Recently, I was at Walmart and happened to notice some natural pudding options in the baking aisle. I was excited to see this because I do a lot of cooking and baking for various people and gatherings each week, and pudding is such a versatile thing to be able to use! Unfortunately, though, most of the options out there contain artificial colors and flavors, which I try to avoid as much as possible in my kitchen. Below you can see that a box of JELL-O vanilla pudding has these unnecessary additives.
I snagged one of each flavor of the Simple Mixes pudding bags and began to plan what fun desserts to make with them! One of my favorite things to do is take a recipe and upgrade it by swapping out some of the ingredients to make it more clean and healthy, but still delicious and appealing! The great thing is that there are SO many options for better alternatives, so you don’t have to settle. It is also pretty easy to make most recipes gluten and dairy-free if needed. The first recipe below is an example of that.
I also love making individual desserts or charcuterie, etc. in mason jars or cups! It’s just my style. Here is a picture of the sourdough shortcake jars I made for The 4th of July this year and some charcuterie cups I made a few years back. God bless America!
You’ll see more fun jar presentations below! The first dessert I made with the natural pudding mixes was banana pudding, using the vanilla one. The recipe I used for was this one, but I made a few adjustments. It calls for two 1.7 oz. boxes of pudding from another brand, so I just used one bag of the Simple Mixes vanilla pudding because they are 3.4 oz each. I also used my favorite Coco Whip instead of whipping up my own, but I know from experience that you can also chill a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight and it will whip up well. They also sell dairy-free heavy whipping cream at most grocery stores. Lastly, I decided to crush the vanilla wafers and put a layer on the bottom and on top, rather than mixing them in, since I love a good crunch!
Banana Pudding Ingredients
- 1 (11.6 oz) can dairy-free sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup dairy-free milk
- 1 (3.4 oz.) bag Simple Mixes Vanilla Pudding Mix
- 3 cups dairy-free heavy whip or Coco Whip
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 box gluten-free vanilla wafers
Banana Pudding Instructions
1. In a medium bowl, mix the instant pudding mix, dairy-free sweetened condensed milk and dairy-free milk. Place it in the refrigerator to chill for 1-2 hours (if using dairy- free milk). It does say on the pudding package that rice and coconut milk are not recommended, but any other alternative milk should work. If you are using regular milk, chill 5-10 minutes.
2. Carefully fold the dairy-free whipped cream into the vanilla pudding.
3. Then, slice the bananas, and add them to the bowl, folding until well combined.
4. Crush vanilla wafers and place half of the crumbs in the bottom of the containter(s) you are using.
5. Layer the pudding mixture on top of the crumbs and then sprinkle the rest of the wafers on top.
I shared these little jars of banana pudding with multiple friends and family members, and they were a huge hit with everyone… whether they eat gluten and dairy-free or not!
The second dessert I made with the natural pudding was dirt cups, using the chocolate mix. Does this trigger some major nostalgia for anyone else?! I have a happy memory of eating a dirt cup at my elementary school as a kid. And my husband loves chocolate and oreos, so I knew this would be a hit with him! Here is the recipe I used, with some Chels-ified alternatives, of course!
- CocoWhip instead of Cool Whip- no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors. And I genuinely think it tastes better!
- Whole Foods chocolate sandwich cookies instead of Oreos- no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors.
- Organic and lactose-free milk instead of regular – longer shelf life, no additives, easier for some to digest.
- Smart Sweets gummy worms instead of Albanese, Trolli, etc. – No artificial flavors or colors, low sugar & good source of fiber.
- Simple Mixes pudding instead of JELL-O pudding- no artificial colors or flavors.
Dirt Cup Ingredients
- 1 (3.8 oz.) bag Simple Mixes Chocolate pudding mix
- 2 cups milk
- 8 oz. whipped topping
- 10-12 Oreo style cookies, crushed
- Gummy worms
Instructions for Dirt Cups
How cute is that? These are very kid or adult-friendly… or adults who are trying to get in touch with their inner child and have more fun (me!)
Overall, I would recommend the Simple Mixes natural puddings. They taste great, are better for you, and have a good texture and consistency, as far as I could tell without eating them as straight pudding. The only downfalls are they are slightly more expensive than JELL-O brand and they are a little harder to mix. But to me, the pros outweigh the cons.
If you need a fun and easy dessert for the long holiday weekend, one of these may be a good option for you. Hopefully, you have as much fun making, eating, and sharing these as I have! River is sad he can’t be a taste tester for this one. He tried hard to win Mommy over with those sweet puppy dog eyes!
I am wishing you a sweet & rejuvenating Labor Day weekend!
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These recipes look fantastic!! I love how you “upgraded” them to a much cleaner dessert option 🌱💕
Thanks for all the helpful content. 😘
You’re so welcome, Cherri! Hope you can try one or both of them soon!
Chelsea!
Love your blog .. health tips and recipes !
I will try the pudding for sure I didn’t know Walmart had those …
I always look forward to getting them in my inbox!
Thanks for the kind words, Mary Jane! Made my day 🙂