Beat egg boredom with this Whole30 Breakfast Chia Pudding. This version is lightly sweetened with a date, and is a refreshing, quick breakfast option. I love to put this chia pudding in jars and have breakfast ready for the next few days.
The Perfect Whole30 Breakfast
I started making this Whole30 Breakfast Chia Pudding while doing the Whole30 last year. I actually didn’t turn to this because I was tired of eggs- it was more of a time issue! I was back at work with an infant at home, and giving up my morning playing with him and getting him dressed to take the time to scramble eggs just wasn’t going to happen!
I was surprised to see how many readers loved this recipe as much as I do! It’s a great grab and go breakfast option. 1 recipe takes about 5 minutes to put together (and 30 mins or longer to “soak”), and it makes 3-4 breakfasts. When I was working, I would mix this up in the evening and split it between 4 jars. In the morning, all I had to do was toss in some fresh fruit and a spoonful of nut butter, screw the lid back on, and toss it in my bag to take to work.
If you’re not doing the Whole30 or on a Paleo diet, you can also try these overnight oats recipes that use chia seeds – try my basic Overnight Chia and Oats, or this delicious Brownie Batter Chia and Oats.
Another option is to make a more classic Vanilla Chia Pudding (if you don’t want to use dates as the sweetener).
If you are on the Whole30, and want a tasty snack idea, try these Baked Plantain Chips. They are a lifesaver!
How to Make Homemade Chia Pudding
I was on a huge chia pudding kick for months after my Whole30. I loved the convenience, but I also just love it. It’s fun to top, like oatmeal, but is full of Omega 3s, fiber and protein from the chia seeds.
I used a homemade cashew hemp milk from this. Of course you can use store bought almond milk (or cashew milk, or hemp milk for that matter), but in order to keep it Whole30, check your ingredients. You have to put it in the blender to blend up the date anyway, so you might as well make your own nut/seed milk while you’re at it! There’s no straining or soaking required — you’ll never notice any texture from the cashews or seeds with the chia mixed in!
I’ve topped this with so many different combinations– bananas, apples, mangos, berries, pear, nut butter, coconut, dark chocolate chips (okay, not Whole30!), the sky is the limit! I have found that I prefer the tart fruit to banana and pear. Berries and mango are my favs. Pineapple would also be great!
Tips for Whole30 Breakfast Chia Pudding
- Make it Paleo/Whole30: Homemade nut and seed milks are great for the Whole30 when you can’t have gums found in store bought versions or dairy products. The Whole30 recommends not going overboard on fruit or creating “cheats”, so this only has 1 date per 3-4 servings to keep it low in sugar.
- Note about Whole30: Some Whole30 purists argue that any type of pudding, even one made with compliant ingredients, should be off limits for the 30 days. The Whole30 recommends half of your meals be vegetables, so this “meal” doesn’t really make the cut. I say, use your own best judgement and decide what will make the Whole30 the best experience for you!
Whole30 Breakfast Chia Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 12 cashews
- 3 tbsp hemp seeds
- 1 medjool date (or 3 small dates)
- 6 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch sea salt
Toppings
- fresh fruit optional
- nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc.) optional
- nut butter (sunflower, almond, cashew, etc.) optional
- coconut butter optional
- unsweetened coconut optional
Instructions
- Add 1 cup of water, hemp seeds, cashews and dates to a blender. Blend on high speed for 2-3 minutes, until a smooth milk is made.Add 2 more cups of water, chia seeds, cinnamon and sea salt, and pulse until combined, leaving chia seeds whole.Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Keeps well in fridge for 3-4 days.Top with fresh fruit, nuts, coconut, nut butters or coconut butter. See photos for some of my favorite combos.
- TIP: Some readers have found that using this recipe exactly as written results in a runny pudding. I have retested this recipe, and found it to work perfectly for me. My best suggestion is to start with 1/2 cup less water, and after an hour, stir your pudding to see if it's the right consistency. Add more water if you'd like to thin it out.
Notes
Nutrition
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Other Chia Pudding Recipes:
- Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Low Carb Chia Pudding, by Blissfully Low Carb
- Chai Latte Chia Pudding, by Choosing Chia
Recommended for making Homemade Nut Milk
I love to use hemp seeds, especially when I am eating vegetarian meals. They are an easy way to add protein, and add a great nutty flavor. I use them in nut milks, in baked goods, and on salads. I also have a recipe for Breakfast Cookies that use hemp seeds for a boost of protein.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small percentage of any purchases made.
I made my first chia pudding the other week!!!
I’m holding back telling anyone my thoughts on it until I get around to posting it 😉
Yum! I’ve been making it for a while but always just with almond milk and banana– but I love sweetening it a bit with dates because I can leave it in the fridge for days! Looking forward to seeing how you make it 🙂
Oh these looks so delicious, Michelle. I haven’t had chia pudding yet and it’s definitely time. I love that you can make it ahead of time. What a perfect way to enjoy fruit in the morning.
How’s your gorgeous little guy? Loving the pics!
Xander is great– growing so fast. 9 months already tomorrow!
Yes– this is a great grab and go breakfast. In fact, eating it right now while Xander naps! Even when he is sleeping, I feel like I have to do everything in double time– so no hanging out in the kitchen making omelets and baked tomatoes anymore!
warmer weather means more tropical goodness! and cold pudding. Like this! love it!
Thanks Lindsay– making this has been a huge breakthrough in eating healthier since baby was born! Adorable little time suck 🙂
These chia puddings look SO good! And it’s so adorable that Xander can crawl and clap now!!
Crawling and clapping is super adorable. He claps at all the best times– when I change his diaper, when he wakes up from his naps, when I set him on the floor in the bathroom so I can FINALLY go to the bathroom 🙂 It’s hilarious.
Loving these trio of deliciousness. I have yet to try the chia pudding craze but your recipe is so easy and love those toppings. I must give it a try. I don’t know which one I would like the best so I must try all 3. I hope you are doing well and how is the little guy? I bet he is getting so big. Take Care
So big for sure! 9 months is such an enormous change from a newborn– he is into everything! And he can no longer play with 1 or 2 toys. He isn’t happy until he has them all out. He needs 20 books before he will sit and listen to 1. What an amazing experience motherhood is 🙂
Hey, these look great, and I’m making them now. One question, though. The ingredients call for 3 c. water, but the instructions only use 1 c. Which is right? Thanks!
Thank you for pointing out that mistake! It takes 3 cups of water– but first blend the hemp seeds and cashews into 1 cup, then add the other 2 cups of water and pulse to combine. I find the seeds blend better if you start with the smaller amount of water. I’m updating the recipe right now. Enjoy!
Hi- I made this last night and refrigerated it overnight and it is really runny. I followed the instructions exactly. Any ideas or is it supposed to be like this?
Hi Amber! It’s hard to answer this question because I don’t know what runny is to you. It is a thinner pudding in a milky base. I also don’t know if buying different types of chia seeds might impact how much water they absorb, but that is certainly something I will look into- I always buy the same ones. To fix the batch you made and make it more to your liking, you can always add more chia seeds. A quicker fix would be to mash a banana and stir it up to add more body to the pudding. Also, the “pudding” base is very lightly sweetened (since I made the recipe for the Whole30), so I relied on lots of added fruit and nuts to give it some excitement.
Thank you for responding. I added 3 more tbsp of chia seeds and that did the trick!
I’m glad it worked out for you Amber! I will try out some other brands of chia seeds and see if that is what makes the difference. I always buy the same kind so I don’t know if that’s it!
I made this and it turned out super runny for me as well. It tasted great but was basically just milk with chia in it. No thickening at all.
I think I will need to update this with a range of how many chia seeds to add, because with the brand I buy, it always turns out pretty thick. Thanks for letting me know!
I came here for a recipe not your life story. When you post a recipe treat it like an old cookbook, not your lame child rearing journal. The recipe is good. Last time I made it I added honey, pumpkin pie spice and used almond juice (it is not milk). It tastes like horchata.
If you don’t like my “life story” and the way I write my blog, you’re welcome to look for recipes elsewhere. I would rather not have readers who spread negativity.
Recipes without stories do not exist anymore, they have become megaphones for narcissism. It is not negativity, it is constructive criticism…if you follow it. Thungs need not be so long and complicated. I have found soaking the cashews overnight before blending helps puree them smoother for the cashew butter. I have not found a way to keep the chia seeds from stucking together and not absorbing water properly without shaking it like a disobedient child. Any suggestions?
You do make me laugh, maybe not in the best possibly way. Blogs are a bit narcissistic, but that is why most people like reading them. If you want a straight recipe, Betty Crocker still sells that big red book. The recipe does call for soaking the chia and cashews overnight, but yes, the chia seeds do stick together a bit. I’ve found the best way to ilmit this is to shake them well when you first add them, and then again a few times in the next hour. Annoying yes, so I only do this if I happen to be in the kitchen doing other things. I’m working on a new chia pudding recipe that will be posted in the next couple of weeks and I am trying to find the best method for blending them really smooth, so it has more of a traditional pudding texture. So far the results are super tasty, but a little gritty– but getting better and better. If you can handle another narcissistic story (and very likely about my son, seeing as new motherhood blurs your perspective for a few years), stop back by to see what I’ve learned.
Hi! Has this recipe been updated yet to reflect the runniness others have reported? I’d love to make it for my January whole30
Hi Izzy! No, I haven’t tested it with different types of chia seeds yet.
When I make it, I make it exactly as listed and it always turns out nice and thick for me.
What I would suggest is to reduce the amount of water by 1/2 cup when you make it. If after an hour, your pudding is too thick, you can just add in plain water until it has the consistency you like. I know you’ll enjoy this!
A great way to kickstart the morning for the new year! The pudding looks savory, thank you so much for sharing your recipe, all the love!
Thank you! It’s a great breakfast.
Why I still have yet to make chia pudding is beyond me!!! I must!!!
It’s delicious! Especially with lots of fruit and nut butter… maybe you haven’t had it because you can’t have fruit? It might be kind of boring! CHOCOLATE CHIPS! That’s the answer to so many questions.
I have never tried chia pudding, although I often use chia seeds in smoothies, cottage cheese bowls and even bread. I am definitely putting this yummy pudding on my “MUST TRY” list. Thanks for the great recipe, Michelle!
It’s a fun recipe 🙂 And so easy to have in the fridge ready to go in the mornings — I am trying to be better at making time for breakfast, but the truth is I just don’t want to spend the time preparing food when I’m trying to start my day!
I’ve added some vital proteins collagen to this, as well as substituted one cup almond milk for water and it’s so delicious and rich with a spoonful of sunflower butter, bananas and blueberries — feels like a real treat on the whole30 and keeps me full all morning.
Sunflower butter and berries! My favorite combination. I did that all the time on the Whole30. There is some contention on whether or not making a “pudding” is actually compliant — but these ingredients are so nutrient dense, and so clean, I don’t know how it can’t be! It kept me going and feeling great.
I’ve never made a chia seed pudding, but I’d like to give it a go next week. I have almond milk on hand, but not hemp seeds or cashews. I can certainly get those at the store, but I was wondering if I could sub almond milk for those ingredients, and if so, how?
You absolutely can sub almond milk, and I often do. I would sub the same amount as the water in the recipe. Also, I have had people tell me it turns out too thin. I have tested with different brands on chia seeds and found that different brands (plus fresh vs. stale chia seeds) have different absorbencies. You will likely need to adjust the amount of seeds/milk based on your chia seeds anyway — so just choose a starting point, and then after about 10 minutes, either thin with extra almond milk or add an extra tablespoon of chia seeds. You should check out this version — I imagine the recipe would work without the cocoa powder. https://sunkissedkitchen.com/chocolate-chia-seed-pudding/
Raw or roasted nuts?
Good question! I use raw. I imagine roasted would work but roasted nuts are more “nutty” and less sweet tasting.
Wow Michelle, I am not commenting on your chia pudding per se, but more about how gracefully you handled dp. I mean, I stumbled here browsing for new pudding variations for my kids, and of course, I tend to read all the comments on my way. The chia pudding looks good, but the attack on your blog writing followed by a friendly chia pudding question, followed by a direct response with a friendly dose of chia pudding advice, is hilarious (hopefully now in hindsight!). Reading that conversation is just nuts how you both went back and forth: attack-ask a question, defend-answer a question. Kudos to you for keeping your space real with a baby in tow. I haven’t read anything else on your blog, but I do appreciate it when blog writers take time to answer questions and whatnot.
Jennifer, I just had to go back and read those comments, because it’s been a couple of years — and yes, that was a hilarious conversation. That person also came back and commented on like 6 other recipes asking questions of the next few days. Apparently my “child rearing journal” wasn’t as offensive as she originally felt!
This website certainly has all of the info I wanted about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
The pudding looks savory, thank you so much for sharing your recipe, all the love!
what a wonderful breakfast to share with us thanks
The chia pudding looks good
Hi Michelle! The pudding turned out great. I love the addition of the hemp seeds, which adds an additional protein punch . I am on day 3 of my food elimination journey and this has proven to be a good substitute for my beloved oatmeal. This recipe will be a staple beyond this elimination experience!
It definitely was for me! It’s been a couple years since I started Whole30s and Chia Pudding is a staple in my house. I love packing it in individual jars and reaching for it instead of yogurt to top with nut butter and berries, since I have eliminated almost all dairy. So glad you found this option!
Hi, there! I was looking forward to making this but I buy my cashews raw and broken (much cheaper than buying whole). Any idea what measurement 12 cashews equals, or weighs? Thanks!
About 1/4 cup!
Whole30 doesn’t allow the recreation of puddings
I’ve had this argument with so many people. How about you do Whole30 how it feels right for you, and I do it the way it feels right for me?
love this response so much. I’m really enjoying all of these comments. People are pretty ridiculous.
Starting a Whole 30 next week and can’t wait to make this recipe. I’ll come back with a review!
Hi,
I’ve had chia seeds before in an overnight oatmeal recipe. For some reason the texture from the chia seeds didn’t agree with my palate. At the time I had added dark chocolate pieces which helped me mask the texture. I’ve also mixed chia seeds in my smoothies which I liked. I want to do another whole 30 and this recipe looks so good. Do I have soak the chia seeds or can I leave them crunchy?
If you left them crunchy, you’d just be eating spoons of seeds in milk, not a pudding. It would have the same effect nutritionally, but for me, it would be strange to eat. Like having a few spoonfuls of seeds and a cup of almond milk. Maybe create a berry parfait and put lots of seeds on top?
Yeah… though it’s whole 30 compliant pudding isn’t really in the spirit of whole 30. They even tell you on the website to put away your chia pudding for 30 days!
Yes, if you read the beginning of this recipe she specifically gives a states “Note about Whole30: Some Whole30 purists argue that any type of pudding, even one made with compliant ingredients, should be off limits for the 30 days…”. Also, your comment is not the first on the subject.
So she knows. We all know. You don’t have to make the chia pudding, though. You don’t even have to click the link! You do you. But I’m super excited to make this chia pudding for Whole30.
Yes, if you read the beginning of this recipe she specifically states “Note about Whole30: Some Whole30 purists argue that any type of pudding, even one made with compliant ingredients, should be off limits for the 30 days…”. Also, your comment is not the first on the subject.
So she knows. We all know.
You don’t have to make the chia pudding, though. You don’t even have to click the link! You do you. But I’m super excited to make this chia pudding for my Whole30.
Love that — you do you 🙂 I find this recipe plenty “clean” enough to include in my Whole30 as well. Hope you enjoy it! Lately I have been sweetening it with pure monk fruit extract rather than the date, or skipping the sweetener all together and just adding extra berries. Always delicious and super easy too.