Chocolate Avocado Pudding

I've seen a ton of recipes recently where an avocado is used to make a dessert item, especially pudding. What ended up motivating me to give it a try was my picky toddler. I have the hardest time getting her to eat any sort of vegetable and fruit at all.  It's gotten to a point where she'll only eat healthy food if I can disguise it as an unhealthy food (not unlike many adults).  A chocolate avocado pudding seemed like a perfect way to sneak in some good nutrition into her diet.  It worked like a charm: my toddler thought she was getting a special dessert, and I found a healthy recipe that takes five minutes to make.  You might be wondering how an adult might like Chocolate Avocado Pudding?  Honestly, I can faintly taste the avocado in this dish, which some might find off-putting.  However, I love avocados, so it didn't bother me at all.  My husband really enjoyed the pudding too. I think it would make a fantastic breakfast, snack, and/or dessert.  If you want to mask the avocado taste more, check out the notes at the bottom of the page for some tips on how to do that.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

INGREDIENTS

1 Just-Ripe Avocado

1/3 Cup Milk (I used Vanilla Almond Milk)

1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

3 Tbsp Honey or Maple Syrup

1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Optional: 1/8 tsp Almond Extract
Pinch of Salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Place avocado, milk, cocoa powder, and honey in a blender or food processor (or, if you have an immersion blender, put ingredients in a medium bowl). 

2. Blend until smooth and creamy. Do a taste test, and increase the cocoa powder or honey if needed. You can add in additional milk if you need to make it thinner.

3. Chill for at least a few hours before serving, so that the flavors can mellow and incorporate.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serving Size:  Half the Pudding

Calories:  292

Fat:  17

Carbs:  41

Protein:  4

NOTES

*If you want to mask the avocado taste more, melt 1/2 Cup chocolate chips and add to the mixture. You can also increase the amount of vanilla extract, and/or add in some almond or peppermint extract.

*Avoid using an over-ripe avocado; it makes the avocado taste too strong. This also means that the pudding should be eaten within a few days, for optimal taste.