When you puree chia seed pudding, it becomes smooth and creamy just like traditional pudding. In this recipe for Mexican Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding, I also added cinnamon and cayenne-because why not? It works for my breakfast shake, and it works really well in this pudding too.
Bonus: you can totally have this chia seed pudding for breakfast. Breakfast pudding! We'll live like kings!
And if you love this recipe, be sure to check out this Mexican Coconut Horchata too!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup chia seeds
- 1 cup unsweetened almond, or other non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, I used Grade B
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of cayenne, optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.
- Transfer mixture to a high-powered blender and blend until completely smooth. If pudding is warm from blending, return to refrigerator until chilled. (Alternately, you can just stir the pudding and eat it without blending.)
Notes
This pudding is thick, almost like a mousse. If you've blended your pudding and decide you want it a little thinner, add some extra milk. Be sure to blend the pudding until completely smooth-if you don't, it will be gritty! A high-powered blender like the Vitamix works best. Any sweetener you like will work in this, and if 1 tablespoon of maple syrup isn't sweet enough, feel free to add more.
Nutrition (estimated per serving)
Calories: 196kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 6gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 169mgPotassium: 218mgFiber: 12gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 18IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 356mgIron: 3mg
Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!
Hazel@fresherfood says
I've never eaten chia seeds before - I must try to locate some as this pudding looks delicious. By the way, I think your photography is amazing. Really beautiful props and great lighting 🙂
Kiersten says
Thank you! Definitely try chia seeds--they are good! And if you don't like them, you can always throw them into smoothies and you won't even know they're there. 🙂
Bernadette @ Now Stir It Up says
I have spilt chia seeds on the counter before and know how INSANE it is trying to find them all. In fact some got under my stand mixer and made it stick to the counter. At least they are worth it!!! And this pudding... sounds awesome.
Kiersten says
Yeah, I have accidentally spilled them too and I still find them now and then, weeks later. 🙂
Jenny says
Is there a trick to puree-ing the pudding? I blended mine forever and it's still not creamy
Kiersten says
I think mine took around 5 minutes in my Vitamix. And 5 minutes doesn't sound like a long time, but it sure feels like it when you're standing there waiting for it to blend. If you don't have a high powered blender, it may take even longer.
Rachael says
Yes Kiersten - I am encountering the same problem & i have a Thermomix which is one of the best possible grinding machines available! I'm way beyond 5 minutes now... I'm starting to feel pretty annoyed that i have wasted quality & expensive ingredient on a recipe i am now dubious ever worked - even for you!!
Kiersten says
Why would I post a recipe that didn't work for me? That's ridiculous. If you look at the photos, you can see that the pudding is smooth.
Rachael says
Ok perhaps i should rephrase my comment to: I am dubious that our ideas of "smooth" are the same"? Mine also LOOKS deliciously smooth and creamy, as do your pictures ~ but there is a very distinct grainy or sightly gritty texture that i can definitely detect. PLus i found the taste off putting ~ as did my whole family.... unlike other wonderful chia puddings i have made for us in the past. But meh, that's just personal preferences isn't it!
Kiersten says
We like this pudding, other people like this pudding, so yes, sometimes it just comes down to personal preference.
Caitlin says
Kiersten,
How many servings would you say this makes? Just threw it together and while I don't have a high-powered blender, I'm wondering if my immersion or my cheapo blender would be best to puree the pudding. I may try both.
Caitlin says
Ha. Just viewed another recipe and saw the serving size listed on the top- please disregard the stupid question 🙂
Kiersten says
No problem! 🙂 As for the second question, I'd say it depends on the quality of your immersion blender. I've gone through a lot of them and some are definitely better than others!
Courtney @ The Fig Tree says
Still have yet to try a chia seed pudding. But this looks fantastic and I'll definitely make it ASAP. Looks so chocolately and creamy!
Kiersten says
You should try it! It's good stuff. 🙂
Allan says
Can you blend before the initial refrigeration and thickening? It seems like that would blend easier?
Kiersten says
I haven't found this to be difficult to blend, but sure, you can blend it before refrigerating instead.
Monique says
Such a great prop tip! Post-its...our under-stated heroes.
Julia says
Would light coconut milk work well in this recipe? Not make it runnier or taste different?
Kiersten says
It might be a little less rich and maybe a little less thick, but it should work fine...
Sandy says
I must try your Chia pudding. I use em in my yogurt and smoothies. In fact, I may just utilize my chocolate almond milk.
On Thanksgiving day, I have a long fold out table that I set up. Then I get all my serving dishes and bowls and put them on the table. Next I write the name of the dish on a post it and place it in the serving dish. Saves a lot of time and headache on such a hectic day.
Kiersten says
That is a great idea! 🙂
Kannon says
I tried to blend this and it did not thicken 🙁 I guess I will have to try again! Also my chia seeds look different from those pictures. Are there different types?
Kiersten says
Did you soak the chia seeds long enough? The mixture should be thick before it even goes in the blender. There are white and black chia seeds, but I've used them both to make pudding.
Sandy says
Why thank you, Kiersten.
Ate some Chia seed pudding for the first time today. I was amazed how it tasted. I used half unsweetened Almond milk and chocolate Almond milk along with Maple syrup, and a lil Cinnamon. Boy, you were right. . . I had to blend for quite some time to get that creamy consistency.
My almost 4 yr old GRANDdauger was Ho-hum about it. But my almost 2 year old GRANDdaughter scarfed it up. What a great way to get Chia into your diet. So BIG thanks for posting!!
Kiersten says
I'm glad you (and at least one of your granddaughters!) enjoyed it! 🙂
Sandy says
Say, is it this recipe where someone wrote in about certain brands of Almond milk are unhealthy? I went back and read the entire blog and cannot find the comments. But I do remember that y'all said we need to be buying Blue Diamond Almond Milks.
If not, can you educate me on this? And when one buys raw Almonds do we need to be buying a certain brand here too?
Thanks a bunch!!
Sunshine Girl~
Kiersten says
Hm, it must not have been my blog, but I did write a post about making your own cashew milk where I mentioned carrageenan, an additive used to thicken some nut, soy, and coconut milks:
https://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-cinnamon-vanilla-cashew-milk/
There are different opinions about it, but some say that it can cause inflammation. Because of that, I try to avoid any non-dairy milks made with it.
Astaire Roorda says
I can't wait to try your recipe! I'm on a mission to create a vegan version of my husband's favorite French silk pie (loaded with dairy!). So cool that you can create this fluffy texture by blending the pudding after soaking! I've made the soaked version of pudding, but never tried whipping afterwards-awesome!
Kiersten says
Ooh, if you make a pie with it, let me know how it turns out. I wonder if maybe a cashew/chia seed combo would work well?
Astaire Roorda says
You read my mind! 😉 I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out!
Astaire Roorda says
Also, couldn't help noticing Sandy's comment above. . . I buy raw, organic Spanish almonds which are unpasteurized. All almonds processed in the US must be pasteurized by law (including organic), but imported raw, organic Spanish almonds aren't pasteurized in any way. I make my own almond milk and notice a big difference in the quality of the Spanish almonds vs. US organic almonds, so I highly recommend them. The only source for these that I'm aware of is Azure Standard. http://chicorganicmama.com/2013/05/20/how-to-make-almond-milk-and-some-fun-facts-about-almonds/
Katie says
What is the pudding like without blending? Does it have more of a tapioca texture? I don't think my Ninja would get it smooth, and I would hate to have a half-blended pudding!
Kiersten says
Yup, without pureeing it, it's kind of like tapioca or rice pudding. I like it a lot, actually, but a lot of people are put off by that texture!
Nancy Smith says
I used softened dates to sweeten.....absolutely fabulous! I am making this for the third time in two weeks! Hubby thinks it is to die for!!!
Kiersten says
Love the idea of using dates in this--thanks for the suggestion! 🙂
Valerie says
I used agave nectar instead of maple syrup, but I definitely think that was a mistake! It wasn't enough of a sweetener. Definitely will use maple syrup next time - good call! Haha.
Kiersten says
Well, you can always add a little extra if you need to!
Seema says
I have some high quality mexican chocolate, I am wondering, could I just melt that down and add it instead of cocoa powder?
Kiersten says
I haven't tried it myself so I can't say for sure, but I can't see why that wouldn't work out...
peaceloveandsmoothies says
I am also the person at the movies saying, "that could never happen! That's so unrealistic!" I guess there has to be one. That pudding looks great, and the photos are staged nicely too.
Kiersten says
I'm glad there are other people like me out there! 🙂
Zulay says
H! Kiersten,
I love your recipes and pictures, could you please tell me what camera and lens do you use to take the pictures? they look so great!
Greetings
thank you!
Kiersten says
Thanks! I use a Mark III camera and for these photos, I used a 50mm f/1.4 lens and a 90mm Tamron macro lens.
Dianne says
I made this today. I used unsweetened chocolate almond milk and some thick canned coconut milk. And, since I didn't have unsweetened cocoa, I used a single serving packet of unsweetened Swiss Miss.
It hasn't been 8 hours, yet but I sneaked a taste and its fabulous! Thanks for the recipe!
Kiersten says
Thanks for your comment--I love making chia pudding with coconut milk! 🙂
Heather says
Here is hopefully a helpful hint, I tried this in my magic bullet and it was very difficult because the pudding always got stuck at the top! So I guess the more powerful blender/different style is necessary.
Also I wish I had read the comments before making, adding date sounds delicious!! And far healthier than the dulce de leche I used! 😉
Kiersten says
Yeah, you really do need a high speed blender for this--the Magic Bullet is good for a lot of things, but it won't whip up this pudding like a Vitamix does. But the good news is that you can still eat it without blending it. 🙂
Jordan says
I am wondering if it would be prudent, in order to save time blending, if I processed the chia seeds first in my coffee mill to make a fine, powdery flour before incorporating it into the recipe.
Kiersten says
I haven't made it like that before, but you could definitely try it.
May May says
Would the pre-ground/milled chia seeds work in this recipe? I tried another chia pudding recipe but I did not soak the milled chia seeds first. It tasted ok but it was a bit too liquidy. I was wondering if your version, in which you soak first, could work for the milled chia seeds.
Kiersten says
I haven't tried it, so I can't say for sure. The longer you let the chia seeds sit, the thicker the pudding will be! 🙂
Jadiida says
I made this last night using rice milk and added 2T of maple syrup because my husband's not a fan of dark chocolate tasting things 🙂 I don't have a fancy powerful blender so I just used my regular old blender which does a great job of making smoothies. I had to add a bit less than 1/4 cup more milk because when you blend the chia seeds (the first time I've ever used them) things get really sticky and slimy and my blender wouldn't move it around. BUT with the addition of the milk things got moving and after 5 minutes it was great!! Next time I'll try pre grinding the seeds! Thanks!!
Kiersten says
A few people have commented about trying to pre-grind the seeds. If it works for you, let me know! 🙂