The real hack to making chia pudding? Making a big batch ahead of time so breakfasts practically make themselves during the week.
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After years of creating easy, approachable vegan recipes for busy families, I can confidently say that chia pudding is one of the most reliable staples in our home.
I’ve made it more times than I can count—for breakfast meal prep, quick snacks, and even late-night treats—and it’s always a win.
Not only is chia pudding endlessly customizable (my kids love turning theirs into “dessert” with fun toppings), but it’s also nutrient-packed, naturally vegan, and incredibly simple to make.
It’s the kind of recipe that makes plant-based eating feel effortless.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe for Chia Pudding
- Easy – This recipe takes just a 5 minutes to toss together and then it’s just waiting on it to thicken. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
- Meal Prep – These are good in the fridge for up to 5 days, making it a great meal prep option
- Versatile – Switch up the milks, flavorings, and toppings for deliciousness every day without getting bored.
Chia Pudding Ingredients
Gather your ingredients!
- Chia Seeds
- Chia seeds are tiny, edible seeds from a plant in the mint family. They are amazing for improving gut health, adding omega 3s, protein, and fiber.
- When you add a liquid and allow it to soak, they expand in size and become softer.
- Substitute: Because chia seeds are the main ingredient in this recipe, there is not a substitute for it.
- Dairy Free Milk
- You can use any non-dairy milk for this recipe. We have made with almond, soy and coconut ourselves.
- Tip: Thicker milks (like coconut) may need additional liquid as the chia seeds expand.
- Maple Syrup
- A little sweetener gives flavor to this otherwise pretty flavorless dish. We love using maple syrup over other liquid sugars because it adds a unique and bold sweetness.
- Substitute: You can use any liquid sweetener like date syrup, agave, or brown rice syrup.
- Salt
- Salt is an optional ingredient, but one that we always add. The pinch of salt allows the flavors to really pop.
- Vanilla
- You don’t technically need this ingredient, but we love to add some flavoring to make the dish even more flavorful.
- Substitute: Feel free to get creative and add other flavorings like almond, lemon, or even raspberry extracts. You can do this in addition to the vanilla, use ½ and ½ with the vanilla, or totally replace the vanilla with it.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
How to Make Chia Pudding
- In a bowl or mason jar, stir together chia seeds, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Combine well.
- Let sit for 5 minutes, then, stir again to break up any clumps of chia seeds, cover and put the mixture in the fridge to “set” for 1-2 hours or overnight. The chia pudding should be nice and thick, not liquidy. If it’s not thick enough, continue to let sit until thickened or if you need it sooner, add another tablespoon of chia seeds, stir and refrigerate for another 30 minutes or so.
- Chia pudding can be stored for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When ready to eat, add additional toppings as desired.
Chia Pudding Recipe FAQs
There’s no top allergens in this dish as long as you use a safe for you non-dairy milk.
Store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge until ready to eat. It is good for 5 days when stored properly.
Yes! Once thickened completely, you can freeze your chia seed pudding in a freeze safe jar or container with a lid. Consume within 3 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight and allow to thaw entirely. Do not add toppings when freezing, but rather wait until thawed and ready to eat.
Chia seeds have a wide range of benefits including being a great source of protein, omega-3s, fiber, calcium, magnesium. They are widely known to help with heart and bone health, helped with digestion and blood sugar.
Chia pudding will need 4 to 6 hours to set. If you like a thinner chia pudding, you can eat after four hours. To completely thicken, you’ll want to let it sit for 6 hours.
Other Vegan Breakfast Dishes to Try:
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How to make Chia Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- ½ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup, more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Toppings of choice: fresh berries or other fruit, granola, nuts, nut butter, etc
Instructions
- In a bowl or mason jar, stir together chia seeds, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Combine well.
- Let sit for 5 minutes, then, stir again to break up any clumps of chia seeds, cover and put the mixture in the fridge to “set" for 1-2 hours or overnight. The chia pudding should be nice and thick, not liquidy. If it's not thick enough, continue to let sit until thickened or if you need it sooner, add another tablespoon of chia seeds, stir and refrigerate for another 30 minutes or so.
- Chia pudding can be stored for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When ready to eat, add additional toppings as desired.
First time I’ve ever gotten this to actually work! Thanks!
That’s awesome! We’re so happy the recipe worked well for you!
Loved it! it’s very yummy 🙂
So glad you enjoyed
I absolutely love this recipe! I can’t stop making it! I’ve been wanting to make something besides smoothies to add all my nutritional powders too and this works out so well! I’m trying to cut out fruit smoothies because they contain so much sugar. I followed the 2 tbs chia seeds and 1/2 cup milk, in which I used creamy oat milk. my recipe ingredients are 1 tsp moringa powder, 1 tsp lions Main powder, 1 tsp pine pollen, 1 TBS raw honey and a sprinkle of unsweetened coconut flakes. when I go to serve it I add coconut whip cream for a little something extra.
So glad you liked it! Great idea on adding the powders!