This quick and easy breakfast or snack can be ready in just 5 minutes! It's a delicious, fun way to get your omega-3s while being vegan, gluten-free, whole food plant-based, and refined sugar-free!
When you know a bit of the tropics would lift your spirits, it's time for Tropical Chia Pudding! This quick and easy snack satisfies hunger as well as a longing for sunshine. It's sunshine in parfait form!
Quick Breakfast
We have a pretty solid routine in the morning, yet curveballs do get thrown once in awhile that interrupt the flow, giving me less time to get breakfasts together. That's when chia pudding saves the day. I love it because it's loaded with so many good things to help kids get through their busiest days, including omega-3s, protein, fiber, and calcium - with vitamins in the fruit to help absorb such important nutrients. The kids love it because it seems like dessert for breakfast. We all love it because it can be ready in 5 minutes or made the night before and placed in the fridge, waiting for the next person who could use a good boost.
Ingredients and Substitutions
We just need six ingredients for this recipe.
Chia seeds: The foundation of this breakfast! There really is no substitute.
Oat milk: You can really choose any plant-based milk, preferably one that is unsweetened. Vanilla flavored is great!
Mango: My favorite part of the pudding. That said, any tropical fruit will do.
Banana: This is optional; I like to include it because it is a nice creamy contrast to the brighter fruit.
Lime: A squeeze of this really brings the flavors together and helps them shine. If you don't have any, though, you can still enjoy this recipe.
Maple syrup: Adds an extra touch of sweetness. Date syrup is a good alternative. Can be omitted.
Instructions
We're just stirring the chia seeds with the milk and syrup. That's all it takes to make chia pudding! This can really happen in any kind of bowl or jar you'd like.
Hot Tip: It's a lot easier to mix the chia seeds with the liquids if you place the chia seeds into your bowl or jar first.
After that, add the fruit and you're good to go! If not serving right away, save the banana to prep right before serving. Otherwise, it can get tired-looking. If that isn't convenient, give the banana a good squeeze of lime before sealing your container - it helps keep the banana from turning brown.
Make-Ahead Option
I like to make snack-sized jars of this delicious stuff to keep in the fridge for hangry moments. Mango can be included; banana, however, is best served immediately, so we cut those up and add them when we're ready to serve. Chia puddings travel well (as long as you have a secure lid and insulated bag) so they work for lunches, too.
More Chia Pudding Recipes
The Recipe
Tropical Chia Pudding
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- 1 cup oat milk or other unsweetened plant milk
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or date syrup; add more if desired; optional
- 1 banana sliced, optional
- 1 mango chopped
- ½ lime cut into two wedges, optional
Instructions
- Spoon the chia seeds into a 1 ½ cup jar or two 8-ounce jars.
- Stir the milk and syrup into the seeds, making sure all the seeds get moist. Set aside to gel up while preparing the fruit, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the banana and mango pieces to the jar(s). If eating later, wait to prepare the banana until just before eating.
- Squeeze the lime over the top.
- Thoroughly enjoy now, or place in the fridge to be enjoyed later, within a few days. Leaving it to gel longer will create a thicker pudding.
Notes
This recipe goes great with Tropical Chia Pudding:
kate@thevegspace.co.uk
Yum - what a colourful and super-healthy breakfast. Would love to wake up to one of these in the morning, gorgeous!
sageandkaidesign@gmail.com
Hi Kate, Thank you! Mango is such a treat in the morning 🙂
kate@thevegspace.co.uk
Yum - what a colourful and super-healthy breakfast. Would love to wake up to one of these in the morning, gorgeous!
sageandkaidesign@gmail.com
Hi Kate, Thank you! Mango is such a treat in the morning 🙂
Cathy @ Planet Veggie
So pretty and so healthy, too! I need to get some of these cute little jars 🙂
sageandkaidesign@gmail.com
Thank you, Cathy! I do love these little jars 🙂
eat.healthy.eat.happy@gmail.com
I love your method of keeping these lovely puddings on hand in little Mason jars!
sageandkaidesign@gmail.com
Hi Gin,
Thank you, it truly is quick and easy.
eat.healthy.eat.happy@gmail.com
I love your method of keeping these lovely puddings on hand in little Mason jars!
sageandkaidesign@gmail.com
Hi Gin,
Thank you, it truly is quick and easy.
Diane
This sounds delicious and very easy!
sageandkaidesign@gmail.com
Thanks, Diane! Since it's both, we are eating it on a lot on busy days!