Chocolate Chia Pudding

Here is a pretty awesome recipe for all you chocolate lovers out there. It’s creamy, It’s chocolatey, It’s sweet and so good. I love this recipe. I have tried all sorts of chia puddings but it always felt like something was missing. All of the recipes I have tried were really good but just didn’t have that taste I was looking for.

This recipe requires a little effort but nothing too much. It requires little ingredients also but, it packs such a big flavor. The only thing… You have to wait. It requires a minimum of 3 hours set time to overnight. I prefer overnight so it fully absorbs all of the flavors.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp coffee extract

2 tbsp 100% pure maple syrup

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp cacao powder

pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small saucepan over low heat add the cocoa powder and the cacao powder and cook for about 1 minute or until just heated through. Make sure your pan is warm ( not hot) when you put your cacao and cocoa powder in.  Do not overcook. Cook just enough to heat the powders through and slightly toast them or they will become bitter to the taste. You don’t want that. Remove from heat and allow to cool on a paper towel or bowl.
2. In a container or bowl with a fitted lid add the chia seeds, vanilla extract, coffee extract, salt and maple syrup. Stir to combine.
3. Add the cocoa powder mixture and stir to combine and incorporate well. When well combined slowly add in the milk a little bit at a time until thin enough to stir well. Add the rest of the milk and stir to combine well.
4. Stir on the lid and let set about 3 hours in the fridge. Remove from the bowl and add to a blender or processor and blend until completely smooth and transfer back to the bowl and add the lid back on. Let sit overnight or a minimum of 2 hours after placing back in the fridge.

When you are ready to devour it, Remove it from the fridge and top however you like. I topped mine with shredded coconut flakes, cacao nibs, and goji berries. You can top it with coco whip and cacao nibs or any other way you desire.

This is such a complex flavor and it is not overpowering. You can omit the coffee extract and add in orange zest, You can add 1/4 tsp peppermint or mint extract for a chocolate mint flavor, You can top it with cherries for a chocolate cherry flavor, You can add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp ground red pepper for a Mexican flair, You can also add in 1/4 cup of chocolate chips for a double chocolate flavor. The sky is the limit.

*If you are adding spices to the pudding, toast them with the cacao and cocoa powder to bring out more of the natural flavors of the spices. If you are adding in orange zest, add in when you stir in the milk to the chia seeds so when they absorb the milk the chia will absorb the flavor of the zest, when you blend it together in a blender the zest will be blended with all the other flavors. You can also use any other sweetener of choice, like rice malt syrup, agave or vegan honey*