Healthy Lemon Cornstarch Pudding

Oh man, guys, it has been one heck of a week! Last Wednesday we closed on my first home, started painting our faces off, moved, and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. I haven’t had much time for cooking, but I am excited to get started again. I just might have to change my blog heading, because “adventures in a tiny kitchen” doesn’t really fit anymore—my kitchen is so much bigger and nicer! Can’t wait to put it through its paces.

I made this a few weeks ago, and absolutely loved it. As I mentioned a long time ago, chocolate cornstarch pudding is one of my family’s secret recipes, a summer go-to for me when I’m craving something cold and a little sweet.  I particularly love that recipe because it doesn’t require any kind of gelatin or anything like that, just simple cornstarch. But a while back I got to thinking about it and how, in theory, that recipe could be adapted a million different ways.

I’m sure it’s no surprise that lemon was the first flavor that came to mind. Adapting it into a lemon cornstarch pudding was incredibly simple, just leaving out the cocoa powder and adding fresh lemon zest, juice, and a TINY bit of lemon extract to make it extra…lemon-y.

The resulting flavor was so fresh and sweet and tart, I wanted to make gallons of it. As it was, I devoured it in a few sittings! Now I want to try orange, lime, all the flavors!

In a large saucepan on (a strong) medium, pour 7 cups of the milk and slowly heat it up until it starts to steam a little (probably about 10 minutes).  You don’t want to overdo it and scald the milk, so be patient and don’t turn the heat up too high. 

While the milk is heating, pour the remaining 1 cup of milk, the cornstarch, sugar, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice into a blender and blend for 10 seconds.  If you really need it to be super lemony you can add a little lemon extract, but be careful because it can be a little overpowering and fake.

Once the milk is steaming, slowly pour the milk/cornstarch/lemon mixture in while stirring continuously.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and continue to stir as the mixture slowly thickens. This will take 10-15 minutes. The stirring is SUPER important because it’s going to try to stick to the bottom and you need to keep scraping that off.

Once it’s thickened, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Let it sit and cool a little before serving (or chilling, in my case…hot pudding is weird and gross).

I can’t believe I hadn’t thought to make lemon cornstarch pudding before now—it was so good!  Now I’m brainstorming all the different types of pudding I can make…I feel a Mexican chocolate version is in order.

Other creamy goodness you’ll love:

• Healthy Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream
• Super Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
• Best, Creamiest Kheer (Indian Rice Pudding)

Healthy Lemon Cornstarch Pudding

Yield: 8 servings

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

A super easy, bright, light lemon cornstarch pudding that is the perfect summer dessert.

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Ingredients

• 8 cups of milk (it's better if you don't use skim)
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3/4 cup of cornstarch
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• A little lemon extract (super optional)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan on (a strong) medium, pour 7 cups of the milk and slowly heat it up until it starts to steam a little (probably about 10 minutes).  You don't want to overdo it and scald the milk, so be patient and don't turn the heat up too high. 
2. While the milk is heating, pour the remaining 1 cup of milk, the cornstarch, sugar, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice into a blender and blend for 10 seconds.  If you really need it to be super lemony you can add a little lemon extract, but be careful because it can be a little overpowering and fake.
3. Once the milk is steaming, slowly pour the milk/cornstarch/lemon mixture in while stirring continuously.
4. Turn the heat down to medium-low and continue to stir as the mixture slowly thickens. This will take 10-15 minutes. The stirring is SUPER important because it's going to try to stick to the bottom and you need to keep scraping that off.
5. Once it's thickened, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let it sit and cool a little before serving (or chilling, in my case...hot pudding is weird and gross).

Notes

• You can make this with skim milk, but it's better with 2% or whole

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