The best pudding cups are tasty, creamy, and portable, so you can bring dessert with you, wherever you might be going. A chocolate cake won’t fit in your purse, but a chocolate pudding cup sure will. But what’s the best pudding cup you can buy? Grab and spoon and let’s discuss. In the words of the great Les Claypool, it’s pudding time, children.
I absolutely love pudding. In fact, I love any food that easily slides down the ol’ gullet. Give me soup! Give me Jell-O! If you don’t need teeth to eat it, I’m in! (I do have teeth, I just like to give them a breather every now and then.) Pudding is underrated and more adults should be eating it. It’s sweet, satisfying, rich, and, best of all, it comes in convenient little cups. We peeled the lids off of everything from rice pudding to lemon pudding to find the best pudding at the grocery store. (P.S. If you’d like something to listen to while you read this, I have a recommendation. Spoiler, it’s Primus.)
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- Snack Pack Lemon
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When it comes to creative flavors, Snack Pack really shines (although, they also happen to make the best chocolate pudding we tasted, too). This lemon pudding is tart and highly nostalgic. I couldn’t place it at first, but my colleague Jordan Myrick said it reminded them of the filling inside Hostess lemon hand pies, and that’s totally accurate. Crumble a graham cracker on top of this cup and you’ve got yourself a mini lemon pie dupe.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Snack Pack Butterscotch
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There’s no butterscotch pudding better than the Jell-O butterscotch pudding that comes in a box, but Snack Pack Butterscotch pudding will scratch that itch, minus all the simmering and stirring. Snack Pack may not make the highest quality pudding, but the butterscotch flavor in this cup helps create the illusion of creaminess, kind of like a Werther’s Original you can eat with a spoon. If you’re craving a butterscotch sundae but don’t want something that heavy, Snack Pack Butterscotch is a lighter and easier option.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Jell-O Chocolate Vanilla Swirl
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This is another totally nostalgic snack. My grandparents always had chocolate-vanilla swirl Jell-O Pudding Pops in their garage freezer, and the flavor of this Jell-O swirl pudding sends me straight back to their cul-de-sac, minus the brain freeze. We tried this head to head with Snack Pack’s swirl pudding, and enjoyed the flavor of Jell-O more overall. Jell-O’s swirl pudding is smoother than Snack Pack’s, and I couldn’t help but notice that the first ingredient is skim milk rather than water. I know, I know, skim milk is basically water, but that extra creaminess gave Jell-O an edge. This is the best pudding cup if you truly can’t decide whether you want vanilla or chocolate (or if you wish Jell-O still made pudding pops).
Credit: Merc / Target
- Snack Pack Chocolate Fudge
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Chocolate pudding is great, but the best chocolate pudding is actually chocolate fudge pudding. We tried this alongside regular Snack Pack Chocolate (as well as Great Value’s chocolate pudding), and found that this one has a richer chocolate flavor that more closely approximates hot fudge on a sundae. It’s thick and gloopy and extremely satisfying. Regular ol’ chocolate pudding just can’t hold a candle!
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Señor Rico Rice Pudding
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In the battle of the rice puddings, it was Señor Rico versus Kozy Shack. I thought Kozy Shack had a slightly richer pudding flavor, but I loved how homemade Señor Rico seemed. It really tastes like something you’d get at a good Mexican restaurant, plus, they top it with a healthy sprinkle of cinnamon, which really amps up the overall flavor. I will never eat another rice pudding cup without demanding cinnamon on top.
Credit: Merc / Ralphs
- Kozy Shack Tapioca
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When I was little, my grandmother (not Pudding Pop grandmother, a different one) told me that the tapioca pearls in tapioca pudding were fish eyeballs, so it’s really a miracle that I love this stuff as much as I do. But it’s just so much fun to eat! Little slippery orbs suspended in delicious vanilla Kozy Shack pudding? Delicious, and more substantial than pudding that isn’t packed with baby bobas. You can really taste the quality of Kozy Shack pudding—it’s super milky and smooth. I gave Jordan a bite and they said, “This tastes like a homemade pudding or like something you’d get at a restaurant.” It’s really that good! If you can get past that fish eyeball bug I just put in your brain, these are the best pudding cups at the grocery store.
Credit: Merc / Target
Best Tart
Best Indulgent
Best Swirl
Best Chocolate
Best Rice
Best of the Best
Other products we tried: Kozy Shack Rice Pudding, Raymundo’s Nilla Pieces + Banana Pudding, Snack Pack Tapioca, Snack Pack Chocolate, Great Value Chocolate
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