These secretly healthy chocolate dirt pudding cups will take you straight back to childhood!
If you grew up in the 90s, you probably recognized this kid-friendly snack right away!
A thick layer of creamy chocolate pudding is topped with chocolate crumbles in the classic dessert that resembles cups filled with dirt and mud. The idea of eating chocolate dirt might not sound like the most fantastic thing in the world, but of course there’s not really dirt in the recipe! I remember being served chocolate dirt cups often at birthday parties growing up. Sometimes the dirt crumbles were made of cookies, sometimes brownies, and sometimes Oreos…
Oh, and sometimes there were gummy worms! You can add gummy worms to this recipe too. Just make sure to look for gelatin-free brands if you want to keep the pudding cups vegan.
Since I had an abundance of fresh mint, I chose to go with a more-grown-up version this time. No offense to gummy worms.
I also added a little peppermint extract, but you can skip it if you’d prefer plain chocolate pudding cups.
For the chocolate dirt, I chose a raw option here. You can also opt to use crumbles of your favorite chocolate brownie recipe, chocolate cookie recipe, or even my Healthy Oreos.
Clean Eating Chocolate Dirt Pudding Cups
Adapted from Healthy Chocolate Pudding
Clean Eating Chocolate Dirt Pudding Cups
Print This Recipe
[mrp_rating_result show_count="false" show_rich_snippets="false"]
Ingredients
- 2 cups canned coconut milk or milk of choice
- heaping 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup sugar OR 1/8 tsp uncut stevia
- 1/2 cup milk of choice + 3 tbsp non-gmo cornstarch (Readers have had success with arrowroot)
- optional 3.5 oz chocolate chips
- 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- optional pure peppermint extract
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- scant 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- optional vegan gummy worms
Instructions
*Nut-Free Version: Instead of the “dirt” ingredients listed, just use your favorite crumbled-up cookies.
Heat 2 cups milk of choice in a saucepan with the heaping 1/8 tsp salt, Dutch cocoa, and sugar or stevia. Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch and remaining milk in a small bowl until no lumps remain. Once the saucepan mixture is warm, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Then lower to simmer 1 minute. Turn off heat, and stir in chocolate chips and 3/4 tsp vanilla extract until chocolate melts. For mint pudding, you can add a little pure peppermint extract. Make sure it says pure, and start with 1/8 tsp. You can always add more. Refrigerate to thicken – it gets thicker as it sits. Feel free to experiment with arrowroot or non-Dutch cocoa; I haven’t tried either variation.
To make the dirt: Combine all remaining ingredients in a food processor until fine crumbles form. Sprinkle over the pudding. You can smush leftover crumbles into balls or bars if desired.
Link Of The Day:
Rachel @ Mesa Cooking Co. says
These are awesome!! How fun – love that this is a healthier version! And that mint extract – yes, that just sounds perfect! Love these and all the awesome ingredients you used 🙂
Bites for Foodies says
Katie, this recipe looks fantastic!! What a great idea to add some texture to the pudding. I make a Nutella banana pudding for the kids all the time…I’m definitely going to add a layer of crumbled cookies on top of it next time.
http://www.bitesforfoodies.com/recipes/vegan-nutella-banana-pudding/
Julia @ Sprinkles & Saturdays says
I grew up in the 90s and totally recognize these right away! So much fun. These would be perfect for a kids birthday with those gummy worms sticking out.
http://www.sprinklesandsaturdays.com
Vivian | stayaliveandcooking says
Katie, can I make a confession? I’ve NEVER had dirt puddings….. Help, I’ve probably missed out on so much! I’m from the Netherlands and before I started blogging I had never even heard of it.
Anyway, I love it when people spend so much effort into making guilty pleasures more… guilt free! I actually have a can of coconut milk and no idea what to use it for (it was in a goodie bag) so now I know 😉
Thanks for sharing this with us, have a great week!
Heidi Bruner says
OMG Katie I loved dirt pudding as a child! This is great! Did you use full fat coconut milk or the lite?
Maria says
Super chocolaty fun! I love that the dirt can be a dessert on its own. We have a big planter of fresh mint outside that grows on its own every year…it would love to hang out with some chocolate dirt! Thanks for another goodie!
Jessica says
I just tried this but I didn’t have dutch cocoa so I used baking cocoa. I had to add a little more sugar to sweeten it a bit to taste but what I tasted before I stuck them in the fridge was pretty good. I’m gonna crush some cocoa puff cereal for my Dirt. I love how easy and quick this was to whip up!
Akino says
I love chocolate pudding and these look so cute! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Akino | akinokiki.blogspot.ca
Marianela says
Alright – you definitely have me drooling. These look amazing =) Thanks for sharing.
Ellen Lederman says
Katie, THANK YOU! I got 4 portions from this. Smiled each time as I ate it. At 62, never had dirt pudding—now I’ll be having it all the time. Healthy and delicious. Easy to make too. The pudding is the best chocolate pudding ever—I like it better than the tofu mousses I’ve been making. And the “dirt” is fabulous—better than crumbled cookies and more nutritious. The finishing touch—gummy sea creatures (Trader Joes didn’t have worms, but these are gelatin-free, so we have sea horses and lobsters playing in the dirt. Thanks again.