Chocolate Pudding Recipe

I love chocolate, especially chocolate pudding. I grew up addicted to sugar and would eat chocolate pretty much every day. As I got older I switched to clean eating and started to drastically decrease my sugar intake. In December of 2020, I started the AIP diet and had to really switch all of the foods I had once eaten. I had to substitute milk, flour, eggs, cane sugar, etc.

Although this recipe is not AIP, it is still dairy free and gluten free. I often ate this pudding while on the AIP diet even though cacao is not AIP-compliant, I mean we all have cheat days!

For those of you who don’t know what AIP is: AIP is defined as Auto-Immune Protocol or Auto-Immune Paleo. The AIP Diet is gluten (grain) free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, legume free, and nightshade free. The diet is meant for people with auto-immune issues, leaky gut, or inflammation and is not meant to be permanent.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains. It is often cross-contaminated through oats and other products. Gluten causes the disruption of the microbiome and destroys the micro-villi of the intestines, which help to digest our food. Gluten also creates intestinal permeability and leaky gut by disrupting the tight junctions between the epithelial cells located in the outer intestinal lining, which leads to larger unwanted molecules entering the blood stream. Creating a whole gamut of problems including food sensitivities. According to Dr. Amy Myers in her book, “The Autoimmune Solution,” one other problem includes a link between gluten and over fifty-five known diseases (1).

Dairy is located in milk products such as cheese or yogurt. Some people can process dairy without any repercussions, while others (like me) will break out in acne and become lethargic.

Soy is located and sourced form soy beans. Soy is an inflammatory food and 80% of all the soy (and corn) produced in the US is genetically modified. The AIP diet is overall, quite difficult for vegans as AIP is soy free, one of the many meat substitutes

(1) Myers, A., MD. (2015). Get Rid of Gluten, Grains, and Legumes. In The Autoimmune Solution (p. 96). New York, New York: HarperCollins.

Without further ado, here’s my Chocolate Pudding Recipe!

Key Ingredients

Avocado- avocado is a healthy fat that helps to make the pudding creamy.
Coconut Milk- coconut milk also assists in making the pudding creamy.
Cacao Powder- cacao powder is the powder created from the cacao bean, the natural form of chocolate.

Necessary Kitchen Equipment

Food processor or blender

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is cacao?

Cacao is the original chocolate before all of the sugar, flavors, and other unhealthy ingredients are added to it. Cacao is rich in antioxidants called falvonoids which include flavanols, anthocyanins, and flavones. The most abundant antioxidant found in cacao flavonoid in cacao is flavanols which include epicatechin, catechin, and procyanidins (1).

How can I make this AIP compliant?

You can make this recipe AIP compliant by switching the cacao powder for carob powder. Due to cacao having seeds, it is not AIP compliant and should be avoided.

What happens if the food processor won't blend the avocado completely?

My food processor wouldn’t allow me to blend the avocado without having small chunks so I mashed the avocado with a fork before placing it in the food processor. Then I placed it inside the food processor.If this doesn’t work, just mash it by hand. It will still be creamy, however, you should add more coconut milk.

Can I substitute the milk?

Of course. Coconut products can be inflammatory foods therefore, I recommend substituting the milk if you experience inflammation with coconut products. Some great substitutes include almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, camel milk, and pili nut milk.

Can I put sugar instead of honey?

I prefer to use honey when cooking because it doesn’t raise your blood suagr levels as quickly because it has a lower GI value (2). Honey is also naturally sweeter which means that you won’t have to use as much. Sugar does work for this recipe if you prefer to have small sugar granules in your pudding.