Chia Pudding with Greek Yogurt is deliciously creamy, totally healthy, and very quick and easy to make. The perfect make-ahead breakfast or snack to grab on the go. Vegan-adaptable & Gluten-free.
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is highly likely that you have you heard of Chia Pudding. It has been kind of popular for a while now. But honestly it deserves even more attention. And if it is new to you, we are excited for you to give it a try! It is a cinch to make with no cooking required.
Perfectly thick, creamy and rich tasting, we make our chia pudding with greek yogurt and then add fruit and spices as we each desire. It is crazy easy to throw together! Storing in your fridge in single serving portions makes it so convenient to grab when you need a quick breakfast or snack. It starts with a simple tasty base recipe. Enjoy as is or try out our fun flavor additions that boost nutrition even more.
Ingredients in Chia Pudding
- chia seeds
- hot water
- Greek yogurt
- nut milk of choice
- honey or maple syrup
- vanilla
- pinch of salt
Chia seeds have a lot going for them: protein, fiber, omega 3’s, antioxidants, essential minerals. They are very neutral in taste and take on flavor readily.
When soaked in liquid, chia seeds set into a “pudding”. The consistency is similar to tapioca. Maybe not for everyone? That’s ok.
How to make chia pudding
Choose your container. I like using a quart ball jar, a bowl with a lid works too.
Step one:
Add hot boiled water and stir in chia. This starts hydrating the chia into plump and silky morsels. Let sit 5 minutes (just about the time it takes to add ingredients in Step two!).
Chia pudding is usually refrigerated over night to fully plump up. The hot water speeds up the process allowing you to enjoy the pudding within an hour!
Step two:
Add honey or maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
Step three:
Mix in yogurt and nut milk. Feel free to use vegan yogurt.
Step four:
Refrigerate, covered, for at least one hour before serving. You can also store in 8 oz containers for 4 portioned servings.
Chia Pudding Variations:
Add spices and fruit if desired. Here are some of our favorite additions (see recipe):
- Golden Glow with turmeric, mango and dates.
- Mexican Cacao Dream with just a touch of anch0 chili and cinnamon.
- Berry Happy with a hint of cardamom and fresh berries.
Hope this chia pudding adds some ease and delight to your day!
You may also like:
- How to make Muesli!
- Vegan Tofu Scramble
- The BEST Vegan Breakfast Cookies
- Rhubarb Jam with Chia Seeds
- Homemade Maple Granola Recipe (Vegan & Gluten-free)
- Vegan French Toast
Chia Pudding with Greek Yogurt
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups
- Category: Breakfast, Dessert
- Method: stirred
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Delicious Chia Pudding with creamy Greek yogurt is totally healthy, deliciously creamy and so very fast and easy to make. The perfect make-ahead breakfast or snack to grab on the go. Vegan adaptable!
Ingredients
Chia Yogurt Base Mix
- 1/3 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup boiled hot water
- 3 tablespoons honey (maple, coconut sugar)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups greek yogurt (or vegan yogurt)
- 1 1/2 cups nut milk ( almond, hemp, oat, soy, etc.)
3 optional flavors:
Golden Glow
- 1 cup chia yogurt base mix
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon orange zest
- fresh cubed mango
- 2 dates
- toasted coconut flakes
Mexican Cacao Dream
- 1 cup chia yogurt base mix
- 2 teaspoons raw chocolate powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoon cacao nibs
- banana slices
Berry Happy
- 1 cup chia yogurt base mix
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- fresh raspberries
- fresh blueberries
- fresh strawberries
- sliced almonds
Instructions
- In a quart jar, mix chia seeds and hot water. Let sit about 5 minutes. This starts hydrating the chia seed more quickly.
- Stir in vanilla, honey (or maple) and pinch of salt.
- Add greek yogurt and nut milk. Whisk to thoroughly combine. (At this point you could divide into 4 smaller jars.)
- At this stage it will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- Add preferred flavor and fruits to serve. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.
Notes
If pre-making with fruit added: refrigerate and serve within 2-3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
Keywords: chia pudding, chia pudding with yogurt, yogurt chia pudding,
The hot water is totally unnecessary. Throw all the other ingredients in a blender and mix – but, for 1.5 cups of yogurt plus 1.5 cup of milk you need 7.5 tablespoons of chia seeds. Put in dishes and let sit in dishes for 30 minutes, then mix with a whisk, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Super thick and creamy.
Hi Eliza, We use hot water so we don’t have to wait so long to enjoy it! Ready to eat in an hour rather than overnight. 😊
Does it thicken after refrigeration? A little runny for my taste.
Yes it does thicken. Did you use Greek yogurt?
Shouldn’t be runny – if it is, try using more seeds. It will definitely thicken after refrigeration.
Tried all 3. Loved them all!
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Great to hear!
Made the Cacao Dream and the whole family loved it. We added a bit of almond butter, which was yummy!
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awesome!
Lovely flavor. I used almond yogurt and oat milk. Loved the cardamom. Very delicious and great for breakfast or a late night snack. Thanks for sharing!
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So happy you enjoyed!
My husband previously thought of chia as a punishment. He is now stealing this from the batch I made and saying how good he feels after he eats this. Such a refreshing and sustaining breakfast with some berries, cinnamon, sliced almonds and coconut chips.
Haha! Love it. Yummy additions!
Great to have another healthy and energizing breakfast option. I used goat yogurt and goat milk kefir for an added kick, along with soy milk and tried the berry-good version first. Yummy with maple syrup and pecans. I think the cacao one will be up for tomorrow.
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Thanks Janet! Glad you like these!
I didn’t know how easy it was to make chia seed pudding. I used to have it at work all the time, but since we’ve been WFH I sort of forgot about it until I saw your recipe. So simple! I opted for the “golden glow” for the first batch. I would reduce the ginger by 1/2 (so 1/4 tsp), but other than that it was perfect. Thanks for another great recipe!
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Thanks Ashley! Super helpful!
Thank you for elevating my favorite morning treat! Chia pudding is my go-to for breakfast and I am LOVING the combinations you have put together! Your process produces perfectly creamy results!
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Wonderful! Thanks Nancy!
I made a dessert chia pudding once and wasn’t thrilled with it. But his recipe called to me so I gave it a try. It was delicious! Very creamy and thick and satisfying. I added a bit of cardomam and cinnamon to my base pudding and topped with mango, berries and almonds. I enjoyed eating it – all 4 days! It kept my hunger at bay for hours. The only thing about chia seeds is that they get stuck in your teeth, but that is a problem that is easy to deal with. 🙂
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Ha ha, I know and you can’t even feel them in between your teeth 😬. Love that you played with the recipe and so happy you enjoyed!
It’s true that I am late to the chia party, but because I trust your palate, your base recipe inspired me to have a go–downsized for 2 servings: 2T chia seeds, 3T hot water, 1T sweetener (maple syrup), then 1 cup plain greek yogurt (no extra liquid) + 1/2 cup fresh strawberries. I found I like my seeds crunchy so I ate it immediately. The next experiment was banana chocolate, but I used vitamin & iron fortified chocolate powder and half milk half greek yogurt–this one I let sit overnight to thicken up. Another success. Banana-maple & cinnamon is going to be next…Thanks for the inspiration!!! I love discovering new treats. I’m going to try freezing chia “fudgsicles” too, as well as chia pudding caramel-bananas etc…
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great! love the innovations. Yum chia fudgsicles- what a great idea!! Let us know how that turns out.
Delicious!!! I added matcha to my pudding mix and served with strawberries! So quick and easy to make, and now I have breakfast for the week. thank you for sharing!!
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Perfect!
Another great and so easy to make recipe! I made the berry happy version and I ate it for breakfast with homemade granola. It was really delicious ! Thank you !
★★★★★
Great to hear!
This chia pudding is absolutely Devine! So creamy and oh so delicious!!! Thank you again for your fabulous recipes.
★★★★★
thanks Marie!
Lucky me as I had all the ingredients on hand when the newsletter hit my inbox yesterday afternoon. Added a diced fresh local peach and some toasted almonds this morning and it was perfect! Very quick and easy recipe that can be either breakfast or dessert. I’m thinking tomorrow I’ll try the chocolate and banana and add just a bit of peanut butter. Love that these can be customized and with fresh blueberries in season right now I also want to make a lemon blueberry version. Thanks Sylvia for another great recipe!
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Glad you enjoyed this!
Loved it Loved it
Where did you get those glasses?
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So glad you enjoyed! These are 8 oz Weck Tulip Jars.
THANKS A BUNCH…..
If you don’t need tops, I found some yogurt is glass containers at the health food store or Grocery Outlet that I use for recipes like this.
Hi.
The recipes look lovely but I would like to know how long to leave the seeds in hot water before adding the rest of the ingredients?
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Just 5 minutes!
So good!! I’ve made other chia puddings in the past but this one is the clincher! Presoaking the seeds & mixing with plain greek yogurt and I used light organic coconut milk, vanilla, honey. It was great just like that! I needed to utilize some remaining fruit though so I added chopped Bing cherries, strawberries and frozen blueberries, cardamom, and some leftover toasted coconut from another recipe. Wow! Great choice when I’m craving sweet. I will say, your site and recipes are fabulous. Made quite a few – making Southwest quinoa salad and Moroccan salad this week. Made your roasted eggplant lasagna (a fav), your Peruvian green sauce….love, love, love. You are the best!! Thank you for sharing your creative and delicious artistry.
Awww…thanks so much Lisa! So great to hear you are enjoying the recipes!