This Quick & Easy Chocolate Banana Pudding takes only 5 minutes and 3 ingredients. It's gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and has no sugar added.
Do you ever just feel like having some dessert, but don't feel like spending a lot of time making yourself some dessert?
Do you ever feel like having a chocolatey treat without indulging in a high-fat, high-sugar dessert?
Do you ever feel like having a nostalgic bowl of chocolate pudding but follow a dairy-free and/or vegan diet?
If you answered yes to one or all of the above questions, then this Quick & Easy Vegan Chocolate Pudding is right for you.
I came up with this super-easy recipe by accident. I was actually making a plant-based "ice cream" with some extra bananas that I knew weren't going to get eaten. The "ice cream" worked out wonderfully as well by the way.
However, when I tasted the "ice cream" base before I froze it, I was shocked at how similar the texture was to chocolate pudding. And the flavor was great too!
Disclaimer: if you don't like bananas, you're probably not going to like this "pudding". It did not get the stamp of approval from my banana-hating kids.
However, if you like bananas, and particularly like the combination of bananas and chocolate, then you will love this recipe. It reminds me so much of when my mom would make boxed chocolate pudding with fresh banana slices mixed in when I was a kid.
How to Make Quick & Easy Vegan Chocolate Banana Pudding:
This pudding is indeed very quick and easy to make. It will likely take you 5 minutes or less. However, you will need a little bit of equipment to help you. I've tried this recipe using both a blender and a food processor.
I found it much quicker and easier with a food processor, and I found the finished texture was better too. But if you don't have a food processor, a blender will work just fine too.
Simply break your bananas into pieces, add them to the food processor, then add the cocoa powder and peanut butter. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Now your pudding is ready to enjoy!
You can eat the pudding immediately - no waiting for it to chill or anything. But if you don't finish it all at once, any leftovers will hold well in the fridge for a couple of days.
Quick & Easy Vegan Chocolate Banana Pudding Ingredients:
There are only 3 basic ingredients needed to make this pudding:
- Bananas - you want to make sure they're nice and ripe. The more brown spots the better (you probably want to avoid using slightly green-tinged ones like the ones featured in my photo below)
- Cocoa Powder - I used Dutch-processed cocoa powder, but for this recipe, whatever kind you have will work just fine.
- Creamy Peanut Butter - Note that if you don't like peanut butter, or have an allergy, feel free to use a different kind of nut butter. Or try Nutella, but note that Nutella is not dairy-free.
Want more Pudding recipes?
Chocolate Banana Pudding Nutrition Notes:
This Quick & Easy Chocolate Banana Pudding recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan as written.
Note that due to the peanut butter in the recipe, it is not safe to serve anyone with a peanut allergy. Feel free to substitute with another nut butter (try almond butter or Nutella) if needed.
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one serving if you split the recipe into two portions. If you split the recipe into 4 small portions, simply divide the nutrition information in half.
Quick & Easy Vegan Chocolate Banana Pudding
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Break or cut 2 large ripe bananas into 1-inch pieces. Add the banana pieces to the bowl of a food processor with 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder and 2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter. Process for about 20 seconds, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Process again until the mixture is completely smooth. Divide into two to four bowls and serve immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Nutrition
Walt Kemnitz, Jr. says
I am so eager to try this recipe! Do you know if the completed pudding will do OK in the freezer? Thanks so much for all the goodness you share!
Carissa says
I'm not totally sure, as I've never tried it. However, with my experience of putting whole bananas in the freezer, some of the liquid will separate out upon thawing. I predict that that's what will happen with this pudding, but it may be ok after a stir.
Pat says
Refrigerated, dollop of whipped cream, sprinkle of chopped walnuts on top and it was excellent per dinner guests and I agree!
Carissa says
Thanks so much for your review - I appreciate it!
Nancy Bertocci says
I add a little less peanut butter ( calories/fat) and about a 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla. It is SOOOOOOO good.