This Dairy-Free & Paleo Vanilla Pudding is creamy, luscious, and perfectly sweetened. It can be eaten plain or used in any recipe that calls for the boxed variety.
Creamy paleo vanilla pudding
If you saw my chocolate pudding recipe, you know that we used to love the Snack Pack pudding cups before going gluten and dairy-free.
While we have been enjoying my chocolate pudding for some time, I have been unable to re-create the luscious and creamy vanilla Snack Pack pudding cups that we all loved. Until now!
While it might seem like a basic recipe, for some reason I've had lots of trouble with it. It's taken me over a year to perfect it! But I finally got the flavors and texture down just right, so I am really excited to share it today!!!
We usually eat this pudding plain or with bananas or berries. But it can also be used in any recipe that calls for the boxed variety - such as banana cream pies, tarts, parfaits, and so much more!
And if all of that wasn't enough, this recipe is AIP (Auto-Immune Protocol) friendly which means it's free of nuts, eggs, grains, soy, refined sugar, and dairy!
Plus, it's thickened with gelatin which is great for digestion & leaky gut. It's a win-win recipe - Enjoy 🙂
💭 Top tips
- I highly recommend using a 13 oz can of full-fat canned coconut milk and 1 cup of boxed non-dairy milk. If you use all plain, non-dairy milk the pudding won't be as creamy and luscious. And if you use all canned coconut milk it may turn out too thick. This combination is the Goldilocks ratio - just right, lol!
- If you can't find AIP compliant non-dairy milk, you can use 1/2 cup canned coconut milk and 1/2 cup water.
- I recommend using a combination of maple syrup and honey instead of just one or the other. The flavors complement each other well and give it the right taste.
- I'm sure agar could be substituted for the gelatin, but the amount may vary so I can't guarantee the results if you replace the gelatin with agar. If you're adventurous and decide to try it though, please let me know how it turns out!!!
- For an extra creamy vanilla pudding, beat with a hand-held mixer just prior to serving.
Looking for more recipes? Check out my Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake, Easy Peasy Dairy Free Sour Cream, and Whole New Mom's roundup of 21 Easy AIP Desserts!
If you’ve tried this Paleo Vanilla Pudding or any other recipe on the blog please let me know in the comments below!
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Paleo Vanilla Pudding {Dairy Free, Paleo, AIP}
Ingredients
- 13.33 oz. Full-Fat Coconut Milk (one can)
- 1 Cup Non-Dairy Milk Of Choice
- 1 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 tsp. Gelatin
- 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp. Honey
- Pinch or Two of Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice optional but brightens up the flavor
- 1 Tbsp. Pure Vanilla use vanilla powder for AIP
Instructions
- Whisk together the coconut milk, non-dairy milk, maple syrup, honey, vanilla, salt, and lemon juice in a medium-sized pot. Place the mixture over medium-heat.
- While it's warming up, evenly sprinkle the gelatin over the milk mixture so it can "bloom" - or get wet and soften.
- Once the gelatin has softened, whisk constantly until the gelatin is completely dissolved and steam is rising and it looks like there's a thin layer of white foam on top of the mixture. Do not bring to boil. Continue whisking until you are sure the gelatin is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes (otherwise you will have small clumps of gelatin in your pudding, which is no good!).
- Pour pudding into 4 small glass serving dishes or a medium-sized mixing bowl - do not stir after this point. Cool 10 minutes, then refrigerate 2 to 4 hours or until set. For an extra silky pudding, chill in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand-held mixer just prior to serving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- I highly recommend using a 13 oz can of full-fat canned coconut milk and 1 cup of boxed non-dairy milk. If you use all plain, non-dairy milk the pudding won't be as creamy and luscious. And if you use all canned coconut milk it may turn out too thick. This combination is the Goldilocks ratio - just right, lol!
- If you can't find AIP compliant non-dairy milk, you can use 1/2 cup canned coconut milk and 1/2 cup water.
- I recommend using a combination of maple syrup and honey instead of just one or the other. The flavors complement each other well and give it the right taste.
- I'm sure agar could be substituted for the gelatin, but the amount may vary so I can't guarantee the results if you replace the gelatin with agar. If you're adventurous and decide to try it though, please let me know how it turns out!!!
- For an extra creamy vanilla pudding, beat with a hand-held mixer just prior to serving.
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out these resources:
Thank you for such a beautiful recipe ... this was a huge hit with the family! Lovely flavor profile and quick to make outside of setting time. Mine also turned out like flan using the full amount of gelatin so I will cut back next time. But I was able to add additional rice milk and mix with a hand mixer even after letting it set for the 4 hours. It worked great for my dessert recipe needs. Thank you again Cassidy!
Oh good, I'm so glad you liked it and the additional rice milk helped!!! Thanks so much for letting me know 😀
-Cassidy
The flavor is so good, and I used full-fat coconut milk and oat milk for my non-dairy milk. I'm not sure what happened, but mine came out very much like a flan or vanilla jello. I didn't let it boil either. I wonder what happened! I was looking for that silkier pudding texture, but I love flan, so I'm digging it. My kids don't like the texture though. And ours formed a coconut fat crust that wasn't tasty, but it came right off. Let me know if you know where I went wrong!
Hi Jennifer!
Sorry it didn't turn out the way you were expecting! Since it turned out more like flan, it sounds like there was too much gelatin. You might double-check that you only used 1 Tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp. (or 1 1/2 Tbsp.). If you used the correct amount, the problem could be the brand. I always use GREAT LAKES gelatin, but sometimes various brands can produce different results.
Next time you might try slightly reducing the gelatin to achieve more puddling-like texture.
As far as the coconut fat crust, I don't know - that's never happened to me!!! I'll have to think about that one, lol!
-Cassidy
Thank you! I will try again and tell you the result. But flavor is SO delicious and perfectly balanced. My daughter and I gobbled it down, even with the gelatin texture.