To prepare the black bean pudding, simply drain and rinse black beans and add to a blender with remaining ingredients. Blend until creamy and smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Taste and adjust sweetness as needed by adding more maple syrup or dates.
There will be little bits of beans in the pudding. To remove those, simply pass through a fine mesh strainer and you’re good to go!
CASHEW PUDDING
To prepare the cashew pudding, add raw cashews to a mixing bowl and cover with boiling-hot water. Let soak for 1 hour, then rinse and drain thoroughly.
Add to blender along with remaining ingredients and blend until creamy and smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Add more almond or coconut milk if it has trouble blending, but add only as much as is necessary to help it blend. You want it pretty thick! Taste and adjust sweetness as needed by adding more maple syrup or dates.
SERVING & STORAGE
Scoop pudding into serving containers and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator until cold and thickened — at least 2-3 hours. Serve as is or with coconut whipped cream and strawberries or bananas! A drizzle of peanut butter would be a delicious addition.
Both puddings will keep covered in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days. We haven't tried freezing these but would suspect they would freeze for up to 1 month.
Video
Notes
*If adjusting the serving size of the black bean pudding, be sure to manually adjust the called-for amount of black beans. *The black bean pudding does maintain a tiny bit of graininess in texture, as opposed to the cashew pudding which is completely smooth. However, I slightly preferred the flavor of the black bean pudding and the texture didn’t bother me. Also, considering how low in fat and high in protein it is, I’d have to say the black bean version is my favorite! *If nut-free, we'd suggest oat milk as a dairy-free option. *Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated for the cashew version using the lesser amounts of almond milk and maple syrup and without optional ingredients. *Nutrition information for 1 of 2 servings of the black bean pudding was calculated with the lesser amounts of almond milk and maple syrup and without optional ingredients: Calories = 234, Fat = 2.2 g, Saturated fat = 1.0 g, Carbohydrates = 51.3 g, Sugar = 22.6 g, Sodium = 57 mg, Potassium = 672 mg, Protein = 10.3 g.