Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Easy-to-make funfetti pudding pops are a popular frozen treat. Kids especially love these! Pudding pops are economical, too.
How long it takes: 5 minutes to make, at least 3 hours to freeze
Equipment you’ll need: popsicle molds, freezer, mixing bowl
Servings: 4, depending on the size of your molds
May I just forewarn you all that I do believe I might be obsessed with popsicles this year? (And I’m obviously obsessed with funfetti — who isn’t?)
I bought a set of ice pop molds and I’m not going to lie, I wanted to scream every time I tried to get a popsicle out, but now I think I finally have the hang of it. The trick is running them very briefly under hot water. I’m sure this is old news to most people but it was obviously something I had to learn gradually.
Now that I can actually get the stinkers out of the molds, my mind is going a million miles a minute with new popsicle ideas. Today we’ll look at pudding pops: smooth, creamy and nostalgic. Be sure to try my classic pudding pops recipe, too. There are lots and lots of flavors you can make!
Let’s celebrate a bit with festive funfetti pudding pops! Kids love them. And they are a good source of calcium. And sprinkles.
Can you still buy Jell-O pudding pops? They are no longer available. Although they were really popular, pudding pops were discontinued in the 1990s. Happily, it’s very easy to make your own!
Homemade Pudding Pops
Easy, easy, easy! Want to know a great thing about homemade popsicles? They are beyond easy to make! They won’t take you more than five minutes, start to finish, and you’ll only need one bowl. Just remember that they need at least 3 hours of freezer time!
Inexpensive. You’ll find that homemade pudding pops are much, much more economical than store-bought and way less expensive than ice cream trucks.
Only 3 ingredients. Pudding pops start with an instant pudding mix, add milk, whisk it up, stir in the sprinkles and freeze. Done.
Make it a special occasion. Because sprinkles come in tons of colors and shapes, you can make pudding pops to match any occasion from birthdays to holidays.
Popsicle Molds
Popsicle molds come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. Choose one that looks easy to use. The size (and yield) of your popsicles will depend on the size of the molds. If they’re small, you’ll get more popsicles!
If you don’t want to buy popsicle molds, simply pour the pudding into 3 oz. beverage cups, cover with foil, and insert a popsicle stick. The foil keeps the popsicle stick vertical until the pudding freezes.
Ingredient Notes
- Instant Pudding Mix: It doesn’t matter whether the mix is sugar-free or regular, as long as it’s instant pudding and not the kind that has to be cooked. Any flavor is fine but vanilla really showcases the sprinkles.
- Milk: Whole milk, 2%, or skim milk is fine. Just remember the creamier the milk, the creamier the pudding pop. I usually compromise with 2%. I haven’t tested these with non-dairy milk such as almond milk but I’m thinking it would be fine.
- Funfetti Sprinkles: Some folks call them jimmies. Choose colors to match the occasion. If you have extra funfetti sprinkles, try my funfetti cookies or cake mix blondies.
How To Make Pudding Pops
Make the pudding. It’s so easy! Simply blend the pudding mix and milk together until the mixture begins to thicken. I like to use a mixing bowl with a pouring spout or a large measuring cup so it’s easier to fill the molds.
Add the sprinkles and quickly fold them into the pudding.
Pour into molds and freeze for at least three hours. That’s all there is to it!
Tip For Success
Gently fold in the sprinkles. Don’t overmix the pudding once you put the sprinkles in. Your sprinkles may bleed their color and you’ll end up with gray icky-looking pudding pops. Stir the pudding and milk together first until the mixture begins to thicken and then fold in the sprinkles.
Use hot water to unmold the popsicles. When the popsicles are frozen solid, gently run them under hot water for a few seconds until they loosen from the mold.
Make It Your Own
- Use any flavor of instant pudding.
- Sprinkles of any color or shape can be used.
- Freeze purchased pudding cups. Store-bought pudding can be frozen. It will have the consistency of ice cream according to Can You Freeze This. I suppose if you stuck a popsicle stick into the container you could make pudding pops that way.
Pudding pops can be frozen indefinitely. Most molds come with a handy stand so they’ll sit upright in the freezer while they solidify but once they’re frozen, you can bundle them together in a freezer bag.
More Frozen Treats
Funfetti Pudding Pops
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding
- 1 ¾ cups 2% milk (see note)
- ¼ cup multi-colored jimmies (sprinkles)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for about 1 minute or until it begins to thicken. If you have a mixing bowl with a pouring spout or very large measuring cup, it's much easier to fill the molds. in jimmies.1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding, 1 ¾ cups 2% milk
- Fold in jimmies. Do not overmix once you stir in the sprinkles or they will bleed color and you'll end up with grey pudding pops!¼ cup multi-colored jimmies (sprinkles)
- Pour mixture into popsicle molds, and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.
- Once frozen, remove from popsicle molds. To easily remove popsicles from molds, hold under warm running water briefly until they loosen. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Milk: Any type of milk will work. The creamier the milk, the creamier the pudding pops will be. Half & half works well; nondairy milk can be used, too.
- Variations: Other flavors of pudding may be used. Sugar-free pudding is fine, too, as long as it’s instant pudding. You can add any color of sprinkles you like! Match the sprinkles to the occasion.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
These are so fun! I loved pudding pops as a kid, but never thought of making my own.
Thank you!
Loved the idea of these and was so excited to make them with my daughter. However after following your directions the mixture was so thick, almost paste LIKE, and the recipe needed to be modified just to render it pourable, otherwise it never would have made it into the molds. They are in the freezer now. Hoping the results come out as nice as yours.
If you whisk the pudding for a long time, it will get thick like pudding. You should be able to still get it into the molds, even if you need to spoon it in. Hope they end up okay for you!
Do you know the nutrition facts per popsicle?
I don’t calculate nutritional information because it varies based on what brand you use but there are lots of online services that do that. :)
Hi Rachel- just picked up the same Popsicle molds yesterday,
Do you have a trick for getting the Popsicle out? Gonna try these tonite!
Run them under hot water for a minute and they should come right out. :) Hope you like them!
Pretty cool! Making them!
I am not sure I did this right. I couldn’t find 3.4 ounce box so I bought 4 one oz boxes. And it came out supper thick. Is this supposed to be use 3/4 of a box?
Nope, the recipe is correct. I used this pudding. It is thick and pudding like even before freezing!
So I just bought the same popsicle molds last week (in yellow though) and I had the same issue trying to get them out! I wasted 3 batches of perfectly good popsicles because the darn sticks pulled out, but the popsicle didn’t. I’m not gonna lie… I was pissed. But finally they seem to be letting up! I think these funfetti pops would be gone in 2 seconds in our house.
oh.my.gosh.i.need.thiiiiiis.
When I was a little girl, right next to my Easy Bake oven were my Popsicle molds. Granted it was a long time ago and I was just a kid, but to get our Popsicles safely out of their mold we would run them under hot water for just a few seconds. Then they would slip right out.
i just got the tovolo rocket pops…made watermelon pops which the boys loved…now this recipe is perfect since i have a box of pudding mix just laying around wanting to be used up! it is going to be a great summer making popsicles!