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It only takes a few ingredients to make a simple pudding. Delicious and easy to whip up in a pinch, this recipe is a favorite at our farmhouse.

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Pudding: A Farmhouse Classic

Pudding might be the most quintessential farm recipe. Traditionally, almost every farm would have at least one family milk cow and a few chickens running around. With the key ingredients being milk, butter, and eggs, most farms have every ingredient they need with out even going to the store.

What You’ll Need

4 Quart Sauce Pan
Rubber Spatula
Whisk
Milk
Butter
Eggs
Vanilla
Cornstarch
Sugar
Optional: Cocoa Powder, Brown Sugar

About this Recipe

One of my many farm apprenticeships was on a grass-based cow dairy. They also raised pastured pork and had a mobile chicken coop for their laying hens. This recipe was our go-to for a quick and decadent dessert. On my recipe card it says “Basic Pudding”, with a note that I got it from Linda, who got it from someone named Brea. I don’t know where Brea got it from.

Variations

The recipe I’m sharing is for vanilla pudding. Here are three quick variations you can try if you want a different flavor.

Chocolate: Add 1/4 Cup + 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder at the same time you add your sugar and cornstarch.

Butterscotch: Replace the white sugar with brown sugar.

Extra Rich Vanilla: Use three eggs instead of two.

Banana: Simply add banana for a banana cream! Bonus if you sprinkle some crushed up graham cracker on, too.

Cornstarch Substitute: You can replace cornstarch with the flour of your choice at a ratio of 1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch = 2 Tablespoons of flour.

Pudding Pop: Pour this into pudding molds and freeze for a cold, yummy treat.

Tips on Making Pudding

Use a whisk to incorporate all your ingredients, then switch to a rubber spatula. As it thickens, stir with the spatula pressed to the bottom of your pan. This will prevent scorching much better than a whisk will.
If you don’t want a skin on top, press plastic wrap or another cover directly on top of the pudding as it cools.
If you do want a skin, let it cool sitting on your counter. I must say I despise skin on an instant pudding. Skin on a from scratch pudding, however, gets thick and tasty like a layer of ultra moist cake.

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