You may already know how easy chia seed pudding can be, but I just figured out a way to make it even easier! Make vanilla, berry, peanut butter, and chocolate chia pudding in minutes and store them in little mason jars for grab and go breakfasts and snacks for the whole week!
What is chia pudding?
If you have never heard of chia pudding, it is simply chia seeds that have been soaked in milk until they expand and become the texture of pudding. No cooking needed!
How can I make chia seed pudding even easier to make?
Blend it! This little hack to make chia seed pudding even easier is great for grab and go snacks and kids love them!
Put the pudding in ½ cup size mason jars for the perfect little healthy snack! Sealed with a lid, they will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days!
Why should I make my chia pudding in the blender?
I like to make my chia pudding in a blender because…
- It chops up the chia seeds and gives it a creamier texture.
- Blending makes the pudding set much faster. It is ready to eat in a few minutes instead of a few hours.
- The seeds don’t clump on the edge of the glass as they do with the stir-in method
You can simply stir chia seeds into any flavored milk of your choice too. However, this gives it a tapioca pudding texture that some people don’t like. The seeds also clump up more and it takes a few hours to absorb the milk and become pudding.
How can I flavor my easy chia seed pudding?
- Vanilla – 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Chocolate – 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- Berry – 3 tbsp berries of choice
- Peanut butter – 2 tbsp peanut butter
- Chocolate peanut butter – 1 tbsp cocoa powder and 1 tbsp peanut butter
How do you make chia pudding?
- Decide what flavor of chia pudding that you want to make. Then, add your milk of choice to a blender with the flavoring, sweetener, and the chia seeds, and blend for about 20 seconds.
- Let your chia pudding sit for about 3-5 minutes and then blend again for another 20 seconds.
- Pour into small mason jars and refrigerate for grab and go snacks for up to 5 days.
What is the ratio of chia seeds to milk in chia pudding?
The ratio of chia to milk is commonly anywhere from 1:4 to 1:8. That is 1 part chia seeds to at least 4 parts milk of choice. If you use 2 tbsp of chia seeds to 1/2 cup of milk, it will be a firm pudding. (My kids actually prefer a 1:8 ratio using 1 tbsp to 1/2 cup of milk making it more of a thick smoothie texture, but less seedy). You may want fiddle around with the ratio to get the texture that you like.
How do I meal prep chia pudding?
I purchased a case of small ½ cup sized mason jars, so I have 12 little cups ready to fill. (This is also about the amount that my family of 4 will eat in 5 days time).
My kids get bored with the same food quickly so I usually make 4 different flavors. Their favorite flavors are vanilla, chocolate, berry, peanut butter, and chocolate peanut butter.
To mass-produce the chia puddings, I simply triple the amount for 1 chia pudding. Put that amount in the blender and pour that into 3 mason jars. Then I give the blender a little rinse and do it again with the other flavors until I have 12 jars of chia pudding ready to go in the fridge.
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A quick and easy way to make chia seed pudding in a variety of flavors for snack or breakfast meal prep.
- 1/2 cup soy milk or any plant-based milk of choice
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1-2 tsp sweetener of choice like sugar, coconut sugar, agave nectar, or maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp extra sweetener (to counteract the bitter chocolate)
- 3 tbsp berries or any fruit of choice fresh or frozen
- 1-2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp extra sweetener
Add the milk, chia seeds, sweetener and flavor of choice to a blender and mix for about 20 seconds.
Let it sit for about 3-5 minutes and then come back and blend again for another 20 seconds.
Pour into small glass jars and seal with a lid and keep in the fridge until ready to eat. (up to 5 days).
Triple or quadruple recipe for 1 flavor and make the same as you would a single pudding. Then pour into 3-4 small cups and store them in the fridge.
Rinse out the blender between each flavor and repeat until you have 12 cups of chia seed pudding ready to grab and go.
Recipe Video
- The amount of sweetener needed will depend on your taste and the sweetness of the plant-based milk that you use.
- You may want to start with no sweetener and then taste the pudding and add sweetener at the end.
If you want pudding with whole chia seeds:
- Blend all of the ingredients except for the chia and then add the chia seeds at the end and stir.
- Then stir again 5 minutes later and then again 15 minutes after that.
- Store in the fridge for 3-4 hours before eating.
What did you use for the additional tsp of sweetener?
In the video, I used organic cane sugar, but sometimes I use agave nectar or coconut sugar. It works well with whatever you like to sweeten it with. 🙂
Would protein powder throw off the texture if I added it in?
I have never tried it. I think it would change it as it does with a smoothie. You will probably need to add a little more milk to it to get the same consistency since it will absorb some liquid.
Thanks for sharing! How long do they keep?
Your welcome Vanessa. They keep well for about 4 days.
This looks so good! What a great snack meal prep idea. It is nice to have so many ways to flavor it too!
Thanks Suzanne! My kids always like choices. 🙂
I just used your recipe and am SUPER excited! I made a basic vanilla pudding and then took half of it, mixed in cinnamon, dehydrated apple, a tiny bit of maple syrup and some raisins – is there any reason why I can’t heat it up? I am hoping that it tastes like an apple raisin oatmeal by tomorrow morning (doing a Paleo diet for RA that my rheumatologist recommended and am SO sick of eggs!). With the other half, I mixed in a little chunky almond butter, unsweetened cocoa, and raw honey. I have to say the chocolate one smelled insanely decadent! Looking forward to both! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
So happy that you liked it Pauline! Your flavors sound amazing! There is no reason why you can’t heat it. Enjoy! 🙂
Can you use regular dairy milk for this recipe?
You can use any type of milk. I don’t use dairy, so I didn’t include it, but it will work with dairy milk as well. 🙂
I will for sure be making some chia puddings soon–thanks for the inspiration!! (I left my website too, but it is very early in the works, but maybe someday you can also find inspiration through mine!)
–Ciara, fellow Vegan
I made this and put it in the fridge and it never firmed up… is it supposed to be the texture of pudding?
It should firm up some once you blend it and continue to firm up a little more in the fridge. If you don’t use the blender method, it will take about 4 hours to firm up. You may want to check your measurements too, a slight change to the ratio can effect the final texture. You can add a little more chia and it should firm up. Hope that helps! 🙂
I used a food processor to blend and it came out too liquidy. Was more like a smoothie. Still good though.
I have a feeling that the food processor doesn’t chop up the chia seeds as much as a blender would. Put it in the fridge for a few hours and it will firm up. It just takes longer to set if the seeds aren’t chopped up small. Glad that you liked the flavor!
Some blenders can break up the chia seeds first. Then, remove from blender, add other ingredients, toss in chia seeds and blend as stated in recipe. . This might help.
That’s a good idea too Patti. Thanks. 🙂
My kids loved this and saved us a bunch of time in the morning before school. It’s nice having them all ready lined up in the fridge ready for the week. The flavors are all awesome.