Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: A homemade silky smooth chocolate pudding becomes the filling for the most delicious chocolate pie. Forget pudding from a box. Once you’ve made your own chocolate pudding pie, no other will compare!
How long it takes: 35 minutes to prep, plus chilling time
Equipment you’ll need: saucepan, pie dish
Servings: 8
NOTE TO READERS: In the past, some of you tried this recipe which was originally written by a contributing blogger and had varying results. We want to make sure that our recipes are perfect so, as of February 2020, we have retested and completely rewritten the recipe. We apologize for any frustration you may have experienced with the original recipe. We’re sure you’ll be pleased with this homestyle chocolate pudding pie! It’s absolutely delightful.
Creamy, homestyle chocolate pudding pie is such a treat with crisp buttery crust, smooth chocolate pudding, with mounds of fluffy whipped cream, and sprinkled with chocolate shavings. You’ll take delight in every bite!
This pie is nothing like the chocolate cream pie you see in dessert cases in restaurants, or frozen pies that you thaw and eat. There is absolutely no comparison! Making pudding from scratch makes all the difference in this pie. If you’ve never tried homemade chocolate pudding pie, you are in a for a real treat.
About this chocolate pie
Homemade chocolate pudding is the centerpiece of this pie. Many of us default to using canned pudding or instant pudding mixes, which are fine in a pinch, especially if you’re in a hurry. But let me tell you, canned pudding or boxed mixes can’t hold a candle to homemade. There’s just no comparison! Once you’ve tried homemade, I can almost guarantee you won’t look back.
It’s not difficult to make. The ingredients are simple and wholesome: milk, eggs, sugar, cocoa, flour, butter, vanilla. No artificial anything and most likely, every ingredient can already be found in your kitchen. And by the way, you don’t have to make it into pie. Homemade chocolate pudding can easily stand alone as a great dessert.
Be prepared to do some stirring. I would have to say that the hardest part of making pudding is the stirring. To make creamy smooth pudding, plan on spending 15 minutes standing by the stove stirring. Stirring isn’t difficult, we’ve all mastered that, but it does take time for the pudding to heat and thicken. So be patient, put on some good music, stir, stir, stir, and anticipate the delight of chocolate pudding pie.
Use a purchased crust for convenience. You can make your own pie shell or use a frozen pie crust. A graham cracker or Oreo cookie crust is sensational, as well.
Dress it up. You’ll want to top your pie with lots of homemade whipped cream. Fancy up your pie with chocolate shavings. Use your vegetable peeler and a chocolate bar to make perfect curlicues of chocolate. Mini chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles are great, too.
Chocolate pudding pie should be stored in the refrigerator. Cover it with plastic wrap or foil, or put it in an airtight container. It will keep for a couple of days. It doesn’t freeze well.
More Pie Recipes
Chocolate Pudding Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9 inch frozen deep dish pie crust (any type of pie crust can be used)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups milk (whole milk is best but 2% can also be used)
- 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Whipped cream and chocolate shavings, for garnish
Instructions
- Bake the frozen pie crust according to package instructions. Allow to cool completely.1 9 inch frozen deep dish pie crust
- In a medium sized saucepan, mix sugar, cocoa, flour, salt, and eggs until well blended. Stir in milk slowly until ingredients are blended.¾ cup sugar, ½ cup cocoa powder, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 2 large eggs, 3 cups milk
- Over medium heat, stirring constantly, bring to boil. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, three to five minutes, or until pudding thickens slightly.
- Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla.1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Pour into baked pie shell. If desired, cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Top with whipped cream, and chocolate shavings, if desired, and serve.Whipped cream and chocolate shavings, for garnish
Notes
- Nutrition information does not include whipped cream.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Made with 3 cups of milk and this pudding was yummy! I don’t know how it ever worked with 6 cups of milk! But it seems the right amount now and set up nicely. It’s not as smooth as boxed store-bought pudding mix but the flavor is a rich deep chocolate. Devine. Thanks for the recipe
I waited till it was cold and although it formed up nicely the texture was off a little. Not as smooth as other recipes I’ve tried so I was a little disappointed. I’d change it to 3 stars probably if I could
Sorry to hear that Kimberly. It’s definitely a homestyle pudding.
Yes, this recipe definitely needed a little adjusting. I’m glad you like it!
Just made this (March 1, 2020). Not sure what the objections were in previous comments – the recipe says 3 cups of milk. This was delicious. I ate part of it and put part of it into a cookie crumb crust to make an old-style pie. The last time I made homemade pudding was in the 1970s. I don’t think I’ll be able to buy packaged pudding anymore after making this – it’s outstanding!
For those who never made homemade pudding before, it takes a reeeeeeeeally long time stirring (recipe notes 15ish minutes, it took me almost 25) before it boils. Also, it doesn’t set up instantly like the packaged stuff, but once it boils it sets right up. The process reminded me of why instant packaged pudding became so popular – stirring for 15-25 minutes seemed like a lot of work. But it’s so worth it. Thank you!
Hi Amy! Thanks for the comment, and I’m so glad you liked the pie! We actually recently retested (again) and completely overhauled this recipe, which is why it now has three cups of milk vs. the original 6. I still need to update the body of the post to reflect the changes, but we wanted to get that recipe up ASAP, and I’m so glad you were able to use it!
Such a nice post, keep providing good resources.
Made it. Good. Next time I will make my own crust though. Add a smidgin of salt. Good pie.
Thank you for your helpful comment! Glad you liked the pie.
I used to live in Georgetown, TX…home to the Monument Diner and their infamous chocolate pie. This is a dead ringer–can’t wait to try!
What a gorgeous pie! I can’t believe that its made on milk, it looks so creamy! YUM.
Rachel, this looks absolutely delicious- Thanks for having Melanie share her recipe!
Oh yes please. Some of my favorite ingredients in one pie. Very luxurious indeed!
How pretty! Silk pies are the best, so light and creamy :)
I’m having a mid-afternoon slump and Melanie is tempting me with this pudding pie – so evil! It looks amazing and incredibly easy to make dairy-free for our house. Love it!
I would love to make this dairy free. What do you suggest?