Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

This Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding is loaded with good-for-you ingredients. Don’t worry, though– we’re not skimping on flavor! This pudding is deeply chocolatey, perfectly sweet, and ultra-creamy. We blend it up to give it a luxuriously smooth texture while the chia seeds are still able to thicken it nicely.

Try our vanilla version (non-blended) Chia Seed Pudding next!

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

Chia seeds are pretty incredible — not only for their health properties but also how they’re able to gel and thicken other foods. They are the perfect addition to creating a creamy and rich chocolate pudding without using any eggs or cornstarch.

So if you’d love to reap the benefits of chia seeds, but can’t quite get on board with their tapioca-like consistency, Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding is just the recipe for you. It’s ultra-smooth and thick, deeply chocolate-y, and loaded with good-for-you ingredients. 

Below I break down all the ingredients in this chocolate chia pudding.

Ingredients

• Macadamia nut milk. While any plant-based milk works here, our personal favorite is macadamia nut milk. Unsweetened vanilla almond or cashew milk are also great here.
• Chia seeds. These seeds are what load lots of nutrition into this pudding and ensure it gets nice and thick. You can find chia seeds in the health food sections, bulk food sections, the baking or spice aisle, or bulk food bins in your grocery store. 
• Dutch-process cocoa powder. For flavor purposes, it’s very important to get a Dutched cocoa powder. It has a much richer and more robust flavor than plain cocoa powder. Hershey’s sells a “Special Dark” cocoa powder which is a Dutch-process cocoa powder that is readily available at most grocery stores.
• Pure maple syrup. Not to be confused with pancake syrup, pure maple syrup is a natural sweetener and it adds the perfect amount of sweetness to this chocolate pudding. While honey is usually an acceptable substitute, we found the flavor to be a little overwhelming when testing, so I’d recommend sticking to maple syrup.
• Salt and vanilla. These two ingredients intensify and balance the flavors in this pudding.

Topping Ideas

This Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding is great on its own, but if you’d like to jazz it up or serve it for a dessert, here are a few topping suggestions:

• Add some fresh fruit: Think strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or bananas.
• Top with a handful of coarsely chopped nuts such as dry roasted and lightly salted sliced almonds, pecans, or cashews.
• Drizzle on some nut butter: Almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter, etc. make a nutty-chocolate chia pudding!
• Add whipped cream: Either coconut whipped cream or regular whipped cream (how to make whipped cream tutorial) add a rich finishing touch.
• Add chocolate shavings: Use a large chocolate bar and a vegetable peeler to drop chocolate curls directly onto the pudding.

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding Tips

• Blend until smooth: With a high-powered blender, this goes quickly, but with a less powerful blender, you may need to blend the mixture a few times to ensure all of the mixture is nice and smooth. 
• Allow ample time for the pudding to set. Once the mixture has been transferred from a blender to a storage container, it needs a few hours for the chia seeds to “work their magic” and thicken everything into a rich pudding.
• Make ahead of time. We like enjoying these Chocolate Chia Seed Puddings for breakfast. We’ve found they do best being made the night before and stored in the fridge overnight. This ensures a nice, thick pudding with slightly intensified flavors. And come on, chocolate always makes breakfast better!

More make-ahead breakfast recipes

• Brownie Batter Overnight Oats with almond butter
• Chocolate Granola with chocolate chips and nuts
• Homemade Granola Bars with almonds
• Peach Overnight Oats with caramelized peaches and streusel topping
• Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars with chocolate chips

SaveSaved Pin Print

5 from 3 votes

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

By Chelsea Lords

Well blended for a luxuriously smooth texture, this Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding is sweet, creamy, and packed with nutritious ingredients.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 servings

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup plant-based milk see note 1
• ▢ 1/4 cup chia seeds
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder see note 2
• ▢ 2 tablespoons maple syrup see note 3
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ▢ Toppings as desired see note 4

Instructions 

• Add all the ingredients, except for optional toppings, to a small blender jar. Blend until completely smooth, this may require running the blender multiple times. Once smooth, use a spatula to transfer the mixture into airtight containers or jars.
• Refrigerate the pudding for at least 2 hours, it's best after 8 hours so I like to leave it overnight. The pudding will keep in the fridge for 5–7 days.
• Enjoy as is or add some toppings such as fresh fruit, coconut whipped cream, and dark chocolate shavings.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: While any plant-based milk works here, my personal favorite is macadamia nut milk. Unsweetened vanilla almond or cashew milk are also great choices.

Note 2: For flavor purposes, it’s very important to get Dutch-process cocoa powder, which has a much richer and more robust flavor than plain cocoa powder. Hershey’s sells a “Special Dark” cocoa powder which is a Dutch-process cocoa powder readily available at most grocery stores.

Note 3: Not to be confused with pancake syrup, pure maple syrup is a natural sweetener that adds the perfect amount of sweetness to the chocolate chia pudding. While honey is usually an acceptable substitute, we found the flavor to be a little overwhelming when testing, so I'd recommend sticking to maple syrup. Taste and add more for a sweeter dessert!

Note 4: You can use any desired toppings such as fresh fruit, coconut whipped cream, and dark chocolate shavings.

Storage: Keep pudding in the fridge for 5–7 days. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 233mg | Potassium: 233mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 16IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 209mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!