Homemade Vanilla Pudding is a classic dessert with endless variations of ways to enjoy it! This recipe is for the pudding that I put in my banana cream pie! It's almost as easy to make as box mix pudding but so much more tasty! All you need is a few staple ingredients that you can likely already find in your pantry & refrigerator!
Do you usually make your vanilla pudding from a box? I grew up making box mix puddings with my family. Don't get me wrong, they're very good! However, there's just something about homemade foods that can't be beat! You just need about 10 minutes, a 7 staple ingredients, a pot, and a mixing bowl to whip up this recipe.
Key Pudding Steps
This recipe is fairly simple to follow, but you want to be sure you're following it closely! Since it involves egg yolks and cornstarch, I've found there are a few nuances to be careful with. One is that you want to make sure you whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together really well! It might seem difficult to get them to incorporate at first, but they'll give in pretty quickly! Mixing the cornstarch in with the egg yolks helps give the pudding its thick and creamy consistency. Cornstarch often clumps up when it's added to heat on its own.
The next step you want to be careful with is combining the hot milk & sugar with the yolks & cornstarch. It's important to do this slowly and stir the yolk mixture constantly while adding the hot milk to it. This is to prevent the yolks from cooking too quickly. Nobody wants hard boiled egg yolks in their homemade vanilla pudding!
Lastly, make sure that the plastic wrap is pressed directly on top of the pudding while you let it cool. This is to help prevent the pudding film from producing on the top. My family always kind of enjoyed the film on top, so you can disregard this step if you're also a fan!
Ways to Eat this Pudding
This pudding is absolutely delicious on its own, but if you want to mix things up it's the perfect treat to put in pies or add in fillings!
- Mix in crushed up Oreos, Nilla Wafers, or graham crackers
- Mix in chocolate chips
- Top with fresh fruit
- Personal pie jars
- Banana cream pie
- Pudding parfaits
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Homemade Vanilla Pudding
Equipment
- Medium pot
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 2½ cups whole milk
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
Instructions
- Combine the milk with the sugar and salt in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Whisk until the mixture is hot to touch, and the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Whisk together the egg yolks and cornstarch.
- While stirring, gradually pour ~½ cup of the milk mixture into the yolk mixture. Then, add the yolk mixture to the pan with the remaining milk mixture.
- With the pan over medium heat, stir until the pudding is thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract and softened butter until it's melted and completely combined.
- Cover the top of the pudding with plastic wrap and let it cool.
Notes
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Morgan says
Absolutely delicious! I made this for my 18 month son. He loves pudding and I realized that store bought vanilla pudding has Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. No good. So homemade pudding it is!
It was easy to make!
Kayla says
Hi Morgan! I am so happy to hear that you and your son are enjoying this recipe!! Homemade is the best 🙂