Banana Chia Pudding
This amazing banana chia pudding is a healthy, creamy pudding recipe made without eggs or dairy. It’s so tasty and colorful, you’ll want to make it time and time again.
If you’re into healthy, vegan desserts, check out my Chocolate Banana Brownies recipe. Or if you’re in the mood for lovely, how about Vegan Cherry Jello Shots.
Banana chia seed pudding uses the magic of chia seeds to make a deliciously thick pudding topped with a tasty blackberry sauce. We love vegan desserts here, but it’s good to also have some healthy dessert options, too.
There are plenty of ways to have sweets in your life without refined sugars. Take, for example, my Vegan Date Caramel Sauce. Serve that over some N’ice Cream and that’s one sweet, little dessert.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- No refined sugars means this is a healthy snack any time of day
- The blackberry topping adds flavor and color, important ingredients for any snack
- Chia seeds are full of important nutrients we need in our diet
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- Blackberries — You can use fresh or frozen. Substitute your favorite berries, like raspberries or blueberries.
- Sweetener — I use a zero-calorie sweetener to keep this recipe low in sugar, but you can substitute maple syrup or your favorite sweetener.
- Chia Seeds — This star ingredient is chia seeds. I buy these regularly on my vegan shopping trips at Costco!
- Plant-based milk — Use your favorite plant-based milk, such as soy milk or almond milk. I recommend vanilla-flavored.
- Ripe banana — Use ripe bananas for this recipe.
- Vanilla
- Garnishes — Add some protein granola, sliced almonds, or coconut flakes on top.
Ingredient Spotlight
What Bananas are Best?
Use ripe bananas with lots of brown spots, but still some texture. Once the bananas turn too brown or are too mushy, their flavor will be too strong.
For an extra dramatic flair, add some Vegan Whipped Cream on top.
Including recipes that use less refined sugars is a good idea. Look, we all could use reducing our refined sugar consumption.
Frequently-Asked Questions
Do you eat chia pudding hot or cold?
You can serve chia pudding either hot or cold, depending on your preferences. Serving it cold with whipped cream on top is great in the summer. But a warm chia pudding in the winter is amazing!
Are chia seeds healthy?
Remember those chia pets? What was that, the 90s? I’m not sure, but we’ve learned in the meantime that chia seeds do a whole lot more than making clay animal pots sprout fur. Chia seeds are from Mexico and the word chia means oily. The chia plant is an herb in the mint family. But we’re talking about the seeds here.
Chia Seeds Nutrition
Chia seeds are a great source for the following:
- Thiamine, basically Vitamin B1, an essential nutrient
- Niacin, basically Vitamin B3, another essential nutrient, a lack of which can reduce metabolism and cause intolerance to cold
- Omega-3s, an essential fatty acid considered necessary for human health
- A variety of other nutrients such as folate, calcium, iron, and more
Chia seeds create a gel-like substance we exposed to liquids. That’s why we use it to make chia eggs or pudding. You can use whole seeds or for an even smoother pudding experience, learn how to grind chia seeds to create a powder.
Marly’s Tips
- For a smoother pudding, allow the chia seeds to sit for 5 minutes in the banana pudding sauce and then pulse again.
- Use creamy cashew milk to make cashew milk chia pudding
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the pudding to make chocolate banana chia pudding
- Sprinkle a little bit of freshly grated nutmeg on top.
More Pudding Recipes
If you love creamy vegan desserts, this dairy-free creme brulee recipe is for you. Here are more chia recipes you can use to make even more creamy puddings:
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Banana Chia Seed Pudding
Ingredients
For the Blackberry Topping
- ½ cup blackberries
- ½ teaspoon sweetener*
- ½ teaspoon chia seeds
For the Banana Pudding
- 1 ½ cup plant-based milk vanilla
- 1 moderately ripe banana
- 1 teaspoon sweetener*
- ⅓ cup chia seeds
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Additional optional toppings: Granola sliced almonds, coconut flakes
Instructions
- Place the blackberries in a bowl. Mash with a fork. Add the sweetener. Stir to combine. Add the ½ teaspoon chia seeds. Stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a food processor or blender, add the banana pudding ingredients. Pulse until smooth. For a more smooth pudding, let it sit for 5 minutes and then pulse again to break up the chia seeds. Pour into a lidded container.
- Cover and refrigerate the pudding and toppings at least 45 minutes or overnight. It will thicken more the longer it sits, so if you prefer a firmer pudding, refrigerate overnight.
- When you're ready to serve, pour equal amounts into two serving dishes. Top with equal amounts of blackberry sauce. Add almond slivers, granola or coconut flakes for garnish.
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Valentine’s Day Food Celebration
Now, on to the Valentine’s Day Food Celebration. Below you’ll find cookies, bars and desserts, all themed around Valentine’s Day:
- Melt In Your Mouth Sugar Cookie Bars
- Spicy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Frosted Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Soft Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
- Frosted Sugar Cookies
- Strawberry Sugar Cookies
- Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Fudge Cookies
- Best Sugar Cookies
- Skinny Gluten-Free VDay Cookies
- Flourless Dark Chocolate Cookies
- Peppermint Brownie Cookies
Cakes and More
- Heart-Shaped Pink Velvet Bundt Cake
- Fudgy Chocolate Mug Cake
- Cannoli
- Red Velvet Pizzelle
- Microwave Chocolate Ganache
- Brownie Ice Cream Valentines
- Rice Crispy Treat Hearts
- Strawberry Valentine Marshmallows
This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
I needed to thank you for this awesome read!! I unquestionably getting a charge out of each and every piece of it I have you bookmarked to look at new stuff you post.
great job thanks for the recipe i ll try it soon..
Love Chia pudding! This looks delish! So glad to be working with such great bloggers for this event.
I can just about see your expression when he told you that. 🙂 This recipe looks so amazing and sounds very flavorful. I have never cooked with Chia seeds but am inspired now. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Haha. Add a little “deer in the headlight” expression and that pretty sums it up. 🙂 I was hesitant on the chia seeds, but now I’m an enthusiast!
Those blackberries look so big and delicious. A great recipe for sure.
I’m so into blackberries right now. Maybe because they are big and delicious. 🙂
Wow! Stunning! Thanks for sharing your recipe. Excited to work with you to raise awareness for such a great cause!
Thanks, Julie. You too!
This is so pretty! HI’m happy to be participating in this great event with you.
Thanks, Sue. You too!
I love chia pudding! Marly, this looks fantastic!!! Thank you so much for participating and helping us raise money for C4KC!
Thanks Julie, for your work in putting this event together for such a great cause!
Hi Marly! My mouth is watering for this recipe and I can’t wait to make it! I’m so happy to be participating in the Cookies For Kids Bloggers’ Valentine’s Event with you! And I have to tell you that I absolutely love your podcast. Thank you for keeping me company while I’m driving! Have a delicious day! Gwynn at Swirls of Flavor
Oh, thanks Gwynn. I’m so glad you’re loving the Chopped Podcast. It is a joy to put it together for you. 🙂