So you’re probably saying “what is cracker pudding?”. Its basically vanilla pudding with crushed soda crackers like Saltines and coconut added. It’s a popular Amish sweet and I first had it when I was young at Good ‘n Plenty restaurant in Lancaster, PA which I read closed this year. It was a family style restaurant and had a huge bakery downstairs. This was a dessert served at the end of the meal and I’d never had anything like it before but always loved it. This was before I was vegan so I’ve tried to make it vegan over the years but have finally “cracked” the recipe. Get it?
This is a pretty simple recipe. Most traditional recipes for this pudding use eggs but I of course avoided that so we’re using cornstarch as the thickening agent. The other unusual part it that we’re going to caramelize brown sugar first before adding the other ingredients. It adds a depth of flavor you wouldn’t get just by adding regular sugar to the recipe.
Use Saltine style crackers for this recipe. Rich buttery crackers won’t yield the same results. Also use sweetened coconut flakes. The extra sugar is needed as we’re not using a lot in the pudding base itself.
This pudding can be eaten warm but I feel is best chilled a bit and topped with vegan whipped cream. I used pudding style glass dishes for this but any small bowl or glass will work. Mason jars would be great as well.
Use a heavy bottomed pan for this recipe. I used a Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot as you don’t want the sugar or the pudding to burn. When cooking sugar a bit to caramelize it there’s a fine line between cooked and burned and it can go from one to the other very quickly so make sure to watch and stir well and don’t let it get beyond a medium caramel color.
Plain vanilla pudding is fine, but this cracker pudding is really something special. It’s a great twist on a plain pudding and I hope you try it out!
Vegan Amish Cracker Pudding
4
servings10
minutes15
minutesA delicious twist on vanilla pudding with crackers and coconut made vegan!
Ingredients
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups vegan milk (see notes)
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegan butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Directions
- Using a heavy bottom pan combine the brown sugar, water and salt together and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until slightly browned. This could take a few minutes but watch and stir carefully so that it doesn’t burn. It can go from cooked perfectly to burnt in under a minute so err on the side of caution and take off the heat as soon as it’s lightly caramelized.
- Whisk together the milk and cornstarch and pour into the hot sugar mixture whisking as you pour. Cook over medium to low heat until thickened. You’ll see small bubbles start to appear on the surface so keep whisking until the pudding has completely thickened. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vegan butter and vanilla. Then, add the crushed saltine crackers and coconut and mix well. Pour into bowls or pudding cups and cool completely. Serve with vegan whipped cream and fruit if desired. Loading gallery media…
Notes
- Use a creamy vegan milk. I used soy but oat and a thicker almond milk would work as well.
- Use only saltine crackers and crush them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin to get them finely crushed. Buttery crackers won’t lend the same results.
- Use sweetened coconut as its moister and will add a bit more sweetness to the pudding.
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