Snack Pack Puddings

Update Reviews, March 2021

Um, yum.

I know it isn't the best pudding out there.  I know I haven't exactly raved about it before, originally finding it quite awful, and eventually finding it acceptable, but requiring jazzing up.  Yup, I'm talking about shelf-stable, packaged Snack Packs.  

But you know what?  In the "pandemic years" these things really grew on me.  For days where you want a fast, creamy comfort food, having some Snack Packs on hand really can be a lovely (and quite affordable!) treat.

I may continue to keep some of these in the pantry in the future ...

Vanilla Chocolate.

"Satisfy your cravings for both of our classic flavors with our chocolate and vanilla pudding pack."

Vanilla chocolate is a layered flavor, two layers each of chocolate, with a vanilla layer in the middle.  Mine did not look like the marketing in any way - the "vanilla" was a light brown, rather than more white color.

The pudding was ... "fine".  By which I mean, it wasn't worth throwing out, but, it wasn't really very good.  Standard Snack Pack consistency, creamy, but not particularly rich, and not particularly ... flavorful.  The chocolate flavor had more to it than the vanilla layer, which literally tasted like nothing, but it is certainly not an indulgent, fudgey chocolate flavor.  Neither had the rather signature "plastic" taste that some Snack Pack flavors have, so that was good.

I jazzed it up with fancy sea salt (the salt *really* made it pop!), tons of whipped cream, and sprinkles.  It was ... better this way, but certainly not something I'd purchase again.

Update: Of course I had a whole 4 pack, so I had to eat the rest!  Each time I felt the same, a bit let down.  I loved the creamy consistency, and the promise of chocolate was so real, but, it just needed *more* chocolate flavor.  I added chocolate sprinkles, cocoa nibs, and chocolate ganache, plus sea salt and whipped cream, and enjoyed it the most that way.  But still, it needed too much "help" to reach that point.

***.

Tapioca.

"Old-fashioned vanilla taste, with the thick richness of tapioca pudding."

Ok, um, I really liked this one.

Like, really liked it.

I pulled the tapioca pudding out of fridge, and took my first bite, expecting to want to add all sorts of things.  I had fresh blueberries and strawberries on hand, a jar of caramel, a mind racing with thoughts of crunchy things I could add in, and of course, a can of whipped cream.

But I didn't need any of it.  Really.

In the history of SnackPack, there has never been a flavor that I'm just happy to eat as is, but, this was that.  It was thick, it was creamy, it didn't taste at all like plastic.  The tapioca certainly isn't generous, of course I wanted more, but what was there added a pleasant enough texture.  The real win to this one though was just the base flavor.  The vanilla really, truly is, well, good?  Very deep flavor, really.  "Old-fashioned" I guess?

Anyway, I really liked this.  I had another one and did add fresh berries to it, but, really, these are fine just on their own.

****.

Update Review, 2020 Tastings

Sometimes I'm glad I don't read previous reviews (original, 2015) before trying an item.  Because I most certainly would have missed out on my re-discovery of Snack Packs, some of which turned out to be ... quite satisfying.  Others?  Most certainly not.

Banana Cream Pie.

"Richer and creamier than Grandma’s, with big banana taste. We won’t tell Grandma about our banana cream pie pudding."

I'll start by saying I *think* I had the banana cream pie.  I took it thinking it was actually just butterscotch and vanilla, but when I tasted it, I thought I tasted slight banana.  It was part of a variety pack, and I didn't have the details on the pack.  And then, when I went to write the review, I couldn't find a layered vanilla and butterscotch product actually made by Snack Pack, and it sure looked a lot like the "Banana Cream Pie" item ...

Anyway, while I have really, truly disliked the other flavors, noting that the consistency was not creamy, the flavor was plastic, I ... really did not have those issues with this one at all.  Sure, it wasn't rich creamy homemade pudding, no batter what their description says, but the flavor was enjoyable, quite sweet, and it was fairly rich.

I honestly likely would have been happy eating it just that way, but of course I decided to jazz it up (although in a fairly lazy way).

Banana Cream Pie + Warm Griddled Banana + Whipped Cream + Sweet Cookie Sticks.

I took a chunk of fresh banana, sliced it, and threw it into my grill.  The warmed banana chunks added more banana flavor, a bit of texture, and were perfect.

I pulled out a can of whipped cream, and added some topping.  Pudding needs whipped cream, right?  I liked the lightness and balance it brought.

And then I grabbed some sweet cookie sticks, from a Nutella & Go, and tossed them in for crunch.  They did taste remarkably like Nilla wafers, which, makes sense as they are from Nabisco too ...

Oh, there are sprinkles in there too.

The end result was *really* satisfying.  Banana cream pie basically, with two layers of pudding, warm fresh slightly caramelized banana, sweet cookie chunks, and whipped cream.  A+ me!

Vanilla.

 "The sweet and creamy classic everyone loves."

After that success, I moved on to the simple vanilla.  Again, I didn't find it plastic-y as I had in previous reviews, and enjoyed how creamy it was.  Sure, it tasted "fake", and I found it very sweet, but, I knew I could improve it from here ...

Simple Ingredients ...

I pulled out whipped cream to layer it with, to help temper the sweetness and slight cloying flavor to it.

I pulled out a banana, sliced it, and got the slices roasting in the toaster oven.

Then came more Nutella & Go, which I originally intended just for the sweet cookie sticks, but then realized I could use the Nutella too ...

And of course, sprinkles!

Roasted Banana Nutella Cream Pie Parfait!

I *loved* my creation.

Layers of pudding, whipped cream, and sweet biscuits, with soft, roasted, lightly caramelized bananas, pockets of Nutella, and sprinkles of joy.

Loved it.  And I loved that I made something so delicious with very simple pantry ingredients.

Butterscotch.

"A butterscotch pudding dessert—where sweet and creamy meet delicious."

I saved what I thought was going to be my absolute favorite for last.  Butterscotch.  I <3 butterscotch pudding.  I grew up with amazing homemade (for hours, literally, over the stove) butterscotch pudding (usually in pie form), made by my grandmother, with a recipe handed down over the years (*dark* brown sugar, is the magic ingredient ...).

I knew this would not be my grandmother's pudding, I knew it would need some jazzing up, but ... I was still very, very saddened by it.

It tasted artificial, like plastic, and cloying sweet.  I was so sad.

But I persevered.

Layered with whipped cream / candied pecans / white chocolate pretzels / sprinkles / roasted banana. 

I knew it needed whipped cream, that was a given.  I quickly applied equal parts whipped cream to original pudding, given just how cloying it was.

Then I started on crunchy elements.  I chopped up candied pecans and white chocolate pretzels - the former chosen as I do love the butterscotch-pecan combo, and the later for a salty and sweet element.

Top View

Next came tons of sprinkles, all kinds, more sugar, yes, but also some crunch.  And then, roasted bananas, inspired by the success from my the banana cream versions.

It still ... wasn't great.  It needed more help.

So I added vanilla ice cream (yeah, I know, why not?), more whipped cream, and salt (after this photo).  It was ... better.

I kinda just mixed it all up, enjoyed the contrasting cold bites with the ice cream, and warmth from roasted bananas, and the different crunchy bits made it more fun, but ... yeah.  Not really a winner.  I think it needed kettle corn as a topping ... and maybe peanuts?  Cracker jacks?

Unicorn!

"Made with real milk, fairy dust and Princess kisses for Magically delicious flavor."

The 6 pack contains 4 Pink and 2 Blue.  Your guess is as good as mine as to what these are supposed to actually taste like ... fairy dust and princess kisses?

They, uh, tasted like "sugar" to me ... And, yeah, that basically is what it is.  Vanilla pudding without vanilla, and with either red #40 or blue #1.  And both taste completely the same.

"Blue".

Blue tastes like ... yeah, fairy dust! Or was that a hint of princess kisses?  No, that was plastic :)

This really was just sweet, just plastic, and, while the blue was fun, it offered very little.

I had to add ice cream, whipped cream, fresh fruit, and white chocolate melt chex mix to make something moderately enjoyable.  But even then, it was ... forcing it.

Can't say I recommend this one.  Even my little niece, who loves unicorns and whatnot, wanted nothing to do with this.  The pink was the same.

Update Review, October 2015

Sometimes, I need to learn to take my own advice.  I said snack packs were awful, and that I wouldn't try them ever again.

And then, I visited my LA office, where they have a "junk food" microkitchen, and it came stocked with ... Snack Packs!  Pudding, I love pudding!  I couldn't resist trying another.

Like I said, should have taken my own advice, from my original review ...

Chocolate.

I know, I know.  Why did I try this.  Curiosity got the better of me.

One bite was all it took to remind me why I don't like these.  Plastic.  All you taste is plastic.  Not chocolate, not creamy pudding, just, plastic.  They smell like plastic, they taste like plastic.

Dear self: really, don't try these again.

Original Review, March 2013

I love pudding.  Creamy pudding, rice pudding, warm pudding, cold pudding, I love it all.  I don't normally go for packaged puddings, but I decided to give Snack Packs a try when I saw one named "Chocolate Cupcake".  Protip: Do not go grocery shopping when hungry!

They are as bad as I expected.  I won't by buying more!

Chocolate Cupcake.

Part of the newer "Bakery Shop" line, inspired by baked goods.  A layered creation, intending to be like the cupcake base and frosting.

The chocolate layer had ok chocolate flavor, it was slightly creamy, but mostly just kinda tasted like plastic.  The top layer, aka, the "frosting", had absolutely no flavor.  I didn't get the frosting sense at all.

Would not eat again.

Butterscotch.

Butterscotch is my favorite pudding of all time, as my grandmother makes a from scratch amazing version. As you can imagine, this didn't nearly live up.

All I could taste was strange sweetness, with the same consistency as the chocolate pudding version that is smooth, but isn't really creamy, and has slightly plastic-like taste.

Better than the chocolate cupcake, but still not good.

Tapioca.

You'd think I'd give up.  But ... maybe the tapioca was different enough that it would be ok?

Nope.

Again, not very creamy consistency, tasted like plastic.  Sorta vanilla flavored plastic.  With a few balls of tapioca, not nearly as many as I'd like.  They were flavorless and didn't even really add much texture.  Meh.