How To Make Chia Pudding – An Easy Guide

Chia pudding is a quick, simple, and nutritious option for a filling breakfast, snack, or even a healthier dessert. 3 ingredients and 5 minutes are really all you need but there are so many delicious additions you can toss into your pudding to create flavours you love. This chia pudding how-to will set you up with everything you need to know!

Watch my video guide for how to make chia pudding below!

What Is Chia Pudding

Chia pudding may seem like a trendy new food. This Harvard Health article on Chia Seed Benefits however, details how chia seeds have been part of human diets for over 5000 years. You can read more of the nutrition specifics in that article but these tiny black or white seeds are trendy right now for a reason.

Chia seeds are packed with fibre, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and other vitamins and minerals. When they are introduced to a liquid they swell in size and develop a gelatinous coating. That jelly coating causes the seeds to clump together into a pudding-like consistency and that… is the basis of a chia pudding.

That jelly coating also helps us to digest chia seeds more easily and potentially extract more nutrition from them. You could just mix chia seeds with water to create a chia pudding and get all the nutritional benefits chia seeds have to offer. BUT, why not make it a little more tasty? With just a few extra ingredients you can make chia pudding a really enjoyable breakfast, snack, or even a healthier dessert.

Ratio For Chia Pudding

A little goes a long way with these tiny nutrition packed seeds. There is no official recommended daily intake but most sources suggest one to three tablespoons of chia seeds per day. This Healthline article on the 7 Health Benefits of Chia Seeds can give you a deeper look at the nutrition in two tablespoons of chia seeds.

The typical ratio for chia pudding is:

• 2 tablespoons chia seeds (or about 20 grams) mixed with ½ cup liquid (or roughly 250 ml).

Since chia pudding lasts well in the fridge for up to 5 days AND you can even freeze it… I tend to make a bigger batch. For four servings I use:

• ½ cup chia seeds (roughly 80 grams) mixed with 2 cups liquid (or about 500 ml).

Which Liquid To Use

Introducing chia seeds to any liquid will cause them to form a gelatinous coating and gel together. For this reason you could use a variety of liquids but typically a milk is used for a creamy pudding-like consistency.

I always make my chia puddings with a plant milk for a dairy-free option. Any plant milk will work whether it is homemade or store-bought. If you happen to use a sweetened plant milk you might find that you don’t even need to add any additional sweetener to your chia pudding.

You could however, use water to make your chia pudding. The only difference will be that the pudding will not taste very creamy and will have a little bit less flavour. That said, there are so many other ingredients you can add to chia pudding to flavour it so perhaps you won’t mind making yours with water!

In my Lemon and Vanilla Chia Pudding recipe I decrease the amount of plant milk I use because I add in another liquid… lemon juice.

Any juice could be used to make chia pudding as well. You could use juice as the full amount of liquid if you’d like OR use just a bit of it for flavour as I have. Finally, you could even use coffee or tea. Just keep in mind that caffeine can inhibit nutrient absorption when combined with a meal so you might not get the full nutritional effect of your chia seeds. I would save those flavours for the “once in awhile” category.

How To Flavour Chia Pudding

Although you really only need two ingredients to make chia pudding, chia seeds and a liquid, a sweetener helps to make it a more enjoyable pudding.

Options for sweeteners:

• Maple syrup or another liquid sweetener.
• A date paste like this one from Vancouver with Love.
• Chopped dates or other dried fruit for tiny morsels of sweetness.
• Fresh fruit (like a ripe banana) for those who just need a little natural sweetness.
• And… if your plant milk is sweetened… you may find you don’t need any sweetener!

Great flavour boosters:

• Pure vanilla extract.
• Nut or seed butters.
• Jams or fruit sauces.
• Vegetable purées with warming spices (think pumpkin flavoured)!
• Chocolate or coffee (but keep in mind that caffeine can inhibit nutrient absorption).
• And citrus juice plus zest for a refreshing tang!

Fun toppings:

• Chopped fresh fruit (or frozen if you are meal prepping & they have time to defrost).
• Toasted nuts, seeds, or coconut flakes.
• Dried or candied fruit.
• Chocolate chips or a sauce like my homemade dairy-free “nutella”!
• And again: jams, fruit sauces, nut butters, seed butters, citrus zest, or warm spices.

Method – 2 Ways

There are two ways you can make chia pudding. One is a super simple method with no fancy kitchen tools. The other is for those of you who want a less textured chia pudding.

One Bowl Method

The easiest way to make chia pudding is to just whisk it up in a bowl.

1. Use a bowl (or container like the beaker above) that is large enough for you to comfortably and vigorously stir the mixture.
2. Add the chia seeds first and then pour in the liquid.
   • The seeds will start to swell and clump immediately so stir right away.
3. Use a whisk or fork to stir and disperse the seeds through the liquid.
   • A spoon isn’t as efficient at breaking up the seeds.
4. Stir in any additional ingredients like a sweetener, vanilla extract, nut butters etc.
5. Cover and place in the fridge for 10 – 15 minutes.
6. Remove and stir one more time to ensure no seeds have clumped.
7. Store in an airtight container or portion into individual servings and secure airtight lids.

Blender Method

Some people might not love the texture of chia pudding. One option to reduce that texture is to blend the chia seeds. You will never get them to be fully smooth but I use blended chia seeds for my Chocolate Chia Pudding to achieve a smoother texture.

If you have a spice grinder you could grind the chia seeds and use those ground seeds with the one bowl method above.

Alternatively, use a stand blender or an immersion blender.

1. Add the liquid to the blender first.
2. Then add the chia seeds and blend immediately.
   • Don’t let the chia seeds sit in the liquid or they will start to clump together.
3. Blend for 30 seconds or so until the chia seeds are noticeably broken down.
4. Add any additional ingredients to the blender and blend again until smooth.
5. Transfer to an air tight container or separate into individual portions and secure an airtight lid.

Portions And Storage

As mentioned above, a recommended portion size for chia pudding is 2 tablespoon chia seeds (20 g) to ½ cup liquid (250 ml).

I like to use 4 oz jam jars to portion out 150 grams. That gives me room in the jar to add a few toppings and secure the lid.

If you want to add chunkier fresh fruit to your chia pudding then make sure to use a larger jar or container. BUT keep in mind that guideline above for your portions. It’s easy to want a larger portion of these delicious puddings but they are seeds so too many could wreak a bit of havoc on your digestive system.

*Many recipe photos for chia pudding (mine included… guilty!) use larger portions to fill up the jars and create a more appealing image. But these images aren’t always a realistic representation of what your meal prepped puddings will look like.

Chia pudding lasts well in the fridge for up to 5 days so it makes for a great meal prep recipe! Just make sure that your jars or containers have airtight lids. If you’re adding toppings like chopped nuts they will get a little soggy if they sit on the pudding for that long. You could keep some of the toppings aside until just before you enjoy your puddings to keep them as fresh as possible.

It is also possible to freeze chia pudding! Once the pudding has thickened up fully, scoop it into a freezer safe container. I haven’t tested freezing it for more than 3 – 4 weeks but it may last longer. Defrost the pudding on the counter for a few hours and then refrigerate it until you’re ready to eat it.

And in general, store your chia seeds in your fridge to prolong their shelf-life. I find the best price for chia seeds to be from my wholesale store but it is a huge bag and so storing it in the fridge helps to keep the seeds fresh

Chia Pudding Recipes

And now the fun part! It’s time for you to start making some of your own. Here are my recipes to get you started and to inspire you to create your own flavours:

Super Simple Chia Pudding with a fruit sauce and fresh strawberries.
Peanut Butter Chia Pudding.
Lemon & Vanilla Chia Pudding with toasted coconut.
Quick Chocolate Chia Pudding for a more dessert-like option.

Let me know in the comments below what your favourite flavour combinations are! You can be so creative with chia pudding and you can save yourself a bit of money by making it at home!