a treasure!! What were the titles of her cookbooks? I’d love to try to find them.