Vegan Bourbon Vanilla Pudding

Sep 23, 2026 · By VanillaGoods

Dessert Custards puddings creams Origin: Ugandan Vanilla: Beans Easy

Vegan bourbon pudding flavored with a whole vanilla bean. An easy recipe: 10 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking, plus chilling; serves 4. Best vanilla for this: Ugandan (bold, chocolatey, smoky), or Indonesian (deep, woody, savory). Any pure vanilla works.

Prep 10 min

Cook 15 min

Chill 2 hr

Total 2 hr 25 min

Servings 4

Diet Vegan

Ingredients

Adjust yield

servings

2 ½ cups (600.0 ml)oat milk
½ cup (100.0 g)granulated sugar
4.0 tbsp (32.0 g)cornstarch
1.0 pinchfine sea salt
2.0 tbsp (28.0 g)vegan butter
1.0vanilla bean, split and scraped
2.0 tbsp (30.0 ml)bourbon

Make it at home

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Instructions

In a saucepan off the heat, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt with 1/2 cup of the oat milk until smooth and lump-free.
Whisk in the remaining oat milk and the vanilla.
Set over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the pudding thickens and comes to a gentle bubble, 5 to 7 minutes; it should mound softly on the whisk.
Stir in the bourbon off the heat.
Off the heat, whisk in the vegan butter until the pudding looks glossy and smooth.
Pour into serving dishes, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin, and chill until cold and set, about 2 hours.

Tips

Bourbon's caramel and oak notes echo vanilla; a wheated bourbon gives the smoothest result.
Don't toss the scraped pods: tuck them into a jar of sugar for homemade vanilla sugar.
No vanilla bean? Use 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla powder instead. Add it where the recipe adds the seeds; if the bean is steeped in hot milk or cream, stir the swap in after cooking, off the heat.
Choosing vanilla: Ugandan vanilla (bold, chocolatey, smoky) suits this recipe best; Indonesian (deep, woody, savory) is a great alternative, and any pure vanilla works.

Recipe FAQ

How long does it take to make vanilla pudding?

Plan on 10 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hr chill. The recipe makes 4 servings.

How should I store vanilla pudding?

Refrigerate with plastic wrap pressed on the surface for up to 3 days.

Can I use a different form of vanilla?

Yes. This version uses 1 split vanilla bean. You can swap in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste, or 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder instead; they're interchangeable at these amounts. Beans give the most visible specks and the fullest aroma.

What makes this recipe vegan?

It uses plant-based swaps for every animal ingredient: oat milk, cornstarch, vegan butter. Check that your plant butter and other packaged ingredients are certified vegan.

Estimated · per serving

Nutrition

Per serving = 1 of 4 servings this recipe makes.

260 Calories / serving

8.0g Fat

42.5g Carbs

1.6g Protein

31.0g Sugar

Whole recipe (4 servings): ~1040 cal · 32g fat · 170g carbs · 6g protein · 124g sugar

Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.

Per serving · 260 calories

What it takes to burn one serving

Brisk walking 49 min·2.9 mi·~5750 steps
Walking uphill or incline treadmill 35 min·1.8 mi·~3500 steps
Moderate cycling 26 min·5.2 mi
Swimming laps 36 min
Jogging 25 min·2.1 mi·~4000 steps
Stair climbing 24 min·~2150 steps
Dancing 42 min
Bodyweight circuit training 26 min
Cleaning, errands, or playing with the dog 60 min

Rough estimates for one serving, based on standard MET values at about 155 lb. Your own burn depends on body size, effort, and fitness. Shown for context only — food is not something you have to earn.