Creamy, rich, and naturally sweetened, this Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding is the perfect make-ahead breakfast. It’s dairy-free, packed with fiber, and offers 8 grams of plant-based protein in a dark chocolate flavor.
"I love decadent recipes that are secretly healthy. This was such a fun breakfast!" -Donny
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ⏲️Ready In: 4 hrs 10 mins
- 👪Serves: 2
- 🍽 Calories and Protein: 233 kcals and 8 grams of protein
- 📋Main Ingredients: Banana, chia seeds, almond milk, cacao powder, and maple Syrup.
- 📖 Dietary Notes: Dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, and vegan.
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: This banana chocolate chia pudding is creamy, naturally sweet, and packed with fiber, making it the perfect make-ahead breakfast or healthy snack.
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Chia seed pudding is loaded with healthy fats and this chocolate banana version is a rich flavor that you can't say no to.
Customize your chia pudding every time by adding new toppings to it and enjoy the benefit of plant-based protein and quality fuel!Chia seeds are one of the three foods I think every child (and mama) should have in their diets.
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💭Why You'll Love This Recipe
Natural sugars: All you need to sweeten this chia pudding recipe is bananas and maple syrup.
Meal Prep: Chia pudding lasts for 3-4 days in the fridge so you can make a batch or two of this for grab-and-go snacks or breakfast all week.
Texture: Thanks to my secret, two-step tip, this pudding comes out ultra creamy and not clumpy.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Banana: The riper your banana is, the better! This dark chocolate chia pudding is a great way to use up any extra bananas on the counter (though freezing them and making peanut butter protein powder ice cream is wicked too!).
- Unsweetened almond milk: Any non-dairy milk will work in this recipe. We use homemade hemp milk the most or a blend of hemp and coconut milk to make it ultra-creamy.
- Cacao powder: Not to be confused with cocoa powder (learn the differences between cacao and cocoa). Cacao powder is loaded with calcium, antioxidants, and more.
- Chia seeds: We like to use black chia seeds, though white chia seeds are fun too. Make sure to grab the whole seeds, and not the ground ones! Learn more about easy ways to get more chia seeds into your diet.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Flavor Variations
Whole30-approved: For the chocolate banana chia seed pudding to be Whole30-compliant, eliminate the maple syrup and replace it with 2-3 days when you blend the liquid ingredients. This will keep the sweetness. Topping it with Whole30 whipped cream helps, too.
Toppings: The easiest way to vary the taste of a chia pudding recipe is with the toppings. Use toasted coconut, paleo chocolate chips, homemade cinnamon granola, or coconut milk caramel sauce.
Nutty: If you want a nuttier flavor, add ⅛ teaspoon of almond extract aling with a swirl of almond butter or no oil peanut butter.
High-protein: Want to add more protein to your breakfast? Add 2 tablespoons of collagen to the mix. Learn more about what is collagen, and how best to use it. Or make this dairy-free chocolate protein pudding alongside it.
How To Make Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding
Step 1: Combine half a banana, cacao, and all wet ingredients in a blender.
Step 2: Blend until smooth.
Step 3: Pour the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the chia seeds.
Step 4: Let sit in the fridge for four to six hours. When ready to eat, top with banana slices and enjoy!
Expert Tips
The secret to ensuring that chia pudding becomes creamy and not clumpy is to whisk up your chocolate chia pudding, and ten minutes later, go whisk it again. Because the seeds absorb so quickly, this makes it perfect every single time. I do this for all my high-protein chia pudding recipes, and it's a game-changer.
This chocolate chia seed pudding is best made the night before (like this coffee chia pudding) and left to sit in the fridge until ready to eat. I would resist topping the pudding until you're ready to enjoy it, as the toppings, especially granola, get soggy.
If you need to portion the pudding out for toddlers, make sure to divide the chia seeds up before you mix in the liquid. Otherwise, the consistency between the dishes will be different.
Store chia pudding in the fridge for 3-4 days. If needed, give it a stir before topping it and enjoying.
Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding FAQs
If your chia pudding is runny, you either added too much liquid or didn't let it sit long enough. To fix it, add 1 more teaspoon of chia seeds and let it sit again to absorb the liquid.
For some people, chia pudding feels too slimy for their preference. To avoid this, blend the chia seeds with the other ingredients. This makes the chia pudding come out much more smooth (though sometimes not as thick)
Yes, you can use frozen bananas to make chia pudding, but the texture will vary since the bananas don't create enough initial liquid for the chia seeds. You may need to add 1 tablespoon of extra liquid.
Any non-dairy milk will work in chia pudding it may just alter the texture a bit. Chia pudding with oat milk will be creamier than a recipe with almond milk. However, the nut milk one will have a healthier fat profile. Use what you have on hand.
It’s not common but like anything else, chia seeds can go bad. If you want to extend the life of your chia seeds, store them in a sealed jar in the fridge. Stored like that, chia seeds should last at least a year unless liquid gets into the jar as you use it. You’ll know your chia seeds have gone bad if they start to clump together. Otherwise, I wouldn’t worry about it.
More Dairy-Free Snacks You'll Love
If you tried this Chocolate Chia Pudding With Banana Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes!
Dairy-Free Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ banana
- 1 cup almond milk
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- 2 tablespoon chia seeds
Instructions
- In a powerful blender, combine half the banana, cacao, vanilla, and two tablespoons of the syrup. Pour in the almond milk.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the chia seeds.
- Wait 5-10 minutes and then stir the chia seed mixture again before popping on a lid and palcing it in the fridge.
- Let sit in the fridge for four to six hours. This allows the seeds to absorb the mixture and thicken resulting in a pudding-like consistency.
- Remove from fridge, top with any of your favorites, like more bananas, and enjoy!
Notes
- Don't skip double-stirring the chia pudding, as this is what ensures it doesn't clump.
- Give your chia pudding a taste test before you let it sit. Add more maple syrup as needed.
- This chocolate chia pudding is best made the night before and left to sit in the fridge until ready to eat. In a sealed container, it will last up to two days in the fridge.
- If you need to portion the pudding out for toddlers, make sure to divide the chia seeds up before you mix in the liquid. Otherwise, the consistency between the dishes will be different.
- Almond milk or oat milk works best for the chia seed pudding.
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
jennifer says
Loved it, all the things I love . . . . gobbled mine up for breakfast!!! Great fuel for any time of the day!
fitasamamabear says
Haha it's a tasty way to kick off the day!
Janessa says
Yum! This chia pudding is so creamy. I think it might be my new favourite treat.
fitasamamabear says
It's definitely one of mine!
nancy says
tasty and so satisfying without too much sugar. I love it since i am not a big fan of overly sweet desserts.
fitasamamabear says
Same here, I like the rich dark chocolate flavor!
Donny says
I love decadent recipes that are secretly healthy. This was such a fun breakfast!
fitasamamabear says
They are definitely the best kind of recipes lol
Shauna says
The recipe lists 1/4 cup chia seeds as well as 2 tablespoons chia seeds.. Do I add both amounts?
fitasamamabear says
Hey Shauna,
Yup you need both of them! Enjoy 🙂
Liane says
Yummy, I love chia seeds! I have all the ingredients, definitely going to try this today 🙂
fitasamamabear says
Yup chia seeds kick butt 😀
Emily says
We love chia pudding and bananas! Might have to have this as a snack today (:
fitasamamabear says
It's a great combo.. and chia seeds kick butt!
Molly @ Strong Girl Wellness says
I've been adding chai seeds to just about anything lately! But to be honest, the recipe had me at chocolate 😛 Excited to try this out!!
fitasamamabear says
Haha yup we're chocolate fiends too. Like addicted 😀
Shelby says
Love it! I’m always looking for healthy dessert alternatives, and this is going to make the list.
fitasamamabear says
It's yummy! Chocolate and banana are a great combo!