Creamy Chocolate Chia Pudding
[I made this Creamy Chocolate Chia Pudding for Earth Fare!]
You guys. This chocolate chia pudding is the CREAMIEST!
And you know what? It has all of the decadent, delicious vibes you want out of a dessert, but it’s still really, really good for you.
It’s also kind of adorable too, which is always a plus. 😊
This pudding combines 2 of my favorite healthy pudding hacks. The first being chia pudding.
Chia seeds have the incredible ability to soak up a lot of liquid. And when they do, they sort of “gel” together and form a pudding.
Chia pudding is full of protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. It can help lower cholesterol, fight inflammation, and offer protection against arthritis, autoimmune disease, and cancer.
GET AFTER IT.
But to be honest, I find chia pudding to be a little…flat. On it’s own, it sort of lacks the decadence of a dessert.
To solve that issue, I combined chia pudding with my second favorite pudding hack: avocado pudding.
When you blend avocados with cocao powder (and some sort of sweetener) it creates a luscious pudding consistency.
But on it’s own, avocado pudding is maybe a tad too rich for my taste.
(apparently I’m like the Goldilocks of pudding)
But combine the two pudding hacks together, and you get something juuuuust right.
The chia pudding adds body and texture (almost like tapioca) and the avocado smooths it all out with rich creaminess.
wow. wow. wow.
You could stop there. But to really take this dessert to level 1000, do these two things:
- Mash up some tart raspberries and layer them in between all that creamy goodness.
- Top your pudding parfaits off with some fresh whipped cream (my personal fav) or whipped coconut cream (if you don’t do dairy)
I’ve made this pudding before, but I wanted to recreate it to have a sweet treat for Valentine’s day.
And what could be sweeter than feeding your loved one creamy chocolate chia pudding (that’s also good for their body)?
NOTHING, I’m telling ya.
So show your sweetheart (or just yourself) some love with this creamy chocolate chia pudding.
But don’t forget that love (and self love) isn’t limited to one Hallmark holiday a year! Pause and take in the small, precious moments that you share every day.
It’s those unplanned moments that I treasure the most. A kiss on the forehead when you’re snuggled on the couch. A sweet text on a Wednesday morning when you didn’t sleep well the night before.
A hand squeeze before you go back to see the doctor.
It’s those moments that tug at my heart strings the most.
And it’s those moments that remind me that behind all the craziness of life, there will always be love.
And chocolate pudding. ❤
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 cup milk of your choice
- 2 ripe avocados (about 2 cups)
- ¼ cup cacao or cocao powder (unsweetened)
- 2.5 tablespoons maple syrup or sweetener of choice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Fresh raspberries
- Fresh whipped cream or whipped coconut cream*
Instructions
- Add chia seeds to a small bowl with milk of your choice (I’ve used whole milk and hemp milk, but almond milk or another milk substitute will work). Stir and refrigerate at least 6 hours.*
- To a food processor add avocado, cocao, maple syrup (or sweetener of choice), vanilla extract, and salt. Process until mixture is very smooth.
- Once blended, add in chia pudding (thinning it out with a little extra milk if necessary) and stir by hand to incorporate. Adjust sweetener to your taste and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To serve, smash raspberries with a fork. Distribute the pudding between 4 containers, layering with smashed raspberries and topping with whipped cream.
Notes
*Your chia seeds will absorb liquid differently depending on the type of milk you use. After they've soaked for a while stir them to make sure each seed is absorbing the liquid. Add more liquid if your chia pudding becomes too thick after soaking.
*To make whipped cream, beat heavy cream with a touch of maple syrup until stiff peaks form. For a dairy free option, strain the liquid from a can of coconut cream and add the cream to a metal mixing bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove mixing bowl with coconut cream from refrigerator and while the bowl and cream are still very cold, whip on high with an electric blender with a touch of maple syrup.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 cup milk of your choice
- 2 ripe avocados (about 2 cups)
- ¼ cup cacao or cocao powder (unsweetened)
- 2.5 tablespoons maple syrup or sweetener of choice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Fresh raspberries
- Fresh whipped cream or whipped coconut cream*
Instructions
- Add chia seeds to a small bowl with milk of your choice (I’ve used whole milk and hemp milk, but almond milk or another milk substitute will work). Stir and refrigerate at least 6 hours.*
- To a food processor add avocado, cocao, maple syrup (or sweetener of choice), vanilla extract, and salt. Process until mixture is very smooth.
- Once blended, add in chia pudding (thinning it out with a little extra milk if necessary) and stir by hand to incorporate. Adjust sweetener to your taste and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To serve, smash raspberries with a fork. Distribute the pudding between 4 containers, layering with smashed raspberries and topping with whipped cream.
Notes
*Your chia seeds will absorb liquid differently depending on the type of milk you use. After they've soaked for a while stir them to make sure each seed is absorbing the liquid. Add more liquid if your chia pudding becomes too thick after soaking.
*To make whipped cream, beat heavy cream with a touch of maple syrup until stiff peaks form. For a dairy free option, strain the liquid from a can of coconut cream and add the cream to a metal mixing bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove mixing bowl with coconut cream from refrigerator and while the bowl and cream are still very cold, whip on high with an electric blender with a touch of maple syrup.
WOW this is genius! Combining the creaminess of avocado pudding and the thickness of chia pudding is such an innovative idea!
Thanks! I’m not a huge fan of chia pudding on its own so I love how avocado really makes it creamy!