Can You Make Pudding With Water? Great Recipe!

Can You Make Pudding With Water? Great Recipe!

Can you make pudding with water? Let’s find out!

Whether you are craving something sweet or want to treat yourself to a spicy treat, an instant solution is a pudding! Pudding is a timeless favorite when pairing up a main dish with a savory or sweet side dish. The thick, creamy taste of the pudding is a delight for many food lovers, and pudding is popular among children and adults regardless of age group!

In 2020, approximately 150 million Americans consumed pudding, and this figure is projected to hit almost 153 million in 2024. This reflects the popularity pudding enjoys among the Americans and in many surrounding regions.

Puddings are also a valuable source of protein as they contain milk. However, with innovation in different dishes peaking, many food enthusiasts are also coming up with newer pudding versions. This includes one version that uses water instead of milk. Sounds strange? That’s alright. 

Can you make pudding with water?

Can you make pudding with water

The answer is a definite yes! You can use substitutes for milk to make a mouth-watering pudding, which includes using water in the place of milk.

You will have probably guessed that using water instead of milk will make the pudding quite fluid. This is because, unlike milk, water does not have a rich, creamy texture that most of us enjoy in a pudding. If you don’t like the richness milk offers in a pudding, you can substitute it for water.

An important to note is that you can’t use the same quantity of milk and water.

You need to account for water’s fluidity compared to thicker milk.

According to a rough estimate, using 30% less water can help the pudding retain its flavor without becoming annoyingly think and inedible.

Pudding made with water can be a suitable substitute, especially if the want is creating a fruit pudding. You can spread it over a savory dish such as cake or brownie to enjoy a perfect combination of pudding and cake.

Can you make instant pudding with water?

Instant pudding

Unlike regular pudding, which needs to be heated alongside the milk, instant pudding only needs to be whisked around for a couple of minutes and ready to serve.

Instant pudding is a life savior for many people, as it is quick to make and tastes quite delicious. When it comes to using instant pudding with water, the answer again is a definite yes!

You can easily substitute milk with water to make the instant pudding easy. Just like the cooked pudding, you should use less water and expect the final texture of pudding to be thinner than instant milk pudding.

Can You Make Pudding With Water? Great Recipe!

Jell-O Pudding with water instead of milk

You can experiment with Jell-O pudding as much as you like, including adding different flavors such as chocolate or vanilla or substituting milk with substitutes including water. Milk contains fat and proteins that provide a rich and creamy texture to the pudding and help set it up. Unlike milk, water does not contain any such nutrients.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 6 People

Ingredients
  

  • Jell-O cook and serve mix
  • Fruits such as strawberry or banana
  • Water instead of milk
  • Optional add-ins such as heavy cream or coffee creamer

Instructions
 

  • The process of making the Jell-O pudding remains the same; however, you need to ensure that you use less water than milk to avoid making the pudding too thin.
  • By adding a substitute such as heavy cream, you can cover the lack of milk proteins and enhance the overall creamy texture.
  • Let the pudding sit for 5 minutes before serving it hot or cold.

Will Jell-O pudding set with almond milk?

Almond milk is another excellent choice to complement your Jell-O pudding. Almond milk is plant milk and contains low fat and cholesterol.

Therefore, being a naturally favored choice for health-conscious individuals. The answer to the Jell-O pudding setting with almond milk is again a yes!

However, you need to be a bit careful if you want the final pudding to taste as yummy as you want it to.

The trick is to use regular pudding that you need to cook on a stovetop rather than the instant pudding option.

It is also important to use chilled and unsweetened almond milk in place of room temperature one. Once you have added the pudding to almond milk, you need to whisk it continuously while it is boiling.

You also need to be patient by letting the pudding sit for at least five minutes before serving this mouth-watering delight!

3 Milk Substitutes for instant pudding

Milk Substitutes for instant pudding

There are several substitutes you can use to make your instant pudding tastier. These substitutes can help enhance the flavor of pudding and increase its variety.

We have outlined the top 3 milk substitutes that you can use to make your instant pudding incredibly delicious.

1) Powdered milk

If regular milk is not available or you intentionally avoid it, an excellent substitute for your pudding can be powdered milk.

It is suggested that you first mix the powdered milk with water and only then use it with the pudding.

This is because directly adding powdered milk can reduce the content of your pudding. It is also important to note that powdered milk is quite sweet, so you need to account for this by reducing the sugar in your pudding.

Make sure that you strike a balance, so the final pudding does not taste extremely sweet.

Apart from providing a sweeter taste, powdered milk also offers a creamy texture which you may be used to finding in a pudding.

2) Heavy cream

Another mouth-watering alternative to using milk in the pudding is the use of heavy cream. Heavy cream can add a thick texture to the final pudding, which many food enthusiasts enjoy because of its rich flavor.

Heavy cream can add a slight sweetness and a vanilla flavor to the pudding.

The best way to substitute heavy cream with milk is to use a mixture of water and heavy cream to make the final pudding less thick. So if you want to avoid using milk and go for something which offers a richer and thicker texture, heavy cream can be a safe bet!

As heavy cream contains a higher fat content, you may want to use an alternative with lower fat content. If this is the case, you can use light cream, butter, coconut cream, or 

cashew cream to cut down on the fat content and make a tasty pudding!

3) Coffee creamer

Another great alternative to using milk in the pudding is coffee creamer. Coffee creamer is dairy-free and can provide a thick and rich texture to the pudding.

Another great advantage of using coffee creamer is that it comes in various flavors, including vanilla, chocolate, and hazelnut. By using coffee creamer, you can increase the diversity and make the pudding more appealing to a large variety of audiences belonging to different age groups.

Coffee creamers are also available in both liquid and powdered form, and you can use either in your pudding.

If you are looking for convenience, you should go with the powder form as it can be stored anywhere.

On the flip side, if you want the liquid form, you must keep it in the fridge. It is also important to note that coffee creamer comes with sugar added, so you need to make sure that the final pudding doesn’t end up being ‘too sweet.’

Can you substitute coconut milk for milk in pudding?

Coconut milk

If you want to try something new while making pudding, you can substitute coconut milk with regular milk!

Coconut milk has a strong nutty taste that will remain in the final pudding, so if you like the flavor of coconut, you can definitely combine it with your pudding.

Coconut milk also contains MTC linked with reducing weight and increasing energy, so you may want to try it out if you are following a diet routine.

Final words

Pudding is a food that is loved by many across the globe. The most common pudding includes milk, and it gives it the thick texture we all love so much.

However, you can also use water to avoid milk or are looking for a more refined taste. Using water with pudding is ideal if you make a fruity pudding and want to add it to a cake or a loaf of bread.

You can also use different substitutes to enhance the pudding with water, such as coffee creamer or cream. Lastly, there are alternates for milk, too, including almond, cashew, and even rice, adding their own flavor to the pudding.

So whether you are looking to try something new or want to enhance the quality of your overall pudding, this guide will help you get it just right!

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Candy Seideman has been cooking for most of her life. In fact she is referred to as "The Chef" by most of her close family not only because she attended culinary school and was an actual chef, but also because she has a passion for cooking for friends and family.