Chocolate pudding shots are a delicious dessert for grown-ups only! Creamy chocolate pudding is spiked with boozy liqueur to make a cocktail that everyone will want to try.
Pudding Shots are a creamy and delicious alternative (or addition) to Jello Shots. Just like Jello shots, pudding shots are super simple to make and can be customized using different flavors of pudding and different types of liquor.
This basic chocolate pudding shots recipe uses just 5 ingredients, plus some optional chocolate sprinkles, and can be whipped up in just 5 minutes!
Adding whipped cream vodka and Kahlua to chocolate pudding gives these dessert shots a cafe mocha flavor that everyone will go nuts for.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Super Simple– 5 ingredients and 5 minutes is all you need to make this recipe! Compared to some of the complicated pudding shot recipes I’ve seen, this one is no-fuss and just as fun.
- A crowd-pleasing favorite – Folks will come running when you pull a tray of pudding shots from the fridge. Everyone will want a taste!
- Any Occasion – Make these to bring to an outdoor barbecue, a football party, or your next book club meeting. Chocolate pudding shots are welcome at any adults-only event.
Ingredients In Chocolate Pudding Shots
Here’s what you need to make this fun dessert/cocktail recipe:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Instant Chocolate Pudding: It’s important that you use instant pudding, and not the cook and serve type. We aren’t cooking the pudding, so we need it to set up on its own.
- Milk: Use whole milk or 2% when making instant pudding shots. Skim milk won’t thicken the mixture enough.
- Alcohol: I’ll give you some alternate options below, but this recipe calls for half whipped cream vodka and half Kahlua. You can use baileys instead of the Kahlua, or any coffee-style liqueur.
- Cool Whip: Mixing in a tub of whipped topping makes these shots light and easy to enjoy.
- Sprinkles: While totally optional, I think that the chocolate sprinkles make this recipe for pudding shots extra fun!
How To Make Pudding Shots
- Make Boozy Pudding: In a large bowl, use a whisk to mix together the pudding mix, milk, vodka, and liqueur. Whisk for about 2 minutes until the powder is dissolved.
- Add Cool Whip: Add the container of whipped topping to the bowl, and whisk it in until combined. The pudding should now be light and creamy.
- Fill Shot Cups: Divide the mixture evenly among 18 2-ounce plastic cups. You can do this with a spoon, a cookie scoop, or a piping bag if you want to.
Tip!
Be Responsible! Pudding shots look like cute little cups of chocolate pudding, so be sure to keep them out of reach of kids who might not know better.
What Alcohol Goes in Chocolate Pudding Shots?
You have options! I find that alcohol that is flavored with things that sound like they belong in desserts is best in Pudding Shots. Look for vanilla, chocolate, coffee, banana, and maple-flavored alcohol.
Try any of these, or a combination of them to flavor your pudding shots. In total, you should add 1 cup (8 ounces) of alcohol to the recipe. I suggest using half liquor (the hard stuff: vodka, rum, whiskey, etc.) and half of a lower alcohol content liqueur (Kahlua, Baileys, schnapps), for balance.
- Vodka: Whipped cream vodka, vanilla vodka, marshmallow vodka, cinnamon vodka, or any vodka with a dessert-like flavor.
- Whiskey: Screwball peanut butter whisky, Crown Royal vanilla-flavored whiskey, coffee-infused whiskey, maple whiskey… there are so many awesome flavors now!
- Rum: Try coconut, banana, or orange-flavored rums in chocolate pudding shots to add some tropical flair! Vanilla rum is also an excellent replacement for the vanilla vodka in this recipe.
- Coffee Liqueurs: Look for Kahlua, Patron XO Cafe, or use your favorite coffee liqueur. I get a delicious one from a local small distillery that would be amazing in pudding shots!
- Cream Liqueurs: Bailey’s Irish Cream is a classic, but you can also look for coconut cream, vanilla cream, and chocolate creamy alcohol.
- Other Liqueurs: Leave the coffee out of it, and choose a different flavor instead. Try Ameretto, Frangelico, chocolate liqueurs from Godiva, or butterscotch schnapps.
Recipe Tips
- Keep them cold: These dessert shots must be kept refrigerated until you’re ready to eat them. They are super fun at the beach, but be sure they are in your cooler! You can also freeze them so that they will stay cold longer.
- Switch up the pudding flavor: Instant pudding comes in many different flavors, so try another one! Butterscotch, french vanilla, and cookies and cream are all fun mixed into pudding shots.
- Make extra: If you are planning to be at a big party with a lot of guests, consider doubling this recipe. Everyone will want at least one, and maybe more!
What To Serve With Pudding Shots
Pudding shots are party food! Try some of these other favorite party appetizers that are sure to impress your guests:
FAQs
Yes, I like to store the pudding shots in the freezer until I’m ready to serve them, particularly if it’s hot outside. The alcohol content of them won’t allow them to freeze solid, so they will still be creamy enough to eat.
You can store these in the freezer for up to 2 months. Just be sure they are well-sealed and in an airtight container. In the fridge, you could potentially keep them for up to 5 days. I’ve never had them last that long!
These are shots, so please expect that they will have an effect on your and your guests. If you use 1 cup of alcohol to make 18 pudding shots, each one will contain just under 1 tablespoon of alcohol, which is approximately ½ ounce or half of a shot.
The cups I used to make these are 2-ounce portion cups with lids. You can find these at grocery stores now, near the paper plates and plastic silverware. They are also easily found on Amazon, and you can get a lot of them at a low price!
Pudding shots are a fun and delicious way to share a drink with friends! Come back and let me know how yours came out, and be sure to Pin this recipe to make again.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Chocolate Pudding Shots
Ingredients
- 1 6-ounce box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 2 cups whole milk or 2%
- ½ cup whipped cream flavored vodka
- ½ cup Kahlua liquere or Bailey's Irish Cream
- 8 ounces Cool Whip whipped topping thawed
- Chocolate Sprinkles optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, use a whisk to mix together the pudding mix, milk, vodka, and liquer. Whisk for about 2 minutes until the powder is dissolved.
- Add the container of whipped topping to the bowl, and whisk it in until combined. The pudding should now be light and creamy.
- Divide the mixture evenly among 18 2-ounce plastic cups. You can do this with a spoon, a cookie scoop, or a piping bag
Notes:
- This recipe contains alcohol. Please be careful to keep pudding shots out of the reach of children, as they look very much like a delicious chocolate dessert!
- If made as directed, each of these pudding shots should contain approximately ½ ounce of alcohol.
- Get creative, use different pudding flavors and different types of liquor and liqueur to change the flavor of your shots.
- This recipe is easily doubled if serving a larger crowd.
- To Store: Keep pudding shots covered in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. They can be served semi-frozen, or allowed to thaw first.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Barbara Blackledge says
Delicious. Made them for a party. Very easy.
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Yay! Hope you had a great time!