Chia Pudding
What is chia pudding?
Chia pudding was definitely of the trendiest foods between 2014-2017. Chia seeds were the new superfood of the 2000’s, so transforming them into a delectable dessert was a win-win!
Chia pudding is essentially a bowl of swollen chia seeds that have absorbed liquid. The seeds are tasteless, so they will take on the flavor of any liquid, sweetener, spices, or extracts you add. The pudding is gelatinous due to the soluble fibers that expand and slightly crunchy with the core of the seeds.
About Chia Seeds
Chia seeds look a lot like poppy seeds, but they are high in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, fiber, iron, and calcium. Over 90% of the carbohydrates (by mass) are fiber, and they are relatively high-protein as well—they keep you full for hours! With more potassium than a banana, antioxidants than blueberries, omega-3s than salmon, iron than spinach, and calcium than milk, what’s not to love?
Recipe Notes
When making this recipe in the past, I’ve experimented with many different ratios of liquid to chia. The best ratio that I found was a 6:1 mass ratio of liquid to seeds (or 4:1 volume ratio). For example, I will mix 60 g milk with 10 g chia seeds, which is equivalent to 1/4 cup milk to 1 tbsp chia seeds.
For any added ingredients, I generally recommend using liquid products. In terms of sweeteners, I like using stevia, MyProtein FlavDrops, honey, and maple syrup—granulated sugar and sweeteners don’t distribute as well in the pudding. However, cocoa powder, matcha, cinnamon, and other fine powders mix in well, so feel free to experiment with these along with extracts like vanilla, almond, and orange!
If you don’t like the crunchy texture, feel free to blend the pudding or use a food processor to make a smoother end-result.
Prep Time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 half-cup servings
Ingredients
- 240 ml (1 cup) milk of choice (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
- 20 g (2 tbsp) chia seeds
- sweetener of choice (I use MyProtein FlavDrops or stevia)
- spices and flavoring, optional (see recipe notes for ideas!)
Directions
- Add all ingredients into a bowl, mason jar, or other container and stir to combine. Tranfer to the refrigerator and let sit for 10 minutes before stirring again to get rid of any large clumps.
- Cover with plastic wrap or an air-tight lid and refrigerate for at least two hours (ideally overnight) and enjoy for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert! Keep up to 1 week in the refrigerated.
Per half-cup serving: 112 calories: 8.9 g carbs; 7.4 g fat; 3.8 g protein
