The best instant pudding mix is creamy, comforting, and perfectly sweet. It should have a velvety texture that melts in your mouth, and a flavor that passes for homemade—and if it doesn’t, well, as long as it’s still undeniably delicious, that’s okay, too. Sometimes, the best pudding mix tastes like it came from a box, and that’s exactly what you want as you’re zonked out on pain meds post-dental procedure, craving something soft, nostalgic, and effortless.
Typically, the term “hospital food” doesn’t come with any kind of good connotation. But I think instant pudding is the exception to the rule. It’s like the chicken noodle soup of desserts—true comfort food for the recovering sickly.
Now, we did these taste tests a little differently. In the video below, you can see we made Mythical’s favorite pudding boy Link Neal try all of the instant Jell-O pudding mixes on camera with Sporked’s very own Jordan Myrick. (I tried them all, too, just off-camera.) I also tried all the other brands of instant pudding mixes I could find at major grocery stores. Along with classics like the best chocolate pudding and the best vanilla pudding, I was looking for brands that make the best banana pudding, the best pudding mix for your homemade desserts, and even the best sugar free pudding mix.
On the other side of these taste tests, I’ve learned a couple of things. First, Link and I have very similar taste buds (except when it comes to pistachio pudding), and I’m going to wear that like a badge of honor. Second, Jell-O pudding mixes are pretty GOATed. They make up the majority of this ranking, since the other brands I tried fell a little short in comparison. So without further ado, here are the seven best instant pudding mixes you can buy at the grocery store, ranked.
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- WonderSlim Protein Pudding Mix Variety Pack
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I won’t lie to you: If you aren’t trying to eat a high protein or keto-friendly diet, you don’t need to buy this. In fact, I made one of my muscle-minded coworkers try it (thanks, Sam) to get his opinion, and we both agreed that this is genuinely not a bad option for high-protein pudding. Every flavor is perfectly palatable. Their variety pack comes with five flavors: lemon, toffee, dark chocolate, chocolate chip with marshmallows (yes, this flavor actually has tiny marshmallows), and banana. My favorite is the toffee: It’s insanely buttery, which makes up for its lack of sweetness. You mix these with water instead of milk, but each flavor is still the right creamy consistency. This is not the best instant pudding mix you can buy for taste, though, so if your diet allows you to consume regular pudding, keep reading.
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- Jell-O Sugar Free Vanilla Instant Pudding
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If you watched our Jell-O pudding taste test, you’ll see Jordan and Link go back and forth on which sugar-free flavor is better: chocolate or vanilla. Jordan is firmly in camp chocolate—they think the finish is less artificial. Link is team vanilla—he thinks the vanilla isn’t as obviously artificial throughout. I have to side with Link here, Jordan. I’m sorry! The chocolate tasted too fake to me, while vanilla is fairly smooth and balanced. We all agree on one thing, though: The best sugar free pudding mix is actually both chocolate and vanilla sugar free Jell-O puddings eaten together. End of discussion.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Great Value Banana Cream Pudding
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Listen: You either enjoy the taste of artificial banana or you don’t. This is basically the flavor of sweet, slightly tangy banana candy, which mellows out at the end thanks to buttery cream. Great Value’s Banana Cream Pudding Mix is pretty similar to Jell-O’s, but it’s cheaper, and it tastes a tad less artificial to me. In my opinion, the best banana pudding will always be homemade—but this will definitely scratch an itch for you banana freaks out there.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Jell-O Lemon Instant Pudding
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Lemon Jell-O instant pudding has a custardy texture to it (with tiny air bubbles on the top). It really works best as a filling in a recipe. I found the flavor to be quite lovely and balanced; it’s not overly sweet, sour, or tart. I wouldn’t eat a bowl of this on its own, but wow, this is a super easy, affordable ingredient for all of your lemony pastries and pies. (I noticed one commenter say they use it to make lemon poppyseed cake! Delicious!!)
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- Jell-O Pistachio Instant Pudding
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Um, justice for Jell-O Pistachio Pudding? As you’ll see in our unedited taste test, neither Link (who immediately said “ew” when he tasted this) nor Jordan cared for this instant pudding mix. Which means I have to be really brave here and go against the grain: This might not be the best instant pudding mix in the world, but I liked it well enough. It has real bits of pistachio in it, and while the bright green mix certainly looks artificial–-Jordan called the color “haunting”–-it tastes pretty fresh, nutty, and comforting. That said, I’m on record as a cherry-flavor apologist, and this does, in fact, have a noticeable cherry quality going for it. Apparently, a lot of nut products are made with cherry pits. The more you know!
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- Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding
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I feel vindicated. I feel seen. At the end of the Jell-O pudding taste test, Link decided that vanilla was the best flavor—over chocolate. And you know what? I couldn’t agree more. Jell-O’s vanilla pudding is more complex than other brands—it tastes distinctly like a vanilla wafer, and would be absolutely dreamy with crumbly bits of said moist wafers mixed in. It’s bright, smooth, and perfectly sweet. Sure, it’s easily the best instant vanilla pudding mix of the bunch, but it’s also one of the best instant pudding mixes you can buy, period. (The best, depending on who you ask.)
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Jell-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
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“Ariana, you just said vanilla was better than chocolate? Why is chocolate number one? Are you zonked out on pain meds?!” Well, maybe. But here’s the deal: I trust Jordan most of all. That’s it, actually. That’s the deal. I’m not a chocolate person, so I can’t be unbiased. Link is not a professional taste-tester, so his opinion, while very important and valid, can’t always supersede Jordan’s. And I have to acknowledge that Jell-O’s chocolate instant pudding is simply incredible. It’s so smooth, creamy, and melty. It’s sorta what I expect the chocolate river in Willy Wonka’s factory to taste like. The chocolate has the perfect milk to cocoa ratio, easily making it the best chocolate pudding we tasted from all the brands. There’s really not much more to say, except: The proof is in the pudding.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
Best High Protein
Best Sugar Free Pudding
Best Banana Pudding
Best Pudding Mix for Recipes
Best Pistachio Pudding Mix
Best Vanilla Pudding
Best of the Best
Other instant puddings we tried: Jell-O Instant Pudding Oreo Cookies ‘n Creme, Jell-O Instant Pudding Butterscotch, Jell-O Instant Pudding French Vanilla, Kroger Instant Chocolate Flavored Pudding, Osem Instant Pudding Vanilla Flavor, Simply Delish Chocolate Instant Pudding, Simply Delish Vanilla Instant Pudding, Great Value Vanilla Instant Pudding, Great Value Chocolate Instant Pudding, Great Value Pistachio Instant Pudding
