Individual, snack-pack style pudding cups are the nostalgic treat you’ll never grow out of. They’re rich, indulgent, shelf-stable, and pre-portioned into the perfect low-calorie snack. Store-bought pudding brands have diversified, offering unique products for every taste and dietary restriction. Tasting Table staff member Megan Hageman tasted and ranked different store-bought pudding brands to find the best-tasting option. Along with some unlikely and uncommon front-runners, she found the pudding brands to avoid. The store-bought pudding brand that came in dead last was 365 by Whole Foods Market’s Chocolate Almondmilk Pudding.
The 365 brand generally holds a high standard by offering organic products with quality ingredients. And while we applaud the effort to satisfy dairy-free, soy-free, and gluten-free diets by using an almond milk base, the lumpy texture was too unpleasant to overlook. Not only were there lumpy globs, but the consistency of the surrounding pudding was runny and thin. Worse still was the chalky, disjointed flavor that tasted like undissolved cocoa powder.
The store-bought pudding ranking was based on criteria like creaminess, richness of flavor, and a homemade, nostalgic feel. So, it’s no wonder the 365 chocolate almond milk pudding came in last. It didn’t possess the smooth, indulgent consistency and classic milk chocolate flavor that awakens one’s nostalgic taste buds.
Pudding is for more than simple snacking
If you want a vegan-friendly pudding or even just a more customizable pudding, you should swap pudding cups for pudding mix. Many popular brands like Garden Desserts and Simply Delish have various flavors of vegan pudding mixes to blend with your favorite non-dairy milk. That said, the pudding cups themselves can transform into countless desserts. We have a long list of creative ways to upgrade pudding, starting with simply adding your favorite mix-ins.
You can layer different flavored pudding cups with crushed cookies, fresh fruit, and whipped cream for an easy yet complex trifle. Spike chocolate pudding with amaretto before layering it into this chocolate trifle recipe. Vanilla pudding would be the perfect custard substitute to spread over this classic tiramisu recipe. You could also add pudding to a piping bag for a tasty cupcake filling. Chocolate pudding would be the perfect filling for yellow cupcakes or strawberry cupcakes. Swap cream cheese and heavy cream for vanilla pudding in this Matcha Strawberry Icebox cake recipe. You can stir this Matcha DNA tea powder into vanilla pudding, and it’ll easily dissolve while bringing a sophisticated grassy earthiness to complement the aromatic vanilla.
