Last Updated on August 5, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor
Vanilla Pudding Pops with Homemade Magic Shell is a great way to beat the summer heat!
Summer on the Gulf Coast means we eat lots of cold foods, especially popsicles. When you make popsicles with nutrient-dense ingredients, they’re a filling treat for any time of day. Sometimes my girls eat them for breakfast! These creamy, nutrient-rich vanilla pudding pops provide a quick and easy favorite for a hot day.
Ingredients for Vanilla Pudding Pops
- 1 cup heavy cream (or canned coconut milk for dairy-free)
- Unflavored, grass-fed gelatin
- Raw whole milk (or coconut milk for dairy-free)
- Maple syrup or raw honey
- Vanilla extract
- Egg yolks
- Dark chocolate (I prefer Enjoy Life chocolate chips)
- Coconut oil
I like to make popsicles quickly, so for my pudding pop recipe I dissolve the gelatin in just a small amount of milk before whisking it into the rest of the mixture. This way, the mixture isn’t hot, which means I can go ahead and freeze it instead of waiting hours for the refrigerator to chill it first.
Last summer I bought a Zoku popsicle maker and I can’t tell you how much I love this gadget!! The popsicles are done in just seven minutes! For a traditional popsicle mold, I like this stainless steel freezer pop maker.
You can eat the pudding pops alone or dunk them in homemade chocolate shell and sprinkle with nuts, seeds or whatever makes you happy!
PrintVanilla Pudding Pops with Homemade Magic Shell
Here is a good option for stainless steel popsicle molds.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 2-3 hours
- Total Time: About 2.5 hours
- Yield: Makes 6 pudding pops
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream (or canned coconut milk for dairy-free), divided
- 2 teaspoons unflavored, grass-fed gelatin
- 1 cup raw whole milk (or almond milk for dairy-free)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or raw honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 raw pastured egg yolks*
- 4 ounces dark chocolate (I prefer Enjoy Life chocolate chips)
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
Instructions
Pour 1/2 cup heavy cream into a small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over cream and let sit for 5 minutes. Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Pour hot cream mixture into a large measuring cup.
Add remaining 1/2 cup cream, whole milk, maple syrup, vanilla and yolks to the hot cream mixture. Whisk to combine. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze. Serve frozen.
*The yolks add a wealth of nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids and choline. They also help the mixture to be extra creamy and you can’t taste them in the final product. If you aren’t comfortable with raw yolks, you can omit them.
For the magic shell:
Melt chocolate and coconut oil over low heat, stirring constantly. Serve over ice cream. (The mixture will harden as soon as it hits the cold ice cream or popsicle.)
YUM! How refreshing and perfect for hot summer days! We just returned from a month-long visit with family in TN and had such a wonderful time! I forgot how beautiful and lush the South is in summer. My boys favorite part was trying to catch fireflies in the evening and I enjoyed sitting on the front porch swing watching them! I’ll have to try these pudding pops now that we’re back home – seems we’ve brought the heat and humidity with us, as it’s 84 today and quite muggy! 🙂 Lots of blessings to you and yours, Kelly
These look amazing, Carrie! Loving, pinning, sharing! 🙂
Update – It has been decided (by the 4 year old). These WILL be happening this weekend! 😉
Great! I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
These couldn’t come at a better time. Monsoon season in the Mojave Desert! Just as hot in the south San Joaquin Valley. These will be in the freezer before you know it.
Enjoy those ocean breezes.
Sarah
These look amazing! I’ve been dreaming of creamy pops all summer, and these are the perfect answer. Thank you for sharing, Carrie.
Oh my goodness, yum! My little ones would happily enjoy these for breakfast as well. I’ve tried to purchase GL gelatin from Amazon before and the seller didn’t ship to Alaska. Just tried again though and success! I see some yummy treats in our future 🙂
These sound so refreshing and delicious!! Can’t wait to try them. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes!!
Is there a substitute for the gelatin? I can’t seem to find gelatin in the health food or grocery stores
I don’t have a substitute for it. I usually purchase grass-fed gelatin online. Here’s a link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ELLBJS?ie=UTF8&creativeASIN=B001ELLBJS&linkCode=xm2&tag=deliciorgan03-20
Would this work as just pudding if I put it in the fridge and not the freezer?
It does! It’s a loose pudding, but if you add 1 T of gelatin instead of the 2 tsp, it will be much more thick.
Oh goody! I can’t wait to make the popsicles but my husband has been asking for a healthy pudding so we’ll try that too! Thank you!
I made this for the first time yesterday, now making another batch….we simple LOVE them! Thanks, I use http://www.amazon.com/Onyx-Stainless-Steel-Popsicle-Mold/dp/B003R4AHTK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406938862&sr=8-1&keywords=Stainless+steel+posicles, makes me feel better using SS than plastic:)
We made these this week and I didn’t really like them 🙁
The pops were jello-y on the bottom (bottom of the mold) and icy on the top. Also, they seemed a bit grainy. Maybe I didn’t fully dissolve the gelatin? They also didn’t come out of the molds very well at all – the stick came out and the pop was stuck. I ate mine with a spoon straight from the mold.
Maybe these would be better as pudding because the flavor/taste was great. And, by the way, my kids really enjoyed them and didn’t complain as much as I did!
Hmm..if they were grainy, then the gelatin didn’t dissolve completely. It does work well as a pudding too!
So, I made these the other day and I can tell you they are a HIT! But, they have not made it to the magic shell part, haha. That was my goal, but I will have to do that with the next batch. The guys just like them creamy and dreamy vanilla.
I’m so glad you all liked them! 🙂
Can I use jogurt instead of heavy cream?????
Is there anything else to use instead of heavy cream or coconut milk for the pops? I can’t have dairy and my son can’t have coconut. Thank you!!
Cashew milk (preferably homemade because it’s more creamy) might be a good option.
Thanks for getting back to me! Unfortunately we found out he can only eat peanuts and almonds. Could I use almond milk or is that too watery? Or isn’t there soy milk at the stores thats creamier for coffee?
I’d stay away from soy milk as it can disrupt the thyroid and such. Homemade almond milk would probably do well!
These came out beautifully! Only extra thing I did was put the mixture back on the stove and slowly cooked it since I don’t like using raw yolks. So delish!
Carrie, can you explain the reasoning/science of using the gelatin? We’re just getting into popsicle-making, and I’m curious why this would be a necessary additive. (not that there is ANTHING wrong with it and it adds to the nutrient profile!) But, as we make other creamy and chocolatey pops…do I need to consider this as an addition for better consistency? Does it assist with the texture (to not become icey)?? Thanks!
These are pudding pops, so the gelatin is used to to get the creamy, pudding-like texture. We make popsicles without the gelatin, and they are creamy, but don’t taste the same as they aren’t as pudding-like in texture.
My son has celiacs and a fructose intolerance can I substitute out organic raw cane sugar for the maple/honey?
I haven’t tested it, but I think that would work.
I have a question about zoku and not about the recipe. Zoku says “Nonstick cast-aluminum molds have a proprietary solution sealed inside their bases to enable rapid, uniform freezing”. Are you ok with aluminum coming in direct contact with food? Please let me know your opinion on this.
Thank you
Poornima
I am wondering whether I can beat the egg yolks and then cook them in the milk. Then cooling the mixture before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. That would eliminate the raw yolks.
I think that would work!
My daughter has nut allergies, is there an alternative to the coconut oil in the chocolate shell?
I don’t know of another alternative. Sorry about that!
Question: in the article it said “I like to make Popsicles quickly, so for my pudding pop recipe I desolve the gelatin in just a small amount of milk before whisking it into the rest of the mixture. This way the mixture isn’t hot”
But in the recipe it says to heat over medium heat till hot and pour the othe to greidents into the hot mixture.
So is the article saying you can do it different than the recipe and use no heat? Why does he recipe call for hot then?
Just popped these in the freezer. The mixture tastes wonderful and the kids can hardlybwait for them to be ready.
I did not get 6 popsicles, only 4 full and about 3 tablespoons. My molds hold 1/2 cup of liquid so I’ll increase it a bit next time.