Naturally sweetened and perfect for prepping quick morning meals, learn how to make easy vegan Breakfast Chia Pudding in 5 delicious flavors. Choose from "green", matcha, chocolate, pumpkin pie, and blueberry. Or create your own variation of the base recipe.
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If you're looking for an alternative to overnight oats with matcha or a fruity green smoothie, this is the recipe for you.
You can make one serving of Breakfast Chia Pudding at a time or a big batch for the entire week!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It's easy to make with only a handful of ingredients.
- It's perfect for meal prep and freezes well.
- You can customize it with your favorite flavors and toppings.
- Besides breakfast, it's also wonderful as a healthy snack or dessert.
Ingredients
For the base "green" recipe, only four ingredients are needed:
- Medjool dates (for natural sweetness)
- Non-dairy milk of your choice (for the base of the liquid)
- Fresh spinach (for the green color and additional nutrition)
- Chia seeds
Chia seeds: According to the Cleveland Clinic's article about the benefits of chia seeds, this superfood contains protein, fiber, calcium, anti-oxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids. And one of their amazing properties is that they absorb up to 14 times their weight in water and form a gel that is perfect for both puddings and as an egg replacer in recipes.
Variations
Once you know how to make the base Breakfast Chia Pudding recipe, it's easy to swap out the spinach and make other flavors. My rule of thumb is to use 3 tablespoons seeds per cup of liquid. These are some of my favorite flavors.
Matcha Green Tea
- Replace the spinach with 1 teaspoon matcha powder.
- Top with fresh mixed berries or your favorite fruit.
Chocolate
- Replace the spinach with 1½ teaspoons cocoa powder.
- Top with fresh raspberries or strawberries.
Pumpkin Pie
- Replace the spinach with ½ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling).
- Add ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 pinch ground ginger, and 1 pinch ground cloves.
- Reduce the amount of non-dairy milk from 1 cup to ¾ cup.
- Top with fresh fruit such as pomegranate seeds and kiwi berries.
Blueberry
- Replace the spinach with ½ cup fresh blueberries (or ¼ cup fresh blueberries and ¼ cup fresh blackberries).
- Top with additional fresh berries.
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
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Instructions
- In a high speed blender, blend the date, milk, and spinach until very smooth.
- In a medium bowl, add the liquid to the chia seeds.
- Stir well, and continue stirring every few minutes for about 15 minutes. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour (or overnight).
- Just before serving, stir again, then top with fruit.
Storing and freezing
Breakfast Chia Pudding will last up to 5 days refrigerated in an airtight container. I like to make a big batch on Sunday to enjoy for breakfasts all week. This recipe makes 1 serving but can be changed to a larger quantity by adjusting the servings in the recipe card.
And you can freeze the pudding for up to 2 months. I like to freeze servings in individual portions in mason jars or small glass containers with lids. Be sure to allow a little room at the top since the liquid will expand when frozen.
When you're ready to use one, place the frozen container in the refrigerator to defrost overnight. Then in the morning, give the pudding a stir and enjoy.
Recipe FAQs
If it isn't stirred before refrigerating, you'll send up with mostly runny liquid with a clump of chia seeds stuck together at the bottom.
Be sure to stir the mixture every few minutes for at least 15 minutes before you place it in the refrigerator. And it's also important to let the pudding set up for at least an hour before eating. For best results, refrigerate your breakfast chia pudding overnight.
If you can't find Medjool dates, other varieties of dates such as Deglet Noor can be used. Or you can use liquid sweeteners such as pure maple syrup, agave, or brown rice syrup. Add a little at a time since a little goes a long way.
You can use any of your favorite non-dairy milk varieties such as soy, almond, coconut, cashew, or oat. Choose unsweetened, if possible.
And if you use coconut, make sure it's the beverage that comes in a carton rather than the type for cooking that comes in a can.
More vegan breakfast recipes
And for even more recipes, join the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Recipes Facebook group for support, inspiration & fun!
📋 Recipe
Breakfast Chia Pudding
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Equipment
- high speed blender
Ingredients
- 1 Medjool date, pit removed (for a sweeter pudding, add an extra date)
- 1 cup non-dairy milk, such as organic soy, almond, or coconut beverage
- 1 handful fresh spinach
- 3 tablespoon chia seeds
- Fruit for topping (optional), banana, kiwi, mango, berries, etc.
Instructions
- In a high speed blender, blend the date, milk, and spinach until very smooth.
- In a medium bowl, add the liquid to the chia seeds.
- Stir well, and continue stirring every few minutes for about 15 minutes.
- Place in the refrigerator at least one hour, or overnight.
- Just before serving, stir again, then top with fruit.
Notes
- Replace the spinach with 1 teaspoon matcha powder.
- Top with fresh mixed berries or your favorite fruit.
- Replace the spinach with 1½ teaspoons cocoa powder.
- Top with fresh raspberries or strawberries.
- Replace the spinach with ½ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling).
- Add ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 pinch ground ginger, and 1 pinch ground cloves.
- Reduce the amount of non-dairy milk from 1 cup to ¾ cup.
- Top with fresh fruit such as pomegranate seeds and kiwi berries.
- Replace the spinach with ½ cup fresh blueberries (or ¼ cup fresh blueberries and ¼ cup fresh blackberries).
- Top with additional fresh berries.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Moira says
My granddaughter loved this ! Great way to get the greens into children . I have found that if I leave out the chia and throwing fruit , blueberries and strawberries, it’s a great smoothie . With chia fruit pudding 😁😁
Amy Katz says
That's fabulous, Moira!