Full instructions on how to make Chia Seed Pudding 3 ways. Chocolate chia seed pudding, chia seed pudding recipe with coconut milk and with almond milk. Easy ways to make it vegan, keto and paleo!
Can we just start by admiring how AWESOME these little seeds are? Chia seeds are a super most nutrient-dense foods!
A super food so to speak even though I don’t like to call them that because all real food is super and all are equally important.
Still, chia seeds are simply one of a kind. The seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, iron and magnesium and have a super high fiber content. So if you are amongst the unfortunate that need a little extra help with digestion, start having chia seed pudding once a day and say goodbye to any toilet issues.
The pudding is amazing for breakfast, snack or dessert! So you can easily incorporate it into your daily diet.
How to Make Chia Pudding
The base recipe is 3 tablespoons of chia seeds to 1 cup of liquid. And with liquid I mean ANY liquid really. Chia seed pudding can be made with juice, milk or even simply water.
My favorite is using milk because it makes the pudding super creamy. Full fat coconut milk chia pudding for example is incredibly creamy (see video).
Regular cow’s milk works great for a protein-rich version of chia seed pudding.
Almond milk is perfect for the dairy-intolerant or people on the paleo diet.
Full fat coconut milk is high carb and very filling so it’s great for people on the vegan diet.
Cream is a great liquid for people on the keto diet.
As you can see, chia seed pudding fits just about any diet, especially a clean healthy diet overall.
Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
For chocolate chia seed pudding I recommend dissolving cocoa in boiling water. Undissolved cocoa form little lumps of cocoa and in my opinion that’s not as yummy.
Use a tablespoon of cocoa and dissolve it in 2 tablespoons of boiling water from the kettle and stir until smooth.
Then go ahead and prepare your base pudding recipe by adding your chia seeds, the chocolate cream and milk of choice to a sealable container. Voilà your chocolate chia seed pudding is ready to rest in the fridge until pudding-like consistency.
Chia Seed Pudding Recipe with Almond Milk
Chia seed pudding with almond milk is amazingly tasteless so you can add all kinds of subtle flavors such as vanilla extract. I love using almond milk for vanilla-flavored chia pudding.
Natural vanilla isn’t very strong so it’s hard to taste it when there is other dominant flavors accompanying it.
Since almond milk isn’t as creamy as cow’s milk or coconut milk I recommend adding another 1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds OR some almond butter right into the mix.
I don’t mind it being a little more liquid though and just make the regular basic chia seed pudding recipe with it.
Chia Seed Pudding Recipe with Coconut Milk
Full-fat canned coconut milk is by FAR my favorite liquid to use for chia pudding. It gives the creamiest texture of all liquids.
It is on the calorie-richer side though of course so definitely better as breakfast than as snack or dessert, or maybe share a jar with someone for dessert…….if you can, lol.
Using coconut milk makes it taste VERY coconutty though, no matter what spices you add in. Even dark chocolate can’t overpower the coconut flavor. I recommend you only use this milk if you loooove coconut.
If you’re looking for a high-fat but low-carb liquid for your keto diet for example, use dairy cream and you’ll get the same consistency with less carbs.
How long does chia seed pudding last
That’s a tricky question and the answer is 2-7 days continuously stored in the fridge.
It depends mostly on what kind of liquid you use and its expiration date. I’ve noticed that coconut milk chia seed pudding lasts the longest without smelling funky. I’ve tested all the way to 7 days and it smelled and tasted great.
Always go by what you feel most comfortable with though. I don’t think there is an FDA approved “best before” date for home made chia seed pudding.
Cow’s milk chia seed pudding often smells weird after only 3 days. I never make more than 2 containers worth when using cow’s milk for example. Will however make 5 or more when using coconut milk.
Always give it a little sniff before diving in. You’ll immediately be able to tell that it’s gone bad. It smells different.
To Blend or Not to Blend Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
I’ve seen recipes that call for blending the chocolate chia seed pudding ingredients in a high-speed blender before letting them sit and expand in their container in the fridge. Basically as a way to “hide” the seeds.
I tried this method and didn’t like it AT ALL.
Not only do a lot of chia seeds stay stuck to your blender but the pudding gets a really weird gum consistency. I don’t even know how to describe it but maybe like the glue that we used to make with grandma out of flour and salt and water? GROSS!
In my opinion, the unblended chia seed pudding recipe has a muuuch better consistency, so just save yourself the mess and work and enjoy it that way.
How Long Does it Take Chia Seeds to Expand
It takes a mere 10 minutes for chia seeds to start expanding and release their gum. However, the chia pudding consistency shown in the photos and videos doesn’t happen until several hours resting time.
The longer you leave the seeds to rest, the less liquid the consistency is. I’ve noticed that after 6-8 hours they will basically stop expanding. The consistency won’t change much from then on.
If the pudding is still liquid after 6-8 hours in the fridge too little chia seeds or too much liquid was used in the recipe.
Chia Seed Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1 cup liquid - water, juice, milk (plant of dairy)
- 1 Tbsp sweetener - optional (honey, maple syrup, sugar, etc.)
Instructions
- Add 3 Tablespoon to a sealable container, add about 1 Tablespoon of sweetener of choice, top it with 1 cup of liquid of choice.
- Seal container and shake vigorously.
- Store in refrigerator for 6-8 hours until pudding-like consistency.
- Store for 2-7 days in the refrigerator.
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Megan says
I use unsweetened coconut milk to soak my chia seeds that makes the pudding. Then I add Kashewgurt with a variety of healthy yummy toppings from strawberries, blueberries, coconut flakes, cashews etc, Breakfast quick grab or a nice little snack. I am absolutely addicted. Can’t wait to try these new recipes.
Candice Green says
When you say full fat Coconut milk do you mean from a can? Or like the coconut milk from the cooler section at the grocery store?
Lorena Grater says
Sorry for the confusion Candice, I mean canned coconut milk.
Myrna says
I’ve never done this. How big should the jar be? Looks yummy and healthy.
Lorena Graeter says
It doesn’t really matter how big the jar is, as long as it’s sealable. Mine is 300ml in volume.
JANET PRESSLEY says
What are the containers that you use to make these puddings in. There are perfect for this.
Lorena says
They are the jam jars from the brand Bonne Maman.
Elisa says
Recipes sound wonderful! Do you ever use an artificial (chemical) sweetener such as Equal or does that change the consistency?
Lorena says
I don’t like those sweeteners, even natural ones like Stevia have a weird aftertaste for me but if you are used to them the recipe will work perfectly well with any kind of sweetener.
Barbara Dahl says
Just out of curiosity, have you ever put uncooked oatmeal in it? Extra fiber.
Lorena says
I make overnight oats all the time yes :D It’s important that you use old-fashioned rolled oats so they keep their shape. My son makes himself overnight oats with chia seeds every night for next day breakfast. He uses 3/4 cup rolled oats and 1/4 cup chia seeds and then fills the jar with almond milk.
Meg says
I just made four jars for my workdays coming and I’m plum excited. I used full fat coconut milk, maple syrup, pure vanilla extract, a touch of cinnamon, and blueberries. I’m looking forward to making a batch with raspberries and almond extract next week!
Lorena says
That sounds delicious! You’ll be so happy when it’s time to EAT! :D
Chia says
Chia is very versatile, you can’t go wrong..
Leanne says
Hello there and thank you for sharing your great recipes. Can i ask are the chia puddings high in calories and sugar in your opinion . I was noticing the list of carbs etc and I thought the sugar looked high. That being said I don’t understand how to read these labels very well? Help please
Lorena says
Hi Leanne, chia seeds as such aren’t high in sugar. They are high in carbs because they are high in fiber, which is a good thing. In terms of sugar, the sugar will be as high as you like it to be. The sweetener defines the amount of sugar. If you need/want a low-sugar or no sugar chia pudding simply leave out or reduce the maple syrup/honey/coconut sugar. The fat content is mostly determined by the kind of milk you use. If you use full-fat coconut milk or full-fat cow’s milk the fat content will be obviously higher than if you use almond milk or low-fat cow’s milk. I prefer using high-fat milk so the chia pudding keeps me fuller longer.
Nina Kramer says
Hi, the sodium content you have is 331 mg. Is the sodium due to the type of milk one uses?
Lorena Graeter says
Gosh, I have no idea why it calculated that much sodium, there shouldn’t be basically any in it. Please always take all nutritional information on ANY food blog with “a grain of salt”. We all use automatic calculators because we are required to do so but it’s silly because most of us are not registered dietitians and automatic calculators only have certain ingredients in their database, not “my” ingredients. Generally speaking, it’s silly to provide nutritional information because the coconut milk you will get at your store will most likely be different than the one I get at mine, same with all other ingredients. The best way to calculate how much sodium your specific chia pudding will have is by using the information on the chia seed packaging you buy and the milk carton you buy.
Natalie Metzger says
IT IS SO YUMMY! We tried it before it sat overnight, and it’s delicious already!
Lorena says
I’m so happy you liked it Natalie :D
Laurie says
I LOVE chia seed pudding (NO blending)! My favorite is with the full fat coconut milk, vanilla bean extract, unsweetened coconut flakes and a dash of cinnamon. When I’m ready to enjoy it, I add in almonds, walnuts or cashews to it for a crunch, and sometimes blueberries, strawberries or raspberries. I do love coconut, obviously. I have never tried a chocolate version, but came across this recipe and think I will give a go! Sounds delicious.
Lorena says
The coconut one is my favorite, too. I think, but chocolate is a very close runner-up :D
Sweet says
I’ve recently been making chia pudding and I loved it! I prep them the night before so I can enjoy them in the morning. However, I’ve observed that whenever I make them in my glass containers, they are not as creamy as the ones I made in a plastic container which has a narrower design. The glass containers are small but wider in shape. Both have the same measurements with the ingredients btw. Any idea why they have different texture? Does it have something to do with the containers I placed them with? 🤔
Lorena says
Huh! That’s interesting. I’ve never tested this, to be honest. I’m not sure why the texture would be any different if you use different sized, formed or textured containers.
Mai says
As there is so much blenders out there…thanks for replying back
Mai says
Hi, I love your smoothie recipes, but what’s the brand name of your blender?
Lorena says
Thank you Mai :) My Blender is from Vitamix and the model is the 5200.
Charity says
What kind of jars are those? I want them lol
Lorena says
They are the jam glasses of the brand “Bonne Maman”, lol. I don’t even necessarily like their jam, it’s too sweet for my liking but the jars are worth buying that jam, hahaha
Charity says
Hahaha thanks