Easy Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding

You will love this easy and basic vanilla chia seed pudding recipe. Simple and easy, and make-head, this recipe is perfect for when you are planning healthy breakfasts and snacks for the week ahead. This recipe is sweet and healthy - fully of good for you protein and fibre from the chia seeds. Chia seed pudding parfaits make filling breakfasts or snacks that pack well for easy grab and go healthy eating.

Chia seed pudding is super simple to make and is full of healthy plant-based protein and fibre - providing 20grams of protein and 17grams of fibre per serving! Bonus, when served with fresh fruit, like berries, it provides a healthy dose of vitamins and antioxidants. Overall, this pudding is a win-win, healthy and pudding. It's perfect.

How to make chia seed pudding

To make chia seed pudding simply mix together your base with chia seeds. The chia seeds do all the work to make a thick and creamy pudding-like texture. Think tapioca pudding. All you need to do is wait a little bit while the seeds do their thing

For the base in this recipe, I have used plain, low-fat, Greek-style yogurt and unsweetened planted-based milk like almond or coconut (the beverage, not canned coconut milk). This is my go-to recipe.

I like to use unsweetened yogurt and milk in the base so that I can control the amount of sugar in the recipe. I do usually sweeten this recipe by adding either maple syrup, stevia, or a combination of maple syrup and stevia.

Combine your base ingredients along with the sweetener of your choosing. I like to use a whisk. Then add the chia seeds. 3 tablespoons of chia seeds per 1 cup of base I find works best. Then wait. At least 15 minutes, but it is fine if you leave it in the refrigerator overnight too. Totally up to you.

If you want to prepare parfaits ahead of time, the chia seeds need at least 15 minutes to thicken up the mixture enough to layer with fruit.

Can I make chia seed pudding parfaits ahead of time?

This vanilla chia seed pudding packs beautifully for lunches or quick breakfast. And as parfaits, layered with fruit or granola, you can make up to 5 days ahead of time.

Tip: to make ahead - I usually double or even triple the recipe below, just stay with the same ratio, 1 cup of liquid (milk and yogurt here) and 3 tablespoons of chia seeds.

The recipe below will make 1 meal sized serving, about 2 cups or one 500ml mason jar, including fruit. I like to divide the recipe in half and make 2 smaller servings, about ½ cup of pudding and ½ cup of fruit each, which will nicely fit into a 250ml mason jar.

To make ahead - whisk together yogurt, milk, sweetener and chia seeds. Set aside, cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. You can leave this as long as you need. I usually start my meal prep with this step, stick the mixture in the fridge for a bit while I do other stuff and then come back and make the parfaits.

The chia seeds will start to swell and mixture will thicken enough to layer with fruit to make individual parfaits in mason jars.

In each jar (250ml for snack size, or 500ml for a meal size) layer chia seed mixture, fresh fruit, more chia seed mixture. Fill each jar to top - leaving just enough room to put the lid on.

TIP: You want water-tight mason jar lids, either use these or use the 2 part metal lids that come with the jars, which are liquid tight.

→ USE these reusuable and water-tight mason jar lids.←

Individual parfaits will last for 4-5 days and pack nicely for a healthy snack or take along breakfast. Just be sure to pack a spoon! 🙂

→ 250ml jar makes a perfect kid sized or snack sized portion

→ 500ml jar fits a a full serving as noted in the recipe card below

Recipe notes:

• Make these parfaits ahead and keep in sealed mason jars or single serve resealable containers refigerated and they will keep 4-5 days.
• For sweetener, I usually use 1 stevia packet and some maple syrup for 3 servings, I find stevia alone is bitter. So if I make several servings, I use maple syrup for fresh sweetness and flavour, about 1 teaspoon per serving.
• You can also use 1-2 teaspoon of granulated sugar or brown sugar per serving. Brown sugar or maple syrup is my son's favourite.
• Feel free to use cane sugar, coconut sugar, maple sugar, honey or even jam.
• Sweetness will depend on your personal tastes and the sweetness of the fruit.
• This recipe is naturally gluten-free
• To make this recipe vegan substitute dairy based greek yogurt for your favourite non-dairy yogurt. My favourite is a plain coconut based yogurt. (Nutritional info below will vary if you substitute the type of milk or yogurt you use).

Flavour combinations

Classic vanilla with berries, fresh kiwi or mangoes

Brown sugar and fresh peaches, mix in a little ginger into the pudding.

Maple with apples and pears. Be sure apples and pears are fully sandwiched between layers of chia pudding to prevent browning. Add a touch of cinnamon to the pudding.

Classic vanilla with banana and almond or peanut butter layered between the pudding. Bananas don't work well when making the puddings more than a few hours ahead of time. If going with bananas, assemble the parfaits they day you plan to make them, layering the bananas fully in the middle between the chia seed pudding.

More packable breakfast ideas:

• Granola breakfast cookies {Vegan}
• Apple cinnamon baked oatmeal {Vegan}
• Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars {Vegan}