10 minute Chocolate Chia Pudding tastes like dessert with nutrition of a healthy breakfast. Refrigerate this naturally gluten free and vegan treat for up to 5 days for easy grab and go snacks.
We also love vanilla chia pudding, cottage cheese chocolate pudding, Greek yogurt chocolate pudding and hard boiled egg chocolate pudding.
Table of Contents
Dessert for breakfast anyone? I mean delicious chocolate mousse with healthy fats, complex carbs, fiber and protein. This chocolate chia pudding is creamy, rich and full of dark chocolate flavor.
It is possible to combine delicious and nutritious, and proof is in these healthy chocolate muffins, black bean brownies and healthier chocolate cake. And in the pudding, of course.
Chia pudding tastes like something in between tapioca pudding, mousse and Greek yogurt. It melts in your mouth, and is both creamy and rich.
I swear it is an equivalent to eating your favorite chocolate bar, but so much healthier!
This whole jar is only 275 calories. And it’s just as perfect for healthy breakfast as it is as part of your healthy snacks rotation!
Are Chia Seeds Healthy?
Chia seeds are considered a superfood because of their nutritional benefits!
- Plant based protein: Chia seeds are a complete source of protein, perfect for those following vegan or plant based diets.
- Antioxidants: An essential part of any healthy diet!
- Fiber: Helps you stay full longer and aids in digestion.
- Omega 3 fatty acids: The good kind of fat that is proven to be heart healthy.
Most importantly, this chia seed pudding will pass for a chocolate dessert to anyone with closed eyes. I’m saying that not because it’s my healthy recipe. But because it’s delicious.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chia seeds: Please use whole chia seeds sold in any supermarket. I do not recommend to use ground chia seeds. The taste will have very prominent Omega fishy taste. And texture is not pleasant.
- Milk: Any plant based milk works from a carton. I like dairy free almond milk. You can use any other milk like oat milk, rice, coconut, hemp or soy milk. Canned coconut milk doesn’t work but it makes wonders for healthy chocolate bread.
- Maple syrup: As for a sweetener, I prefer maple syrup vs. honey because it mixes better with cold milk. You can use honey if it is of a runny consistency and your milk is room temperature. Otherwise, my experience shows honey doesn’t dilute well. It results in bitter chocolate chia pudding with lumps of sweetness.
- Cacao powder: You can use cocoa powder. It is what most people know and have on hand. The only difference between cacao powder and cocoa is that last one is more processed. Cacao powder has more antioxidants and is better for you.
How to Make Chocolate Chia Pudding
Chia pudding recipes are so easy to make, if it wasn’t so good, it would be almost embarrassing.
Combine all ingredients: To any small jar, add milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, chia seeds and cacao powder in this exact order.
Whisk with small whisk or a fork really well or until cacao powder is dissolved. Some tiny cacao powder lumps are OK.
Stir again: Let chia pudding sit for 10 minutes and stir again to break down any lumps. Close jars with lids.
Refrigerate overnight: Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight is the best.
Chocolate Chia Pudding Recipe Tips
- To avoid lumps it is better to stir chia pudding 2 times before refrigerating overnight. 1st time when mixing, 2nd time 10 minutes later.
- Liquids first: It is important to add ingredients in the order listed in the recipe.
- If you have lumps just stir again with a fork before enjoying.
- If your chocolate chia seed pudding is too thick, add a splash of milk and stir. I like my chocolate pudding to fall off the spoon and that is what this recipe makes.
- You can also make chia pudding in a mixing bowl and then distribute between jars.
FAQs
Any milk works for this recipe! Dairy milk or plant based milk. Just do not use canned coconut milk, it is too thick.
I find that I love my chocolate chia pudding with a 1:3 ratio. That is 3 tbsp of chia seeds per 3/4 cup of milk. You may find that this is too runny for your preference! It’s easy to thicken with an additional 1 tbsp of chia seeds. Add them, stir and wait to thicken.
Alternately, see below how to make blended chia pudding and that will also thicken it further.
Yes, gently pulse one time until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes. Pulse again. Just don’t process too long because chia seeds will start grinding.
Chocolate chips, raspberries, blueberries, coconut flakes or a drizzle of peanut butter. You may also love it served with healthy fruit salad!
How Long Will It Last?
You can prepare and refrigerate cacao chia pudding for up to 5 days. I love to meal prep it in individual mason jars!
When ready to eat, give your pudding another good stir. Sometimes you might have lumps due to gulps of air in-between the chia seeds and that’s OK.
You can freeze chia pudding for a make ahead option as well! Just thaw as needed for a feel good treat anytime.
More Chia Seed Recipes
- Chocolate banana chia pudding
- Brown rice pudding
- Banana chia pudding
- Mango chia pudding
- Matcha chia pudding
- Coconut chia pudding
- Strawberry chia pudding
- Healthy overnight oats
Chocolate Chia Pudding
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup any milk from a carton
- 2 tsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 – 4 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder
Instructions
- To a Mason jar or any container with a tight lid (I prefer glass), add milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Then add chia seeds and cacao powder. It's important to add ingredients in the order listed in the recipe, liquids first.
- Whisk well or stir vigorously with a fork until cacao powder is well combined with the rest of ingredients. Let sit for 10 minutes and stir again.
- Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- When ready to eat, stir well again. Some lumps are OK, just stir well. The thickness and sweetness can be adjusted to your taste.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Coconut milk: If using coconut milk, make sure it’s from the carton and not a thick coconut milk from a can.
- Consistency: For a thick consistency pudding use 4 tbsp chia seeds, for soup like consistency (pictured) use only 3 tbsp (my favorite).
You can absolutely use canned coconut milk. It works great producing a thick creamy pudding.
I was so excited to find the Chia seed pudding recipe couldn’t wait to clean the kitchen after dinner and start preparing my chia seed pudding I went to my local nutrition store that sells everything from A to Z for a healthy lifestyle and I found the chocolate cocoa powder and the Chia seeds I had to play around with it for wasn’t sure on the quantity but it tastes delicious so I put it in a glass container with a tight lid and I can’t wait until I try it tomorrow thank you for this information I’m trying to live healthier and eat healthier and I’m juicing and my older son is juicing with me he goes to the gym I do some workouts at home so it all works out for the best I’m excited thank you Lori M Killeen Texas.
You are very welcome. Be healthy. You can find chia in any store.
I love this recipe. Usually have it for dessert, it’s so chocolatey. I add one packet of Splenda for a bit of extra sweetness.
Delicious and simple to make. I topped it off with a dollop of COYO coconut yoghurt and fresh fruit….what a great way to start the day!
This chocolate chia pudding was so creamy!
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe! Made it yesterday and had it for breakfast today. Yum!
(I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and one packet of Stevia because I did not have honey or syrup)
You are so welcome!:)
This was so yummy! I used honey, fat-free milk and 4 tbsp of chia seeds. Tomorrow I am going to add a banana for texture. How do I calculate the calories with the changes I made? TIA
I don’t know because I don’t count calories anymore. I used to use sparks people calculator, you can also use my fitness pal.
Hi there! My Naturopath wants me to give up grains for a while, so I was looking for an alternative for breakfast, and looked up chia pudding. I tried this recipe today, and though I liked it I found it was-for me anyway, a bit bland. Now I am not sure if it wasn’t sweet enough, though I followed the recipe exactly with honey to sweeten..maybe I’ll try maple syrup next time. I added some strawberries and banana chopped which helped.:) What do you think I might have done wrong? Used coconut milk (unsweetened) btw, and the raw cacao…it just didn’t seem like I could taste the chocolate! I’m not giving up, trying your vanilla chia pudding next! Thank you, lovely website! 🙂
Hi Noelle. You can add another tsp of cacao powder and more honey or maple syrup to taste. Also chocolate chips will help.:) I don’t think you have done anything wrong, everyone has different taste buds. Thank you and enjoy!
Hi Olena!
Well, I tried it again, and again…and have it every morning now pretty much! I added 1 and then eventually 2 tsp of maple syrup instead of the honey, the coconut milk, with or without 1 tsp of raw cacao powder (like it better with because it has that weird grey look without lol!) and add some fruit and I LOVE it! I’ve only tried it with your version of 3 tbsp of chia seeds, and it’s perfect for me…thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Perfect! Sometimes it’s just a few tweaks to suit your personal taste.
Very tasty! I love it and at least one of my kids likes it (I think if I cut the cinnamon the other one will like it too).Thanks for the recipe!
Got my Nutiva chia seeds from Costco as well! The cacao powder was a bit of a pain to mix to ensure no clumps but it was sooo worth it. Many other recipes for the pudding have lots of ingredients, so it was awesome that yours had items I had on hand! Thanks for sharing
Use a whisk. Also let chia pudding sit for 5 minutes after the first mix and stir again. It soaks up some liquid almost immediately and is easier to mix. Less is more.:)