I am so in love with this pudding. It's indulgent without being overly chocolaty or sweet, and it feels light even though it doesn't appear so. Before making this recipe I used to add chia seeds, whole or ground, to my breakfast cereal and milk for a boost of nutrition. I'd seen many chia seed pudding recipes before, but it wasn't until I saw Food Doodles' mouthwatering pictures of Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding that I finally gave in and tried it.
Unlike the dried seeds which are tiny and get stuck between teeth, soaked chia seeds are much larger in size and feel silky and slippery. They're all it takes to thicken this pudding, as the seeds absorb a large amount of liquid and form something like a gel. In fact the whole preparation takes no more than 5 minutes and involves just a little bit of stirring and mashing. The rest is just waiting.
Being the date addict that I am, I try to use dates in no-bake/no-cook/raw recipes. With Food Doodles' recipe I replaced agave nectar with homemade date paste. Dates have a mild toffee flavour that I love in combination with chocolate.
I couldn't have chosen a better dessert for my favourite Khadrawy Dates (also Hadrawi) which I was thrilled to find at a local food store after missing them for a couple of years. I have used them before to make Brownies. These dates have the most amazing texture, so soft and pulpy that it almost feels like they melt in the mouth.
You can use any dates you want as long as they are soft. When I need a lot of date paste I use my mini food processor, but in this case 3 dates were more than enough for sweetness and it took me just a couple of minutes to chop and mash them into a smooth paste with a fork.
My wish was to make this a fully raw pudding, but wasn't able to get raw cacao and with almonds it's hard to know whether they are indeed raw, even if labelled as such (I found out that almonds can be labelled raw even if they are pasteurized).
Tiny as they are, chia seeds are a great source of fiber, protein, calcium, phosphorus, zinc and manganese, but what I love most about them is that they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and have a higher omega-3 to omega-6 ratio (and so do flax seeds). Incorporating them into our diet helps balance this ratio.
Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
Makes about 3/4 cup
Adapted from Food Doodles (republished from Averie Cooks)
Print Recipe
- 1/2 cup Homemade Almond Milk (use unsweetened, if store-bought)
- 2 Tb chia seeds
- 3 soft dried dates
- 1 1/2 Tb good-quality cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Note: for convenience, you could mix everything and allow the pudding to thicken on your kitchen table or in the fridge. I made this in 2 steps, because that's what worked for me.
Pour the almond milk in a bowl and add the chia seeds. Stir immediately so no lumps are formed. Cover the bowl with cling film and let it sit on the table for 3-4 hours until the chia seeds are fully expanded.
Halve and pit the dates. Chop them very finely and mash with a fork to make a paste. Add the cocoa powder and 2 Tb chia seed mixture and mix well with the fork. Add the remaining chia seed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in vanilla. Chill in the fridge covered with cling film for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.
I used hemp seeds and pomegranate arils to garnish, for lack of raspberries which I love in combination with chocolate.
Enjoy and spread the magic!:)
If you've tried this pudding I would greatly appreciate your feedback. Thank you!
26 comments:
Looks delicious. I tried a strawberry chocolate chia pudding once and it wasn't my thing - but since I'm a fellow date addict with you I think I'd love this :-)
I'm going to have this for breakfast in the morning - can't wait! I like to soak the chia seeds overnight, then they're waiting for me in the morning and make for a quick breakfast. Thanks for the idea!
Sandy, thank you:) After this pudding I tried a simple berry chia version with ground chia seeds, creamy coconut milk and dates. It was fantastic! I'll make it again and post it.
Anonymous, that sounds like a great plan:) I love the idea of having this pudding for breakfast. Hope you enjoy it:) Thank you so much for writing.
I enjoyed my chia pudding this morning - it was DELICIOUS! I love dates and have been trying to get more chia seeds in my diet. I was thinking as I ate it that grinding the seeds might make a really smooth pudding, one that my husband will like for dessert. I agree making it with coconut milk will be another tasty treat - can't wait to try it.
When you made the pudding with the ground seeds, did you still let it sit or did you mix everything together at once?
Thanks for your ideas - I love your recipes.
That's fantastic! I'm so happy you enjoyed it:) Thank you very much for the feedback, I appreciate it. Grinding the chia seeds does make a big difference, but the texture won't be perfectly smooth. For the berry version I used 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries (thawed) and 1/2 cup creamy coconut milk, blended then strained (the whole idea of using ground chia seeds was to not feel any seeds). To that I added the ground chia and date paste. The pudding is ready to eat within minutes, but I kept it in the fridge to chill and ate it for dinner, by which time it was much thicker. Hard to describe that texture, but it was amazing. I love chia seeds:)
I'm convinced that chia seeds and dates are the miracle baking tools!: )
I agree, Abby. The unique texture that chia seeds create and the sweetness and flavour of dates - perfect! Thanks so much for writing:)
This pudding sounds really delicious and healthy!
Medeja, thank you so much:) You should give it a try sometime, it is indeed very delicious;)
Hi! I just recently found out about chia seed pudding and have been making some every day for the past 2 weeks! In fact, I'm eating some now as I type this lol! I've been using a 1/2 banana for the sweetener and it's really good. I love your version too :)
Karielyn, I love banana-sweetened puddings:) Before making the chocolate chia one I was using ground flax seeds. Both textures have something special:) Thanks so much for the comment.
WOW! My friend, this was truly amazing. I have been looking and experimenting trying to find a good chocolate pudding for a long time and I've never manged to find a good one that is still not too high in fat. Your s manages a good combination of both (unless you top it with too much shredded coconut as I did :P). Thanks again my friend <3
Cheers,
Johan
Johan, I am thrilled that you like this pudding. I can't really take all the credit for it, my contribution to the original recipe was to make it naturally sweet. Now that you mentioned shredded coconut I think I'm going to add some next time, just for a change:) Thanks so much for your lovely comment.
I made this for breakfast this morning with a few slight variations (used regular milk instead of almond milk, added a tablespoon of almond butter before the last refrigeration session and added a tablespoon of raspberry jam on the top) and it was delish! I personally could have used a bit more sweetness, so if I make it again will probably add some agave. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Jana Leigh, thank you so much for the feedback:) Almond butter sounds interesting, a rich version. You should really try making almond milk, it's so good in this pudding and you could use the almond pulp to make small sweet treats with date paste and cocoa. For more sweetness I would add more dates instead of using agave nectar.
the pudding looks delicious. i was wondering if i can make a similar pudding with basil seeds. they are similar to chia seeds. i don't get chia seeds in india. i would love to try something like this.
Dassana, that's new to me. I had no idea basil seeds become jelly like chia seeds do. This is very interesting, I'm definitely going to look for basil seeds to try a version of this pudding. I wonder how it would taste. Thanks so much for writing, now I have something to look forward to:)
thanks for replying adriana. basil seeds are often used in sherbets, rose milkshakes, fruit juices, lemonades and falooda - a frozen indian dessert. i have some beverages made with basil seeds on the blog. you can have a look. i will try this pudding with basil seeds.
Dassana, the drinks sound very interesting and look amazing! I'm very curious how they taste. Years ago when I was in the Middle East I had the chance to eat falooda ice cream and I do remember the rose syrup, but not the basil seeds. Definitely worth a try to satisfy my curiosity. Thanks so much for the suggestion.
I tried it and it was awesome. Until now I did ot without the chocolate and added bananas and gojy berries, it was good but chocolate definetly changes the things. It's simply perfection! Thanks to have shared this lovely recipe. I will post my pudding on my block soon :)
Gabi, thank you very much for the great news! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the pudding and yes, chocolate changes everything:) I look forward to your post.
I made substituting for coconut milk, reducing dates slightly and adding a drop of maple syrup and a teaspoon of lucuma. Scrummy!
I like the idea of adding maple syrup, definitely worth a try next time. Thanks so much for the feedback and for sharing your subs, I'm very happy you enjoyed the pudding:)
I'm making this again for the third time now. I'm doubling the recipe! It's fantastic! And my go to pre-workout snack with a bit of almod butter stirred in (heavenly) and sliced banana.
Cindy, wow! I remember feeling the same way after I first tried this pudding. In the beginning I'd make it a couple of times a day, it's sooo good. Now I wonder how your combination tastes, I really wanna try it. Thanks so much for the feedback, much appreciated:)