Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Pudding and Brownie Parfait

This Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Pudding and Brownie Parfait is a treat you will love to make for you or your family because of its clean, whole food ingredients. It's the perfect plant-based dessert that's dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and contains no refined sugar!

Here's Why This Recipe Works 

Here's Why This Recipe Works - my top 3 reasons:

1. It's vegan and gluten-free
2. No flour, eggs, or butter needed
3. Made with clean, real food ingredients

This Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Pudding and Brownie Parfait will please even the picky eaters in your home!

When you have a young child that's a picky eater, it presents many challenges for a mother trying to feed their children healthy and nutritious meals and snacks.

And when you have a child with food allergies and/or is following a vegan lifestyle, it can make it some choices even more challenging, especially if they contain gluten, eggs, dairy, etc.

So, I'm here to help!

What child (or adult!) could pass up this decadent dessert for an after-school treat or after-dinner dessert?

And what if I told you this recipe contained nutritious and real-food ingredients like avocados, black beans, superfood trio of chia, hemp and flax seeds and healthy fats from coconut oil and almonds?

Well it's true!

It's really simple to make with a gluten-free + vegan brownie mix (using black beans!) and a raw + vegan chocolate pudding (using avocados!) whipped up in less than 5 minutes with a Vitamix and a vegan caramel sauce that you can make in under 5 minutes as well.

The entire dessert can be ready in about 30 minutes and you could even get your picky eaters to help assemble it in the layered parfait (although you may not want them to see you adding the avocado into the pudding!).

And while I'm not a big fan of "sneaking" ingredients into recipes for my own children, you could definitely make this and they would never know otherwise.  I can confirm this because I, too, have picky eaters and they both enjoyed this with no complaints.

This healthier dessert is made with real, whole food ingredients and is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, grain-free and contains no refined sugar.

S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Brownie Parfait Ingredients:

Duncan Hines Boxed Brownie Mix: Enriched bleached wheat flour, bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, cocoa powder (processed with alkali), palm oil, dextrose, salt, sodium bicarbonate, artificial flavor, wheat starch

Jello-O Chocolate Flavor Pudding & Pie Filling Mix: Sugar, cornstarch, dextrose (processed with alkali), modified cornstarch, contains less than 2% of natural and artificial flavor, salt, polysorbate 60, calcium carrageenan, fumaric acid

Kraft Caramels: Corn Syrup, sugar, skim milk, palm oil, whey (from milk), salt, artificial and natural flavor, soy lecithin (emulsifier)

My healthier version is made with clean, real food ingredients like black beans, avocados, cacao powder, full-fat coconut milk, vanilla bean powder, almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and pink Himalayan salt.

5 Fast Facts About Black Beans:*

• extremely high in fiber
• loaded with anti-oxidants
• contains insoluble fiber
• high in iron at 20% RDA
• regulates blood glucose absorption

5 Fast Facts About Avocados:*

• excellent source of vitamin E
• contains 25 essential nutrients
• contains 2 - 3 times the potassium as one banana
• has anti-inflammatory properties
• can help lower cholesterol levels

5 Fast Facts About Coconut Oil:*

• super high in lauric acid
• rich in antioxidants
• contains natural microbial and anti-bacterial agents
• helps to improve metabolism
• improves cholesterol levels

5 Fast Facts About Raw Cacao Powder:*

• super high in anti-oxidants
• promotes cardiovascular health
• contains essential fats
• can help to decrease blood pressure
• contains over 300 compounds including protein, calcium, copper, zinc and iron

 5 Fast Facts About Almonds (Almond Butter):*

5 Fast Facts About Maple Syrup:*

• contains manganese and zinc
• super high in anti-oxidants
• helps with inflammation
• ¼ cup contains more calcium than the same amount of milk
• ¼ cup contains more potassium than a banana

5 Fast Facts About Vanilla Bean Powder:*

• anti-microbial
• high in anti-oxidants
• can help reduce inflammation
• contains small traces of minerals
• 1 tablespoon contains 2 g of fiber

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions

Here are some recipe tips to make this recipe perfectly:

Brownies: You can use your favorite homemade brownie recipe of clean boxed gluten-free brownies (such as Zemas Madhouse Black Bean Brownie Bites) in this recipe. A couple of my gluten-free brownie recipes that would work well in this recipe are: Vegan Flourless Zucchini Brownies, Flourless Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies, or my Vegan Flourless Double Chocolate Avocado Brownies. Even though you will need to take the time to make them from scratch, you won't need to use the entire batch for this recipe and can enjoy them as another treat for later.

Whipped Topping: You could also add a dollop or layer of healthy "whipping cream" using my Homemade Coconut Whipping Cream recipe.

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Pudding and Brownie Parfait

{ Plant-Based | Vegan | Gluten-Free | Dairy-Free | Soy-Free | Egg-Free | No Refined Sugar }

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Yields: 4 servings

Calories : 1202

Ingredients

For the brownies:

• ▢ 1 box Zemas Madhouse Black Bean Brownie Bites or homemade brownies
• ▢ ½ cup organic black beans (drained and rinsed)
• ▢ 1 ¼ cup water (filtered/purified) (filtered/purified)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon organic ground vanilla bean powder

For the pudding:

• ▢ 4 organic avocados (pitted)
• ▢ ½ cup organic maple syrup
• ▢ ¼ cup organic raw cacao powder
• ▢ 1 can organic full-fat coconut milk (13.5 ounce can, entire can)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon organic ground vanilla bean powder
• ▢ 1 pinch Himalayan pink salt

For the caramel:

• ▢ ½ cup organic almond butter
• ▢ ½ cup organic maple syrup
• ▢ ½ cup organic coconut oil (melted/liquid)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon organic ground vanilla bean powder
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Prepare a 12-cavity muffin pan lined with standard-size muffin cups, then set aside.

Prepare the brownies:

• Prepare the Zemas Madhouse Black Bean Brownie Bites baking mix according to the package directions with these exceptions: a) You can use either (1) teaspoon of organic vanilla bean powder or (3) teaspoons of organic pure vanilla extract b) You will need to bake them longer (approximately 24 minutes) because you will be making full-size muffins instead of mini muffins.
• Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cups, filling them ¾ full.
• Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 24 minutes, or until they are completely baked.
• Remove from oven and allow them to completely cool.

Prepare the pudding:

• While the brownies are baking, prepare the avocados by slicing them in half and removing the pits.
• Scoop out the avocado and add it with the remaining ingredients for the pudding to a Vitamix and blend until it is creamy and smooth, using the tamper if needed.
• Adjust the sweetener to your preference, then set aside.

Prepare the caramel sauce:

• While the brownies are baking, prepare the coconut oil by melting it completely before adding it to the other ingredients (I melt mine on the stove top since I don't use a microwave).
• Add the melted coconut oil and remaining ingredients for the caramel sauce to a small bowl and whisk together until it is creamy and smooth.

Assembly:

• You may have left over brownies, pudding and caramel depending on the size of the parfaits you make and the amount you put in each one.
• In the serving dish of your choice, add a bottom layer of brownies by taking 1 - 2 brownie muffins (or more!) and crumbling them into the bottom of the serving dish (do not pack it down). Add 4 - 5 (or more!) tablespoons of pudding on top, then add 1 - 2 (or more!) tablespoons of caramel sauce, then add 1- 2 tablespoons (or more!) of chopped pecans. Optional: you can repeat the layering once more (crumbled brownies, pudding, caramel sauce, chopped pecans if you have a tall serving dish or want to make a larger triffle-type dessert.
• Store extra brownies in an air-tight container; store extra pudding in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and store extra caramel sauce in an air-tight container in the pantry or refrigerator. If you store it in the refrigerator, it will get thick / slightly hardened due to the coconut oil, but just run your container under warm water and stir before using.

Recipe Notes

"Zemas Madhouse Foods" Black Bean Brownie Bites: This was an excellent option instead of making brownies from scratch, but you could also use this recipe to make homemade brownies instead. Feel free to substitute with your favorite homemade brownies or my Vegan Flourless Double Chocolate Avocado Brownies.

Black Beans: You will only need these if you are using the "Zemas Madhouse Foods" Black Bean Brownie Bites to make the brownies. Make sure you drain and rinse the black beans before adding them to the other ingredients. If you will be making homemade brownies, you will not need this ingredient.

Avocados: Soft, ripe avocados will blend in easier and not leave small chunks behind.

Cacao Powder: This can be substituted with regular cocoa powder in the same amount.

Maple Syrup: Can be substituted with your favorite liquid sweetener such as organic date nectar, organic coconut nectar, etc.

Coconut Milk: I added this ingredient to make the pudding extra thick and creamy, but if you don't like coconut milk or don't have any on hand it can be omitted. 

Coconut Oil: If you don't like the taste or smell of coconut oil, use organic refined coconut oil which has zero coconut taste or smell. In addition, the caramel sauce will be extra smooth if the coconut oil is melted or in liquid form before adding it in. I melt mine in a double boiler on the stovetop since I don't use a microwave.

Vanilla Bean Powder: I like to use vanilla bean powder in my non-bake recipes, such as the pudding and caramel sauce in this recipe because it doesn't have an alcohol flavor. However, it can always be substituted with organic pure vanilla extract in the same amount.

Serving Size: This recipe will make approximately (4) servings. Nutritional information is for (1) serving.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1svg | Calories: 1202kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 95g | Sodium: 124mg | Fiber: 20g | Sugar: 51g | Calcium: 250mg

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:American

Recipe Author: Karielyn Tillman

Copyright Notice

The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.

Did You Make This Recipe?Leave a Rating + Comment Below!

Want more healthy dessert recipes?  

Check out these:

• Gluten-Free Vegan No-Bake Brownie Bottom Turtle Cheesecake
• Crunchy Raw Protein Balls
• Healthy Peanut Butter Cups 
• or my Clean Eating Cookbook with an entire chapter of 20 healthy, clean eating recipes just like this one that you will love!

Did You Make This Recipe?

I'd love to hear about it! Please give it a rating and leave a comment below...it would make my day! 🙂