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What Ingredients You Need for Healthy Tofu Chocolate Pudding
You need only 5 ingredients for this healthy Tofu Chocolate Pudding (and no cooking!):
- soft silken tofu, 12-ounce package
- cocoa powder, ¼ cup
- maple syrup, 3-4 tablespoons
- vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons
- sea salt, ½ teaspoon plus more to taste if needed
Optional garnishes:
- big flaky sea salt, like Maldon
- chocolate shavings
- fresh mint
What Kind of Tofu Do You Use for Chocolate Pudding
tl;dr Use silken tofu, or specifically soft silken tofu, which you can find in refrigerated sections of grocery stores in plastic containers, or in plastic tubes. If you cannot find tofu that's specifically labeled "silken," you can use any tofu called soft or extra soft.
Is Silken Tofu the Same as Soft Tofu?
Silken Tofu and Soft Tofu are two different types of tofu.
Though silken tofu and soft tofu are both softer textured tofus, there are slight differences in texture that arise from how they are made.
"Soft tofu" usually refers to a level of firmness on those blocks of tofu that most people are familiar with. Block tofu is made from curdled soy milk that is then pressed to remove water and shaped into blocks that range in firmness based on how long they are pressed. Block tofu is sold in those familiar rectangular hard plastic containers with a sheet of plastic on top that you can peel off. They range in firmness from "soft" which you might see in dishes like mapo tofu, to "extra firm" which hold their shape when you cut them and stir-fry or grill.
Silken tofu, on the other hand, is actually a different type of tofu that is NOT curdled and NOT pressed so the texture is always very smooth. Silkten tofu can also range in firmness, from extra silken to extra firm, but even the firmest of silken tofus retain the same smooth, silky texture that's almost like a custard.
For this Tofu Chocolate Pudding recipe, use silken tofu for the smoothest texture, but if you cannot find silken tofu, you can use soft or extra soft regular which will still blend up pretty smooth!
Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources
- Cocoa Powder. For this healthy Tofu Chocolate Pudding and any and all other chocolate products that come out of my kitchen, I use organic, unsweetened natural cocoa powder. Make sure it's cOcOA powder, not cAcAO powder. Both cocoa powder and cacao powder come from the cacao plant, but cocoa powder is made from beans roasted at a higher temperature so it's a little more palatable. Cacao powder is made from beans roasted at a lower temperature, so it's more bitter, but retains more of the nutritional content. Cocoa powder usually costs less than cacao powder.
- Maple Syrup: A little bit of maple syrup adds a boost of natural sweetness. I use this organic maple syrup that is amber in color and more robust in flavor than lighter colored maple syrups. You can substitute with honey, though the recipe will not be vegan.
- Vanilla extract. You really do need a drop or two of vanilla in the recipe to bring out the "chocolate." I use this organic brand of pure vanilla extract. Don't use imitation vanilla flavoring.
- Salt. Adding salt to sweet dishes isn't meant to make them taste salty. Salt not only brings out the natural sweetness of other ingredients, it balances the sweetness, too. You can use kosher salt (I use this brand) or coarse sea salt in the Chocolate Pudding itself
- Flaky Sea Salt. Use sea salt with big crunchy flakes like this brand for garnish.
Instructions for How to Make Tofu Chocolate Pudding
Tofu Chocolate Pudding requires nothing more than blending all the ingredients together in a food processor or blender.
The most "difficult" step of making Tofu Chocolate Pudding is draining some of the excess water from the container of tofu.
Drain off excess water from tofu by slowly tilting the container over the sink. Be careful not to let the tofu slip out of the container into the sink! You can also do this over a bowl to catch the tofu in case it does come out!
Place the silken tofu, coca powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
Taste, and blend in more maple syrup a teaspoon at a time if needed.
Transfer the Tofu Chocolate Pudding to small serving bowls. Garnish with chocolate curls, berries, fresh herbs like mint, and big sea salt flakes.
To store leftover or advance-prepped Tofu Chocolate Pudding, place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Some liquid may naturally separate out from the pudding. You can just drain it off, or stir it back into the pudding before serving again.
Healthy-ish Chocolate Dessert Recipes
- Chocolate Chia Pudding
- Avocado Chocolate Pudding
- Brownie Baked Oatmeal, oatmeal in a portable brownie format
- Healthy Chocolate Spread "No-tella", like Nutella, but without the chemicals and less desirable oils
Tofu Chocolate Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounce silken tofu
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
Garnishes for Serving (optional)
- flaky sea salt for garnish optional
- chocolate curls
- fresh berries or herbs like mint for garnish optional
Food for Afterthoughts
Pudding is a not a dessert.
Chocolate cake. Apple pie. Brownie hot fudge sundae. These are desserts. But "pudding" in any context never sounded like a deliciously decadent dessert treat to me. I
For a very long time, I thought bread pudding was nasty. I had no basis for this opinion, since I don't recall ever actually eating bread pudding. I suppose it just comes from perceptions, then drawing unfounded conclusions. I'm not a fan of any type of pudding or custard as desserts, whether it's creme brulee or flan or panna cotta - that is a fact. Then, adding "bread" makes it even worse. All I could ever think of when I heard "bread pudding" was Jell-o instant pudding slapped between two slices of Wonder White - "dessert" for the Bible belt trailer park.
But then someone ordered bread pudding at some ooh-la-la restaurant somewhere, I can't remember where, and I thought to myself, "Oh, fine, order your back asswards country bumpkin trailer treat, since I'm not paying for it anyway." But I can't have dinner without dessert so I took a reluctant bite and holy shiitake, this is bread pudding?!?! I've been shunning this deliciously soft, sometimes lightly crispy and chewy on top, studded with chocolate chips or white chocolate chunks or dried fruit (but never raisins because those are gross)?!? Have I been missing out all ths time?!?!
Yes, my child, you have. Come to Jesus.
I found bread pudding!!
Now I'm not one of those bread-thumping pudding freaks that goes out on a mission to convert the masses by proclaiming that there is no other dessert and if you believe, it'll taste like Heaven. No, I'm just a quiet believer in how delicious certain foods are, and rather than just talking the talk, I wok the wok. Or bake the bake. Or something like that.
I made bread pudding for the first time on Christmas eve (after the kimchee jji-gae) to have for dessert the next day after Christmas dinner. I wanted to show my family. Hey guys, can I share something with you that has changed my Delicious Life? This is bread pudding. Now, I know what you're thinking. Bread pudding is for those people who have nothing else. Bread pudding is for people who don't have a culinary education, who don't know anything else, who are down to their last crumb of stale bread and the only thing they can turn to is page 333 of their cooking Bible and make...bread pudding. Sure, that's true some times, but not all the time. Try this bread pudding.
What the? Mom surprised me. She told me she loves bread pudding. She said that she's loved bread pudding since...Cincinnati. Cincinnati? Since I was in elementary school? She even remembers the exact moment - dinner with my Dad's boss's wife at the Montgomery Inn. I asked her why she never told me about it and she shrugged. She didn't want to force anything on me; bread pudding is something you have to find on your own.
Mom tried the cranberry bread pudding I made and she loved it. She ate some on Christmas Eve when it came out of the oven. She ate a sliver of it as breakfast on Christmas morning, because according to Mom, it may not have coffee in it like a Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake, but it's just like French toast; never mind that she put a tiny little scoop of vanilla ice cream on top because really, vanilla ice cream on bread pudding isn't any worse than maple syrup on French toast anyway.
We reheated it in the oven at a smooth 250 degrees whilst we ate our Christmas dinner. When we finished our ham and green beans and macaroni and cheese (details on those dinner details later), the bread pudding, minus a couple of pieces a la Mom, was ready to eat. A la mode, of course. It wasn't too sweet, and it was a little drier than I would have liked, but it was still good.
There are some recipes that have a lot more sugar or use at least twice as many eggs, but I can only imagine that it would make the bread pudding way too sweet or way too hard. The only thing that I might change for next time is perhaps adding white chocolate chunks. But that's sort of the beauty of bread pudding, isnt it? It doesn't require all that much work, all you have to do is believe. And once you're comfortable with the basics, it becomes very personal.
sarah says
oh yes. brioche. that's fancy. kinda sounds like the tammy faye of bread pudding, huh? ;) LOL!
djjewelz says
Bread pudding is the shiznat! I was converted to bread pudding in Las Vegas of all places :)
Happy New Years Miss DL! Your posts have been awesome this year!
Sylvie says
I use to not be a fan of bread pudding until just a couple of weeks ago. Of all places, the bread pudding served at the cafeteria at work for the employee holiday celebration was the bomb. Served warm with a bourbon cream sauce. Yours look similar. I'll have to try this recipe.
craig says
sarah- that smile and you can cook too...I will have to try your recipe :)
sarah says
djjewelz: hey, nothing wrong with vegas! i think the best key lime pie i ever had was in vegas, too!
sylvie: ah, bourbon cream sauce. sounds AWESOME. would it be wrong to drown bread pudding in that sauce AND serve it a la mode?!?!
l.a.c.: i had a zinfandel the other day (at philippe's, with my french dip of all things) and think that IF i must drink a red, i would live it to be a zinfandel. :)
Chris says
I'm gonna make this weekend and this recipe seems nice and simple just like I like.
Sarah J. Gim says
Chris:
Good luck! Let us know how it turns out!
Brinakins74 says
6 years and still getting comments! Thank you for the recipe. I am converting Kneader's Raspberry Bread Pudding into cranberry bread pudding. I needed to get an idea of how much cranberry to use and an idea on how to dry out my bread. My bread is drying in the oven now. Wish me luck!