Vanilla Pudding Mix substitute

Best substitute

Cornstarch, Sugar and Vanilla

Use 3 Tbsp cornstarch plus 2 to 4 Tbsp sugar plus ½ tsp vanilla for every 2 cups milk

Best for Bienenstich filling

Close match

For one 37 g sachet of German Puddingpulver, which thickens 500 ml or 2 cups of milk, use 3 tablespoons of cornstarch plus 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and add the sugar the recipe already asks for separately. For one 3.4 oz box of American instant vanilla pudding, use 3 tablespoons cornstarch plus 1/3 cup sugar plus 1 teaspoon vanilla, but you must cook it with the milk, because a homemade mix will never set cold the way instant does. Bird's custard powder is the closest thing you can buy off a shelf and swaps 1:1. The mix is doing two jobs, thickening and vanilla aroma, and cornstarch covers the first perfectly.

Other vanilla pudding mix substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Custard Powder (Bird's or similar)
Close match
Use the same amount by volume
The best single-box swap, because it is the same idea: cornstarch with vanilla flavouring and colouring, and no egg.
What changes
It sets identically and comes out the correct pale yellow. The aroma leans slightly more eggy-vanilla than a German Puddingpulver, which is closer to plain vanilla.
Best for
cake fillings, puddings, trifles, pastry cream
Prep. Slake in a little cold milk, then cook exactly as you would the original powder.
Custard powder is unsweetened, like Puddingpulver, so keep the recipe's sugar. American instant pudding is not.
3Homemade Pastry Cream (Creme Patissiere)
Close match
see preparation, replaces 1 sachet
Better than the mix in every way except convenience.
What changes
Richer, glossier and it actually tastes of egg and vanilla rather than of vanillin. It sets a little softer than a starch-only pudding, so if it has to hold up cake layers add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch.
Best for
Bienenstich, Danish pastries, fruit tarts, cream slices
Prep. Whisk 3 egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar and 3 Tbsp cornstarch. Temper in 2 cups hot milk, return to the pan, boil 1 minute whisking, then add 1 tsp vanilla and chill under cling film.
Must be chilled completely before it goes into a cake, or it will loosen the crumb.
4Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight, with a method change
Fine as a swap for a cook-type mix only if you also change the method.
What changes
Instant pudding uses pregelatinised modified starch, which thickens cold in minutes but breaks down if boiled, turning thin and slightly slimy. Cook-type mixes do the reverse and will not thicken at all without heat. Confusing these two is the single most common failure here.
Best for
no-bake fillings, icebox cakes, stabilised whipped cream
Prep. Whisk into cold milk and let it set 5 minutes. Do not heat it.
American boxes already contain sugar, so remove the recipe's sugar or the dessert will be cloying.
5All-Purpose Flour, Sugar and Vanilla
Taste and texture differ
Use ¼ cup flour for every 2 cups milk
The weakest option, for when there is no cornstarch in the house.
What changes
Flour has about half the thickening power of cornstarch and it sets dull and slightly pasty rather than glossy. It also tastes faintly of raw flour unless you hold it at a simmer for a full two minutes.
Best for
emergency puddings, rustic cake fillings
Prep. Whisk the flour into a little cold milk, cook the mixture at a simmer for 2 minutes minimum, stirring constantly.
Strain the finished cream through a sieve; flour-set puddings almost always have small lumps.
6Fine Semolina or Cream of Wheat
Taste and texture differ
Use 3 Tbsp for every 2 cups milk
A traditional continental milk pudding in its own right rather than a copy of Puddingpulver.
What changes
It sets thick and comforting but grainy and porridge-like, which is lovely eaten warm with stewed fruit and quite wrong as a smooth layer inside a cake.
Best for
warm milk puddings, Griessbrei, with stewed fruit
Prep. Rain the semolina into simmering sweetened milk, whisking, and cook 5 minutes until thick.
Do not use this where the recipe wants a smooth, pipeable cream.

What is Vanilla Pudding Mix?

Vanilla Pudding Mix is a dry mix of starch, vanilla flavouring and usually a little colour that thickens milk into a custard or pastry cream, sold in Germany and Austria as Puddingpulver and in the United States as instant or cook-and-serve vanilla pudding.

Cooking tips

German recipes almost always mean the cook type. Whisk the powder into a few tablespoons of cold milk first, bring the rest of the milk to a boil, pour in the slurry while whisking, and let it bubble for one full minute. Undercooked cornstarch is the reason a filling weeps the next day.
Puddingpulver sachets are sized for 500 ml of milk and expect you to add 2 to 3 tablespoons of your own sugar. American boxes already contain their sugar. Swap one for the other without adjusting and the dessert comes out either bland or sickly.
Press cling film directly onto the surface of the hot pudding before chilling. A skin forms in minutes otherwise, and it shows up as rubbery lumps in what should be a smooth cake filling.
For a filling that has to hold a sliced cake upright, use one extra tablespoon of cornstarch per 2 cups of milk beyond what the recipe says. A slightly too-firm pastry cream can be loosened with a spoon of cream; a too-soft one cannot be saved.
Never boil instant pudding mix. If a recipe has you heating the milk, you need the cook-and-serve type or plain cornstarch.
Plant milks work but not equally. Oat and soy set close to dairy; almond and rice milk set noticeably looser, so add an extra teaspoon of cornstarch per 2 cups.

Frequently asked questions

Is Puddingpulver the same as instant pudding?

No, and this catches people out constantly. Puddingpulver is cooked with milk on the stove and is essentially unsweetened cornstarch and vanilla. American instant pudding sets cold in five minutes because it uses modified starch, and it already contains its sugar. Swapping one for the other without changing the method does not work.

Can I just leave it out?

Not where it is the filling or the thickener, because the dessert would simply be milk. But in a cake batter where a couple of tablespoons of pudding mix are added for moistness and tenderness, yes, you can leave it out; add a tablespoon of cornstarch and a splash of vanilla if you want the same effect.

Is custard powder the same thing?

For baking purposes, close enough to swap 1:1. Both are cornstarch with vanilla flavouring and colour, and neither contains egg despite the name. Custard powder is the easiest supermarket stand-in for a German Puddingpulver sachet.

Is vanilla pudding mix gluten free?

Cornstarch-based mixes usually are, and a homemade cornstarch version certainly is. Check the box though, because some brands use wheat starch or add a wheat-based flow agent, and instant mixes vary by market.

Why is my homemade pudding white instead of yellow?

Because commercial mixes are coloured, generally with beta-carotene or a food dye. One egg yolk per 2 cups of milk gives a natural pale yellow and improves the flavour, or a knife tip of turmeric colours it without tasting of anything.

Related substitutes

More baking substitutes

Vanilla Pudding Mix substitute

Other vanilla pudding mix substitutes

2Custard Powder (Bird's or similar)

3Homemade Pastry Cream (Creme Patissiere)

4Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix

5All-Purpose Flour, Sugar and Vanilla

6Fine Semolina or Cream of Wheat