Delicious Healthy Vegan Chocolate Pudding: A Guilt-Free Dessert in Minutes

A version of this article originally appeared on MadeByHemp.com

It’s time again for another recipe post and of course, it will involve chocolate! My friends over at MadeByHemp forwarded this great, healthy chocolate pudding made with the goodness of hemp seeds, dates, and raw cacao. This is not your regular, sugar-filled chocolate pudding, no this is a chocolate pudding that is not only delicious, it’s also chockfull of great nutrients like fiber, protein, calcium, and zinc.

Read more to see how to make this healthy vegan chocolate pudding made with raw simple and healthy ingredients.

Healthy Vegan Chocolate Pudding Fortified with Hemp Seeds

Bring donuts to work and suddenly your co-workers will like you a little more. Bring a vegan chocolate pudding made with hemp seeds to work, and what do you get? A little confusion…but at least they’ll be snacking healthy.

I could talk about the healthiness of hemp all day long, but I never thought I’d be making a dessert with it. It’s truly the best of both worlds – delicious cacao and all the nutritional benefits of hemp seeds. The reason I was shocked by how delicious this chocolate and hemp pudding tastes, is that generally, hemp products have a very distinct taste to them that I would not describe as sweet or dessert-like. 

What do hemp seeds taste like?

Have you tried hemp seeds? Speaking from embarrassing experience, I recommend getting the shelled seeds for when you’re on the go. Otherwise, you’ll have teeny brown shells plastered to your teeth. If you have tried hemp seeds before, then you know what I’m talking about.

Hemps seeds taste great and are similar to sunflower seeds or more like an almond butter if you have the shelled version. Hemps seeds have a rich, nutty flavor that’s great in protein shakes, but you probably don’t think of a dessert when nibbling on them.

You’ll have a new appreciation for hemp seeds after trying the vegan chocolate pudding made with them.

How healthy are hemp seeds?

You can add shelled hemp seeds to just about any food to drastically increase its nutritional value. The first thing I like to show people interested in hemp foods is the nutrition label on the back of a bag of hemp seeds. The protein, omega-3, omega-6, vitamin, and mineral count blows away those found in similar foods like sesame or flaxseeds. 

Just look at the image on the right.

To list just a few of its nutrients, this little grab bag of hemp seeds has the following quantities in every 5 Tablespoons:

• 14g heart-healthy poly-unsaturated fat
• 15g dietary fiber
• 13g protein
• 50% magnesium
• 6% calcium
• 35% iron
• 20% zinc

Now, let’s look at the ingredient list: organic hemp seed and sea salt. There’s just something so fulfilling about knowing you’re eating real food, not something manufactured to…let’s face it, resemble food.

The nutritional perks of hemp seeds come right from the hemp plant, nothing artificial added.

That’s great, now how do I make hemp pudding?

Okay, let’s get virtual cooking!

This is what you’ll need to make this vegan chocolate hemp pudding:

• 2/3 cup of pitted dates
• ½ cup of water
• 2/3 cup of ice
• 1 cup of hemp seeds (we recommend shelled seeds)
• 1/8 cup of cacao powder
• A pinch of vanilla bean powder
• Optionally, you can add some berries of your choice to throw on top when you’re done.

Here’s how to make it:

• Add dates, water, and ice into a high-powered blender
• Blend until the mixture turns into a paste
• Add the hemp seeds, cacao powder, and vanilla bean powder
• Blend until all ingredients are incorporated and you have a creamy mixture
• Enjoy! (oh, and add some berries on top if you so choose)

If you try this recipe, let us know what you think!

Personally, when I’m feeling sick the only thing I can tolerate is soft foods like yogurt or cottage cheese. I’ve been fortunate enough that my immune system has been on it’s A-game this past year, but I think this recipe will be great for when you’re sick (and barely have any appetite) to get in some much-needed (and delicious) nutrition.