The best Chia Seed Pudding recipe in 4 different delicious flavors, so you never get bored! Chia pudding is an easy, satisfying breakfast that is nutritious and delicious. Choose from Chai, Green Matcha + Coconut, Banana-Strawberry, and Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding.

When I’m looking for a delicious, nutritious breakfast or snack, I turn to green smoothies, a simple açaí bowl, or this satisfying chia seed pudding. It’s a breeze to make, adult and kid-friendly, easy to grab-n-go and packed with protein and fiber.
This chia seed pudding recipe is awesome because it satisfies my sweet tooth, and fuels my body with good-for-you ingredients. It’s made with all-natural ingredients, tastes great, and can be thrown together in minutes.
Make it before bed and let it set up in the fridge overnight and you’ll wake up to a tasty breakfast in the morning! Enjoy my basic recipe for chia pudding, plus 4 ways to change up the flavor.
What Is Chia Pudding?
Chia seeds are edible seeds that come from a desert plant that happen to be jam-packed with nutritional goodness. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium AND they happen to make a delicious pudding.
When chia seeds are mixed with a liquid (milk, in this case) they plump up and thicken the milk into a smooth and creamy pudding-like consistency.
What Does Chia Pudding Taste Like?
Chia seeds have no flavor and will take on the flavor of whatever add-ins you’re using. As for the texture, chia pudding is like a thick, creamy tapioca pudding, if you just mix the chia seeds with your milk. If you’re looking for a smooth pudding texture you can blend the mixture in a high powdered blender until smooth. The longer you leave the pudding sitting in the refrigerator, the creamier it will get!
Ingredients Needed:
This chia pudding recipe only requires 3 ingredients, plus optional mix-ins! Here’s what you need:
- Chia seeds – You’ll need 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. Once they soak in the milk, they will expand in size and become gelatinous. The texture of the mixture will become creamy and smooth, just like actual pudding.
- Milk – I like to use almond milk for this chia seed pudding, but feel free to use any milk variety that you prefer.
- Sweetener – 1 tablespoon of maple syrup sweetens the pudding perfectly! However, you can swap the maple syrup with any favorite sweetener – honey, stevia, or monk fruit.
- Mix-ins – Chia seeds will take on the flavors of whatever you mix with them to make an amazing pudding that you get to customize! The options for what ingredients to flavor your chia pudding with are endless! In the recipe card below, I’m sharing how to make four different tasty recipes – chai, matcha + coconut, banana strawberry and chocolate. Yum!
How to Make Chia Seed Pudding
Not only is the ingredient list short and sweet, but making the recipe is a breeze! For full, printable instructions, reference the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Here’s a quick rundown of how to make chia seed pudding:
- Prep – Combine all ingredients in a small jelly jar or a wide-mouth mason jar. You can really use any container with a lid, so you can store the pudding in the fridge without worrying about it spilling.
- Cover + chill – Once all ingredients are thoroughly stirred together, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The longer the pudding sits, the thicker it will get! Letting it sit for at least 12 hours will yield the best results.
- Enjoy – Once the chia pudding is nice and thick, remove it from the fridge and give it a good stir. You can add a bit more milk, depending on the consistency you like. Taste and add more sweetener or any other ingredient that you want.
Customize Your Chia Seed Pudding
The 4 flavor suggestions listed in the recipe card are simply guides. Feel free to just make the base recipe and then add any other favorite ingredients or change your chia pudding up to your taste preference. Some fun mix-in and topping ideas: are fruit, nuts, and granola.
- Fresh fruit – berries, banana, peaches, mango, apple
- Nuts – almonds, walnuts, pecans
- Nut/seed butter – peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, coconut butter, sunflower seed butter
- Granola or cereal
- Other ideas – Feel free to change up the spices, add vanilla extract, shredded coconut, mix in a fun jam or spread
Tips
Here are a few tips that might be helpful when making chia seed pudding:
- I like to make this pudding with unsweetened almond milk, but you can use any type of dairy or nondairy milk. Coconut milk is another favorite of mine.
- My sweetener of choice is maple syrup, which keeps the recipe all-natural and vegan. You can swap out the maple syrup with stevia, honey, monk fruit or agave.
- If you’re not a fan of the seedy texture that chia pudding has, try blending the pudding in a food processor or blender after it’s set up to puree the chia seeds.
Is Chia Pudding Good for You?
Yes! Chia seeds have many health benefits as well as the fruit, toppings, and other ingredients used to make your chia seed pudding recipe. Here are some of the awesome health benefits of chia seeds:
- Great source of omega-3 fatty acids
- High in fiber
- Plant-based protein
- Good source of calcium, iron and antioxidants
- You can even use chia seeds as an egg substitute. If you are looking for an egg alternative for baking, chia seed eggs typically work great. Here’s a great tutorial for how to make a chia egg from Minimalist Baker.
Storage Recommendations
This chia seed pudding recipe is the perfect breakfast to meal prep! It will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. For best results, store chia pudding in a sealed airtight container. I like to portion the pudding into individual servings for a quick breakfast or snack option on the go.
Can You Freeze Chia Seed Pudding?
Surprisingly, yes! Chia pudding freezes very well for up to about 3 months! You can freeze it in freezer-safe jars or containers, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight when you’re ready to enjoy it and it will maintain great texture and flavor. If the pudding hasn’t completely thawed just leave it on the counter for 5-10 minutes. Give it a stir and enjoy! This freezer method works great for those of you that would like to meal prep chia pudding, but don’t want to eat the same thing days in a row.
Give this healthy treat a try and you’ll be making it on repeat! It’s great for a snack, breakfast or even dessert.
More Delicious Treats:
- Blueberry Lemon Oatmeal Muffins
- Matcha Berry Protein Smoothie
- Pumpkin Chip Energy Bites
- Peanut Butter + Jelly Energy Bites
If you make this delicious chia seed pudding, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how it turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for me and our Clean & Delicious community (thank you!).
Chia Pudding (4 Flavors!)
Ingredients
Base recipe
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or your favorite milk
- 2 tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup or your favorite sweetener
Chai Chia Pudding
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or your favorite milk
- 2 tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup or your favorite sweetener
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- tiny pinch cardamon + ground cloves
- 2 tsp. chopped raisins
Green Matcha + Coconut Chia Pudding
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or your favorite milk
- 2 tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup or your favorite sweetener
- 1 tsp. green matcha powder
- 2 tsp. shredded coconut
Banana Strawberry Chia Pudding
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or your favorite milk
- 2 tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup or your favorite sweetener
- 2 tbsp. chopped banana
- 2 tbsp. chopped strawberries
- dash of cinnamon
Chocolate Chia Pudding
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or your favorite milk
- 2 tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup or your favorite sweetener
- 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- dash of cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small jelly jar or a wide mouth mason jar. Any container with a lid works great.
- Stir to thoroughly combine ingredients, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The longer the pudding sits, the thicker it will get! Letting it sit for at least 12 hours will yield best results.
- Once the chia pudding is nice and thick, remove it from the fridge and give it a good stir. You can add a bit more milk, depending on the consistency you like. Taste and add more sweetener or any other ingredient that you want.
Comments
Emilie says
Hi Dani, I mixed up the chocolate chia pudding yesterday and it’s in my fridge right now, just waiting for me to gobble it up when I get home from work tonight. I can’t wait!!
Emilie says
Hi Dani, I have to comment again how much Mike and I enjoy these chia puddings. When I tell him I’m making some, he always requests the Chai option. He loves raisins and the spice combo makes him very happy. Of course, my favorite is the chocolate, but I just tried the Green Matcha and Coconut. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was a very good combination.
Thank you for all the “love” you put into every recipe. : )
Raquel says
Hi Dani,
I made your chocolate chia pudding. I added black currents and coconut for flavor. I also added collagen gelatin as a thickener,
It was delicious!
I enjoy cooking healthy meals for my family! I love watching your videos to get new ideas!
-Raquel 🙂
Dani says
That sounds great! Thanks so much for sharing.
Veena says
I looove coconut so instead of matcha I added a tablespoon of unsweetened dried coconut with full fat coconut milk and it was deeelicious! Thanks Dani for sharing your amazing recipes
Connie says
Where do you get your full fat coconut milk
Dani says
You should be able to buy it at most grocery stores. It comes in a can:)
LILLY DERAS says
THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS DELICIOUS RECIPE
Dani says
It’s my pleasure. So glad you enjoyed!
Stephen says
Hi Dani.
I have a question so the banana strawberry chia pudding it says that it needs to be refrigerated 4 hour and 5 days dose that mean 4 hour ready to eat and can be stored up to 5 day or dose that mean I have to wait 5days and 4hour to consume it? From stephen
Dani says
Hi Stephen, sorry for the confusion. They need to sit for a minimum of eight hours before they are ready to eat!
Trisha says
Wow just discovered this after seeing Meghan markle makes chia pudding each week.. looks delicious will make one later today.
Dani says
Awesome! Enjoy.
Kathy says
Made this today. It was in the fridge overnight. But it’s runny – not a pudding or yogurt consistency but a drink consistency. I followed the directions exactly. I will have to do a web search to see what went wrong. Disappointed
Dani says
Hmmm, that’s weird. Did you use whole chia seeds?
Ann says
I have used coconut milk in the recipe and I find it to taste like sour milk. Is that just the flavor of chia seeds?
Dani says
Interesting! I have no idea! Is there any chance that any of your ingredients were bad?
Janet says
I eat a Keto like diet. What can I use I place of the syrup that’s low carb?
Dani says
You can try using stevia or erythritol in place of the syrup.
Kim says
Dani;
Hi,your chia seed pudding recipes look so good and tastey.I am a type 2 diabetic and i am lactose intolerant,and i am going to copy down your 4 chia seed pudding recipes and then i am going to try these pudding recipes at home after i go grocery shopping and then i will let you know what i think of your puddings and how much i love eating them.I use coconut milk,cashew milk,almond milk,natrel milk,fruit,yogurt,avocado,dragon fruit,chia seeds,almond paste,pumpkin puree,protein powder,stevia powder in my healthie smoothies,but I am not sure about using these ingredients in chia puddings.
I heard that chia seeds are healthy,and it will help to lower blood sugar and lose weight.
I am a chocolic but since being diagnosed with diabetes in january 2012 i had to cut out my sweet treats and chocolate and other baking recipes that had sugar in them.
I love tropical,chocolate,pumpkin smoothies,and i would like to try making and eating your healthy chia seed pudding recipes.
What chia seed pudding recipes do you recommend that i make at home?
Kim
Dani says
I don’t think you can wrong with any of them Kim! I say pick whichever sounds the most delicious to you and then go for it! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
michelle says
Can I use ground/sprouted flax/chia seed mix? Or for this to gel, must it be only whole chia seeds? Thanks!
Dani says
That may work – just be sure its ground up first.
Kelly says
Hi. Is honey or agave syrup an option to replace maple syrup?
Dani says
Yes. Both will work!
Ursula Melia says
Hi Dani, I made a variation of these puddings today by adding lots of chia seeds to home made apple and plum stew and then mixing it with vegan ready made raspberry joghurt. That also tasted really nice. Thank you for all your great videos. They give me lots of ideas to play with using what I have at home. Though I will try the chocolate chia pudding next week, it just sounds too tempting!!!
Dani says
Apple and plum stew sounds fabulous! So glad you are enjoying all of the videos. I look forward to hearing what you think of the chocolate chia pudding 🙂
Cathy Schmidt says
I am not a fan of whole chia seeds, they always seem to get stuck in my teeth. Can you ground the seed and then add the milk or with that not allow the consistency of pudding?
Dani says
I have tried that and really don’t like the consistency of the end result. I honestly would not recommend it.
Vivek Roy says
chia seed pudding recipe in 4 different?? ways amazing i will try all of them. thanks to your hard work.
Susan Day says
The chocolate chia pudding is so delicious. I made mine with unsweetened chocolate almond milk and, it was extra chocolatey. Yummy!!!
Dani Spies says
That’s my favorite too!! So glad you enjoyed it, Susan! Thanks for letting me know.
Theresa says
Thank you for sharing. I am actually waiting for your cookbook to arrive…I can’t wait to sit down with it. Do you have a link to these adorable little jars?
Dani Spies says
I sure do! https://amzn.to/47CFCuz