Dairy-Free Instant Vanilla Chia Pudding
 
Prep time
Total time
 
This scrumptious vanilla chia pudding can be made thicker or thinner and easily sweetened to taste. Simply see my notes below.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Serves: 3 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 cup lite canned coconut milk
  • ¼ to ⅓ cup white chia seeds (can sub black chia seeds; see Chia Seeds note below)*
  • ¼ cup water, or as needed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon lemon zest
  • Generous pinch salt
  • 2 tablespoons sweetener of choice, or to taste (see Sweetener note below)
  • Cut fruit of choice, for garnish or parfaits (optional)
Instructions
  1. Place the coconut milk, chia seeds, water, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt in your blender, and whiz until relatively smooth.
  2. Blend in the sweetener, to taste. Blend in more water, as desired, to thin the consistency.
  3. If desired, let the mixture chill for a couple of hours or overnight, it will thicken more.
Notes
Chia Seeds: Use more or less chia seeds depending on your desired thickness. If making instant vanilla chia pudding, then you may want to use ⅓ cup and add water only as needed, since it won't have significant time to thicken. White chia seeds provide a light tan color. If using black chia seeds, it will affect the color, but not the taste.

Sweetener: Raw honey (paleo), agave (vegan), maple syrup (adds a maple-y flavor), or plain sugar all work great in this recipe. But to keep the added sugars down, I sometimes use 1 tablespoon honey + 20 drops vanilla stevia.

Lite Coconut Milk Alternatives: I use lite canned coconut milk because it's cheap, convenient, natural, and has a good half and half consistency. You can substitute your favorite dairy-free creamer or milk beverage. If using milk beverage, omit the water, or only add it as needed. The pudding won't be as rich. You can alternatively use full-fat coconut milk, or use ½ cup full-fat coconut milk + ½ cup water in place of the 1 cup lite coconut milk.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ⅓ recipe Calories: 188 Fat: 12.3g Saturated fat: 4.4g Carbohydrates: 24.8g Sugar: 11.7g Sodium: 71mg Fiber: 8.4g Protein: 6.1g
Recipe by Go Dairy Free at https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/instant-dairy-free-vanilla-chia-pudding