Fork and Beans

Making food fun for the family

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

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Yesterday, my favorite little man came over and we had a contemplative conversation about leprechauns. With a sense of trepidation in his voice, he asked me if I ever caught one and if I knew how big they really are. Seeing that I never personally set up a leprechaun trap, I really had no clue how to answer it. I guesstimated a range of 1-2 feet. Anyone know if I came close? We decided to be certain, once and for all, and created our very own version of a leprechaun trap.  No leprechaun has ever been known to decline chocolate, and what better way to further entice the little men than into a jar of vegan chocolate pudding?  So we got to working immediately in the kitchen.

RELATED: Dairy Free Banana Pudding

Vegan Chocolate Pudding (that happens to be actually be HEALTHY) made with this secret ingredient...and psst, it's not avocado!

Vegan Chocolate Pudding (that happens to be actually be HEALTHY) made with this secret ingredient…and psst, it’s not avocado! 

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Vegan Chocolate Pudding

  • Author: Fork & Beans
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 10 mins
  • Yield: 4 Servings 1x
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Ingredients

  • 1 c. raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour and then drained (optional to soak)
  • 1 c. nondairy milk
  • 1 c. sweet potato, cooked (approx. 2 small sweet potatoes)
  • 1/4 c. maple syrup (add more if you want sweeter)
  • 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
  • pinch of sea salt

Instructions

  1. Throw everything into a high-speed blender until smooth.
  2. That’s it.
  3. Not even kidding.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Serving
  • Calories: 325
  • Sugar: 5g
  • Sodium: 23mg
  • Fat: 18g
  • Carbohydrates: 38g
  • Fiber: 5g
  • Protein: 9g

 

RELATED: DIY Chocolate Pudding Snack Packs

We wanted our vegan chocolate pudding to be healthy so we searched the kitchen for new and unique ways to recreate an old classic. We tried using a banana with a mix of cashews but no matter how much cocoa powder we used, you could still taste the banana and we found it off-putting. We knew that the leprechauns would too. So there we were in this dilemma. I have seen people use avocado in their puddings but I didn’t want to chance it. Avocados are like jewels in this household and I’d be damned if I tested with them only to have them wasted with no success. Besides, it’s everywhere you look so how different would that be?? But then it occurred to me like a lightening bolt: SWEET POTATO! It was eye-balling me on the counter: It’s smooth, creamy, slightly sweet and it’s the perfect pureed blend for this pudding. My intuition proved spot on!

Vegan Chocolate Pudding (that happens to be actually be HEALTHY) made with this secret ingredient...and psst, it's not avocado!

 

RELATED: Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

Of course, sampling had to be made (just to make sure that that leprechauns will like it) so I scooped up 2 small bowl-fulls of chocolate pudding and my favorite little man and I ate, eyes wide open, with pure delight. Why have I not been making homemade pudding??

Vegan Chocolate Pudding (that happens to be actually be HEALTHY) made with this secret ingredient...and psst, it's not avocado!

 

Come this St. Patrick’s Day, if all goes as planned and the magic stays intact inside these chocolate pudding cups, I will have scored myself a leprechaun. Then I will know finally how tall they really are*.

Happy Trappings.

*No real leprechauns were hurt in the making of this post.

 

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I love the idea of sweet potatoes in chocolate pudding. So glad to find this site! I have Celiac and we have 3/4 of our family dairy free. Thank you for sharing your recipes.

    Reply

  6. If Bill Cosby approves of this, could you move on to Pudding Pops next? I loved those things! We never had them at my house, but a cousin of mine always had them in their freezer. It was always a great treat to snatch one whenever I was there. If you do make Pudding Pops, I promise to buy a colorful sweater and pose with it! 🙂

    Good luck catching a Leprechaun or two. They’re wily.

    (Oh, and your pudding looks mouthwateringly good!)

    Reply

    • If I do Pudding Pops, then I will have to perfect and record my Bill Cosby dance for all to see 🙂 I also will be expecting that picture of you in that sweater…

      Reply

  7. I love this. When my kids were little, their first grade teacher had them build leprechaun traps on St Pat’s eve. I spent the night making little leprechaun accessories to put in the trap (little wooden pipes, walking sticks, hats, etc) so when they woke up it would look like the leprechaun had just left and barely escaped their trap. It was a tradition we carried on until they were in their teens …

    Reply

    • This is the cutest thing ever! I absolutely love how you made the accessories–so much so that I must do so as well 🙂 Does it matter if I put the wooden pipes in the night before and then wake up the next morning believing that a leprechaun had actually escaped? It that weird? 🙂 ha Thanks for this, Lisa!

      Reply

  8. This reminds me of that (rather gross) song: “the littlest worm I ever saw was stuck inside my soda straw…”. Except this is awesome, not gross!

    Reply

    • hahaha! I never heard of that, however, I will say that I was singing, “Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me. Guess I’ll go eat worms.” What a depressing song, really… xo!

      Reply

  9. Love the little pots ‘o leprechaun goo and the green worms!
    How is it that I never treated you to Darby o’Gill and the Little People??? It’s a fave and the 2nd movie I saw as a kid at the drive-in (the very 1st was another Disney *of course* movie, Bambie). I think at one time (I was very, very young!) I believed the little people lived just outside my bedroom window – must be that little touch of Irish in me from Mamaw.
    Great post me darlin girl! 🙂

    Reply

    • Was that last line said in your Irish accent, mum? hehe. You thinking the little people lived outside your bedroom window is the same as me thinking that E.T. was always lurking around my bedroom door 🙂 Scared the living daylights out of me…
      xo!!

      Reply

      • Yes, that was my Irish accent 😉
        My memory was a good feeling or maybe they were from Gulliver’s Travels -like I said….I was young! How could E.T. be frightening? Now, the Banshees…they were scary!
        XOXOXO

        Reply

  10. See this is why i will send my kids to u.. i am fine with a few coffee episodes if 99% of the time they come back happy with green worms and pudding and happy faces!
    those worms are so icky and super cool at the same time!:)) and the pudding will surely catch anyone you want to trap.. and everyone else you dont want to trap too!

    Reply

    • HAHA! I will never have kids of my own because I will be too busy feeding everyone else’s children crafty foods 🙂 Bring ’em on over, Richa!

      Reply

  11. OMG Cara so FUN; Jello Worms made from a straw, craziness!

    I am pretty sure there are 2 kinds of leprechauns – the ones that live in the woods at the begining of the rainbow are about 2-3 inches in height (pocket size) the ones who live at the end of the rainbow gaurding the pot of gold are about 1-3 feet depending on how much chocolate pudding and worms they have eaten dictates their size 🙂

    Reply

    • They were a total pain in the butt trying to figure out though! I had to google it and see if anyone else has done it before {soooo many people have, shocker!} but I finally had the last say in my method. I will be staring down the leprechaun to eat every inch of it! 🙂 ha! xo

      Reply

  14. Oh that straw idea is wicked knickers…. have to try it with some agar agar 🙂 Oh how I love pudding and worrrrrrrrrrms! Maybe this would entice Misty away from real dirt and worms which seem to be a favourite snack at the moment. Gross.

    Reply

    • Um, gross is right! I mean, I used to enjoy a delicious snack of dirt mist myself but worms??? We must break this habit from Misty indeed! P.S. Stealing wicked knickers. Man, non-Americans have the best lingo 🙂 xo

      Reply

  17. I need to make these gummis! I have tried before with … subpar results. 😉

    I want to come play in your kitchen, especially if you actually catch that leprechaun!!

    Reply

    • You could even try it will agar agar flakes {if you cannot have real gelatin} . I was debating between the 2 and just went with what was easier 🙂 Good luck this time around, and definitely come join me some time soon. The more ,the merrier 🙂 xoxo!

      Reply

  18. My neighbors once brought my boys a bag of “dirt with worms.” It used a similar jello worm trick except the worms were pink. It was entirely too realistic. I like the green worms better. I think Leprechauns will like the green ones, too. Also, apparently Leprechauns are the dogs of the fairy world. You know how dogs can range in size from “Fits in a Teacup” to “Ride it Like a Horse?” The Internet says (yes, it really does know everything) that they can be anywhere from ankle high to three feet tall!

    Reply

    • My leprechaun skills have not faded away, I see. I was close! I love how you googled it too, B. hehe. next on the list: make realistic worms to freak Brooke out with…

      Reply

      • The Internet is my drug. It has the answers to everything and directions on how to do it. The day pink worms start crawling through your pudding is the day I throw up right smack on my keyboard… And then I’ll Google how to get vomit out of keyboards…

        Reply

    • Hooray–the little one will love making this with you and love eating it, too!! My favorite part is the chocolate mustache one gets from eating the pudding 🙂 Hope you like it, Jess…

      Reply

  22. Didn’t Darby O’Gill do it with poteen (whisky) and sunlight? And who cares anyway, watch the movie to see a very young Sean Connery sing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTwmjOySDjA&feature=related or at least do it for St. Patrick.
    I don’t know if chocolate pudding and green worms work on leprechauns but they worked for me, Bendable straws were a stroke of genius. I wonder if you could tape something across the bottom, use a funnel to fill them and stand them upright in a jar? Yes. I know I’m delusional, it makes me happy. The only way I could be happier if I were 5 years old and being catered to by Auntie Cara.

    Reply

    • Laurel, we have the same brain about the tape and funnel!!! And the answer is No, no it does not work {said in a very frustrated tone!} That was attempt number 1 at its finest…which I tried to do over and over again with utter failure. The 5 year old kept my potty mouth in check 🙂

      Reply

    • The thing about the thing, is what the thing is all about…dooaaahhh. <–My Bill Cosby impersonation {said with my lips puckered and neck moving in circles} That was fun, let's do another one. hehe xo!

      Reply

  24. I totally remember dirt cups in elementary school ..they were the creme de la creme. Little containers of joy and amazement! You’re the best as per usual. .. .

    Reply

    • They really were, right???! I remember they were served at a birthday party in the 5th grade and I was transfixed by them ever since. I mean, really, 22 years of waiting to recreate a dessert is a bit obsessive though, right?

      Reply

  25. Haha – what a fabulous post! I love every part of it. If I were a leprechaun, I would definitely be drawn in by that pudding and gummy worms. Wait, what am I saying… I AM drawn in! Does that make me a leprechaun? If so, then to answer your question, leprechauns are approximately 5 1/2 feet tall. 😛

    Reply

    • My first leprechaun!! No one told me that I could catch one through blog posting. Oh what a victorious day this is!! My, how tall you are too 🙂 hehe
      Hi Willow–thanks for such a fun comment. xo

      Reply

    • Amanda, if only you saw the progression of thought {and error} to get to this point! baha. I think I still have gummy worm juice hidden all over the kitchen. Thank you so much for this sweet comment! xo

      Reply

  28. I recommend a viewing of Darby O’Gill and the Little People. I believe there is some leprechaun trapping in that movie and you get a good idea of how they compare in size to us humanoids. This has been a favorite film of mine since I was about 6 years old but I have to warn you – the banshees (as intended) still scare the crap outta me.

    Again, we are in each others minds. I made some raw and not raw chocolate chia pudding last week with some avocado, hemp milk, cocoa, and chia seed…(not raw version choco chip and applesauce). I’ve been dragging my feet on posting.

    This look delish!!

    Reply

  29. Everything about this post is gorgeous, just gorgeous! I’ve not made chocolate pudding but looking at your ingredient listing I’m not really sure why. I bought cacao nibs just yesterday (for the first time) so the children and I can go ‘nuts’ and make your dirt and worms version. :o)
    Thank you, as always you are such fun.

    Reply

    • No Nina, YOU are the fun one–I love how you use the word gorgeous! You are adorable, I could just put you in a jar and smother you with pudding and edible worms. Enjoy the cacao nibs and if you make this pudding, be careful… just the smell of it being made attracts leprechauns from all over 🙂

      Reply

      • You, are what I call ‘good value’. The giver of compliments. 🙂 Have to say, I DO quite like the sound of a bath of chocolate pudding, cacao nibs and jelly worms! Rather think I might be fighting the children to get in it though!!!
        I’ve just reread how you made you jelly worms and had a thought. What if I made the jelly in a shallow container and let it set. Could I not then stick some cut bendy straws into the jelly and carefully lift them out of the goo with the jelly still inside? Or did you try that and it not work so well? I realise this method may ‘compromise’ the integrity of the rippled bendy bit. 😉

        Reply

        • I would pay to see you elbow your kids to eat the pudding. ha! You know, I was going to do what you are talking about in regards to the jelly worms if the last step did not work but I never got to it. I say try it and see if it works!! But I think you are right {I didn’t even think of that} that it might compromise the ripples… You so smart!

          Reply

  30. Homemade pudding! I have a project for this weekend, thank you! Ah, I haven’t had pudding (chocolate or otherwise) in so long! Also… sheer brilliance with the worms! Hopefully the leprechaun is like me, I was immediately trapped by them! Good luck! (I know I wouldn’t be able to trap one, I’d likely eat the trap before it existed very long…)

    Reply

    • I hadn’t had pudding in forever either! And then I wondered, why in the world have I not had pudding in so long??? And homemade pudding, none-the-less {always bought it from the box…which is completely subpar to the real thing, I am finding out} Thanks for the luck wishing! I will need it… xo!

      Reply

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