Candy Corn Pudding Cups

Jazz up iconic candy corn with these yellow, orange, and white layered candy corn pudding cups. Made with vanilla pudding, cool whip, and candy corn decoration.

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About Candy Corn Pudding Cups

Everyone has an opinion about candy corn, but there’s one thing you can’t deny: it’s an iconic fall candy that has built-in Halloween vibes thanks to the orange and yellow hue.

Plus, candy corn is just bright and colorful fun.

And that’s exactly what these candy corn pudding cups are, too, except for this type of fun you can eat it with a spoon!

What’s in these pudding cups?

Before you can enjoy these festive Halloween pudding cups, you’ll need to round up the following ingredients:

• Instant vanilla pudding mix. whole milk, orange food coloring– Used to create the yellow and orange pudding layers. You can also use other flavors of pudding (so long as the prepared pudding is light or yellow in color) or you can even use storebought pudding that’s already prepared. But no matter what you decide, just make sure you have six cups total of pudding.
• Cool Whip – Creates the top white layer in the pudding cups.
• Candy corn – The featured candy decoration! And for a more intense candy corn flavor, you can also crumble or crush up candy corn and mix it in with the pudding itself.
• Orange and yellow sprinkles – Totally optional, but the sprinkles bring another pop of color and texture. Feel free to use sanding sugar (as pictured) or other Halloween-themed sprinkles.
• 9-ounce clear plastic cups – Not technically an ingredient, but a necessary accessory for making these pudding cups. If you use a different type of container, just make sure that it can hold about one cup and that it’s primarily see-through so that the yellow, orange, and white layers are visible.

Do you have to use Cool Whip?

In theory, no – there’s nothing “special” about Cool Whip that would make these pudding cups better (or worse) if you were to use an alternative ingredient, such as homemade whipped cream. Cool Whip does bring additional sweetness and flavor, but most whipped cream is sweetened to a similar amount.

Please note I have not tested this recipe with whipped cream; I’ve only ever used Cool Whip.

Can you substitute the whole milk?

Technically, yes, you can use milk alternatives (such as fat-free, 1%, lactose-free, etc) but be aware that this may mean a softer set for the pudding. Be sure to check the box of your instant pudding mix for any additional warnings, restrictions, or instructions.

Can you make these in advance?

Certainly! The only change I would recommend is holding off on adding the Cool Whip, candy corn, and sprinkles until just before serving.

For the best presentation, I recommend preparing the base part of the cups (which would be making the vanilla pudding, adding food coloring, and layering in the cups) no more than 24 hours in advance.

How long are pudding cups good for?

Once prepared, candy corn pudding cups can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five to seven days.

Can you freeze these pudding cups?

Certainly!

Once prepared and cooled, these pudding cups can be wrapped individually with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and stored in the freezer for up to three months.

TIP: if you insert a popsicle stick into the middle of the cups before freezing, you could create candy corn pudding pops! This is totally optional, of course, but it’s a fun way to make the leftover pudding cups feel like a new treat.

Notes & tips for candy corn pudding cups

• For an extra dose of candy corn flavor, you can chop up (or blend into crumbles) some candy corn and mix it in with the pudding. I’d recommend adding it only to the orange pudding as you have the food coloring to control any differences in color.
• You can also use other flavors of pudding (so long as the prepared pudding is light or yellow in color) or you can even use storebought pudding that’s already prepared. But no matter what you decide, just make sure you have six cups total of pudding.

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How to make candy corn pudding cups

This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.

Step 1 – Get started by using the instant vanilla pudding mix and the whole milk to prepare the pudding per the package instructions on the box.

Step 2 – Once the pudding is prepared, divide it into two bowls: one bowl should have two cups worth of pudding while the other should have the remaining four cups.

Step 3 – Add a little bit of orange food coloring to the bowl with four cups of pudding, then mix well. Add as much food coloring as you need to reach the desired hue. For the bowl with two cups of pudding, there’s no need to add any food coloring; the yellow hue of the vanilla pudding will be more than enough color.

Step 4 – Assemble the pudding cups by creating layers of the following in clear plastic cups: four spoonfuls of “yellow” pudding, followed by eight spoonfuls of orange pudding, topped with a dollop of Cool Whip, then decorated with candy corn and sanding sugar.

Step 5 – If you’d like the pudding cups to be chilled, set them in the refrigerator for one hour.

Step 6 – Serve and enjoy!