Double Chocolate Protein Pudding (or Fudgesicles)

This super rich and very chocolatey pudding is packed with both flavor and nutrition, especially iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Enjoy this nutritious and delicious pudding as a dessert or midday snack, or even for breakfast if that's how you roll! For a hot summer's day treat, this pudding also makes for great fudgesicles (fudge popsicles). For those who would prefer a somewhat milder (and avocado-free) pudding, see the option given below the recipe.
Yield: 8 servings of roughly ½ cup (125g) each, totaling 4 cups (1,000g)
Macros (per serving): 200 calories | 9.5g protein | 15g fat | 4g net carbs
Prep: 15 minutes | Cool: 2 hours | or Freeze: 4 hours
Equipment Required: a high-powered blender (counter-top or immersion)
Storage: refrigerated for up to 4 days. Can also be frozen.
Ingredients:
  • 10.9 ounces (308g) extra-firm silken tofu (e.g. Mori-Nu), room temperature ✎ 
  • 1 medium (136g) avocado, room temperature
  • ½ a 13.5-ounce (400g) can (i.e. 200g) full-fat coconut milk, room temperature
  • 3 Tbsp (45ml) soy or pea milk
  • 3 ounces (85g) baking chocolate, melted
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated allulose or granulated keto-friendly sweetener of choice
  • ½ cup (43g) unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
  • ¼ cup (28g) plain pea or soy protein powder (optional) ✎ ​
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
Directions:
  1. ​Put the tofu, avocado, coconut milk, soy/pea milk, and chocolate in the carafe of a high-powered blender and blend to smooth.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend to smooth. The mixture will be thick, so occasional tamping or mixing may be needed to keep the mixture moving.
  3. Seal the pudding in an airtight container or containers and refrigerate for roughly 2 hours to fully cool.
  4. Enjoy chilled or at room temperature.
  5. To make fudgesicles, freeze the pudding in popsicle molds until solid throughout, roughly 4 hours.
Topping Options: berries, nuts, seeds, cocao nibs, cocoa/cacao powder, chocolate chips, nut/seed butter, whipped coconut or low-carb plant-based cream.
Make It Milder (and Avocado-Free): omit the avocado. Reduce the baking chocolate to 2.5 ounces (71g), the allulose to ½ cup (50g), the cocoa powder to ¼ cup (22g), and the protein powder to 2 tablespoons (14g). Divide into six servings of roughly ½ cup (125g) each, totaling 3 cups (750g). Macros similar to original recipe.
✎ ​Notes:
  • Use room-temperature ingredients to prevent the chocolate from solidifying on contact with cold ingredients.
  • The amount of tofu given here is equivalent to one package of Mori-Nu silken tofu. 
  • The coconut milk can be replaced with a very low-carb plant-based cooking cream if allergic to coconut.
  • A flavored protein powder can be used in place of the plain protein powder. Omitting the protein powder will reduce the protein content of the pudding slightly, but structurally it will be similar.
  • I'd suggest using silicone molds for the fudgesicles for easy removal. The size of molds may vary and only ones on the larger end would hold a full half cup of pudding. I'd suggest using ones that hold about 1/4 cup (2 ounces - 62g). In this case, 2 fudgesicles would equal a serving of pudding, or 1 of 16 fudgesicles would halve the macros given here.
  • Macros for this recipes are calculated with American national nutritional data (i.e. NCCDB & USDA entries in Cronometer) for all ingredients apart from the tofu (Mori-Nu), coconut milk (Aroy-D), and protein powder (Now Foods plain pea).
  • Macro numbers are rounded. Numbers equal to or greater than 10g are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g. 10g, 11g, 12g, etc.) and numbers below 10g are rounded to the nearest 0.5g (0.5g, 1g, 1.5g ... 9g, 9.5g). Any numbers below 0.5g are given as is (e.g. 0.1g, 0.2g, etc.). Calories are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.