Our Best Pudding Recipes

Updated April 22, 2019
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Hector M. Sanchez Styling: Victoria Cox

Sometimes you just want a dessert you don’t have to chew. Thankfully, there’s pudding: Creamy, sweet, and wholly comforting. We rounded up our best classic pudding recipes, from homemade chocolate pudding to nostalgic rice pudding we've got all of your custardy favorites coming right up. 

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Coconut Rice Pudding with Strawberry-Nectarine Compote

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Hadas Smirnoff

Coconut Rice Pudding with Strawberry-Nectarine Compote Recipe

Layers of creamy rice pudding and a chunky fruit compote add up to a dreamy dessert with a nice crunch from pistachios. Make ahead and chill or serve warm–either way is delicious.

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Chocolate-and-Peanut Butter Banana Pudding

Credit: Meredith Food Studios

Chocolate-and-Peanut Butter Banana Pudding Recipe

This decadent chocolate-peanut butter banana pudding is easy to make and perfect for a crowd. It’s a staff favorite from The All-New Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook.

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Creamy Classic Rice Pudding

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Creamy Classic Rice Pudding Recipe

If you’ve never tried rice pudding, the concept may seem a little strange, but trust us—this toasty, creamy, carb-based custard is just about the most comforting dessert you’ll ever encounter. Give this easy to follow recipe for classic rice pudding a try and taste for yourself. 

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Spaghetti Pudding

Credit: Kelsey Hansen; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Styling: Liz Mervosh

Spaghetti Pudding Recipe

Spaghetti pudding may sound strange, but that sure didn’t keep us from going back for seconds (or thirds). Similar to bread pudding or rice pudding, this playful sweet twist on baked spaghetti is enriched with a vanilla custard and delivers all the comfort food vibes one could ever crave. Finished with a vibrant strawberry “red sauce” and chocolate truffle “meatballs,” this decadent dessert is as fun to serve as it is delicious to eat. 

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Roasted Banana Pudding

Credit: Oxmoor House

Roasted Banana Pudding Recipe

Many folks say banana pudding is best the next day, after the flavors have blended overnight and the cookies have softened.

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Dirt Pudding

Dirt Pudding Recipe

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Tropical Coconut Pudding

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Tropical Coconut Pudding Recipe

Top this pudding with any ripe fruit. If you're looking for crunchy texture, gild it with crushed banana chips or chopped macadamia nuts.

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Rice Pudding

Credit: Photo by Jake Laub

Peanut Butter and Jelly Rice Pudding Recipe

As a cofounder of Wanderlust, a series of large-scale events combining yoga, wellness, and the arts, Jeff Krasno has made a career of teaching people how to be mindful. Sometimes, the start of that journey can be as simple as cooking for yourself, even if it's just peanut butter and jelly rice pudding. "Cooking is a gateway to developing a deep connection with food. If nothing else, make your own coffee," Krasno explained in an email to Extra Crispy. "That’s a start. As soon as you do, the world starts opening up." Helping those who want to start cultivating their best selves through food is the goal of his newest book, <em>Wanderlust Find Your True Fork: Journeys in Healthy, Delicious, and Ethical Eating</em>.

Krasno highlights the work of ten different chefs who "represent a wide variety of food approaches, from Ayurveda to raw, vegetarian to paleo," but all who have "used what they eat to enhance their lives and, in some cases, heal themselves." That's true of Australian chef Guy Turland, who Krasno also describes as a "restauranteur, cookbook author, surfer, free-diver, and TV host. What stands out to Krasno about Turland's style of cooking is, "the delicate balance between hearty and light. It’s comfort food that won’t slow you down—perfect for the surfer, climber and athlete."

And Turland's ability to create delicious food with comforting flavors that is also ethically sourced couldn't be more obvious than with this recipe for vegan peanut butter and jelly rice pudding. As Krasno recommends, "For the seasonal berry 'jelly' part of this recipe, feel free to use any in-season berries, or try pomegranate arils during the cold months."

Peanut Butter-and-Jelly Rice Pudding

Reprinted from Wanderlust Find Your True Fork by Jeff Krasno. Copyright (c) 2017 by Jeff Krasno. By permission of Rodale Books.

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Double Chocolate Pudding

Double Chocolate Pudding Recipe

Semi-sweet and white chocolate combine to make an over-the-top dessert that pleases both adults and kids, plus kids-at-heart. Garnish with fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

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Butterscotch Pudding

Credit: Randy Mayor; Jan Gautro

Butterscotch Pudding Recipe

Vitamin D aids calcium absorption in dairy foods. One serving of this dish offers about one-fifth of your daily calcium needs. Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg.

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Lemon Puddings with Candied Lemon Zest

Credit: Con Poulos

Lemon Puddings with Candied Lemon Zest Recipe

This amazing pudding sets from the acid in the lemon juice; there's no need to add gelatin. The texture is best when the puddings are allowed to firm up overnight.

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Red Velvet Pudding Shots

Credit: Lauren Musgrove

Red Velvet Pudding Shots Recipe

Nothing tastes and looks like the holidays quite like a classic red velevet cake. Easier to prepare, these dessert shots capture all of the rich goodness of red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting; it's a boozy treat everyone is sure to love. Make these shots as instructed for a Christmas party or top with edible metallic sprinkles for a festive New Years treat.

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Ginger-Infused Japanese Rice Pudding

Credit: Howard Lee Puckett; Styling: Mindi Shapiro-Levine

Ginger-Infused Japanese Rice Pudding Recipe

This heavenly rice pudding recipe is a must-serve on cool days or afternoons when you simply must have a special treat.

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Vanilla Rice Pudding 

Vanilla Rice Pudding  Recipe

Dessert: Be smart and you can treat yourself without breaking the rules! 150 calories and under. This healthy recipe is featured in the dessert section of the new 5:2 Starter's Guide to The 2-Day Diet. The book provides a selection of over 100 tasty recipes to help you meet the daily 500 calorie allotment for the 2 days of intermittent fasting, as required by the 5:2 Diet.

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Pumpkin Pie Pudding

Credit: Jonny Valiant; Styling: Deborah Williams

Pumpkin Pie Pudding Recipe

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Turtle Cheesecake Pudding Shots

Credit: Lauren Musgrove

Turtle Cheesecake Pudding Shots Recipe

These layered dessert shooters sure aren't your mama's turtle candies.Take everything you love about the turtle flavor combo (caramel, chocolate, and pecan) and mix in Bailey's Irish Cream for a grown-up version of the classic candy treat. Top each shot with all of the chocolate and caramel that your heart desires. 

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Meyer Lemon Sponge Pudding

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Meyer Lemon Sponge Pudding Recipe

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Vanilla Bean Pudding

Credit: Randy Mayor

Vanilla Bean Pudding Recipe

Vanilla beans can be expensive, but their superior flavor is worth the investment. Substitute vanilla paste or one teaspoon real vanilla extract if necessary. Stir extract in with the butter.

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Rocky Road Chocolate Chia Pudding

Credit: Thomas J. Story; Prop Styling: Joni Noe

Rocky Road Chocolate Chia Pudding Recipe

Chia seeds give this no-cook dessert a silky, lightly chewy texture like tapioca pudding. The recipe comes from the outdoor cooking experts behind the blog Dirty Gourmet, dirtygourmet.com.

GEAR 2-qt. backpacking saucepan, Nalgene bottle (for measuring), spork, backpacking ladle, small grater (or small cutting board and knife)

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Mint Chocolate Pudding Shots

Credit: Lauren Musgrove

Mint Chocolate Pudding Shots Recipe

Mint meets chocolate in a dessert shot. What could be better than your favorite sweet combo with a boozy added bonus? These shots are perfect for your next holiday or New Years Eve party. 

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Chocolate Banana Puddings

Credit: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Chocolate Banana Puddings Recipe

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pudding

Credit: Johnny Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pudding Recipe

Supereasy. Try bananas on top.

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Chocolate-Buttermilk Pudding

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Chocolate-Buttermilk Pudding Recipe

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White Chocolate-Cherry Rice Pudding

Credit: Oxmoor House

White Chocolate-Cherry Rice Pudding Recipe

When you're looking for a quick dessert, turn to this superfast pudding that's spiced with ground cinnamon and flecked with cherries. This shortcut method of using an instant pudding mix delivers the characteristic creamy texture of rice pudding without the long cooking time.

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Coconut-Banana Pudding

Credit: Hector M. Sanchez Styling: Victoria Cox

Coconut-Banana Pudding Recipe

The recipe below feeds a crowd, family-style, but can be halved and served in individual bowls.

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