They do different jobs. Plain Greek yogurt usually has more protein per serving and brings live probiotic cultures, so it wins as a high-protein staple. Protein pudding wins as a dessert: a sugar-free, creamy treat that adds protein without the added sugar found in most flavored yogurts. Reach for plain yogurt as a daily snack, and a sugar-free protein pudding like Simply Desserts when you want dessert that still fits your goals.
Protein pudding vs yogurt at a glance
The fairest way to compare them is to be specific about which yogurt. Plain Greek yogurt is a different product from a sweetened fruit yogurt, and the gap matters most on sugar.
| Per serving | Plain Greek yogurt | Flavored yogurt | Simply Desserts Protein Pudding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | About 15g to 17g | About 5g to 10g | 5g per serving (20g per box) |
| Added sugar | 0g | Often 12g to 20g | 0g added sugar |
| Live probiotics | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| Tastes like dessert | No, tangy | Sweet, but sugary | Yes, sweet with no sugar |
| Best role | High-protein staple | Treat, but sugar-heavy | Sugar-free dessert |
Figures for yogurt are typical ranges and vary by brand. The Simply Desserts pudding is a dairy mix sweetened with erythritol and stevia, made with cold milk in about two minutes.
Protein: yogurt usually leads
If raw protein per serving is the only thing you care about, plain Greek yogurt is hard to beat, with roughly 15g to 17g per cup. A single serving of Simply Desserts Protein Pudding mix provides 5g of protein (20g per box), or around 10g once you make it with milk. Protein pudding is built as a dessert that adds protein rather than a maximum-protein food, so on this measure plain Greek yogurt wins. The gap narrows against flavored yogurts, which are often lower in protein and much higher in sugar.
Sugar: pudding beats flavored yogurt
This is where protein pudding shines. Plain yogurt only carries the natural milk sugar, but the flavored and fruit yogurts most people actually buy can pack 12g to 20g of added sugar per pot, which quietly undoes a lot of the health halo. Simply Desserts Protein Pudding has no added sugar at all, sweetened with erythritol and stevia. So if your choice is between a sweet fruit yogurt and a protein pudding, the pudding gives you the sweet, creamy hit with none of the added sugar.
Probiotics and gut health: yogurt only
To be fair to yogurt, it has one thing protein pudding does not: live cultures. Yogurt is fermented, so it contains probiotics that support gut health, which an instant pudding mix cannot offer. If gut health and live cultures are your priority, yogurt is the clear pick. Protein pudding is a dessert, not a functional gut food, and we would never pretend otherwise.
Taste and versatility
Plain Greek yogurt is tangy and usually needs fruit, honey or granola to feel like a treat, and those toppings add sugar and calories. Protein pudding tastes like dessert straight away, with a smooth, sweet vanilla, chocolate or banana flavour and no added sugar. It also doubles as a base for other recipes: blend it into a protein shake, layer it into a chia pudding, or freeze it for Ninja Creami ice cream. Yogurt is the better savoury all-rounder; pudding is the better ready-made sweet treat.
So which should you choose?
Use both, for different moments. Reach for plain Greek yogurt when you want a high-protein, probiotic-rich snack or breakfast base and do not mind adding your own fruit. Reach for a sugar-free protein pudding when you want a dessert that satisfies a sweet craving without the added sugar of a flavored yogurt, or when you want a quick high-protein base for shakes, chia bowls and frozen treats. The one swap that almost always makes sense is trading a sugary flavored yogurt for a sugar-free protein pudding: similar creaminess, similar sweetness, far less sugar.
One honest note that runs through all of this: Simply Desserts Protein Pudding is a dairy product made with milk protein (not whey), certified Kosher Dairy, so it is not vegan or plant-based, and it contains milk as an allergen. For more on where it fits, see is protein pudding healthy and our roundup of high-protein desserts.