Creamy vanilla pudding pops, with a strawberry center made to look like the Canadian flag (or as close as I could get anyways!). The perfect Canada Day treat!
So this was actually my first time making pudding pops, but I wanted to save them until a little closer to The Big Day.
You guys – I hope you are just as excited as I am! It is actually kind of cool to have this here blog to document all of my food firsts.
My first successful doughnuts.
There are some pretty exciting things going on. Like Canadian Flag Pudding Pops.
Because as much as I love my American readers, there ain’t no way I was making you an American flag. Because all the stars and stripes and trying to form those in a popsicle mold?!
But if you try it, be sure to let me know. And don’t worry, I’ve got some Fourth of July goodies coming up for you soon.
So I had this totally GENIUS idea, to make red and white layered popsicles with a strawberry as my “maple leaf” (or close enough), and I actually thought I was being completely original.
Let’s just pretend that no one googles or Pinterest searches “Canadian flag popsicles” and we assume I am the original creator of the Canadian Flag pop, okay?
I even tried to cut my strawberries into kind of a maple leaf shape, see? But I wasn’t that successful.
I was surprised that in my reader survey, more people wanted to see scratch recipes than shortcut recipes. Not in a bad way, just in an “I didn’t see that coming” kind of way. So I found a recipe for homemade pudding pops from a pretty reliable source I won’t identify…. And they were kind of a big flop. I didn’t really enjoy them.
I’m not sure if the pudding wasn’t thick enough, or sweet enough, or what… but I wasn’t digging it. I decided to try the usual pudding mix + milk + Cool Whip, just to have something to compare it to so I knew what I was reaching for, and they were SO good!
I kind of didn’t want to believe it. But they stayed so much creamier (likely partly due to the Cool Whip), and they tasted better, and just, everything was better.
So that’s the recipe I’m sharing with you today, because they’re delicious. And you can mix things up easily to suit your tastes! In the meantime, I’ll be experimenting some more with a comparable homemade version.
I tried making the red two ways: with food coloring and with pureed fresh strawberries. I found the strawberries made the popsicle icier (because of the water content in the fruit) and a little less creamy. You could do it either way, but I’m going to use food coloring in the recipe because that’s the version I preferred. You could also likely substitute homemade whipped cream for the whipped topping if you prefer!
Canadian Flag Pudding Pops
Ingredients
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding 4 serving size
- 1 3/4 cup milk I used 1%
- 1 cup frozen whipped topping thawed
- 4 strawberries halved
- Red food coloring as desired
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix and milk with a whisk until smooth. Slowly stir in whipped topping.
- Divide in half and color one half red using food coloring as desired (I recommend gel food coloring as it is more concentrated and is less likely to turn pink).
- Spoon 1-2 tbsp of red pudding mixture into the bottom of 6-7 popsicle molds. Freezer for 1 hour or until firm.
- With your finger, wet one side of a small, sliced strawberry with a bit of water. Lay it, wet side down, onto the side of the popsicle mold where you want it to freeze and stay in place (see the image below). Freeze for 1-2 hours or until the strawberry is frozen in place.
- Top with white pudding mixture, enough to cover your strawberry. Freeze 1 hour, then top with 1-2 tbsp red pudding mixture and freeze 2-3 hours until firm.
- To unmold, run under luke warm tap water for 1-2 minutes.
Nutrition Information
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Tara says
I love these, great idea!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel says
OH MY GOSH. These are TOO cute!! I seriously love them and I’m not even Canadian. But I kind of want to be just so I can make these pops! 🙂 Adorbs!
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
These are SOOOOO cute! I love them! I also cannot believe that Canada Day is upon us soon! Where has the time gone?
Dani @ DaniCaliforniaCooks says
These are SO fun. Obviously a bit time intensive, but worth it!
marcie says
These are adorable Ashley, and pudding pops are the best! 🙂
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
These pops are so so adorable! I love the maple leaf and think it turned out great! So fun and festive!
Ashley says
Thanks Kelly!
Johlene@FlavoursandFrosting says
Ashley these are adorable! Congrats on all your “firsts”!! I know how exciting it is when you´ve made something that you´ve never made before! The best is when it was easier than you thought 🙂
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
These are so adorable. I actually have Canadian friends visiting me here int he US for 4th of July. So maybe I should make us these treats. Love your “leafs”. XO
Cyndi - My Kitchen Craze says
How adorable are those? They look yummy too!! Haha about the american flag popsicles too. Could you imagine. Nightmare! But these bad boys look perfect for our 113 heat wave right now. Yum! Pinned!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
Oh my gosh! This is so dang cute Ashley! I think they turned out great! I can totally see the Canadian flag. So festive of you : )
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
What a fun and festive treat, Ashley! I love these! Aren’t pudding pops the best? I love how easy they are to make. These sound delicious!
Tori@Gringalicious.com says
Super cute and so yummy!