A very nice way to use chia seeds, coconut milk chia pudding is a great easy breakfast or snack to make in advance. You need just five ingredients and a couple hours of refrigeration time – chia pudding freezes well, too. Layer with fresh or frozen fruit in jars as pictured or serve with granola or other toppings.

Recipe Rundown: Coconut Milk Chia Pudding

• Texture: if you don’t like standard chia pudding, you might like it when made with coconut milk. It’s thicker and not slimy like it can be when made with a thinner milk alternative like oat milk. You still get a bit of crunch from the chia.
• Flavour: coconut, lemon, and vanilla, a little like birthday cake. I find lemon to be the most noticeable flavour here with an undertone of coconut. Chia doesn’t taste like much.
• Difficulty: very easy. You simply mix everything together and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Ingredients

• Chia seeds: black or white, it doesn’t matter. Try to find recently packaged chia or get it from a bulk shop you know has a high turnover for dry goods to avoid buying rancid seeds.
• Coconut milk: this should be full-fat. If using light coconut milk, you can probably omit the water, but I haven’t tested with those amounts.
• Honey: substitute maple syrup if needed for a fully vegan option.
• Lemon: since you’re zesting it, try to find an organic unwaxed lemon. Orange is a nice substitute.

If you’re into making breakfast in advance, try dessert-for-breakfast chocolate chia mousse, chocolate coconut overnight oats, and rhubarb chia pudding (also made with coconut milk chia pudding as a base).

Step by Step Photos

Step 1: add the milk, water, lemon, vanilla, and honey to a large bowl.

Step 2: whisk very well to combine.

Step 3: stir in the chia seeds.

Step 4: refrigerate for a couple of hours and stir again before serving.

How to Store

Storage: keep in a sealed container for up to five days in the refrigerator. If adding toppings, note that they might not keep as long. I usually layer with frozen fruit in sealed jars.

Freezing: transfer to an airtight container (or layer with frozen fruit in individual servings) and freeze for at least a month. If freezing with fruit, make sure that the fruit hasn’t thawed first, or use fresh fruit that you know will still be tasty when thawed.

Expert Tips

• Keep chia cold: it’s best to store chia seeds like any other seeds and nuts, somewhere cold and dry. A cold cellar is great if you have one (who does) but I usually keep them in the freezer or refrigerator. They spoil quickly in warm temperatures and will have an unpleasant taste if rancid.
• The milk will harden: some small pieces of coconut milk will probably solidify completely when chilled, depending on the type of milk used. I think brands that add extra ingredients like gums might avoid this.
• No need to keep stirring: with chia pudding made with thinner milks, you usually need to whisk a couple of times as it’s thickening. The seeds are pretty well suspended in the coconut milk mixture here and shouldn’t settle to the bottom.
• Blend if needed: sometimes the coconut milk will be too hard to whisk in with the other ingredients. In that case, use an immersion blender or mix in a standing blender.

More Chia Seed Recipes

Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Almond Butter Granola
Vegan Carrot Muffins
Vegan Protein Shake (no powder)

If you make this Coconut Milk Chia Pudding recipe or any other breakfast recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.