Have you ever bought something that you heard people talking about, that you thought you should start eating and would figure out how to get it into your diet soon but never did, only to have that something sit in your pantry forever? That would be a scenario with me and chia seeds a few years ago. I kept reading about these little nutritional powerhouses and I was easily convinced about all their benefits and that I should be incorporating them into my diet, but I hadn’t the slightest idea how to actually eat them. Chia seeds are super high in Omega-3 fats (which many of us don’t consume enough of) and antioxidants. They have almost double the fiber of flaxseeds, as well as lots of protein, calcium, iron and magnesium. What is unique about chia seeds is their gel-like consistency when they are soaked in liquid. They become thick like tapioca and that gel actually helps to keep everything moving very smoothly throughout our bodies.
Most suggestions that I originally encountered for consuming chia seeds were to “sprinkle” them on food, such as oatmeal or yogurt. That was fine for me, but the kiddos and Mr. Picky Sr. weren’t going for it. My next idea was to add chia seeds to cookie dough, which did make for a delicious almond butter and chia seed cookie. But a cookie isn’t going to give you a heck of a lot of chia seeds/nutrition. Finally I heard about chia pudding – an instant, raw, thick and silky pudding of chia seeds soaked in a barely sweetened liquid. Sold! Not only is chia pudding even easier to make than tofu chocolate pudding, but I think it’s even more delicious!
I have two versions to share with you because even though I love the plain Jane vanilla version, Mr. Picky thought it looked like tiny eyeballs and wouldn’t try it. So I added a little cocoa powder to make it chocolate-y and less like, well, eyeballs. Both versions are great. I eat vanilla chia seed pudding for breakfast with berries or diced banana on top and it fills me up for a good long while. Mr. Picky and his buddies love the chocolate pudding after school with lots of different toppings like coconut, raspberries or sliced almonds. Check out the video I did below for The Chalkboard on how to make this delicious concoction. Naturally I used date-sweetened Pressed Juicery almond milk to make it, but you can follow the recipe below.
Now that we’re hooked, I’d love to hear your favorite way to eat chia seeds!
Vanilla and Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups almond milk
- 3 pitted dates or sweetener of choice, to taste
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2-2 ½ Tablespoons raw cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder, if making chocolate pudding, depending on how chocolaty you like it
- ¼ cup chia seeds
Instructions
- Place almond milk, dates, vanilla and cacao in blender and process until dates are pulverized. A Vitamix does a great job with this. If your blender leaves the dates too chunky, you can strain the mixture before adding it to the chia seeds.
- Pour chia seeds into a medium container and add almond milk mixture. Stir immediately to combine otherwise you may end up with blobs of chia seeds. Allow to sit on countertop and stir every 5 minutes. After 15 minutes, it should have thickened.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. I usually do this the night before. Stays in the fridge for as long as your almond milk would. Fun to add toppings like fresh fruit, coconut or chopped nuts.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Thank you for reminding me of the Chia seeds that I had in the pantry.
I never really knew what to do with them before and this pudding recipse is super delish….
Plus when I eat it I can truly feel all the nutrients entering my body! It’s a sweet dessert that is basically guilt free !
Just ate it for breakfast this morning — totally guilt-free!
Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s easy to do and very delish. I made it with almond milk, xyletol for sweetener and good cocoa. Had it for breakfast this am with blueberries. It definitely needed to thicken overnight in the fridge. I follow the Wheat Belly way of eating and I look for things to have for breakfast. This is on the top of my list!
I’m so glad it works for you. It’s really nutritious to boot. As far as breakfast ideas, don’t discount leftovers from dinner, including soups and stews!
I have tried making chia pudding before but it never set. So glad that I was inspired to try again by your post. It turned out perfect.
Once you get the right proportions, that chia is like magic!
Hi Pamela…
Can I make this with regular whole milk? You are inspirational as always.
You’re sweet, Delilah. I haven’t tried it with whole milk, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. Let me know how it turns out if you do. Thanks!
I was wondering how long does this keep in the fridge and how should one store it? I definitely want to try making this, I too have a “Mr. Picky” when it comes to things like chia seeds and wheat germ and flax and things like that, so I jump at recipes where I can find ways to sneak healthy things into his diet
I know the feeling! The pudding will stay fresh as long as your almond milk. Since I make my own almond milk, the pudding only lasts about 3 days in the refrigerator. Hope he enjoys it!
I will admit, I was a skeptic about this one. I just made it and added an extra date (woops) and a big pinch of sea salt and it is delicious!
PS the quantity fits perfectly in an old nut butter jar…
You know how I love reusing those nut butter jars!
I know what you mean. It looks weird! Glad you gave it a try 🙂
Made the chocolate version today and it was a hit, will try the vanilla next.
Great! Once you get the basics down, you can start playing around with coconut milk, banana, and even pureed pumpkin with spices. 🙂
I would love to hear your different versions – with bananas? pumpkin? specifics.. like how much bananas? I am sure to screw it up 🙂
I haven’t made it with pumpkin yet, waiting for the fall! I tried pulsing some (4-5 large?) ripe strawberries with the almond milk and blending that with the chia — very delicious, although I was surprised that I still needed the dates to sweeten. Just mash up a ripe banana and fold that in if you like banana. You could also use half almond milk half coconut milk and fold in a handful of toasted coconut flakes. To that you could add a cup of diced mango for a tropical chia pudding. That sounds good right now.
I made this tonight for the kids for an after dinner treat and it was a hit! Matthew was mad that I had added spinach to the sauce I made tonight so he claimed he deserved a dessert after dinner. So I knew I could find something on your website that would make him and I both happy. This was perfect. I had pretty much everything the recipe called for and the chocolate version suited him because he doesn’t like seeing the seeds either. He loved it and so did Eva. Another winner with the kids! Thank you!
I love that we can get away with calling this a treat for the kids when it is uber-good for them! So cool that your kids enjoyed it!
I am making the pudding for my girls for an after school snack. I can’t wait to try it. My Whole Foods only had Salba. Will it work in this recipe? Thank you!
Yes! Salba is the same thing. Hope the girls like it 🙂
Thank you so very much for this recipe; I’ve been using chia seeds for years in my morning shake which I’m getting bored with. Thanks to my dear friend Jo Fusco and certain literary works by Adriana Trigiani, I’m switching to other simpler, nutritional breakfast choices non of which include (and which I greatly value) chia seeds! So this is perfect!
Molto grazias!!
Katherine
Can’t wait to try it
This is super simple, Katherine. Hope you enjoy!