Chocolate Chia Pudding
Who doesn’t love chocolate pudding? To follow up my blogs on the Cardiovascular Benefits of Cocoa, and Chia Seeds, I wanted to include a few recipes that included each. This recipe conveniently uses both ingredients! Chia pudding in some form is popular in the world of plant-based eating because it is typically prepared quickly and easily, is nutrient dense, and tastes great. The base of most recipes includes some form of nut milk and chia seeds which serve to thicken the milk to the consistency of pudding. These can be a great breakfast substitution for yogurt and can be topped with berries and granola. Of course when cocoa is added, a decadent dessert can be created. This recipe came from OhSheGlows which is one of my favorite food blogs.
What’s unique about this preparation is the optional use of frozen cubes of almond milk to accelerate the thickening process, much like we might traditionally see with an instant pudding. I would recommend using high quality cocoa powder or even trying cacao powder such as this one which can be purchased through nuts.com.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
4 large almond milk ice cubes (see note)
1/4 cup chia seeds
5-6 pitted Medjool dates, to taste
2-3.5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (see note)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, to taste
pinch fine grain sea salt or pink Himalayan sea salt
Instructions:
Fill an ice cube tray with almond milk. Freeze until solid. You can use leftovers in smoothies or for more pudding in the future!
To make the pudding: Add 3/4 cup almond milk into a high speed blender. Now add the rest of the ingredients, including the almond milk ice cubes.
Blend on the highest speed until super smooth. Enjoy immediately or chill in the fridge where it will thicken up even more.
Tips:
Add the cocoa powder to taste. Some brands will be more pungent than others. 3.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder is great with my brand (camino) however you may need to use less depending on what kind you use. My advice is to add the cocoa powder slowly to taste.
You will want around 12 tablespoons of almond milk ice cubes added to the pudding. For my tray, this equaled 4 large cubes.
You can skip the almond milk ice cubes and simply add a splash more almond milk. Chill in the fridge the old-fashioned way.
If your dates are firm, I suggest soaking them in hot water for at least 30 minutes before you begin. Drain well.
To turn this into a chocolate “frosty” add more ice cubes to make it super icy.
To make this nut-free, use a nut-free non-dairy milk of your choice.