Overnight Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

delicious! and guilt free :) perfect recipe, my first chia experience went down a treat. Literally :)

Nice recipe. Thanks

I couldn’t help but comment! I’ve been eyeing this recipe for the longest time and I finally got to try it out this morning! It is SO delicious!! I paired it with a sprinkle of your Gingerbread Granola that I made the other day and a drizzle of maple syrup! YUMMY!

I’m so glad thay I discovered this new way to have chia seeds because the other recipes I tried were a little gag-worthy ?.
Thank you, Dana for creating such simple and oh-so delicious recipes! It makes being vegan a whole lot more fun!

XOXO,
Christian

Hi! I’ve been a chia fan for 6 years now. I’ve had it every which way imaginable. My favorite (and simplest way) is in water. I wanted to let you know that the reason you need sweetener when it’s blended is because in the blender, some seeds get split open. Seeds that are opened allow more of the nutrition to be bioavailable, or easier for your body to use the nutrition. If you consume whole seeds and do not chew or open them in some fashion, they leave the body the same way they went in. The hard outer shell is not digested by the body. I only buy split open chia. More expensive, but my body can actually use it, so it’s well worth it!

I couldn’t resist leaving a comment here! I used dark chocolate cocoa powder and dumped all of the ingredients in my blender and it was done. I didn’t imagine this would taste so good. I’m so happy I found your page and I’m even more happy I decided to try it out.

I am a dairy eater and I can’t tell the difference. I’m definitely switching to this version! Can’t wait to try it on my very picky significant other. I don’t plan on telling him it’s non dairy. Want to see what he thinks! ???

YOU ROCK!!!!

Hey I have a question regarding the consistency! I was wondering if this will expand and if it does how much! I want to chill it in mason jars so in the morning I can just grab it and go.

Pudding for breakfast? Paradise found!!

Simple and perfect. Thanks !!!

This is seriously the best chia pudding I ever had. My 2 year old and 4 year old were super excited when they saw it as our breakfast this morning. I’ve just doubled the recipe and made it for tomorrow morning too;)
Thanks for posting it!

I absolutely love this recipe! It’s perfect in everyway! I definitely like it unblended. The texture is just fantastic. Thank you for the amazing instructions and recipe!

So good! Made this at my boyfriends house with minimal ingredients (no cinnamon or vanilla) and I’m amazed to say still SO good! I am trying to eat desserts with fewer processed sugars and I am sure to make a million variations of this. Thank you so much!

Loved this pudding… it has a perfect consistency, gives me energy every time and absolutely delicious!

The consistency is pure liquid even after refrigeration – what can I do to fix this?

This turned out very bitter – any recommendations?

The comments here reflect that this is a very versatile recipe! I used whole chia and found it to be a pleasant tapioca-like consistency. I went for a “cocoa-masala” flavor (chocolate/chai). I used the dairy-free So Delicious brand of coconut milk creamer (which made it sweet enough that maple and dates were unnecessary). I only used 1tbsp of cocoa, plus the vanilla. Beautifully chocolatey. Only a few dashes of cinnamon and one good dash of nutmeg, plus a good spoonful of cardamom powder. SO GOOD.

I made this on Wednesday and followed the recipe to the T. It’s an amazing pudding. Store bought pudding… never again! Plus, after reading the reviews, it gave me some ideas for variations.

I’m currently doing Keto, and was optimistic about modifying this recipe. I substituted the maple syrup with half a teaspoon of Stevia per portion with great results. To get my fat up I used a dollop of double cream which worked a treat in cutting through the rather bitter taste of the Cacao. Definitely a regular for breakfast and dessert! I’ll try adding a few raspberries next time as well :-)

Can you make this with 2% milk ?

Do you have any low-carb recipes? They are so hard to find and that is my weight loss secret. Help please!!

Delicious! I did just use organic whole milk instead of almond or coconut milk. I was skeptical because at first it was not jelling up or thickening. Maybe I was stirring too frequently because I didn’t want the chia seeds settling to the bottom? I sweetened it with 1 Tsp honey. I put sliced strawberries on top with whipped cream! So good!

I made this 2 days ago, left it unblended and overnight. Its friggin Awesome!! I also made the blueberry compote and served the pudding on top, even my 3 teenagers ate it and our son is major fussy eater.

I made a chia pudding last night with just almond milk and strawberries, which I blended before adding the chia seeds. I woke up this morning to find a clump of seeds at the bottom of my glass with the milk sitting on top. I stirred before refrigerating. What did I do wrong? :(

I made this using vanilla almond milk and no other sweetener. It is so good! I was very skeptical, due to the texture, but it didn’t even phase me when eating it unblended. Thank you so much for this great recipe!

Maybe it’s the kind of cocoa powder I used (Trader Joes), but when I stirred it after soaking for about an hour, the flavor was really quite terrible. There was too, too, too much cocoa powder and definitely not enough sweetener. I added another batch of coconut milk and chia seeds and it’s much better. I will definitely halve the cocoa powder next time.

My son is on a special diet, he’s 6 and has been since he was 6 months old. His diet controls his seizures and is VERY low in carbohydrates, also, he doesn’t chew, so finding foods that work for him is, well, lets call it an adventure.
He is in school now and is beginning to realize that his friends have different food and he can’t have those things. I am on a mission to find suitable substitutes that can allow him to have something like what his friends have without blowing his nutrition plan.
This is a pretty good substitute.The mouth feel is very different from traditional pudding, but he wouldn’t know that. I quite enjoy the flavor, but find that I enjoy it cut about 50/50 with whipped cream or yogurt just to cut down on the gel feeling.
Does anyone know if you could use the same process with plain water or fruit juice to make a gelatin substitute?

I’m trying it with dark chocolate cashew milk!!!

this was my first chia seed pudding recipe and i was amazed. it was so rich and decadent! thank you!

i substituted with vanilla soy milk, used maple syrup and omitted the cinnamon for a more traditional pudding taste.

i will be making this very often.

I make chia seed “jam”. Fruit and chia seeds in a mini blender and I’m good to go. I want to try orange marmalade with the seeds, but all recipes call for cooking the oranges first. Does anyone know if it can be made without cooking? Thanks.

SO YUM! I wasn’t sure I’d like this recipe at first because I’ve previously tried making a “healthy” chocolate pudding out of tofu, but”tofu-y” taste was too overwhelming for me… But this chia seed chocolate pudding is delish!!

I decided to blend my pudding (just because I wasn’t sure how the chia seed texture would feel), but after tasting it, I think it would’ve tasted better with some seed texture. It’s still verrry yummy (and there’s no weird chia seed aftertaste) but I think I will do the non-blended version next time.

My taste buds and tummy all thank you for this scrumptious recipe. :)

This is absolutely delicious! I ended up adding 5 TBS maple syrup and I did add the optional cinnamon and vanilla extract. Thanks for the recipe. I’ll be making this a lot!

This was not good at all. The taste (not sweet at all and I used 5 tablespoons of maple syrup) and the texture (I didn’t blend) were not good. I’ve made chia pudding before using another recipe and really liked it.

I make this all the time! Great recipe!!

almond breeze has carrageenan in it (which is terrible for you), as well as other chemicals and additives. you should be encouraging your blog followers to support local almond and cashew milk startups or to make their own mylk.

Just made this and it is absolutely fabulous! I blended coconut milk, 5 dates, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla in the blender, then stirred in the chia seeds. Topped with homemade whipped cream. I’m telling everyone about this recipe. Thank you!!

Can you imagine how this would taste with a hint of spice like cinnamon and/or ancho chili powder? YUM!

I usually blend the milk, dates, and other flavors first. Then I fold in the chia seeds before refrigerating. I like the texture and flavor is evenly distributed. Great post!

I feel like this has a lot of sugar in it, possibly naturally occurring from the sweeteners but more so the hidden sugar in the almond milk. I would add how much sugar it has on the nutrients list for an FYI to make sure those of us avoiding sugar know what we are getting into.

Love your georgeous pictures! Great work!

Yummmmm! I love chia pudding. Especially chocolate with a touch of mint. Sooooo goooood.

My co-worker and I LOVED THIS . Made it last night as a treat for our lunch. I let another person try some and she said it tasted like chocolate ice cream…

If I want it unblended, but I want dates in it, how do I incorporate them and when do I add them?
I’m so excited to make this, I need this in my life!

I nearly bought my first pack of chia seeds yesterday but fell at the last hurdle of not knowing what to do with them. They are now top of my next shopping list.
I wonder if it freezes, or if the quantity can be halved successfully?

I just tried this recipe, and my puddings are in the fridge for my breakfast tomorrow and the next few mornings. I can’t wait to try them. My taste off the spatula was pretty good. :)

Hi, I really enjoyed your recipe! I am now back to eating chocolate pudding, which is great! Thanks for the recipe. I subbed the syrup for agave since I didn’t have any dates or syrup for sweetener, and it turned out quite tasty. I put it up on my blog, giving you a proper shout out of course. :)

Truth be told, this was my first time making and trying chia pudding. This is a great recipe! I followed the recipe using unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk, subbed honey for dates, omitted the cinnamon, and added vanilla. I did not blend the pudding. I whisked the cocoa and almond milk first until incorporated, then whisked in the rest of the ingredients. No problems with separation and the consistency was perfect the next morning. This is my new favorite breakfast with fresh raspberries and sliced almonds. Yum!

Great recipe!! I soaked and blitzed some normal dates, then whisked them in and added some freeze dried strawberries to the mix! Delicious sweet and chocolatey flavour with no guilt☺

Just popped mine in the fridge. Only five more agonizing hours until I can taste it!

Can we use skim milk instead of almond milk??

I usually make the Chia seed “jelly”. I am going to try the pudding. You can never go wrong with chocolate (or bacon) :)

I will make this today as I happened upon your website. Late chia seed want-ta-be! I come from dried cherry land, so I try dried cherries in place of dates seeing that I do not have any of those here at home. Not sure which type of milk I will use but there were lots of options listed in the reviews. Will keep you posted. Excited to try.

Love this! After blending mine I put sliced banana and a teaspoon of peanut butter in the bottom of the glass and spooned the smooth pudding on top and left to refrigerate again. Was amazing!!

I haven’t made chia pudding in a long time, but I’m trying to do more raw foods, so I saw this and had to make it! I’m eating it for breakfast right now, with banana slices and pomegranate arils. Yum! I’m definitely back on the chia pudding bandwagon.

I realized I should be commenting on these because I love your recipes so much! Thanks for putting these up – my roommate is currently doing vegan Tuesdays (and I’m doing meatless Mondays) and your blog has made it really easy and fun. :)

This was a super easy and fun dessert, but my roommate and I both thought that it was overwhelmingly chocolatey & cinnamony. We originally used unsweetened Almond Breeze and 3 tbsp of maple syrup, and after waiting 3 hours, we decided to dilute it by adding 1/2 cup sweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and 21 g chia seeds. It was so good that we couldn’t resist just drinking some like a smoothie – it was great to have the texture of both chia seeds. Excited to have it tomorrow!

Looks good, will give the recipe a try.

I can’t have chia seeds :'(
Can I use anything else?
Thank you,
Maria

Gorgeous! Worked a treat and completely foolproof. I’m not sure why some people are substituting the chia seed when it is the main ingredient and then leaving a poor review??? Bizarre!

Can I ask how you get the chia seeds blended? I desperately wanted this to be a smooth moose consistency. I used a small blender which is really good for blending pretty much anything but as I suspected, the chia seeds are far too small to blend as they just go straight to the bottom! Can you give me any advice?

DELICIOUS!!! I haven’t tried it blended yet but once I have a little more time I 100% will! The unblended does leave a slight sliminess around the seeds – however, once you add fruit (I add blackberries and raspberries, yum!) it all blends together. Love how it tastes so good and so much like a dessert, but with none of the guilt! Great way to start your day off and so easy!

I’m a softmore in highschool and I’m also trying out a plant based diet… And I don’t have much time in the mornings if I want sleep ? So I made this and it’s in the fridge now! I can’t wait to try it with some banana in the morning!

Can you use honey instead of maple syrup? I am getting my wisdom teeth out in a couple of days and am looking to prepare my own pudding, popsicles, etc. Hoping this will come out nicely!

do the seeds need to be powdered or can they be whole?

Dana, I am overwhelmed!! Thanks.. Loved it and Pinned it. Cheers!!

Tastes very much like a high-quality chocolate mousse. I made 2 substitutions for the 1st 2 ingredients: 2c fresh/homemade coconut milk, 1/2c chia seeds. I blended – but only to mix (not on high). Served with CocoWhip and chocolate chips – yummy!

Best. Dessert. Ever.

Thank you for this recipe. I did not add any sugar and sweetness from the blueberries and raspberries I topped were perfect.

So its OK to blend everything together, chia seeds and all? Or do I blend everything and add the chia last?

I made this last night so it’d be ready for breakfast. I didn’t blend it and I only used about 2 tablespoons maple syrup. I split the mixture into two bell jars and shook them vigorously. It totally worked! I was worried about some of the comments mentioning too salty or too much cinnamon but I don’t agree with them. This morning I topped them with coconut shreds, mixed nuts, and mini chocolate chips. Super delicious!

Help! I made this yesterday and left in the fridge for 10 hours but it didn’t come out thick and creamy, just like milk :-(

I accidentally dumped a bunch of chia in a pot of boiling water instead of the quinoa I was needing. Got over a gallon of hydrated chia “pudding “! I went looking for a recipe and found yours. Of course, I had to adjust it, but it turned out great. I had little dark unsweetened cocoa left, so I augmented with carob powder and a small bit of blackstrap molasses, and some peppermint oil drops. Yum! Thanks for saving the day!

I put everything except for the chia seeds in my Vitamix, blended until smooth, and then poured the mixture into a bowl and mixed in the chia seeds by hand. It set up beautifully and tastes delicious!
My 2 year old chocolate loving daughter thinks I’m the best mom ever for allowing her to indulge in this treat for breakfast!
Thank you so much!!

I just made this using regular 1% milk and left unblended. I finely chopped homemade candied orange peels and mixed them in for a chocolate orange flavored pudding…can’t wait until tomorrow because I took a small bite while I was preparing it and the flavor is amazing!

Hi love the recipe, may I know whether I can make them in bulk and store them for the whole week?
How long can they last? Can they last throughout the week?
Thanks in advance.

Rgds Marie

I rarely post about recipes BUT I’m so thrilled I stumbled across this one….. it’s delicious! My 4 year old son was begging for more ‘chocolate pudding’ and even my husband who is chia averse enjoyed it. Thanks for a great recipe! I’ll be making this again and again….

Just made this and it’s amazing! I blended mine, and it was just divine. Such a great flavor!

This recipe is amaaaaazing!!! MMMMM. :)

I’m not even a huge fan of chocolate pudding, but this one is divine. Had to fight eating it by the spoonful BEFORE it chilled. Eagerly awaiting a yummy dinner dessert.

Thanks so much for sharing!

Love, love, love this recipe!

Can I use ground chia seeds instead of whole ones for this recipe?

Because the seeds are derived fro the Salvia Hispanica plant, which is in the mint family, I am hoping the addition of mint rather than cinnamon will be as delicious as I am anticipating. I’ll certainly let you know how it turns out.

Wondering if I can blend dates separately and add them without blending whole mixture if I, too, prefer a more textured pudding?

I made the chocolate chia seed pudding and it is delicious. I used dark cocoa powder and himalayin sea salt. Less sweet, really pretty and so fantastic. Thank you for the recipe!

WOW made this last night and had it for breakfast this morning. SO good. I made it with homemade almond milk and used vietnamese cinnamon (my fave cinnamon – added a bit more since I’m a bit of a cinnamon-aholic) and it was FANTASTIC! Thanks so much for the recipe :)

Omg just made this it was soo good! I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk, dates as my sweetner no cinnamon (i forgot to add) and vanilla, cocoa the chia and blended. I tasted it after and it totally reminded me of my all time favorite (and hard to find) chocolate tofu pudding from whole foods (ive only seen it at the san diego whole foods if you see it in sf let me know) yum!

This tastes great (i left out salt and cinnamon and included dates preblended before adding chia). But… it tasted horrid when i blended the chia. So- don’t blend the chia!

I made chia pudding but the chia seeds didn’t swell up overnight. What did I do wrong?

I did exactly what this recipe said to do, but my chia seeds did not turn pudding like. There was no goes consistency from the chia seed. What could have happened there?

Made this in about five minutes and can’t believe what a nutritious, luxurious treat this is! Thank you so much for this outstanding recipe. I’ll be making it often!

I’m chia pudding obsessed!! My favorite I like to make is chia seeds with coconut milk, sweetener of choice(I like honey) and a touch of rose water extract! It’s incredibly floral and so delish!! I added 1/2 cap full of rose water extract to this recipie for a chocolate rose pudding. Love seeing everyone’s variations!

I followed directions exactly and found that I had to add more chia seeds to make it creamier. Very good.

I make my chia pudding without coco and with 1/2 soy milk and 1/2 coconut milk (the best is coconut cream but be sure to add more soy milk!) I then also mix vanilla, whole flaxseed and honey. I love the crunchy texture! I eat this with oats and fruit for breakfast :)

Love this!! It’s so yum. Thank you !!

Made this 3 days ago. Not blended and sweetened it with agave. So easy and so yum. A really satisfying dessert. The perfect hint of cinnamon. It reminds me of a decadent Mexican chocolate. I have to make it again tonight. Thank you for the recipe!

I know this is sponsored by Almond Breeze….but there’s no almond milk where I am right now, so I decided to use fresh coconut milk! Still tastes pretty good!

I love this recipe! I find that the consistency is best if you let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 min after mixing everything together and then whisk it again before dividing and refrigerating. This lets the chia seeds jelly up a little bit so when you mix it again, they stay dispersed.

If you throw it into the fridge immediately, the seeds tend to settle to the bottom and the texture is not very even throughout.

I use Cacao Barry Extra Brut dutch processed cocoa, which gives it an incredibly rich chocolate flavor. If you do this, you have to add in the milk very slowly (just a little bit at a time) while whisking vigorously to dissolve all the powder. If you add all the liquid immediately, the cocoa will clump.

I love this pudding…sneaked it even into my son’s lunchbox and it was a huge success

Can’t wait to try! How much vanilla to sub for cacao?

I add 4 oz. of strong coffee and Ceylon cinnamon to the mix. And I use whole coconut milk. Decadent is understating how good it was. I am about to make a batch using light coconut milk. I’ll let you know how it works. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

Hi Dana,
This recipe looks AMAZING. I wanted to know if we can share on our website for different recipes suggestions.

Thanks

I have just made this. Trying out chia for the first time in last few days. Wanting to slip this one in as a chocolate mousse to less healthy minded family members I ground the chia seeds in the blender first then added the other ingredients, I used maple syrup. Blended it all up and it split between 4 ramekins. In the fridge now chilling. Flavour is great. It’s already got a nice creamy texture. One question. I have been reading about how much liquid chia absorbs and continues to absorb in the Gi tract, so is there sufficient liquid in this mix or should we drink extra liquid when eating this?

Hi dana, i have recently discovered you and so im now addicted to chia seed pudding in every imaginable form! But mine turns runny bey the next day. Hiw domi keep this from happening? Thanks so much, kathy w

this chia pudding is the best i have ever had! i blended, and substituted the almond milk for coconut milk, it and it tastes better then any pudding i have ever had before! i am going to pack it in my kids lunches every day this week! so healthy and so yummy!

Loved this recipe.Very pudding like. Do you have any ideas how I would switch it up and make it a pumpkin pie spice pudding. Not sure how much pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to substitute in the chocolate.

This. Was. Amazing.
We recently had to remove dairy, gluten, eggs, and a bunch of other stuff from my daughters diet which makes breakfast so difficult! I’m so happy I found this recipe. I used coconut milk and tossed a spoonful of oats in and the consistency was so perfect by morning. This recipe is a keeper!