Healthy Pudding, Custard & Flan Recipes

Serve this dense, fudgy pudding cake with vanilla frozen yogurt.

In this healthy chocolate bread pudding recipe, whole-wheat bread, ripe bananas, chocolate and toasted peanuts come together for a heavenly dessert. To make individual bread puddings instead of one large pan, divide the batter among 12 small oiled individual baking dishes (about 8 ounces each). Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, uncover, sprinkle with peanuts and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more.

Here, wheat berries are cooked with maple-sweetened, spiced milk to make a homey pudding. Try it for dessert or even breakfast--adjusting the maple syrup to your preference.

Think of quinoa pudding as a delicious whole-grain cousin of tapioca pudding. This healthy quinoa pudding recipe is flavored with tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries and topped with sweetened, creamy yogurt for a delicious, healthy dessert.

This Finnish whipped berry pudding recipe has a unique, light and airy texture. Unlike American-style puddings made with milk, eggs and cornstarch, this is made with fruit juice, thickened with wheat farina and then lightened by beating air into it until the texture is reminiscent of marshmallow fluff. Traditionally made with lingonberry or cranberry juice, here fresh blueberries are cooked with water and the juice is strained to flavor the pudding. If you want to use bottled juice instead, skip Step 1 and use 3 to 3 1/2 cups of warm juice in Step 2.

This intensely-flavored berry pudding is topped with a delicious light cream. While it's traditionally made at the end of the summer in Denmark, when raspberries and red currants are at their peak, it's also wonderful with the strawberries and raspberries.

Crown each serving of this brown rice pudding with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and, if you like, a few toasted almonds.

A simple and satisfying snack, ready in minutes! Vanilla pudding is topped with sliced bananas and crushed wafers.

Studded with strawberries, this breakfast recipe is a cross between a baked French toast and a dessert bread pudding. Swap in almost any fruit depending on what's in season. Although we typically advocate using whole-grain bread, we stuck with challah for this recipe, because the results are so luscious.

Bread pudding, an economical dish designed to use up stale bread, is most often associated with dessert. It's equally comforting turned savory, enriched with cheese and studded with vegetables.

These banana popsicles taste rich and decadent but are low-fat and really easy to make. We especially like them with some chocolate chips added. Cool the mixture to room temperature and divide 2/3 cup mini chips among the molds before freezing.

When the Spanish colonized the Philippines, they established the epic global trade route known as the Manila Galleon, linking Acapulco and Manila. Plants and products shipped from Mexico included the pineapple. It quickly flourished throughout the Philippines and many pineapple-based dishes were created, including this flan, also introduced by the colonizers.

This creamy Italian dessert is flavored with vanilla bean and topped with fresh strawberries. Feel free to mix it up and substitute blueberries or raspberries, or a combination of all three!

Amaranth grains, which are as tiny as poppy seeds, make this comforting, amaretto-spiked pudding creamy and delicious.

There is nothing as comforting as a bowl brimming with warm bread pudding. Add mangoes and spices inspired by the world's love affair with Indian chai (tea), and you will make every excuse in the book to indulge in this soothing, after-dinner treat.

A classic sweet custard flavored with coconut, ginger, and vanilla is served in individual cups and topped with pretty slices of star fruit.

This simplified version of bananas Foster uses instant vanilla pudding and caramel ice cream topping to give it its classic flavor without the fuss.

Brooke Siem baked with grandmothers around the world for her Grandmother Project, including with Sofy in Buenos Aires, where she learned this Argentinian take on bread pudding. It tastes like a magical mashup of French toast, cheesecake and flan. The caramel is made directly in the pan you bake the pudding in (one less dish to wash!), so you'll need a metal cake pan or pie plate. Sofy uses Wonder Bread, but any soft white sandwich bread will produce luscious results. Learn more about this recipe and other recipes Siem learned as part of her project in the article How Cooking Connected One Chef with Grandmothers Across the World.

Sweet caramelized pears are the highlight of this comforting, custardy, raisin-studded bread pudding. When turned out of its baking dish, the flanlike pudding sits in a pool of intense caramel syrup, making it worthy of any holiday table. Serve warm or chilled.

Making restaurant-quality flan at home is easier than you think, and our version is healthier, too! With just a few ingredients, you'll have a satisfying dessert that's sure to impress.

Don't be put off by “bulgur” and “cake” in the same title. (Think rice pudding but with bulgur.) Whether you use coarser-textured bulgur (our preference) or fine, the cooked bulgur (Step 1) should resemble cooked oatmeal.

Turn comforting tapioca pudding into a special dessert for two by spiking it with pure maple syrup and finishing it with a simple spiced maple-nut topping.

Panna cotta means "cooked cream" in Italian. This version of the delicious Italian dessert is flavored with amaretto or almond extract and served with a luscious blueberry sauce.

A creamy custard is the perfect foil for tangy rhubarb in this wonderful spring pie.