Vanilla Bean Chia Pudding with Fresh Mint and Mango.
I’ve kinda been keeping a secret from you.
A secret in pudding form.
While everyone else is talking about lunges (I’m doing them) and year words (I have one) and kale (it’s coming) and organizing (I’m trying), I’m just going to talk about how I can’t stop shoving pudding in my face. Not real pudding though. I mean, well, sort of real pudding. But not.
You know what I mean.
I’ve been downright crazy over this combination of mango, dark chocolate, pistachios and mint for months now. I first had it in Utah in early October with yogurt and have been hooked ever since. Originally the snack consisted of oranges instead of mangos, but I don’t know. Oranges can be… meh. So much pith sometimes. I will say though that I ate this with a few satsumas over the last two weeks and that was to die for. So good.
I’m freaking over the combo with mangos now too though – especially the perfect ripe and juicy ones. They can be tough to find but when you do find one? Do this with it. It’s unreal.
Some of you spaz out over chia seeds and I think it’s understandable. Coming from a major “texture person,” chia seeds CAN be weird. They just happen to be the sort of weird that I like. Pretty sure it has to do with my obsession with dried figs – you know, the snap, crackle, pop of those little seeds? That’s why I love chias too. I’ve heard others compare this to tapioca pudding which is probably correct, but guess what? I’ve only eaten tapioca pudding like twice in my life. And at least one of those was straight out of a jello pudding cup. Damn those things are good.
Anyhoo: you know I’ve used chia for years in smoothies and granola bars and stuff like that. It was only in the last few months that I really started loving chia in faux pudding form, after browsing through Giada’s book in Barnes and Noble, aka my happy place. Can I just live inside of a book store forever and ever and ever?
My own little spin here includes a base with vanilla bean paste (ps -> I found some at homegoods last week for like $5) that is more versatile than, well… anything else I can think of right now. It just goes with the all the things.
Am I too old to be saying all the things now?
I recently saw an article that gave rules for things you should stop saying in your 30s. Luckily, I think I was only saying about five out of eight. Perhaps 2014 shall be the year of growing up.
So yeah. While this would make a fab breakfast or maybe a dessert for some, it’s an ideal afternoon snack for me. It gives me that little bit of chocolate that I crave but it holds me over through yoga, also giving me enough energy until dinnertime. For a while, you may remember that I was eating avocado pudding for my afternoon snack, and while I still love it, I can’t find a good avocado ‘round here to save my life. Thankfully I have a friend who sent me a box full of avocados from their tree, so you can be sure to see some avocado on my chia pudding next. Eh.
In the meantime, I just love this little flavor burst and the best part… obviously… is that you can add whatever you like. I’ve done blueberries and coconut, warm strawberries and those honey roasted almonds from Trader Joes that I lose my mind over and even just bananas and cinnamon.
I think we can say that I’m a massive chia pudding junkie. If you’re not fearful of weird little poppy things in your faux pudding, you should definitely maybe give it a shot. Probably. For sure.
Vanilla Bean Chia Pudding with Fresh Mint, Mango, Pistachios + Dark Chocolate
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 mango, chopped
- 2 to 3 ounces of dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons roasted pistachios, chopped
- 1 handful of fresh mint, torn
- a drizzle of honey, if desired
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, chia seeds, vanilla bean paste and salt until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill and thicken, for about 2 hours or even overnight.
- When you’re ready to eat the pudding, spoon it into 4 or 6 glasses or jars of your choice. Cover the top with mango, a sprinkle of dark chocolate, a sprinkle of pistachios and fresh mint. Drizzle with a bit of honey and eat.
- Note: if you want your pudding sweeter, you can use a sweetened almond milk or add honey to the actual pudding when mixing it up. When I make the pudding, I portion it into jars and cover with plastic wrap, keeping them in the fridge, I add the toppings each time before eating one.
Notes
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I mean, who doesn’t want to eat chocolate with little hearts on it? Speaking of growing up.
89 Comments on “Vanilla Bean Chia Pudding with Fresh Mint and Mango.”
Yum! I will definitely have to try this- vanilla + chia? Yes please!
Ummm i have had a bag of oranges in my fridge for so long but every time I’ve wanted fruit I end up going for something else instead and you just vocalized the reason I didn’t even really know was the reason until I heard it….”So much pith sometimes”. Truth.
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Cannot believe you kept this secret. Almond butter and bananas were on top today as I had to have it for breakfast and didn’t know if chocolate after spinning canceled spinning. I had to at least wait a couple hours before breaking being healthy. Mango, mint, and chocolate for tomorrow! So addicted.
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When I tried to make chia pudding, it was an epic fail, but I am reinspired by this recipe. The combination of mint + mango + pistachios + dark chocolate sounds like my dream come true. Why not combine 4 of my favorite things?? And chia pudding is hardly even pudding at all, right? Totally a breakfast/lunch/dinner thing instead of a dessert thing.
My milk/chia mixture has been in the fridge for 4 hours and it is still very runny, with only parts slightly thicker! Am I doing something wrong?
The same thing happened to me. After about 12 hours in the fridge it was very runny. I added more chia seed and waited again with no improvement. Is it because of the dairy milk?
I love coming across a food combo completely, utterly unseen in my eyes. I’ve got chia’s in the fridge that are a staple in the smoothie as well but have not ventured beyond until now.
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Can’t wait to try this. I just got a huge bag of Chia seeds that will be perfect for this!
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I also had a problem with the recipe (which looks so delicious!) Left my seeds to soak in the fridge for 48 hours but none puffed up except the ones on the very bottom. Do you use a specific brand?
hmmm i’m not sure if different brands would differ – I usually use trader joe’s and bob’s red mill – but maybe try adding 1/2 cup less liquid? they should definitely set up, you may just need to find a sweet spot of liquid to chia! i always use this ratio, but i think less liquid may work here too.
Are you using the right variety of chia? I’m not sure about the US, but we can buy two kinds here – white and black – and only the black works well in this type of recipe. I made mine with 5 tablespoons of black chia, a can of coconut milk, panela and cinnamon and it started to thicken almost immediately. Topped with blueberries, those 5 tablespoons of seed made 3-4 delicious and insanely healthy breakfasts. It’s almost like sago, or the stick black rice pudding they serve for breakfast in Bali, but with none of the hassle and a lot less sugar. Don’t give up trying because it really is fabulous.
I have had problems in the past making my chia pudding with it being runny if I don’t mix it well to begin with. Giving it a good stir and letting it sit again in the fridge normally sets it up.
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What brand chocolate is this?
chocolove!
I think this would be lovely made with coconut milk, too. That would go really well with the mango, especially if you sweetened it with a little bit of coconut sugar or Panela. It’s stone fruit season here so I’m thinking lightly stewed NZ apricots, too. Yum. Do you make your own almond milk? In Australia, we need to be careful because the stuff you buy in the supermarket is often sold as a health food but in reality it’s full of fillers and ‘hidden’ sugars and only about 2% almonds. Such a rort!
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This chia pudding recipe looks fantastic! I love the idea of mixing chocolate and pistachios! I’m also a massive chia pudding junkie!
Your pictures are beautiful by the way, did you take them yourself?
My own personal favorite so far is my peanut butter, chocolate chia pudding. Also, I find it easier to use my vitamix for the Chia Seeds. It works like a charm!
Looking forward to you posting more recipes. Thanks for sharing. Kim
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Jess, you have officially made me CHIA PUDDING CRAZY! I saw these Chia posts of yours for months, and was all “Psssh, looks like a slimefest” but finally i caved, and Oh, Mah. GAH. I’ve made it for breakfast every day this week! Today’s combo was laced with flaked toasted coconut, dark chocolate shavings, and unsweetened dried black cherries (added in when making the pudding, not on top – so they plump up). I’m dying a delicious death of infinite deliciousness. Oh, and I upgraded to white Chia seeds, to banish that weird eyeball appearance. Looks more like Tapioca, so my husband doesn’t vom when he sees the jars in the fridge. Anywho – THANKS. I am in love.
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Sorry the chia pudding feels like frogspawn to me…. And the vanilla paste sort of feels subtly vanilla-y but sort of not.. :( Not a fan. In a smoothie, maybe. A spoon over granola covered with milk – yes. But as a pudding as is… Definitely not for me! I need to find ways to use it quick, it’s already been in the fridge for 3 days… As an ingredient for something, instead of soaked chia seeds? …
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