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Home » Recipes » Gluten Free and Vegan

The Best Banana Chia Pudding

Published: Jun 7, 2022 by Lexi

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The best banana chia pudding is a creamy and nutritious treat that's perfect for an easy, on-the-go breakfast. You can customize with different add-ins and toppings, and it's vegan and gluten free friendly!

Front view of banana chia pudding with a spoon in it.
Top with sliced bananas and granola for a creamy and crunchy treat.
Jump to:
  • Why We Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Step-by-step Instructions
  • How to Customize Your Chia Pudding
  • Chia Pudding Topping Ideas
  • Expert Tips and FAQs
  • More Easy Breakfast Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

Why We Love This Recipe

  • Easy recipe: Everything happens in a blender and a mixing bowl, so it's pretty hard to mess up this recipe. It's also easy to bring on-the-go to work or school!
  • Nutritious breakfast: Chia seeds have a good amount of fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids, making this chia pudding a great start to your day.
  • Allergy-friendly: This recipe is totally vegan and gluten free, making it perfect for those with food allergies or preferences.
  • Customizable: This is a great recipe to tweak to your liking by adding chocolate, coconut, granola, and more!

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this banana chia seed pudding:

Overhead view of banana chia pudding ingredients, including chia seeds and a banana.

Ingredient Notes

  • Banana: be sure to use a banana that's very ripe - don't be afraid of those black spots! A ripe banana will ensure a smooth, creamy texture and will also prevent any off-putting unripe banana flavors from making their way into your chia pudding.
  • Chia seeds: You can use white or black chia seeds. (We used white just because that's what we had on hand!)
  • Choice of milk: We used lite coconut milk in this recipe, and if you do decide to use coconut milk, make sure it's the lite (lower fat) variety, or it will turn out too thick. You can also use almond milk, oat milk, soy milk or another nondairy milk - whichever you prefer.
  • Other ingredients: These are all optional, so if you want to make a super easy banana chia pudding, you can skip the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and the additional spices, but they do add an extra punch of flavor.

Step-by-step Instructions

(1) Add the banana, coconut milk, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.

On the left: banana, milk, and spices in a blender. On the right: mixture after blending.

(2) Pour mixture into a bowl and whisk in chia seeds. Set mixture aside and whisk again after ten minutes. 

Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, until set. Make sure to give the chia pudding a stir about an hour into the setting process, to prevent the seeds from settling at the bottom of the bowl.

On the left: adding chia seeds to a bowl. On the right: whisking chia seeds in.

Store in a sealed container, or portion into individual containers and add toppings just before serving.

How to Customize Your Chia Pudding

  • Chocolate chia pudding: You can add about ¼ of a cup of cocoa powder to the blender for a banana chocolate chia pudding.
  • Banana bread chia pudding: Top your chia pudding with sliced bananas, some nut butter, and granola to create a banana bread chia pudding.
  • Banana coconut chia pudding: Mix in a handful of shredded coconut to the chia pudding mixture, then top the finished chia pudding with more dried coconut.

Chia Pudding Topping Ideas

  • Nut butters: Almond, cashew, peanut, or sunflower butter would all be great on top, or mixed into the pudding for extra flavor.
  • Fruits: Try some more sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries.
  • Seeds/nuts: Chopped cashews, slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, or walnuts would all add a delicious crunchy texture.
  • Chocolate: Top with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips to add some texture and delicious chocolate flavor.
  • Coconut: Sprinkle some shredded coconut on top to add sweetness and texture.
  • Granola: This is probably our favorite way to top chia puddings, as it adds a ton of a flavor and a much needed crunch. Try this banana bread granola for the perfect pairing!

Expert Tips and FAQs

  • Storage: This banana chia pudding will last for up to a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
  • For extra creamy banana chia pudding (and a boost of protein & tanginess), add up to ½ cup of nondairy vanilla yogurt.
  • Stir once or twice while the mixture sets: To prevent chia seed clumps from forming, give the mixture a few stirs while it's thickening up. This will also ensure that the chia seeds don't all sink to the bottom.
  • Store in individual tupperware containers for on-the-go: Once the chia pudding is set, we like to transfer the mixture to small glass jars with lids for storage, so we can easily grab them from the fridge for a single serving snack.
  • Wait to add toppings until just before serving. Otherwise, toppings like granola will soak up the liquid and get soggy.
Front view of banana chia pudding.

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Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.

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Front view of banana chia pudding.

Easy Banana Chia Pudding


  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

The best banana chia pudding is a creamy and nutritious treat that's perfect for an easy, on-the-go breakfast. You can customize with different add-ins and toppings, and it's vegan and gluten free friendly! 


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 large, ripe bananas
  • 2 cups coconut milk (we use the "lite" version)
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 6 tablespoons chia seeds

Instructions

  1. Add the banana, coconut milk, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
  2. Pour mixture into a bowl and whisk in chia seeds. Set mixture aside and whisk again after ten minutes.
  3. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, until set. Make sure to give the chia pudding a stir about an hour into the setting process, to prevent the seeds from settling at the bottom of the bowl.

Notes

Coconut milk: You can also substitute with another milk of choice, like oat, almond or cashew milk.

Storage: This will last for up to a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator. 

For extra creamy chia pudding (and a boost of protein & tanginess), add up to ½ cup of nondairy vanilla yogurt.

Stir once or twice while the mixture sets: To prevent chia seed clumps from forming, give the mixture a few stirs while it's thickening up. This will also ensure that the chia seeds don't all sink to the bottom. 

Wait to add toppings until just before serving. Otherwise, toppings like granola will soak up the liquid and get soggy. 

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Rest Time: 2 hours
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 178
  • Sugar: 11 g
  • Sodium: 51.5 mg
  • Fat: 9.5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 22 g
  • Fiber: 5.8 g
  • Protein: 2.7 g

Keywords: banana chia pudding

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Hi, we're Lexi and Beth, a mother-daughter team from Michigan. The recipes you'll find here are a reflection of how we bring our family together around the dinner table despite various dietary differences.

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