Vegan pudding recipes are simply puddings thickened with plant milk, grains, fruit or starch instead of eggs and dairy, and they cover everything from silky chocolate spoon desserts to warm baked classics. This list gathers 19 of them, sweet and savoury, five-minute and all-afternoon, so there is one for a Tuesday night and one for a holiday table. Some are my own recipes, the rest come from food bloggers whose work I genuinely trust. Scroll through, pick the texture you are craving, and start there.
How to Choose the Right Vegan Pudding
Choose a vegan pudding by texture first: starch and plant milk give you a smooth, spoonable pudding, grains like rice, semolina or oats give a thicker porridge-style bowl, and a flour batter gives you a warm baked sponge. Then think about timing. Chilled puddings need two to four hours in the fridge, so they are best made the night before, while baked puddings want to be served warm, straight from the dish. For richness without dairy, full-fat coconut milk beats thin nut milks every time, and a pinch of salt makes the sweetness read sharper.
Jump to a category
Creamy Grain Puddings
Rice, semolina and oats do the thickening here, which means no fussy starch slurries and a bowl that feels like breakfast and dessert at once.
Coconut Rice Pudding with Ginger-Flavored Pineapple-Berries Topping
Coconut milk turns plain rice into something silky and faintly tropical, while the ginger-spiked pineapple and berry topping cuts straight through that richness. It eats like a proper dessert rather than a breakfast bowl, sweet on the bottom and syrupy on top. Stir often over low heat so the starch releases slowly and thickens the pudding without any cornstarch.
Get the recipe
Vegan Rice Pudding
This is the plain, comforting version: rice, plant milk and a little sweetener cooked down until the grains almost disappear into cream. Vanilla and cinnamon do most of the flavour work, so it is worth using good ones. Hold back a splash of milk and stir it in after chilling, because rice pudding tightens considerably in the fridge.
Get the recipe
Semolina Pudding with Blueberry Jam
Semolina thickens in minutes, which makes this the fastest warm pudding on the list, and the blueberry jam swirled over the top keeps it from tasting flat. The texture lands somewhere between custard and porridge, smooth with just a little grain. Whisk the semolina into the milk while it is still cold and you will avoid lumps completely.
Get the recipe
Upma | Savory Semolina Pudding for Breakfast
Proof that pudding is not always sweet. Toasted semolina is cooked with mustard seeds, curry leaves and vegetables into a fluffy, savoury bowl that Indian households make for breakfast all week long. Toast the semolina in oil until it smells nutty before any liquid goes in, otherwise the finished dish turns pasty instead of light.
Get the recipe
Overnight Oats
The no-cook pudding of the group. Oats soften overnight in plant milk until they are thick and spoonable, ready to be layered with fruit, nut butter or jam straight from the jar. Total hands-on time is about five minutes. Use roughly equal parts oats and liquid, then loosen with an extra splash of milk in the morning.
Get the recipe
Chocolate and Caramel Puddings
These are the dark, glossy, spoon-licking ones, built on cocoa, dates, butterscotch and hazelnut rather than on fruit.
Sticky Date Pudding
Dates melt into the batter and give this sponge its dark, caramel depth, then a coconut cream caramel sauce goes over the top while everything is still warm. The coconut note is subtle but unmistakable and works beautifully against the dates. Soak the dates in hot water first so they blend smooth and the crumb stays moist.
Get the recipe
The Best Vegan Chocolate Pudding
No avocado, no tofu, no aftertaste. This is a properly cooked chocolate pudding, thickened the classic way and finished so glossy that it sets with a skin on top if you leave it uncovered. Rich, dark and unmistakably chocolate. Press cling film directly onto the surface while it chills if you would rather skip that skin.
Get the recipe
Chocolate Fudge Flan (Flourless Chocolate Pudding)
Somewhere between a flan and a molten fudge pudding, this bakes into a dense chocolate layer with a soft, spoonable centre and no flour at all. Make it when you want intensity rather than volume, because a small portion goes a long way. Serve it barely warm with something sharp, such as raspberries or a spoon of coconut yoghurt.
Get the recipe
Nutella Pudding with Salty Pretzels
Chocolate hazelnut spread stirred through a creamy pudding base, then crowned with crushed pretzels for salt and crunch. That salty snap against thick, sweet chocolate is the entire point, and it disappears fast whenever there are guests. Add the pretzels only at the moment of serving, otherwise they soften and the contrast is gone.
Get the recipe
Vegan Butterscotch Pudding Parfait with Candied Walnuts
Butterscotch is badly underrated, all brown sugar and warmth, and here it is layered into glasses with candied walnuts for texture. The parfait format lets you build dessert hours ahead and still put something deliberate on the table. Cool the candied walnuts completely on parchment so they stay brittle instead of clumping into one sheet.
Get the recipe
Easy Chocolate Mousse Recipe
Lighter and airier than a cooked pudding, this mousse relies on whipping rather than starch, so it stays cloud-soft in the glass. Good chocolate matters more here than almost anywhere else on the list, since there is nothing to hide behind. Chill it for at least four hours before serving so it firms up properly.
Get the recipe
Warm Baked Puddings
Everything in this group goes into the oven and comes out best when it is still steaming, which makes them the natural choice for a cold evening or a holiday dinner.
Vegan Bread Pudding (Kirschenmichel)
A German classic that turns stale bread and cherries into a golden, custardy bake with almost no effort. The edges crisp up, the centre stays soft, and it is ready long before anyone notices you forgot to plan dessert. Day-old bread absorbs the liquid far better than fresh, so build the recipe around the loaf you already have.
Get the recipe
Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding (Caramel Pudding)
Apple puree keeps this sponge tender and slips a quiet fruitiness underneath all that caramel sauce. Served warm, with the sauce soaking down into the crumb, it is the definition of a cold-weather dessert. Poke a few holes across the top before pouring the sauce over, so it sinks in instead of pooling on the surface.
Get the recipe
Vegan Christmas Pudding
Dried fruit, warm spices and a long, slow steam give this pudding its dark colour and dense, almost jammy crumb. It is the one dessert here genuinely worth making weeks ahead, because the flavour deepens the longer it sits. Wrap it well and keep it somewhere cool, then re-steam it for about an hour before serving.
Get the recipe
Orange Pudding Cake
This one separates as it bakes, leaving a light sponge on top and a wet, pudding-like orange layer hiding underneath. The citrus keeps things fresh rather than heavy, which is rare for a warm dessert. Zest the oranges before you juice them and fold the zest into the batter, where the aroma actually survives the oven.
Get the recipe
Vegan Yorkshire Pudding
Savoury, hollow and crisp at the edges, Yorkshire puddings are a reminder that the word pudding once meant something entirely different. This eggless version still puffs dramatically and soaks up gravy exactly as it should. Get the oil in the tin smoking hot before the batter goes in, because that first sizzle is what creates the rise.
Get the recipe
Fruit-Forward Puddings
When you want something sweet but not heavy, these lean on quince, pumpkin and banana to carry the flavour instead of chocolate.
Autumn Quince Pudding
Quince turns fragrant and slightly floral once cooked, and here it is baked with raisins and walnuts into a homely autumn pudding. The fruit softens without collapsing, so every spoonful still has something to bite into. Peel and core the quinces with a sturdy knife, then toss the slices in lemon juice to stop them browning.
Get the recipe
Vegan Pumpkin Pie Pudding
All the spiced comfort of pumpkin pie with none of the pastry work, spooned straight from the bowl. Pumpkin puree makes it naturally thick and velvety, and the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg handle the rest. Reach for pure pumpkin puree rather than canned pie filling, which arrives pre-sweetened and will throw the balance off.
Get the recipe
Vegan Banana Cream Pie with Blueberries
A from-scratch banana pudding sits under a layer of fresh blueberries here, so it counts as both pudding and pie. The custard is smooth and mellow, the berries bring sharpness, and the whole thing slices cleanly once it has chilled through. Slice the bananas just before assembling and brush them with lemon juice so they stay pale.
Get the recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is pudding naturally vegan? Most traditional puddings are not, because they rely on eggs, dairy milk, butter or suet. The good news is that every one of those has a straightforward substitute: plant milk for dairy, cornstarch, semolina or rice for eggs, and oil or vegan butter for the fat. The texture you remember is entirely reproducible without animal products.
What can I use instead of eggs in a vegan pudding? For chilled, spoonable puddings, cornstarch, arrowroot or custard powder does the thickening that eggs would normally do, usually one to two tablespoons per 500 ml of plant milk. For baked puddings and sponges, apple puree, mashed banana or flax eggs work better because they add moisture as well as binding. Silken tofu and cooked pumpkin puree also create a very creamy set.
Which plant milk makes the creamiest vegan pudding? Full-fat coconut milk from a can gives the richest, most luxurious result, followed by oat milk, which has enough natural starch to feel creamy on its own. Soy milk sets firmly and has the protein to stand up to heat. Thin rice or almond milk tends to produce a watery pudding unless you increase the starch.
How long does vegan pudding keep in the fridge? Chilled starch-based puddings keep for three to four days in a covered container, and pressing cling film onto the surface stops a skin from forming. Baked puddings such as bread pudding or sticky toffee pudding are best within two to three days and reheat well in a low oven. Anything topped with fresh fruit or crushed biscuits should be assembled just before serving.
Can you freeze vegan pudding? Baked puddings freeze very well for up to three months. Cool completely, wrap tightly, then reheat from frozen in a covered dish at low heat. Chilled starch-thickened puddings are a different story, since freezing usually breaks the starch and they turn grainy or weepy on thawing. Make those fresh instead, since most take under fifteen minutes.
What is the difference between pudding and mousse? A pudding is thickened with starch or grains and cooked, which gives it a dense, smooth, spoon-coating texture. A mousse gets its structure from air whipped into cream, aquafaba or melted chocolate, so it is lighter and holds soft peaks. Puddings are usually cooked on the stove, while mousses are folded and simply chilled to set.
