Tapioca Cream Cheese Pudding

Sydney Mike's Note:

I whipped this recipe together the other day when I finally got tired of buying ready-made tapioca pudding! Maybe one day I'll actually try it from scratch (if only I can find a really good outlet for scratch)! Pudding servings are usually set at 1/2 cup, but mine are considerably larger than that! This pudding is thick enough that I have even used it as a nice filling for a 3-layer cake!

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 4 cups nonfat milk
• 2 (3 ounce) packages tapioca pudding (cook & serve, fat-free)
• 1 (8 ounce) package neufchatel cheese , room temperature (or other low-fat cream cheese)
• 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large sauce pan stir together the milk & pudding mix, then cook over a medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for about 25 minutes, or until the mixture comes to a full boil.
2. Remove from heat & let cool 5 minutes, then stir well.
3. Let cool another 5 minutes & again stir well.
4. Let cool another 5 minutes & stir in the cheese.
5. Pour into a bowl, cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap & let set for about an hour.
6. If the chocolate chips are to be included, quickly stir them in, then again cover the pudding with plastic wrap & let it cool completely ~ OR enjoy it slightly warm!

Reviews

[2Bleu]

Hey Mike, 'Kraft Minute Tapioca' (homemade). That's what I used (takes more than a minute though, still about 20 minutes to boil). You have to add eggs, sugar, milk, and vanilla to it but it's pretty homemade to me. Anyhow, this is a great go-together recipe that we both really liked a lot but it lacked sweetness (taken away by the cream cheese). So I made it again and added 1/3 cup of sugar when mixing in the cream cheese and it quickly became a 5-star, will make many times again recipe. Buddha suggested it would taste great as an eclair filling, and I agree. Thanks for a fantastic recipe and bringing back our love of tapioca pudding. Seems we only buy it when there are babies around, lol. And I agree, 1/2 cup of pudding does NOT a serving make!