Chia pudding is an easy make-ahead breakfast that you can stir together in just minutes. It’s a great alternative to a bowl of oatmeal, and will keep you feeling full for hours!
Similar to overnight oats, chia seed pudding requires just a few simple ingredients that you can stir together quickly. There’s no cooking required, and it’s perfect for meal prep, if you want to make several jars at the same time.
I’ve included 6 easy flavors below, so you can enjoy different variations throughout the week.
Chocolate Chia Pudding and Pumpkin Chia Pudding are two more healthy chia pudding recipes to try, especially if you’re getting used to the flavor of chia seeds. They taste like dessert!
Why You’ll Love Chia Seeds
• They are a great source of fiber. One ounce of chia seeds contains nearly 10 grams of fiber, and most of that is soluble fiber, which can help keep you feeling full.
• They contain omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds contain alpha linolenic acid, which has been linked to a lowering risk factors for heart disease.
• They are gluten-free. This is any easy breakfast for anyone following a gluten-free diet. When you use a non-dairy milk to make it, this recipe is also dairy-free and vegan.
• They may improve blood sugar levels. Animal studies suggest that eating chia seeds may help to improve insulin sensitivity.
• They are high in antioxidants. This includes quercetin and kaempferol, which may help to neutralize free radicals.
• They contain plant-based protein. Chia seeds have a 20% protein content, which is higher than what is found in cereal grains, like oats and barey.
How to Make Chia Pudding
1. Mix.
To make chia pudding, you’ll whisk together chia seeds, milk, and your favorite sweetener, like maple syrup or honey. I tend to use almond milk for this, but oat milk, soy milk, hemp milk, or most any other variety of milk will work just fine!
I would caution against using full fat canned coconut milk, however, as it thickens up too much when chilled.
What’s the proper ratio of chia seeds to liquid?
I find that 1 tablespoon of chia seeds requires a 1/4 cup milk. For a filling breakfast, I recommend using 3 tablespoons of chia seeds to 3/4 cup milk. You can always add more liquid later, if needed, to thin out the pudding.
For a more snack-size portion, use just 2 tablespoons of chia seeds mixed with a 1/2 cup milk.
I find a whisk is helpful for breaking up any clumps in the chia pudding, but you can also prepare this in a mason jar with a secure lid, and shake well to combine the ingredients.
2. Add toppings.
Customize each jar you make with a different topping or flavor. Check out the 6 ideas below, if you want to change up the flavors each day.
Feel free to double or triple the recipe, to make as many flavors as you’ll consume in the next 4 days.
3. Chill.
Once you’ve mixed the chia pudding together, secure a lid on each serving and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy it. It takes roughly 30 minutes for the chia pudding to thicken up, but you can store it for up to 5 days in the fridge, if you’d like to make several jars in advance.
You can even store chia pudding in the freezer, if you want to make more! Simply place a jar in the fridge overnight to thaw, before you plan on enjoying it.
Chia Seed Pudding Flavors
Try one of these easy variations, to change up your week.
Start with this base recipe:
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 3/4 cup milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, or other sweetener
Then add in any extras below, to change it up!
1. Chocolate Peanut Butter
To the base recipe add:
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
Whisk well; the cacao powder will eventually blend in as you stir. For this variation, you may want to add an extra 1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup, to help counteract the bitterness of the chocolate. Garnish with a few chocolate chips, if you like.
You can swap the peanut butter for almond butter, cashew butter, or any other nut butter you prefer.
2. Lemon Blueberry
To the base recipe add:
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- the zest of half a lemon
Mix well, and then store the jar in the fridge. The blueberries will thaw overnight in the fridge.
3. Vanilla Chia Pudding
To the base recipe add:
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix well, and then add any toppings you love. This classic flavor is particularly nice with fresh strawberries, or frozen berries on top.
4. Carrot Cake
To the base recipe add:
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of cloves
Just like carrot cake oatmeal, you can top this pudding with shredded coconut, walnuts, sliced pineapple, or any other additions you love.
5. Zucchini Bread
To the base recipe add:
- 1/2 cup shredded zucchini (no need to peel)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
Mix well, and add any toppings you enjoy, like chopped walnuts or pecans.
6. Peanut Butter & Jelly
To the base recipe add:
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries (or 1 tablespoon raspberry jam)
This combination is one of my favorites! The frozen raspberries will thaw overnight in the fridge, and add the perfect “jelly” flavor without added sugar. Or try using chia seed jam, which is fast to prepare and naturally sweetened, too.
The flavor ideas are endless! You can add in mashed banana for a “banana bread” flavor, pumpkin puree for a pumpkin flavor, or any other fresh or froze fruit you love.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does chia pudding taste like? Chia seeds have a relatively neutral, slightly earthy flavor. I find their crunch more noticable in this pudding recipe, almost like you’re eating tapioca pudding. When you add sweetener and a flavoring, like vanilla extract or fruit, the chia pudding taste is quite pleasant.
Can you blend it? If you don’t care for the texture of chia seeds, you can blend this pudding instead. Just add the ingredients to a blender, along with an extra 1/4 cup of liquid, to help with blending.
Keep in mind that blended chia seeds taste more bitter than whole chia seeds do, so you may need to add more sweetness to the blended version.
Chia Pudding
Equipment
Ingredients
Chia Pudding (Base Recipe)
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Carrot Cake
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons walnuts
- 2 tablespoons raisins
Chocolate Peanut Butter
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
Lemon Blueberry
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
PB&J
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
Zucchini Bread
- 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons walnuts
Vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the chia seed pudding base by combining the chia seeds, almond millk, and maple syrup in a small bowl or glass jar. (I recommend using a jar 14 ounces or larger.) Whisk well, to help prevent the chia seeds from clumping together.
- Add in one of the flavoring options listed above, for a flavored chia pudding. For example, to make the PB&J flavor, you'll add a tablespoon of peanut butter and a 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries to the jar. Whisk well again, then secure the lid and place the jar in the fridge.
- The chia seeds will gel together and thicken up in as little as 30 minutes, but you can let this sit overnight in the fridge for an easy make ahead breakfast. (The frozen fruit will thaw overnight, as well!) When you're ready to eat, remove the lid and give the chia seed pudding a stir. You can thin it out by adding additional liquid, if desired, or make it slightly sweeter by adding an extra splash of maple syrup.
- Chia seed pudding will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days, so feel free to double or triple this recipe to make several jars at once. You can also freeze chia seed pudding, for a longer shelf life. To thaw, place a frozen jar in the fridge the night before you plan on eating it.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this chia seed pudding recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!
Love your recipes! So great 🙂
Love this! I hate making breakfast in the morning so this would be a great grab and go option for me! I’ll have to try it out!
Love this! I hate making breakfast in the morning so this would be a great grab and go option for me! I’ll have to try it out!
I’ve never tried chia seeds before, they’ve always intimidated me..but this makes me want to finally give them a try!
I like putting cloves in mine (cooler climate!). I’ve never blended it before, I will try that out…
My family LOVES chia pudding! The only problem was that we were going through Soooo much full fat coconut milk…which is not inexpensive. Thank you so much for posting a recipe using almond milk–and blending it!?!–genius! 🙂
HMM! I am going to try this. Never done a true chia pudding before since I hate the tapioca texture – but my VitaMix would fix this sure!
I make a chocoloate version of this using cacao powder. It’s super tasty. I’ve never tried blending the seeds, but now really want to try that next time! By the way, I use homemade, non-strained almond milk for mine. However, non-strained almond milk is really thick and makes a thicker pudding. Does your recipe/proportions assume a thin almond milk?
Yes, I always strain my almond milk, so this recipe assumes you’re using store-bought or strained homemade almond milk.
This looks excellent! I’ve been obsessed with making pudding with agar agar, but I’ll have to alternate with this one!
Since you first mentioned this pudding in one of your posts I have made it twice, & loved it! I leave it in the oven for 30 minutes with the door open, on the lowest setting & it makes a perfect “cream of wheat” warming treat!
I went a bit crazy for chia puddings a few months ago… I came up with several flavours I loved! Matcha chia pudding, I also added shredded coconut to this. Made one with coffee and cocao aka mocha chia pudding. Strawberry pudding. Peanutbutter and banana. Plain banana (blend the fruit when making pudding in blender.) the list goes on! It’s so versatile!
Wow, those flavors sound yummy! I am going to have experiment!
I forgot to mention I like to add goji berries after its been blended…. Can make a caramel flavour with vanilla extract and agave or stevia too
I dont have almond milk on hand so i substituted with soy milk. It’s in the fridge. Can’t wait for breakfast tomorrow!
Now if someone could up with an idea for a healthy Malt-o’-Meal riff!! I miss Cream of Wheat…but I REALLY miss the malt-y kick….any suggestions anyone?
Hi Donna, try lucuma powder! Just blend it right in. 🙂
You are so right about chia pudding taking practice…I feel like it’s never the same twice! I’ve definitely found giving it a whirl in the food processor achieves the texture I prefer, so I’ll give it the extra step and clean up. Still easier than cooking oats, and it’s a great breakfast when it’s warmer out too!
Anyone have a solution for pure vanilla extract without alcohol?? I find I can detect the alcohol in any recipes that are not baked. The only product I found, without alcohol, is at Whole Foods. It’s Frontier’s all natural, alcohol-free vanilla “flavor.” I want pure vanilla, not vanilla flavor. The ingredients, however, include glycerin, fair trade certified vanilla bean extractives & water.
Maybe you could try using real vanilla beans? As I understand it, all “extracts” have alcohol in them, so to have an alcohol-free version, it will be labeled as “flavoring” instead.
I’m trying to follow an anti-candida diet so can I leave out the maple syrup or will it make it taste different?
it WILL taste different in that it won’t be sweet. if you’re on an anti-candida diet and don’t mind a non-sweet pudding – leave it out; otherwise, try stevia. stevia is safe in anti-candida diets.
I am on a Candida Diet also…I just saw this recipe yesterday and I’m gonna substitute the maple syrup with vegetable glycerin.
If you have a good blender, putting a couple of dates in the milk and blending smooth and then adding the chia to blend again would sweeten the pudding as well.
I’m doing the candida diet and I make my chia pudding with erythritol. Tastes great.
I never know which ones to use…the “bigger”-looking ones or the “smaller”-looking ones? Maybe these smaller ones are “shelled”?
Which ones do you (and most bloggers) call for in chia seed puddings?
I assume it’s the smaller ones…
What are the bigger/shelled ones used for?
I’ve never seen bigger ones! I assume I use the “smaller” ones, but I’ve never seen any other size in my grocery stores…
There are only one size chia seeds. They expand when you allow them to sit in the liquid.
This looks amazing and I will try it with Stevia. When eating it as a breakfast porridge, so you eat it warm?
No, I eat it at room-temperature, straight from the blender. But I’m sure it would be delicious warmed up a little, too!
ive tried to make this several different ways ! never cared for the tapioca texture that much- so im excited to see how it tastes after being blended in my vitamix ! i hadn’t thought of blending it before – its in the fridge now.. cant wait for breakfast !! thanks as always
I love chia any way I can get it! So versatile! I introduced chia seeds to my sister and her family recently and her kids think they are sprinkles and devour them! What a fabulous transition they’re experiencing!
I never know which ones to use…the “bigger”-looking ones or the “smaller”-looking ones? Maybe these smaller ones are “shelled”?
Which ones do you (and most bloggers) call for in chia seed puddings?
I assume it’s the smaller ones…
What are the bigger/shelled ones used for?
Omgggg Your blog ROCKS! Love everything I’ve made from it! Could you post some more dinner meals? The sweets are awesome but looking for more dinner filling meals 🙂
Make sure you check out my “Main Entrees” recipe tab for more dinner ideas: https://detoxinista.com/recipes/main-entrees/
wow that looked so appetizing ! I’m gonna try this one for sure ! I didn’t know chia seeds, when soaked overnight, will become like fish egg or tapioca texture ??? if thats the case.. OMG it will make me so happy !
My 2 year old wanted to try it and she wanted her own bowl. It was delicious! Thank you!
Cannot believe these comments.What planet are you all on? This was the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted a good dollop of mustard well mixed in might hide the taste!
No thank you
Sounds like you got a bad bag of chia seeds! I recently got a bad batch from Trader Joe’s myself, and if had I never tried chia seeds before, I would have thought they were the most disgusting thing ever. Chia seeds shouldn’t have much of a flavor, so if yours do, it’s a bad batch.
I loved this recipe! Do you eat the whole batch or do you proportion it out? It seemed to make a lot! I was also wondering what the calorie count was? I know chia seeds are pretty high in calories. I also wanted to add that I made mine with rice milk because it was all I had and it was great also!
I eat the whole batch, and yes, it is filling! I don’t count calories, but I’m sure you could use a free website to figure it out.
Although chia seeds are a power food (60 cal per tsp) the pudding recipe comes out below 300 calories (270 to be precise)
Can you make this a few days ahead? (triple the recipe to eat for 3 consecutive days?)
Yes, definitely!
Anyone try this with coconut milk? My family has almond allergies.
I bet that will be delicious, too!
I used half almond milk and half coconut milk (full fat non-bpa can, not the watered don carton stuff) once. It tasted amazing!!
this recipe is fantastic. my husband wouldnt try it because it scared him… anything healthy scares him… so i made it again but doubling the amount of almond milk and vanilla and syrup, the texture was still very thick but less goopy so my husband tried it and liked it! wow!
I had this over the weekend (without the maple syrup), and it was delicious and filling! Thanks!
What is the average serving a day of chia seeds?
I’m not sure if there’s an average daily serving, but this pudding is probably the most I’d eat in a day.
I would suggest either using vanilla beans or making it with 1/4 tsp of vanilla. The alcohol and vanilla taste was WAY too strong for me with 1 tsp, which was annoying because I didn’t really have enough chia seeds to dilute the recipe down.
This recipe is so amazing. I love the creamy texture and not to mention super quick and easy to prepare.
This is amazing! Loved it so much, so awesome that it tastes like cream of wheat. Warmed up with the Banana sliced ontop was perfection! One of the most enjoyable breakfasts i’ve had in a while! Thanks!
I just prepared a portion, this is going to be my breakfast tomorrow! 🙂
Love this recipe! I usually soak a tbsp of chia and 1/2 a cup of oatmeal in 1 cup almond milk, very yummy but this is such a nice change and so much sweeter! Yum!
I really want to try this! Would coconut milk work? Thanks! 🙂
Sure!
Would honey work as well? I don’t buy maple syrup, I know it’s not vegan, but that’s okay for me!
Sure!
We love this stuff! My toddler does too. I found dark chocolate coco and add it too sometimes.
I just tried making this and it was really filling! The only think that I would change if I did it again is, I would put less vanilla because I thought it was overpowering. I also made it with matcha tea powder and it was SOOOO delicious. thanks for the ideas!
I have just tried this and it was delicious! I was out of vanilla so I only made it with homemade hazelnut milk (yum!), chia seeds and maple syrup, I blended it but not long enough to have the creamy texture, just a smoother tapioca texture and it was great!
It took me 2 breakfasts to eat the whole thing though… It really is filling!
Thanks for such a fabulous recipe. I have chia seed in the house all the time and never knew it could create such a delicious dish. I made it with unsweetened almond milk, blackberries and a dash of sliced almonds today. This will definitely become a regular in my diet. Trying your pumpkin granola recipe next! You have terrific ideas.
I am NEW to all the Chia craze. Now that school is almost over and I am free over the summer, I wanted to see what chia has to offer tired, overweight, 48 year old woman. I hear and read that it will increase energy and decrease appetite. Many websites are intimidating because they mention ingredients I have never hear of before. Anyway, can regualr skim milk be used to make all the chia puddings and porridges? Nobody ever seems to mention regular skim milk. I am planning to bookmark this site, because it seems the most non-threatening that I have found.
Yes, you are welcome to use any milk you like. I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying my website!
People do not mention skim milk, because there is a growing awareness of the health benefits of not drinking milk that is pastuerized and comes from cows living in torturous conditions. Cows are fed unnatural foods and antibiotics because of their horrifying living conditions, and so the milk is not so good for consumption in many cases. Even organic milk, is not best for some bodies, but other milks can be.
Almond, flax, hemp, rice, quinoa milks, and other alternatives to cow milk you see mentioned are an invitation to try some other milks that may be better for your health and energy.
Will this recipe work well with milled chia seeds as well please?
Just made this yesterday and had some this morning…it was delicious! I was pleasantly surprised by how great it tasted. Can’t wait to make more!
And I thought I finally finished my breakfast pudding rampage for awhile after I had a little too much of Chocolate Covered Katie’s amazing oatmeal breakfast pudding…. Well I was wrong! Chia pudding… Who would have guessed? What a happy and healthy way to start the day! 🙂
Hi Megan,
I’ve just overcome some health issues and been using food network to learn to cook. I’ve been searching for a dairy free tomato soup for months and recently found your site. Thank you for your continued help. I have found that when i want something new, healthy, and fabulous I do not need to look much farther than your site.
My 3 year old daughter has been a super challenge to feed healthily. She had lots of behavioral issues & knew it was diet related. I think with your many ideas she will truly grow up building a super strong immune system and avoid the problems that I incurred. She is happier than ever with all the changes in her diet. I do mostly paleo with her. Thank you for the many new ideas & all the resources. What an improvement on my every day. Thank you. I can’t wait to try this chia pudding. Looks amazing! I will be sharing your site with my health savvy friends!
I LOVE chia pudding, and I prefer it blended. Such an easy and delicious breakfast or snack 🙂
Thank you for posting this delicious recipe. It is a fun texture that also reminds me so much like the Cream of Wheat I loved as a kid.(Gluten-free now) So, this is a truly great find.