Banana Chia Pudding 

Comforting and creamy Banana Chia Pudding (topped with caramelized bananas and toasted walnuts) that is healthy yet tastes like banana bread. It makes the perfect breakfast at home or snack on the go!

If you live a busy life like me yet want to eat healthy, you will benefit from preparing your meals ahead and storing them either in the fridge for the week or in the freezer for the month. 

It will save you time and also help you to shed some pounds by not eating junk or ordering out.

Plus, you will know what is in your find, monitoring your health easier. 

Ready to prep ahead one of the most delish breakfasts or healthy desserts ever? 

 

Why You'll Love This Banana Chia Pudding

• Healthy: It is loaded with vitamins, minerals, complex carbs, healthy fats, and protein. In addition, there is no added refined sugar! It is gluten-free, low-carb (but not keto-friendly) vegan, dairy-free, vegetarian, and high-protein!

• Easy: All you have to do is to combine some ingredients together. If you want, you can go one step ahead and quickly caramelize some sliced bananas to top your pudding and enjoy it with toasted walnuts. 
• Quick: It takes just 15 minutes to get ready!
• Budget-friendly: Our homemade banana pudding costs way less than one you can order at Playa Bowl or any other healthy breakfast place.
• Optional cooking: The only cooking you'd do is to caramelize your bananas for the topping which is optional.

Banana Chia Pudding Recipe

Our banana seed chia pudding recipe makes a healthy breakfast option for busy people. You can prep it ahead in batches and either refrigerate or freeze it for when you need it.

All you have to do is mix together chia seeds, ground flax meal, a sweetener, mashed banana, plant-based milk, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and creamy peanut butter. until forming a homogeneous mixture.

Then, allow it to rest for up to 5-15 minutes to gel and thicken. Meanwhile, you can caramelize bananas for the topping but it's optional. I do it because it makes it even more delish!

Lastly, top your pudding with chopped toasted nuts and enjoy! It's like to have a dessert without all the junk.

And yes, it is much healthier than banana bread yet quicker to make and as comforting.  

Ingredients and substitutions

To make this banana chia pudding, you will need the following:

for the banana bread chia pudding:

• 4 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey if you're not on a vegan diet)
• ½ mashed banana
• 1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk (such as almond milk, coconut milk, or even regular milk if not on a vegan diet)
• 2 tablespoon flax meal (optional)
• 2 tablespoon peanut butter, creamy and "no sugar added" type preferably 

For the caramelized bananas (optional):

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or unsalted butter if not on a vegan diet) 
• 1 ½ bananas, thickly sliced
• 1-2 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey if you're not vegan)
• A pinch of ground cinnamon 

Other:

• 2 tablespoon chopped toasted walnuts (or any other nut of your choice)

How to make banana chia pudding

1. In each jar, combine 2 tablespoon chia seeds, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, ¼ mashed banana, ½ cup warm unsweetened plant-based milk, and 1 tablespoon flax meal (optional). Stir well and tightly cover for 5-15, minutes depending on whether you use warm or cold milk. TIP: It only takes 5 minutes for the chia seeds to gel and thicken the mixture if using warm milk, and about 10-15 minutes (or overnight) if using cold milk. 

2. Remove the lid and stir in 1 tablespoon of peanut butter into each of the chia puddings.  

3. For the caramelized bananas, melt 1 tablespoon coconut oil over medium-high heat, lightly toast 1 ½ thickly sliced bananas, and then add 1-2 tablespoon honey or maple syrup and a pinch of cinnamon. Swirl the pan once and a while and let the bananas caramelize.

4. Top with the caramelized bananas. Add toasted walnuts and enjoy!

Tips for making banana chia seed pudding

• Ratio for basic chia pudding recipe: Use 2 tablespoon chia seeds for every ½ cup of milk. This way your pudding will be neither too thick nor too thin!
• Thickening or thinning: You can easily thicken it by adding protein powder, yogurt, or more of the nut butter. As for thinning it, add more milk.
• Quick prep: To prepare it faster, simply add warm milk to your chia seeds and let the mixture rest for 5-10 minutes, tightly covered, at room temperature. It will be enough to make the seeds gel and the mixture thicken.
• Overnight chia pudding: But if you prefer to prepare overnight chia pudding, use cold milk.
• Liquid: You can use any non-dairy milk or regular milk of your choice.
• Flavoring: You may flavor your chia pudding with whatever you want such as pumpkin pie spice, chocolate chips, cinnamon extract, sugar-free sweetened condensed milk, cashew butter, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, Nutella, etc
• Add-ons: Rolled oats, whey, oat flour, flax seeds, hemp seeds, etc will make your chia pudding thicker and richer plus will add extra fiber and/or protein to your breakfast meal. I recommend 1-2 tablespoon of any of those!
• Nuts: Avoid mixing chopped nuts into the chia pudding and then storing it either in the fridge or freezer. The taste will still be good but the texture will be off. They will lose their crunchiness! Even if you add them as a topping, the humidity will make them soggy. This is why I prefer to add nuts to my creamy pudding (either mixed in or as a topping) right before serving. 

FAQS

Is this Banana Chia Seed Pudding Healthy?

Yes! Chia seeds are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and healthy fats. Two tablespoons of chia seeds contain 120 calories, 4 grams of protein, 8 grams of fat, 10 grams of complex carbohydrates, and 10 grams of fiber, plus vitamins and minerals. It is such a versatile food, you can make also smoothies, muffins, overnight oats, cookies, sweet bars, bread, and many more with them.

What kind of milk makes the best banana chia pudding?

You can make this banana chia pudding with any kind of milk, either regular or plant-based, but I prefer unsweetened plant-based milk because it doesn't contain added sugars (or even natural milk sugar), making this chia pudding recipe healthier. 

What kind of sweetener is best?

It depends on your preferences and dietary needs. I like to use maple syrup to make this recipe vegan but you can use honey which is one of those prebiotic foods, aside from bananas in this recipe and our gut healthy recipes. Coconut sugar, brown sugar, or a sugar substitute such as stevia or monkfruit are other options. 

Is this banana chia pudding vegan?

Yes! But if you are not vegan, you can easily adapt it by using honey or brown sugar instead of maple syrup, and by swapping plant-based milk and coconut oil for regular milk and butter respectively.  

How to Store

• FRIDGE: Store banana chia pudding jars, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, only top it with the nuts before serving. The moisture from the fridge (and freezer) can make the nuts lose their crunchiness.  
• FREEZER: You can freeze only the pudding itself (without the toppings) for up to 2 months and thaw it 2 days ahead in the fridge. Just make sure to use Mason jars with straight sides and leave about 2 inches of headspace in the Mason jar so the chia mixture can expand. TIP: DO not freeze the caramelized bananas because they will become soggy once thawed, and the nuts will become less crunchy. 

Other healthy breakfast meal prep ideas:

• Mango coconut chia pudding
• Oatmeal pudding
• Savory bread pudding
• Chia parfait
• Oat pancakes recipe
• Overnight oats
• Pre-packed smoothie in a jar
• Chocolate chia pudding

More banana recipes to enjoy:

• Banana pudding cheesecake bars
• Banana upside-down cake
• Fried bananas
• Banana meringue pie
• Banana bundt cake
• Also, banana coffee smoothie

PIN AND ENJOY!