Coconut Vanilla Chia Pudding {paleo}

This delicious Coconut Vanilla Chia Pudding topped with strawberries is the perfect breakfast for vanilla lovers!  Creamy chia pudding infused with fresh vanilla and tender sweet berries, just as filling as oatmeal, and as fun as frozen yogurt with toppings.  It calls for 5 ingredients and can be whipped up the day before.  Tastes like pudding, and is also a healthy choice.  Dairy-free, paleo, vegan, and nut-free too!

 

Chia pudding is what regular pudding is for kids.  It tastes like healthy adult pudding, you guys!  It's creamy and lush just like actual pudding.  Each spoonful is satisfyingly delicious and feels like dessert.  I love that when you add toppings it feels like a real treat, despite its healthy nutritional profile.  It's my favorite breakfast for the Paleo diet, and easy to make, fast to whip up, and hearty as heck.  It's the best breakfast ever!

Now that you know this breakfast choice is amazing let's talk about making it from scratch.

It's so easy to buy store-bought chia pudding but then you are left with a not-so-healthy breakfast.  Store-bought options are riddled with sugar and other additives.  And by making it yourself you get to customize your own chia pudding bowl.

HOMEMADE CHIA PUDDING VS STORE-BOUGHT 

• When you're making your chia pudding homemade, and from scratch, you get to choose all the toppings you want
• That means you control the amount of sweetness, sugar, lack of sugar, healthy toppings versus processed toppings, and no thickeners or additives
• You get to decide what type of plant-based milk you'd like
• Control.  You have full control over what you are eating, and creating
• Always made with love
• You can dress up it any way you'd like!  Think of frozen yogurt with toppings

My favorite way to make chia pudding is sans artificial sugars and made with fresh fruit and spices.  I usually use unsweetened coconut milk, Tiger nut milk, or hemp milk - but you can use any milk that works best for your body.

The healthier the toppings are, the more filling and satiating this breakfast treat will be.

Favorite toppings for pudding include obviously without a doubt, strawberries because they are so tangy and you can have MANY without feeling overloaded.

HEALTHY CHIA PUDDING TOPPING IDEAS IF YOU'RE NOT INTO STRAWBERRIES

• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Sliced bananas
• Papaya chunks
• Clementine sections
• Cocoa powder
• Carob powder
• Cacao powder
• Sugar-free chocolate chips
• Almond butter
• Cashew butter
• Sunbutter
• Pumpkin seed butter
• Plant-based yogurt of choice
• Hemp seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Poppy seeds
• Walnuts
• Almond slices
• Cashew halves
• Pistachios
• Hazelnuts
• Certified gluten-free oats
• Warmed apples or pear slices with cinnamon
• Purely Elizabeth chocolate probiotic granola  {gluten and nut-free}
• Purely Elizabeth Blueberry Hemp granola {gluten and nut-free}

IF YOU LIKE THIS CHIA RECIPE, YOU'LL LOVE THESE TOO!

• Wild Blueberry Lemon Chia Pudding
• Matcha Chia Oat Parfait
• 8 Healthy Plant-Based Gluten-Free Breakfast Ideas

HEALTHY SUGAR SOURCES TO USE

• Pure maple syrup
• Raw honey
• Coconut sugar
• Date syrup
• Homemade date paste
• Dates

CHIA PUDDING TIPS

Any plant-based milk or regular milk can be used. You can always add sweetener up to 1 tablespoon if this is too non-sweet for you. Sugars that will work are maple syrup, coconut sugar, or honey. Gluten-Free and Celiac peeps! Remember to always make sure your chia seeds are certified gluten-free. I use nutsdotcom for my chia seeds tested at below 10ppm.

READY TO GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS?

Health and nourishment,