Pumpkin Chia Pudding

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Hey all!

It’s an exquisite day in the Northeast, which makes it an awful shame that I’m on a bus right now. In a few hours, though, I’ll be safely settled in D.C. and having what I hope will be a spectacular dinner at Nora’s! I’ve been told that food photography is off limits, but I’ll try to at least get some phone photos for you all.

This morning, I woke up bright and early to yet another winter squash themed breakfast. (Yeah, I’m still on the kick. I’ll let you guys know when I start to develop signs of beta carotene toxicity.) Instead of making my typical smoothie, I decided to make a chia seed pudding, courtesy of a brand new bag of chia seeds from my from my friends at Chia Seeds Direct. I’ve written about these guys before; they’re by far my fave chia seed resource. They’re cheap, reliable, and quick to deliver! Chia seeds aren’t generally an inexpensive ingredient, but Chai Seeds Direct makes stocking them a lot more reasonable. Believe me when I say that they’d be my go-to supplier even if I hadn’t been offered samples way back when. And if you’re not sure, I may or may not have a giveaway around the corner to convince you 😉

Back to food. This pudding is simple and delicious. How could it not be? It’s pretty much my butternut squash smoothie in pudding form, except that I used canned organic pumpkin in place of squash. In a matter of minutes, a perfect breakfast was served.

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Pumpkin Chia Pudding (serves 1)

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tbsp chia seeds
3/4 cup almond milk + extra as needed
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash nutmeg

Blend the pumpkin, almond milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a blender till smooth. Pour over chia seeds and stir. Continue to stir once every ten minutes for thirty minutes. Let pudding sit for another hour, or overnight, till it has reached a tapioca pudding texture.

Someone once told me that chia pudding creeped him out because it reminded him of a sea sponge. I had a hard time imagining how anyone could dislike the stuff, but looking at this photo, I sort of see what he meant:

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Well. Sea sponge or not, it’s delicious. If you’ve been on the pumpkin/squash smoothie wagon, I highly recommend adding this to your rotation!

And now, it’s time for a Megabus nap. Hope you’re all enjoying the day. Any fun weekend plans for you?

xo

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Categories: Breakfast
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Raw

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    55 Comments
  1. Made this two Mondays ago and forgot about it for a while. lol Luckily, that gave plenty of time for the chia seeds to do their thing! It was rich and creamy and deliciously pumpkiny. It may not look the prettiest, but it is seriously tasty! Thanks for the recipe! <3 me some pumpkin

  2. Made this for breakfast today… Amazing!! I subbed ground cloves for the nutmeg cuz I didn’t have any nutmeg, but it was still delicious. This will definitely be a staple at my house from now on!

  3. Mmm just made this mixed with cooked quinoa and sliced pears. Perfect for a cold winter morning. What a fabulous recipe, I love it!

  4. Looks so good, delicious and nutritious.

    Do you know that chia seeds is a dieter’s dream come true. The tiny, healthy seeds can be made to taste like whatever you want, and their unique gelling action keeps you feeling full for hours.

  5. i keep trying to like chia seeds and i dont think it’s going to happen. this was okay but not exactly how i expected pudding to be… but i think its me and not liking the texture of chia seeds –because i normally love cr recipes… any advice on warming up to chia seeds?

    • try soaking the chia seeds (4 T to 3 c. water) overnight and the next day
      add to blender with 1-2 c. more water, 2 T tahini and some agave to taste, oh and some vanilla. you can blend it til smooth and you won’t have any texture
      to dislike. good luck

  6. wooo.. this looks amazing and so easy to make… I have a big bag of chia to use… I’ll definitely try this.

  7. This chia pudding was so good!! I added 1 tsp of mesquite to mine. Think I’ve found my new favorite. Thanks for sharing!!

  8. Gena –

    I tried this just a few moments ago, though I didn’t have almond milk (I used water) and up’d the pumpkin to 1 cup… even still it was good though.

    Will try it again, but maybe with hemp milk next time?

    Thanks!

  9. I wonder if instead of almond milk if coconut milk could be used for this and if pumpkin and coconut would even go together..but in my head it sounds yummy. Have to try it out. =o) Thanks for the recipe Gena, sounds delish!

  10. Very good! 20 minutes flat to make, including cutting up and steaming some butternut squash (which is what I had today ;)). My first chia seed recipe is a SUCCESS! Thanks Gena 😀

  11. Nora’s is one of my favorite DC dining experiences! The atmosphere is great and food is always fresh local and organic. Hope you enjoy it.

  12. This looks awesome! I’m definitely adding it to my breakfast list.

    Thank Gena!

  13. Glad to read you’re safe in D.C.!!! Thank you for this pudding recipe – still trying to love chia seeds, so this recipe shall help I hope 🙂

  14. I recently won a 2 lb bag of Chia Seeds in a blog contest so I’ve been looking for recipes to use them – I’ll have to add this to the list. Hope you had a great weekend!

  15. Hmm… wonder if I could make this instead of Pumpkin Pie for dessert tonight – it would be so much easier!!

    I think everyone is kind of expecting pie, though – since it is Thanksgiving!

    Looks like it could be a yummy breakfast, though – will have to give it a try – could be a staple!

    Thanks for the recipe!

  16. ahh i make this too! i love putting tons of cinnamon and some maca in there for a little spice. i buy my chia seeds from them too, it’s a great deal!

  17. Ooooh, this looks so amazing! I have, indeed, been on the pumpkin & butternut squash band wagon for the past couple of weeks and I cannot WAIT to try this! 🙂

    Linds

  18. Yum– I, too, savor the beauties that Fall gives us: Winter squash. I bought my first to kick off the season a month again and I haven’t stopped cooking with um’ yet. I love when even canned pumpkin is super on sale during fall, as I love to stock up on it for the off seasons 🙂

    SO going to make that pumpkin- chia seed puddin. I always make pumpkin smoothies, so yummy and quick. Thanks, Gena!

  19. There must be something in the air; I just saw almost this same recipe on the Pure Twins blog yesterday! Everyone’s loving on pumpkin and chia seeds…

  20. Mmmmm, that sounds like a delicious twist on the standard chia pudding meal. I will definitely try it!

    Thanks Gena!

    Casey

  21. I have to say you’ve become my go to source for recipes and information on healthy living. So thanks for all the good tips! I haven’t been to Restaurant Nora’s but have been wanting to go and will have to put it on my list. While you’re in Dupont, you might want to stop in at Teaism, if you haven’t been. They have bubble tea, the good kind, with real tea. I always get their tisane (herbal iced tea of the day) with bubbles (i.e. boba or pearls) and highly recommend it. Enjoy DC!

  22. It does sound awesome–that’s one flavor of chia pudding I haven’t tried! I’m still on the squash kick, too, so can’t wait to spoon this up this weekend. Hope you have a fabulous time and manage to sneak in a couple of photos! 😉

  23. Well this recipe sounds just about perfect seeing as I have a bunch of pumpin puree and chia seeds waiting to be used! Thanks 🙂

  24. Oh awesome!! you’re coming to my neck of the woods! I’ve never eaten at Nora’s but my parents have a few times and they absolutely loved it.
    Is there some type of nutrition function going on in DC that I don’t know about? or are you just visiting for fun?

  25. “I’ve been told that food photography is off limits”–actually that’s awesome b/c it means that you will be able to concentrate on your food, your time w/ friends, the great time you’ll be having and not concern yourself one tiny droplet about taking bloggie pictures. The rule just helped you in my kind of logic 🙂

    Pumpkin is such a popular item in the sphere these days and leave it to you to pair it w/ chia seeds…nice work!

    I agree that Chia Seeds Direct is an awesome resource. So reasonable AND their seeds are really high quality. I have bought chia seeds a few years ago from Whole Foods before I knew that they were about 5x the price there! anyway, the seeds seemed “dead”, i.e. they wouldnt really “do” much or puff up with liquid making chia pudding almost impossible. NEver had that issue, ever, with my CSD seeds. (not being paid to say this LOL)

    Enjoy your weekend, Gena!

    🙂

  26. Good luck on the beta-carrotine toxicity Gena, I have been trying w/ carrots, squashes and sweet potatoes every autumn and well…it’s just not happening haha!

  27. I get what he means, because I can NOT drink chia seeds mixed into straight water, as many runners do. It just feels like drinking a glass of water with sand mixed into it… not my thing. But this recipe is much more up my alley!

    • don’t put dry seeds into water but gel made by soaking seeds in water then they are just like tapioca texture

  28. i’m not seeing the sea sponge resemblance, but i can understand how that might be a little creepy 🙂 this sounds amazing though…i have developed the weirdest love for chia seeds and almond milk!