They're incredibly easy and fun to customize with delicious flavours and ingredients, making them fantastic for both kids and adults. There are countless ways to make chia pudding - here, I'll show you how to make the most basic, easy base recipe that I use in all of my chia pudding recipes - you can then customize this base recipe with your own flavour combos in just 3 easy steps. It's truly the easiest pudding you'll ever make!

What is Chia Pudding?

Chia Pudding is a delicious, luxuriously creamy pudding that is made by simply soaking chia seeds in milk. Chia seeds have an impressive ability to absorb liquid, expanding in size and gelatinizing into a thick, delicious, jelly-like texture that closely resembles tapioca pudding. On its own, it's fairly neutral in taste - which makes it super easy to mix in different ingredients and toppings for some delicious and unique flavour combinations.

It makes for an incredibly easy, healthy, and delicious breakfast, snack, or even dessert. It's filling and satisfies my sweet-tooth cravings while being packed with nutrition - and keeps me away from grabbing unhealthy or expensive store-bought foods like muffins, pastries, granola bars, or other pre-packaged snacks.

Nutritional Benefits of Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are one of my favourite superfoods! They're packed with fibre, protein, antioxidants, vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids - making them great for your brain, heart, bones, and helps in supporting the reduction of inflammation. They can also be very helpful in supporting weight management goals, because of their ability to keep you feeling full while satisfying any sweet-tooth cravings in a more healthy way.

What Do I Need to Make Chia Pudding?

All you need are 3 simple ingredients to make this easy base recipe:

• Chia seeds - the star of the show! You'll often find them in black or white varieties; either one will work for this recipe.
• Milk - I prefer using unsweetened almond milk, but any milk of your choice will work for this recipe - whether it's regular cow's milk or a plant-based alternative.
• Maple syrup - any sweetener will work, so feel free to use alternatives such as honey, agave nectar, or a sugar-free alternative like liquid stevia if you prefer.

How to Make Chia Pudding (3 Steps)

When I said this is the easiest pudding you'll ever make, I meant it! All you need are 3 easy steps: STIR → SIT → STIR AGAIN.

STEP 1 (STIR):

In a mason jar (or other sealable container), add milk, chia seeds, and maple syrup.

Give the ingredients a good mix.

STEP 2 (SIT):

Because chia seeds start to expand and gelatinize right away when mixed with liquid, they will start to clump together and settle to the bottom almost immediately.

To prevent this from happening, let the chia mixture sit for 5 minutes.

STEP 3 (STIR AGAIN):

Then, stir it again to break up any clumps. Snap on a lid and refrigerate for 2+ hours.

After 2 hours, the chia seeds will have absorbed the liquid and expanded into a thick, jelly-like texture. You should end up with a smooth, creamy consistency.

You can then enjoy this on its own for a delicious, slightly sweet pudding. Or, you can mix in any add-ins you like - like I'm doing here with berries, granola, and hemp hearts!

Add-Ins and Toppings

There are countless options for ingredients to add-in to your chia pudding. Here are a few of my favourites:

• Spices - mix in ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or cocoa powder to spice up your chia pudding!
• Fresh, frozen, or canned fruits - fresh berries, mango chunks, canned pineapple - almost any kind of fruit will work well in chia pudding!
• Dried fruits - I like adding in raisins, dried blueberries/cranberries, or chopped up dried apricot for some added sweetness and texture.
• Nuts - a great way to add in some crunchy texture to balance out the smooth, creamy chia pudding; and also a great source of healthy fats! I like chopping up some almonds, cashews, walnuts, or pecans - use whatever you like!
• Seeds - another great way to add nutrition and crunchy texture. Some of my favourite add-ins are pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, and sunflower seeds.
• Nut or seed butters - helps make your chia pudding even creamier and thicker, with a dose of healthy fats.
• Protein powder - I always make sure to add a bit of extra milk to help offset the dryness from the powder. I also prefer using unflavoured and unsweetened protein so that it doesn't clash with my other add-ins.
• Jams and purees - a super easy way to add a boost of yummy flavour, with ingredients like strawberry jam, pumpkin puree, applesauce, etc.
• Vanilla extract - an easy, classic way to add a boost of flavour.
• Coffee - a great way to add some caffeine in the mornings with a shot of espresso, coffee, or instant coffee powder.
• Coconut flakes - a great add-in with tropical ingredients (like pineapple or mango)!
• Granola - an easy mix-in to add some crunchiness into each bite.

How to Store

Typically, you can store chia pudding away in an air-tight sealable container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Keep in mind that some ingredients may have a shorter shelf life than others (such as certain fruits depending on their freshness once chopped) so as always, please do exercise judgement when checking for freshness if storing for longer periods.

You can also store these in the freezer for a longer period of time - I've frozen mine for up to 4 weeks with no issues in changes to flavour or freshness!

What Jars Should I Use?

My favourite go-to containers to use for chia pudding are these 8-oz (236 ml) wide mouth mason jars. They're a perfect size for one serving of chia pudding, while leaving extra room on top for any add-ins or toppings. The wide mouth opening allows for easy cleaning and stirring of ingredients, while the air-tight sealable lid helps it maintain freshness. But you can also use whatever sealable container you have at home.

Meal Prep

While this recipe makes 1 serving at a time, one of the best things about chia pudding is how easy they are to meal prep larger batches in advance and store away in the fridge or freezer. If preparing larger batches at a time, simply use the same ratio of chia seeds to milk to maple syrup; and multiply the quantities based on the number of servings you'd like to make.

For example, if I'm preparing 4 servings, I'll grab a large mixing bowl and a whisk, and mix together milk (2 cups), chia seeds (½ cup), and maple syrup (2 tbsp). As always, remember to wait 5 minutes and then stir again before refrigerating to remove any clumps.

FAQ

Should I add in my other ingredients and mix-ins before or after refrigerating?

You can add your mix-ins either before refrigerating or after (when you're ready to eat), but it depends on the type of ingredient. The benefit of adding your mix-ins in before refrigerating is it allows the liquid and chia seeds to absorb the flavours during soaking, allowing for more depth of flavour. I would recommend this particularly for spices or powders that need to mix in with the liquid. However if mixing your ingredients in after refrigerating, you benefit from freshness of the add-ins - this is ideal for things like chopped nuts or seeds that have a crunchy texture that you want to preserve without soaking.

My chia seeds didn't thicken or expand - what did I do wrong?

Typically, there are a few things you can try: 1) mixing in more chia seeds (or using a thicker type of milk like coconut milk) and refrigerating again, 2) letting it sit to soak for a longer period of time, or 3) trying a new package of chia seeds to see if that helps. I have heard of a few anecdotal stories of some brands of chia seeds not absorbing liquid as well as others for some reason, so you may have to do a bit of trial and error if this is the case. Other times, the chia seeds may have gone past its useful shelf life. But the vast majority should work perfectly fine!

Chia Pudding Flavours to Try

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

📖 Recipe

Easy Chia Pudding (3 Ingredients)

Toasty Apron

Chia Pudding is one of my favourite foods to meal prep for an easy and healthy breakfast or snack, with just a few simple ingredients and minimal prep time. Here is a simple base recipe that you can enjoy on its own, or customize with your favourite ingredients.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Chilling Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Category Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 1

Calories 160 kcal

Suggested Equipment

• Mason jars (8-oz)

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Pudding Base

• ▢ 2 tablespoon chia seeds
• ▢ ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
• ▢ 1.5 teaspoon maple syrup

Toppings

• ▢ your choice of toppings (berries, granola, nuts, seeds, etc.)

Instructions

 

• In a mason jar (or other sealable container), add milk, chia seeds, and maple syrup. Give the ingredients a good mix.
• Because chia seeds start to expand and gelatinize right away when mixed with liquid, they will start to clump together and settle to the bottom almost immediately. To prevent this from happening, let the chia mixture sit for 5 minutes.
• Then, stir it again to break up any clumps. Snap on a lid and refrigerate for 2+ hours.
• After 2 hours, the chia seeds will have absorbed the liquid and expanded into a thick, jelly-like texture. You should end up with a smooth, creamy consistency. You can then enjoy this on its own for a delicious, slightly sweet pudding. Or, you can mix in any add-ins you like (berries, nuts, seeds, granola, etc).

Notes

1. Video: Watch the step-by-step video tutorial here.
2. Make sure to follow the STIR → SIT → STIR AGAIN rule: Stir the ingredients, let it sit for 5 minutes, stir it again to remove any clumps, then refrigerate. This is very important to make sure your chia pudding ends up with a smooth consistency.
3. Storage: You can store this away in an air-tight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. I like to use an 8-ounce wide mouth mason jar, which has a wide mouth opening that makes it easy to clean and easy to stir ingredients out of. It also has enough room at the top to add in your caramelized onions and other toppings.
4. If you are using ingredients and add-ins that are already pre-sweetened (such as very ripe bananas, or flavoured protein powder) - you may want to adjust the amount of added sweetener you use. One way to do this is to add the maple syrup after you've mixed in your other ingredients, so that you can then adjust to your tastes.
5. If you don't find the chia pudding to be thick enough, simply mix in more chia seeds and let it soften and expand in the refrigerator for another 2+ hours. Other ways to thicken up your chia pudding include adding in yogurt, nut butter, or using a thicker type of milk like full-fat coconut milk.

STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO

You can find step-by-step video tutorials for all of my recipes on my YouTube Channel. There you'll find many more tips and tricks to help you along!

Visit the YouTube Channel

Nutrition

Calories: 160kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 5gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.03gSodium: 95mgPotassium: 136mgFiber: 9gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 63IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 313mgIron: 2mg

Note: Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Keyword chia pudding, chia seeds

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