Strawberry Banana Chia Pudding Parfait

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Chia pudding is an easy-to-make snack or breakfast idea that's easily portable and can be customized with lots of different flavors. This recipe is for a strawberry banana chia pudding parfait. Paleo, Whole30, and an AIP Stage 2 reintroduction due to seeds

If you get sick of eggs for breakfast, or want something easy to put in the fridge and just grab and go in the morning, or want a different kind of snack that is portable and filling, chia pudding might be your answer. It doesn't require a ton of ingredients and you can make it as fancy schmancy as you want or as simple as you want. Some chia puddings take a few hours to really solidify and are best put in the fridge overnight, but my recipe below is one you can put together in under 20 minutes. What's different is the ratio of chia seeds to liquid – the less liquid, the faster the pudding will come together.

Chia seeds are one of those things that have been around for a long long time (Aztec warriors used to eat them, and then I'm sure you probably made a chia pet at some point in time in your life, right?) but only recently became elevated to superfood status. Rich in Omega-3's, calcium, magnesium, potassium, fiber, protein, and antioxidants, they are little powerhouses of nutrition. Plus they do a pretty good job of making you feel full. They have a ton of other benefits too – which I'll link to in this article by Dr. Axe which I think sums it up quite nicely.

But what exactly do you do with chia seeds? You can make chia jam, as a replacement for an egg in a baking recipe, sprinkled on salads or in a homemade granola, and our favorite thing – chia pudding.

Because chia seeds absorb so much liquid (they can absorb up to 10x their weight in water!), they gel really nicely. So if you add, say, coconut milk to the seeds, they turn into a nice little porridge. And that's exactly what you do to make chia pudding. Add liquid. You can add other things, like maple syrup or honey to sweeten it up, cocoa powder to make it chocolatey, bananas to make it creamy, almond butter to make it have a different flavor and more protein, etc. Or make it and THEN add tons of toppings like cocoa nibs, fresh berries, shredded coconut, granola, hemp seeds, goji berries- the sky is the limit with chia puddings! That's why I think we like them so much. It's hard to get sick of something you can customize so endlessly.

You can easily do a google search for chia pudding recipes to find ones if you don't feel comfortable experimenting on your own, but below I have a basic chia pudding recipe that has been made into a Strawberry Banana Chia Pudding Parfait. Paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, and super easy to make – watch the video to see how easy – and great to make ahead of time and then just store in a glass Ball jar or pyrex and then take with you to work or wherever.

Can't see the video? Click here: Chia Pudding Parfait Tutorial

Strawberry Banana Chia Pudding Parfait Recipe

If you make this pudding, I'd love to hear how it turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune!

Strawberry Banana Chia Pudding Parfait

Author: Michele Spring

Servings: 4

Chia pudding is an easy-to-make snack or breakfast idea that's easily portable and can be customized with lots of different flavors. This recipe is for a strawberry banana chia pudding parfait. Paleo, Whole30, and an AIP Stage 2 reintroduction due to seeds

 

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup Chia Seeds
• 1 to 1.3 cups Coconut Milk or other dairy-free milk (less will make the pudding pretty thick and more will make it creamier)
• 2 Bananas (peeled)
• 4 cups Strawberries (divided (about 32 oz))
• 2 cans Coconut Cream (or you can try to refrigerate a can of coconut milk, but this is not always successful)
• Optional: Paleo granola for topping (examples: Paleonola, Steve’s Paleo Goods PaleoKrunch, Wildway)

Instructions

 

• Mix chia seeds and coconut milk in a small bowl. (Note: If you have a can of coconut milk where the cream is separated from the water, mix first to get the milk smooth. Coconut milk is notoriously inconsistent in whether it’s liquid or separated like this, annoying!!) Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut the tops off all of the strawberries. Blend 2 cups of the strawberries in a blender until a smoothie-like consistency. Transfer the blended strawberries to a separate bowl and set aside. To the blender add the bananas and 1 cup strawberries. Blend these into a smoothie-like consistency. You may have to use your blender’s tamper to get the bananas to puree.
• In a pint-sized glass jar or a bowl, layer approx ¼ cup chia pudding, 1/2 of the strawberry puree, half a can of coconut cream, 1/2 of the strawberry banana puree, and then ¼ cup more of the chia pudding. Add some sliced strawberries on top. You could also add some Paleo granola, but do this right before serving (don’t do this and put in the fridge for a few days. Because, soggy granola).

Notes

Need more than 4 servings? Per serving you need: ¼ cup of chia seeds, ¼ cup of coconut milk, 1 cup strawberries (about 8 oz), ½ banana, ½ can coconut cream

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword: dairy free, easy, grain free, make ahead, meal prep, Paleo, portable, Vegan, vegetarian

Did you make this recipe?Leave a comment below or share a photo on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune !

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