When I'm going through tough times, I have a tendency to look for the answers in a bowl of pudding. I'm not advocating for emotional eating, but sometimes you just need a little something, you know? And pudding, at least the way I make it, makes for a fine little something any day of the week. Any time of day, for that matter. I long ago perfected the formula for vanilla pudding, a honey-sweetened version of which I posted here some time ago. Back in February, when I was going through a little rough patch, I turned my attention to chocolate pudding.
Folks, let me tell you, the perfect chocolate pudding is an elusive thing. I've tried countless stove-top cornstarch-thickened versions. Some relied on melted chocolate swirled in at the end of cooking. Others on a good dose of cocoa powder. Others still employed both techniques, but none of them were exactly what I wanted. Sometimes the issue was texture (not thick enough! too thick!) and other times it was taste (not chocolately enough! too sweet!). I spent time - a lot of it - reading pudding forums (pudding forums! how I love the internet!) to try and crack the code for the perfect chocolate pudding. This evades me still, so if you have a recipe for silky-smooth-perfectly-thick-but-not-too-thick-intensely-chocolatety-chocolate-pudding, please, PLEASE, send it my way.
Somewhere in the middle of my pudding trials I decided to throw caution to the wind and do something I practically never do and have always been decidedly against - blur the lines between treat food and healthy food. My friend Karen emailed me this recipe for raw chocolate pudding which she tried a sample of at a Whole Foods a while ago. My first instinct was along the lines of, thanks, but that's not the kind of food I'm in to. But after many trials of sub-par chocolate pudding I figured I had nothing to lose and gave it a go.
So, I made this whacky chocolate pudding. Pudding made from nothing but avocados (what?!), banana, dates, and cocoa powder. And, after skeptically scooping a few fingerfulls directly from the food processor into my mouth, I wasn't convinced. It tasted weird. It tasted like avocados. But, then I chilled it. And then later that same evening I sat with not one but two bowls of chocolate pudding in front of me. One, stove-top cornstarch-thickened with a bit of cocoa and a bit of melted chocolate swirled in. The other, this recipe.
I liked this one better.
Avocados are an extremely fatty fruit! Around 80% of the calories in an avocado come from fat, which is about 20 x higher than most fruit. However, about 65% of this fat is healthy monounsaturated fat, in particular oleic acid. Avocados also contain an incredible range of phytonutrients, and many vitamins and minerals. Avocados are a good source of vitamin K, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, and potassium - more potassium than a banana even!
Bananas are a great source of concentrated energy and potassium. They are also a very good source of vitamin B6 and a good source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and manganese.
Dates are a great source of natural sweetness, are rich in antioxidant polyphenols, dietary fiber, potassium, and manganese.
Raw Cocoa is antioxidant rich, and the flavanoid content appears to be helpful in protecting blood vessel linings and thus preventing high blood pressure.
One year ago: Pesto Penne with Edamame
Two years ago: Cranberry Spelt Streusel Cake
raw chocolate pudding
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 ripe banana
- ½ cup soft pitted dates roughly chopped
- ½ cup raw cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth. You may need to stop and scrape the sides down a few times.
- Once the mixture is smooth, cover and chill for at least an hour.
- Serve cold.
Christine @ Happy Veggie Kitchen says
I love the idea of avocado chocolate pudding and this is an awesome dessert that I could happily feed my toddler too. The use of bananas and dates as a sweetener is genius! I have made avocado desserts before and I agree, something about refridgerating them can totally neutralise the taste.
Jess says
I've seen versions of this floating around, Katie, but I have to say that this post intrigues me enough to finally give it a try. I, too, find chocolate pudding to be oh-so-comforting. (I suspect it's because I have distinct memories of my mom making it for me.) I've got a good go-to version, but I'm always looking for "THE" recipe as well.
themuffinmyth says
I know, it seems weird and counter intuitive to mess with chocolate pudding, right? But seriously, it's intense. Give it a go!
Kathryn says
I've eaten my body weight in avocados in the last couple of weeks but I'm yet to try it in a sweet dish. I'm intrigued though and will definitely be giving this a go.
themuffinmyth says
Definitely do! It's such an intense chocolate experience, you'd never believe it's raw and vegan.
foods for the soul says
Chocolate pudding is my go-to pick-me-up for stressful days. When I'm really desperate, I'll buy pre-made from the store, but it sounds like I don't have that excuse anymore after reading your easy recipe!
themuffinmyth says
I haven't bought home pudding made in ages because I got my vanilla version down to such a science I could whip it out in a matter of minutes (minus the chilling time). But this is so fast! Just a whirl in the food processor and you're in business!
foods for the soul says
Wow, I'm impressed! It's almost like your hands already know what to do without you telling them. Unfortunately, my food processor doesn't make a tight enough seal anymore, so any liquids fly right out. Maybe an immersion blender would work instead?
themuffinmyth says
I realized in retrospect that comment probably sounded like a humble brag 😉
I don't think an immersion blender would work in this situation. Would your food processor work with a kitchen towel wrapped tightly around it? I do that with mine if I'm doing anything really liquidey, like a smoothie (which I usually use the immersion blender for) because liquid would definitely fly out. But this isn't very liquidy. It's actually quite thick, more like the texture of a hummus, only silky smooth.
foods for the soul says
Not at all! We all have certain things we do on auto-pilot, even if it's just brushing our teeth or washing the dishes. :]
Bummer! No, I've tried the towel trick and it still soaked the counter. My food processor can only handle peanuts for peanut butter or oats for oat flour. It's a pity, but since it was free, I can't complain much!
Oh My Veggies (@ohmyveggies) says
I don't like avocados, so I'm always scared to make pudding with it. That said, if there was anything that could get me to eat avocados, it's chocolate pudding. 🙂
themuffinmyth says
If you don't like avocados then definitely don't taste the pudding before it has been well chilled. But then! It's amazing!
kellie@foodtoglow says
I have seen the avocado choccie pudding thing around for awhile but I have never been tempted to make it. I love avocados so much that I didn't want to mees with my brain by having them all chocolatey and desserty. But if you say it's good, I trust you. And I really appreciate the date sweetness as opposed to nutrient-poor sugar, This looks a helluva lot quicker than my latest recipe - LOL!
themuffinmyth says
I'd never been tempted before either, but it was exasperation with all other recipes that lead me to it. It's honestly really good!