I tend to make a lot of puddings. Children love them. I love the simplicity and comfort. When made with quality ingredients and low sugar content they can be a really nice way to add some sweetness to the end of a meal or as an afternoon snack.
I tried this recipe with both sugar pie pumpkin and red kuri squash. Both types had a distinct flavor and made a delicious pudding. I added more maple syrup to the pumpkin pudding because the pumpkin I chose didn’t seem very sweet. Alter the amount of sweetener to your preference. The pumpkin was my favorite, but I don’t think it was the added maple syrup. I think it just felt more traditional.
Lena requested a pumpkin pie a few days ago, so i made a small vegan pie crust using whole wheat flour, baked it blind and poured pumpkin pudding into the cooled crust. Chill for a few hours to set. If you are planning to do this, increase the amount of agar and kuzu to two heaping teaspoons each. This will help the filling set a little more firm. I just made little mini pies. If you decide to make a bigger pie, I am not sure if the amount of pudding in this recipe will fill an 8″ crust.
Pumpkin Pudding
1 1/4 cup unsweetened oat milk
2 tsp agar
pinch sea salt
2 cups freshly cooked and pureed pumpkin or a sweet, low moisture winter squash (see below)
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tsp kuzu
2-3 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla
1. Place 1 cup oat milk, agar and pinch of sea salt in a medium sauce pan. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the agar to soften.
2. Slowly heat the oat milk mixture on medium heat. Use a whisk to help the agar to dissolve further and keep it from clumping. Bring to a low boil and turn the heat down to simmer. Let simmer gently for about 3 minutes.
3. Add squash and stir to incorporate. Continue to simmer gently.
4. Mix the apple juice, 1/4 cup oat milk and kuzu in a small cup. Stir to dissolve kuzu and then whisk into the squash mixture. Keep whisking until the mixture comes to a low boil. Remove from heat.
5. Add maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla. Whisk to incorporate. Taste for sweetness and add a little more maple syrup if desired.
6. Pour into individual ramekins. Serve slightly warm or let cool completely.
Cooking the Squash
For this recipe, I cook the squash in a way that doesn’t add a lot of moisture.
Oven to 350°. Cut the squash in 2-4 pieces and scoop out seeds. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the squash and sprinkle a very small amount of sea salt on it. Place pieces in a covered baking dish. Bake until squash is soft, taking care to not let it burn. This takes about 30-40 minutes depending on the type of squash. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to scoop out the tender flesh. Puree in a food processor until smooth.
1 medium size sugar pie pumpkin was enough for the 2 cups puréed squash needed in this recipe.
I’m a big fan of pudding too!! Before going plant-based, I used to make packaged pudding a lot. This looks so much better, and healthier, than packaged pudding. This is going on my “must try” list. Celeste 🙂
Great! I’ve been thinking about making it again tomorrow or at least for Thanksgiving. 🙂
This was just what I was looking for!
Perfect- will make it tomorrow.
Thank you.
Hi Susan, Please let me know what you think. Feel free to use unsweetened soy milk in place of the oat milk. Both types of milk work. There is also a pumpkin chia pudding over at sweetveg.org. https://sweetveg.org/2019/12/02/easy-vegan-pumpkin-chia-seed-pudding/ -Teresa
I think this one is really good, too. https://littleveg.com/2012/11/07/sweet-potato-pie-with-oat-pecan-crust/
The pumpkin pudding was a huge success and next will try your chia recipe that looks to be amazing as well.
ps making your red cabbage and currant recipe for my client today and would like to say how many of your recipes have helped me over the 6 yrs that I became macrobiotic and continue to help and inspire me and others that I cook for.
The foods are so delicious and for most part very easy to do.
Thank you once again so much