Easy 3 ingredient Banana Chia Pudding that can be made in just a few minutes. Enjoy this healthy pudding with toppings of choice for breakfast, snack or dessert!
Make your busy mornings a little less stressful with some easy and very convenient Banana Chia Pudding. It's thick, creamy, bursting with banana flavour, and makes a nice change from the usual overnight oats, while still being just as simple and convenient to make.
What Is Chia Pudding
Chia pudding is a simple, healthy pudding made by mixing chia seeds with milk. The seeds naturally swell and thicken in the liquid creating a creamy pudding texture.
Chia seeds are naturally vegan, gluten-free, and packed with health benefits. They are a great source of omega-3s, fibre, protein, calcium, phosphorous and zinc, as well as many other vitamins and minerals. (Source: Chia Seeds - The Nutrition Source).
Ingredients
Here are the very simple ingredients you need to make this banana chia seed pudding recipe:
- Banana - Ripe bananas are sweeter and have more flavour so ideally make sure you use a really ripe and spotty one. Not a fan of bananas? Give my caramel chia pudding a try!
- Chia seeds - Black chia seeds or white chia seeds are fine.
- Milk - With such limited ingredients, the quality of the milk you use in a chia pudding can make or break it. I recommend using a nice, creamy dairy-free milk that tastes really good. If it doesn't taste good then your chia pudding won't either. I really love to use either canned coconut milk, homemade cashew milk, or almond milk, because they have lots of flavour and are really creamy.
- Maple syrup - This is optional. You could use a little sugar instead, or if your banana is really ripe and spotty you might not need any sweetener at all.
How To Make Banana Chia Seed Pudding
It's so simple! Simply mash your banana really well with a fork until a puree, add the chia seeds, maple syrup, and non-dairy milk then whisk really well. Leave it for a couple of minutes and give it another really good whisk. Note that I like to use a whisk because it separates the seeds better than just using a spoon. Then refrigerate for a couple of hours to give it time to thicken.
Tip - The thickness of your pudding will vary depending on the brand of chia seeds you use, the size of your banana, and the type of plant milk. If your chia pudding is a little too thick after resting in the fridge simply mix in a few extra tablespoons of plant milk to get the consistency you prefer.
Flavour Variations
Feel free to use this recipe as a base and switch up the flavours. You could add spices like cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla extract, ginger, cocoa powder to make banana chocolate chia pudding or blend a spoonful of seed/nut butter into the milk before mixing it with the chai seeds.
Serving Suggestions
Banana Chia Pudding makes a really simple and healthy breakfast, snack or dessert. Enjoy it just as it is or have fun with toppings like:
- Frozen Berry compote
- Fresh fruit (strawberries, raspberries, passion fruit, blueberries, or sliced banana work really well).
- Vegan granola or chopped nuts
- Creamy vegan yogurt
- Shaved chocolate or chocolate chips
- Tahini, peanut butter or almond butter
Another topping I LOVE with this banana chia pudding is mango lime puree. Simply blend or mash a juicy ripe mango with the juice of a lime. The combination of sweet juicy mango and tart lime is lip-smackingly good and works really well with the banana flavour.
If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it by leaving a comment and rating below! And be sure to join my mailing list for more deliciousness!
Recipe
Banana Chia Pudding
Author:Ingredients
For the chia pudding
- 1 medium banana , ripe & spotty
- 4 tablespoons chia seeds , black or white
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk of choice
- OPTIONAL 1 tablespoon maple syrup , or a Medjool date
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a bowl, mash the banana with a fork until it's a smooth puree.
- Pour in the chia seeds, optional maple syrup and milk. (If using a date as a sweetener blend it into the milk before adding it). If your banana is really ripe and spotty and you don't have a super sweet tooth you can probably get away without any sweetener.
- Whisk the mixture together really well. Leave it for 2 to 3 minutes so the seeds begin to gel a little, then give it another really good whisk. This ensures you don't get any clumps.
- Cover the pudding and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. Once ready you can serve from the bowl or spoon portions into individual jars and keep them in the fridge until needed.
- If your chia pudding is a little too thick mix in a few tablespoons of milk to get the consistency you prefer. You can also adjust the sweetness by adding more maple syrup if required.
Jill Moore says
I put the banana, almond milk and date in the vitamix before mixing with the chia seeds. It was delicious. Will definitely make again.
Alena says
Great recipe, thank you!
June M says
I made this banana chia pudding on the weekend and it is delicious. I tasted it after sitting for a few hours in the fridge and I couldn't stop eating it after one spoonful.
Dorabella Santos says
I loved this pudding :) I didn't use maple syrup though. And I used rice milk so it was sweet enough for me :)
Thanks!
Jane says
Made this today. Delicious!