This simple chia seed pudding is a great base for all of your favorite toppings. I love chia pudding for a healthy treat, and best of all, hands-on prep time is only about 60 seconds.
The funny-looking texture and lack of chia seeds in my pantry kept me from making chia pudding myself for years, but I loved it as soon as I tried it in Asheville last summer. So, I decided to start making my own! I’ve been bringing chia pudding to work for the past couple of weeks and my co-workers love to make fun of its appearance. 😂
For full disclosure, if you’ve never tried chia pudding and you’re picky about textures, you may not like it. If you don’t usually have texture issues with foods, I bet you’ll like it!
The texture of chia pudding is a little hard to describe, but it’s fairly smooth and the seeds are no longer chewy after soaking for a few hours. 
The Ingredients
The base recipe for chia seed pudding is just chia seeds, milk (I use non-dairy), and maple syrup. Chia seed pudding is great on its own, but the toppings really make it amazing.
Chia seeds: Fortunately, chia seeds usually aren’t too hard to find these days. You can find them at stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, and I’ve even spotted them at Food Lion. I grabbed a pound of organic chia seeds for about $4 that’ll last for a long time, so rest assured, chia seeds won’t break the bank!
Milk: Chia seeds are high in healthy fats, so I use almond milk, cashew milk, or almond/coconut milk blend from a carton instead of canned coconut milk, which is also high in fat.
However, you can also add a splash of canned coconut milk for added creaminess if that’s your preference. The pudding thickens well even with milk that’s not high in fat. You can also use dairy milk.
Maple syrup: I always buy pure maple syrup at Costco for a great deal.
From there, you can add whatever toppings you’d like. I always use bananas for extra sweetness, and I think they add a great texture that reminds me of Southern banana pudding with vanilla wafers.
I also love adding fresh berries like raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries since they’re low in sugar and delicious. Other chopped fruit like peaches or cherries also work well. This time around, I also added unsweetened coconut flakes.
The Process
Prep time takes less than 5 minutes! Just add chia seeds, your milk of choice, and maple syrup to a container with a lid and stir. Replace the lid, put the container in the refrigerator, and wait at least 6 hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to enjoy your chia pudding, add an extra splash of milk if needed (the seeds absorb a lot of liquid) and your favorite toppings.
On the day of, I layered bananas and chia pudding in these cute little individual-serving glasses and topped the pudding with fresh blueberries and unsweetened coconut flakes.
If you try this chia seed pudding, let me know in a comment (with a star rating!) or take a photo and tag me @livbane on Instagram! I’d love to see!
Basic Chia Seed Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 cups original almond milk*
- 5 Tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (optional; I omit if using original almond milk)
Toppings
- 2 medium bananas
- 1/2 pint berries
- A sprinkle of unsweetened coconut (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium container with a lid, stir together milk, chia seeds, and pure maple syrup. Cover with lid and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- If needed, add an extra splash of milk before serving. Spoon chia pudding into individual dishes and top with banana slices, berries, and coconut flakes just before enjoying.
- Without toppings, chia pudding stays good in the refrigerator for as long as your milk stays fresh.
Notes
Nutrition
Heavily adapted from this recipe
Other easy, healthy dessert recipes you may enjoy:
4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Easy Caramelized Skillet Peaches
Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Muffins
I really enjoyed this for a light summer dessert! I used unsweetened almond milk and a little more than 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, then topped with raspberries and bananas.
So glad you enjoyed this! Love rasperries at this time of year!
This looks really interesting. I know someone who will really like this. Chia seeds are a real super food. By the way, I spotted an error when you were explaining the ingredients: “However, you can also add a splash of canned coconut milk for added creaminess it that’s your preference.” ‘it’ should be ‘if’. Hope you don’t mind me pointing out errors, I personally love it when people help me by showing me my mistakes on my own blog.