I’m so delighted to share this recipe with you, it’s a family favorite right now. I have my sister to thank for this since she was the one who really sparked my interest in chia seeds in the first place. I had been experimenting with making chia seed puddings with coconut milk for awhile and finally over the summer I came up with a blend and said “This is it!” I loved it, but what made me even happier was the fact that Jeff and Bracken loved it too. When I come up with a recipe that my family enjoys I am so very pleased!
I’ve been making this pudding a few times a week. Whenever I have ripe bananas, I know it’s time to make more pudding. It is is so easy to make and so yummy, that I had to share it with you. It’s nourishing, with so many healthy ingredients. There’s potassium from the banana in this recipe and dates are a potassium powerhouse, with even more potassium than bananas. The coconut milk is full of healthy fats and the chia seeds… where do I start? They have almost five times the amount of calcium as milk, are a good source of Omega 3’s, and are high in fiber. (Here is a great article about chia seeds and their many benefits!)
Chia Date Pudding with Coconut Milk
1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)
1 banana
3 dates
3 tbsp chia seeds
Directions:
In the blender (or food processor, whichever you have available) add your coconut milk, banana, and dates. (To make the dates easier to blend, take them out of the fridge awhile before you are wanting to use them and they will soften up.) After your mix is fully blended, pour it into a container. I like to use a glass, quart size mason jar. Pour in your chia seeds and stir them in well. (I like to leave the jar on the counter for a little while and stir up the pudding every time I pass it and think about it, so the chia seeds will be well dispersed.)
[Time saving tip: I usually make two batches of this pudding at a time. And while I have the blender out, I typically make some frozen pops also to make the most of my time and efforts in the kitchen. When I make two batches of the pudding, though, I use two separate jars because I like the consistency better at the end if it’s not in one giant jar where most of the seeds sink to the bottom.]
After stirring, put a lid on your jar and move your pudding into the fridge. The chia seeds are easier to digest when they are soaked before eating them, and you get more nutrients from them that way too. (Plus the soaked chia seeds are what thicken up the pudding in this recipe.) It’s best to leave it there for probably 8 – 12 hours before eating it. If I make chia pudding in the morning, we sometimes eat it that night or if I make a batch at night, we can eat it the next morning. I like it best when I make it in the morning and eat it the next day, though, because I think it tastes even better when the chia seeds have soaked longer and all the flavors meld together longer.
You can make the pudding sweeter by adding more dates. I’ve made a batch with 5 dates that was really sweet, but I prefer 3 dates because that’s plenty sweet for all of us. I’ve also played around with the amount of chia seeds I’ve used. The batch pictured had 5 tablespoons, but after trying all different amounts I would say 3-4 tablespoons per batch. 4 tablespoons will make the pudding a little thicker and 3 tablespoons will be a little on the thinner side. My very favorite is 3 tablespoons, but have fun playing around with this recipe and see what you like best!
When I serve this recipe, I often sprinkle a little bee pollen on top for the nutrients and that pleasant, slightly crunchy texture. (Just like I mentioned before, using it like sprinkles on top of ice cream. Local beekeeper love to Humble Bee Honey, who provides our favorite bee pollen.) Also, this pudding really shines with some fresh or frozen berries on top! The berries are an essential addition in my opinion. I’m not sure how long this pudding will stay good in the fridge because it never sticks around long enough for us to find out.
A Note On Ingredients, Thrive Market, & Prosperity:
As I mentioned before in my posts Strawberry Beet Pops and Blueberry Basil Pops, Thrive Market is our favorite place to purchase organic coconut milk. It’s also our favorite place to get the dates and chia seeds for this recipe. Before purchasing those ingredients from Thrive Market, I was buying them from health food stores and local grocery stores, where we were spending much more. We save so much money buying those ingredients from Thrive. As I’ve also mentioned before, my link to Thrive Market is an affiliate link and if you become a member with them through that link you will get 25% off your first order. (Anytime you join, your membership will sponsor a free membership for a low-income family. How wonderful is that?) Also, when you become a member through that link our family will receive Thrive Cash towards our next food purchases there, which we so appreciate. Some of you have already joined through our link since my previous posts and I wanted to say thank you for the support!
Speaking of Thrive Market, they were featured in a recently released documentary called Prosperity. It was so inspiring to watch! (I already loved Thrive Market before, but loved their company even more after watching, and feel so good about supporting their mission to make healthy living affordable for everyone.) Watching Prosperity gave me hope for the future of business as a means to do good rather than cause harm to people and planet, with the only goal being to make money for a few. We have so much power to create positive change in this world by voting with our money. It really instilled the importance of supporting companies we believe in that are doing good in this world because more companies will follow their lead if that’s what the customers are demanding. Sustainable solutions are all around us, let’s support that! I thought I would mention the documentary here because I believe it has a free online viewing for a few more days and you can watch it here.
Happy pudding making! And eating! Please give me your feedback on this recipe and let me know what you think. Did your family love it? Like the texture? Find the texture a bit strange? Did you tweak the ingredients? What did you come up with? I’d love to hear!
tameka says
I made this and it is sooooo delicious. I am hooked and will be making it again and again…. It’s even good without the chia seeds — without the seeds its more of a banana/coconut smoothie consistency, but the seeds give it great texture and added benefits. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
tarynkae says
Yay! So glad you’re enjoying it. I’ll have to try it without the chia seeds sometime, that would be a good version for people who don’t care for them much.
tarynkae says
Oh and did you ever use the figs? I was curious about how that turned out. 🙂
tameka says
I didn’t use figs. For some reason, I thought I had some, but instead I had dates, which was perfect since that’s what you used. Dates are also great blended in hot creamy drinks, like coffee subs (chicory lattes, chai teas).
Daniela says
My new favorite breakfast! Made it last night, with the only addition of some cinnamon. For me, the 4 dates and 4 TBS chia seeds came out perfect. I topped the pudding with fresh blueberries, raspberries, walnuts, hempseed and the slightest touch of honey. It was so, so delicious and satisfying. I think I will try making a chocolate version of it next, by adding some raw cacao. I think the kids might like that for dessert. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe -❤
tarynkae says
I am so delighted you enjoyed the recipe Daniela! Your description made my mouth water. 🙂 Let me know what else you try with it- I think a chocolate version would be amazing!!
Dana says
My daughter has been making this pudding for awhile now (we LOVE it!) She also adds either cocoa or carob!) I know she makes a carob / avocado / chia type pudding too. We cannot tell the difference between her pudding and the boxed kind. Well…her’s is tastier of course 😉
Heathermama7 says
That pudding looks tasty! I’ll have to check out the documentary!
tameka says
That sounds delicious! I can’t wait to try it. I have all the ingredients except for dates, but I do have figs. Maybe I’ll use them instead.
Jennifer fr. CO says
I’m looking forward to making the pudding and I also wanted to thank you for pointing me in the direction of the film. I’m very interested to see what they say. Amazon can NOT be the answer!!!