Skip to Content

Homemade Vanilla Pudding

Sharing is caring!

Forget boxed mixes or pre-packaged pudding cups. Making Homemade Vanilla Pudding is as easy as can be and the results are beyond delicious! 

Vanilla pudding in a small white bowl, topped with whipped cream and fresh raspberries

When I was a kid and even into my college years, I was a huge fan of pudding cups with a little dollop of Cool Whip or spray of Reddi-Wip. It was the perfect after school snack or simple dessert to keep on hand in a college dorm fridge.

Then I just stopped eating the little snack packs and didn’t purchase them again for like 15 years.

However, one day a package of vanilla and chocolate swirl pudding cups caught Elle’s eye at the grocery store and ended up in our cart – with a can of Reddi-Wip of course. And now my sweet girl loves pudding just like her Mama.

Overhead view of three white bowls of homemade vanilla pudding on a marble board, surrounded by spoons and homemade whipped cream

HOMEMADE VANILLA PUDDING

Look, pudding mixes have their place and so do those little cups. I use them in my recipes all the time! 

My Doctored Cake Mix wouldn’t be the same without instant pudding mix, and recipes like Eclair Cake and Banana Cream Pie Fluff are so easy because of pudding mixes.

Homemade vanilla pudding ingredients on a marble countertop

But when I want to indulge in a bowl of pudding? Honestly, homemade pudding is the only way to go. 

I love my Homemade Chocolate Pudding with Baileys Irish Cream or even a good butterscotch pudding, but there’s really nothing quite like a bowl of Homemade Vanilla Pudding topped with some fresh berries.

Don’t be freaked out by the idea of making your own custard (because that’s really what pudding is). Making this vanilla pudding recipe is easier than you think – I’ll show you how!

Milk and sugar in a saucepan set on a blue towel on a marble countertop

VANILLA PUDDING INGREDIENTS

Homemade Vanilla Pudding is made with some staple ingredients:

  • Whole milk
  • Cornstarch
  • Salt
  • Granulated sugar
  • Egg yolks
  • Butter
  • Pure vanilla extract
Hot milk being streamed into a white bowl with 3 egg yolks

I recommend using whole milk when making pudding. I find that the texture of the pudding is best with whole milk. 

That said, you can use reduced fat milk or even a milk alternative, such as almond milk or coconut milk. Just keep in mind that using an alternative milk will affect the flavor of the pudding slightly.

I like to use both cornstarch and egg yolks in my pudding recipe. Both act as thickeners, but the egg yolks make it super rich while I find that the cornstarch helps to stabilize it a bit. I’ve made puddings without cornstarch in them and they’re a bit more unpredictable. 

Hand pouring vanilla extract into vanilla pudding in a saucepan

Think of the cornstarch as pudding insurance.

I also must ask you to please use pure vanilla extract when making your Homemade Vanilla Pudding. You want that real vanilla flavor, not the artificial stuff here! 

Sometimes when I want to be really fancy, I’ll use vanilla bean paste in this recipe in place of the extract. There’s just something about those beautiful vanilla bean flecks in the pudding!

Whisk stirring homemade vanilla pudding in a saucepan

HOW TO MAKE VANILLA PUDDING FROM SCRATCH

To make your vanilla pudding, start by whisking together ¼ cup of the milk with the cornstarch. Set this aside. 

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the rest of the milk, salt, and sugar. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it is steaming, but don’t let it boil. 

While the milk mixture heats up, whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. When the milk mixture is hot, slowly stream ½ cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. This is called tempering and brings the temperature of the eggs up without scrambling them.

Small white bowl full of homemade vanilla pudding with plastic wrap pressed onto the top of the pudding

Slowly add the now-warmed egg mixture back into the pot, followed by the cornstarch slurry. Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to simmer and has thickened.

Remove the pudding from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.

And that’s it! You’ve made Homemade Vanilla Pudding!

You can serve the pudding warm or let it chill before serving it. If you refrigerate it, be sure to place plastic wrap over it, touching the surface of the pudding, so that a skin does not form on the top.

Close up of homemade vanilla pudding in a small white bowl

HOW TO SERVE YOUR HOMEMADE VANILLA PUDDING

Don’t be fooled by what people might have made you think about vanilla – this vanilla pudding is anything but plain.

It’s delicious as-is but even better when topped with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and some fresh berries. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries…whatever is in season and looks best!

This recipe is also an amazing base for homemade banana pudding. 

Heck, you could even pour the pudding into popsicle molds for amazing, creamy vanilla pudding popsicles. 

I promise that once you make this recipe, you’ll be making it again and again. It’ll absolutely rekindle that childhood love for pudding!

Spoonful of vanilla pudding being held up to the camera
Vanilla pudding in a small white bowl, topped with whipped cream and fresh raspberries

Homemade Vanilla Pudding

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Forget boxed mixes or pre-packaged pudding cups. Making Homemade Vanilla Pudding is as easy as can be and the results are beyond delicious! 

Ingredients

  • 3 cups whole milk, divided
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup of the milk with the cornstarch. Set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the remaining milk, salt, and sugar. Allow the mixture to heat over medium heat until it is steaming; do not let it boil.
  3. While the milk heats, whisk the egg yolks in a separate small bowl. Once the milk is steaming, slowly stream ½ cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Slowly add the egg yolk mixture back to the pot, followed by the cornstarch mixture. Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to simmer and has thickened.
  4. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. 
  5. Pour into individual serving dishes. Top each with a layer of plastic wrap touching the top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming and serve warm or allow to chill for several hours before serving.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1/2 cup
Amount Per Serving Calories 233Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 110mgSodium 94mgCarbohydrates 35gFiber 0gSugar 31gProtein 5g

Did you make this recipe?

Tag me on social! I want to see what you made! @jamiemba

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Melanie

Friday 17th of March 2023

Easy af recipe made it 5 times comes out perfect each time. I never made pudding before and the first time it was amazing.

Jamie

Monday 20th of March 2023

So glad you enjoy this recipe, Melanie! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. Happy baking! Jamie

S

Thursday 16th of March 2023

If you don't like super sweet desserts cut the sugar about in half! I couldn't find my normal pudding recipe so I made this. I thought the sugar ratio looked really high but I went with it. It was so sweet when I pulled it off it's all I could taste. I put it back on the stove added about 2 more cups of milk, 2 more eggs, and another couple tsps of cornstarch (eye balled it) and it was still really sugary. I prefer a pudding with delicate flavor where you can really taste the buttery, custardy, vanilla goodness. This is just far too sweet for me. I can still taste it after a bite, the sugar biting my tongue. The texture was nice though! I will make homemade whip cream without any sugar and cut it with some tart fruit when I serve it which will take care of the extra sweetness. I get that some people really like things sweet. I just am not that person haha. So I'm sure it's delicious to the people that love a sugary dessert. But if you're like me go way down on the sugar, and a little more salt. It will be more balanced in flavor.

Jamie

Friday 17th of March 2023

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback! Happy baking! Jamie

Victoria

Sunday 12th of March 2023

This was so good! Fairly simple. The most stressful part is hoping your eggs don’t scramble, but if you follow the instructions you’ll be fine. I added ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger to mine just to play around with flavors and it was delicious. Will make again for sure!

Jamie

Wednesday 15th of March 2023

Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, Victoria - I'm glad you enjoyed! Happy baking! Jamie

Nan

Tuesday 14th of February 2023

Tasty and set up perfectly but too sweet. This is a basic recipe that you can find lots of places—1 cup milk, 1 T cornstarch, 1 egg yolk, but most recipes use 1/6 cup sugar per cup of milk rather than the 1/4 here.

If yours didn’t thicken up, you either didn’t use whole milk or didn’t stir over low-medium heat long enough. You will feel the pudding start to thicken at about 7-8 minutes and it takes almost that much longer to start bubbling. I put the milk on to heat and the pot wasn’t off the heat for almost half an hour. It thickened perfectly and was yummy except for being too sweet.

Joel

Sunday 5th of March 2023

@Nan, I think you can recheck your math. This recipe calls for 1 Tblsp + 1 tsp cup sugar per cup of milk.

Jamie

Thursday 16th of February 2023

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback, Nan! Happy baking - Jamie

Dan Dowling

Sunday 5th of February 2023

If you’re short on time or don’t want to do the bazillion steps, just put all the ingredients into a large pot over medium-high heat and stir continuously w/rubber spatula 1 minute past boil.

Took me 5 minutes from start to finish and my wife is dying over how good and creamy it is :)

(Oh — almond extract is a GREAT addition for flavor boost.)

Jamie

Tuesday 7th of February 2023

Glad you enjoy it! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking! Jamie

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe