Are you looking for a snack that is gluten free, paleo friendly, and completely vegan? Blue chia pudding is a great snack to have in between meals, as a dessert, or to serve as your breakfast. It’s not just compatible with a lot of different diets, but it’s also rich in nutrients.
They say food that’s good for you often doesn’t taste very good, but blue chia pudding is the exception.
What Is Blue Chia Pudding?
Blue chia pudding contains blue spirulina and chia seeds combined with plant milk to make a completely vegan and dairy free dish.
You may think that a lightly colored pudding like this has a ton of dairy, but it doesn’t have to if you’re using plant milk as a substitute. This dish can also be made with regular dairy milk, but it’s not necessary.
It tastes just as good with plant milk.
One thing I really like about this dish is that it only takes a few minutes to make and there is very little cleanup for you to do afterwards.
It’s a good source of omega-3 fatty acids which are good for your heart. It’s also rich in minerals protein, and fiber. That’s why I say it makes a good breakfast, because it can be very nourishing and filling.
After you’ve had a serving of pudding, you may feel like you have energy for a while and may not need to eat for several hours.
One common misconception about this dish is that it uses food coloring, but that’s not necessary either. There are no artificial dyes used to make blue chia pudding or any food coloring. Yet, it still has a vibrant blue color, which is really fun, and your kids will probably love that.
What Is Blue Spirulina?
For those who have never had it, a description of spirulina can be a little bit off-putting. For people who are always looking for interesting healthy foods to try, spirulina may already be familiar to them. This is an algae that’s bluish green in color and is sourced from lakes and ponds.
Does blue spirulina have health benefits? It’s actually very nutrient rich and good for you. It’s a good source of antioxidants, so you may want to use it if you’re not feeling well or you want to prevent yourself from getting sick.
It’s also good for your digestive health and for maintaining proper blood pressure. You can use it to improve your energy levels as well. Blue spirulina is considered a superfood, so I could probably write an entire article on its health benefits.
The spirulina algae is typically a combination of blue and green colors, but to get the blue spirulina chia pudding look, the blue color has to be extracted from that.
This doesn’t add any manmade components to the dish or processes that dilute and detract from the nutrient value of spirulina.
When the blue color is extracted, it’s made into a powder. At that point, it has very little flavor, so it can be added to dishes like chia pudding without affecting the flavor.
That lets you create a flavor that’s pleasing to you and without worrying about the effect the spirulina algae is having on the taste profile.
How to Make Blue Chia Pudding
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon of blue spirulina powder
- 1/4 cup of chia seeds
- 3/4 cup of unsweetened plant milk
- 1/2 cup of full fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon of Maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
Directions:
- Put all of your ingredients into a bowl and combine them using a spoon. You know all your ingredients are combined once there’s no dry powder specks left or dry seeds.
- Allow the pudding to rest for 8 minutes, and then stir it again to get rid of any clumps that might be there.
- Put the pudding into a covered container and let it rest in the fridge for an hour. This will allow it to cool and thicken.
- Before serving the pudding, stir it once more. You want to make sure that you’re stirring the pudding really well, as you need to get rid of any dry seed pockets that could mess with the texture.
- You may need to prepare the coconut milk before you mix it with the other ingredients. For best results, put the can into a bowl of hot water to warm.
- Leave it there for 15 minutes and then shake the can well before opening it up. This helps to break the cream up that may appear on the top of the coconut milk. Once that’s broken down, it’s easier to mix everything together and combine it smoothly.
You can make some substitutions on this dish, changing out coconut milk for any other kind of plant-based milk. I use coconut milk because of how creamy it is, so other substitutes will make a thinner less rich dish.
You can also switch out the maple syrup for any kind of sweetener you like, like honey, and even mashed up banana works well.
How to Store Blue Chia Pudding
How do you store blue chia pudding to make sure it doesn’t go bad? It could be stored in the fridge for as long as four days, as long as it’s placed in an airtight container. A plastic or glass container work fine, and you can even put it into a jar for storage.
How to freeze blue chia pudding? If you follow the recipe I gave you above, you will have blue chia putting that can be stored in the freezer for as long as three months.
It can be stored in a freezer safe container of any kind, and then you can thaw it out at room temperature in about an hour. Before you serve it or eat it yourself, make sure you stir it thoroughly.
If there are any yogurt layers on your pudding (as some people do add yogurt to their dish), it should not be stored in the freezer.
How to Store Blue Spirulina
When you buy spirulina, it can be stored in an airtight bag at room temperature. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated until you open the bag. At that point, it should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
What Is the Difference between Black and White Chia Seeds?
You can choose between black or white chia seeds for this dish and many others, and you may be wondering if there is a benefit to using one color of chia seed over another.
The reality is that they both offer the same nutritional benefits and the same taste. You can use them interchangeably, but of course the black ones will be more visible.
Can You Use Dairy Milk Instead of Plant Milk?
You don’t have to stick with plant milk like almond or soy milk for this dish. You can use dairy milk instead if you’re not trying to make a vegan dish.
It works just the same, you can use the same amount. Your flavor profile will change slightly, but that’s probably what you’re looking for if you’re using dairy milk rather than a plant milk.
What If My Chia Pudding Is Too Thin?
If you’ve made the chia pudding according to the directions above and it still comes out too thin, you can fix it.
There are a few different ways you could fix it, like adding a thickening agent like cornstarch, or you could add some yogurt to it as well.
Probably the best way to thicken up chia pudding and keep the same flavor and texture is to add more chia seeds. As you mix these in, they’ll thicken the pudding, and you want to be careful about adding too much so that you’re pudding doesn’t become too thick.
Is Chia Pudding Good for You?
There are plenty of health benefits to chia pudding, and I’ve covered a lot of them earlier in this article. The high fiber content means it’s good for your digestive system.
The high protein content makes it good for helping you lose weight and feel full so you don’t feel like you need to eat as much.
There are also a lot of nutrients and minerals in this dish that are good for your overall health.
Can I Blend Chia Pudding in a Blender?
If you mix this dish by hand, it will have a thick, gel-like texture to it. It might come out a little thicker and heavier than you’re wanting, so blending it is a good option to help thin it out a little bit and make it creamier.
Just put your ingredients into the blender without mixing them or you can stir them together first and see how they turn out that way before adding them to the blender. Then, just cover the blender and process for about 30 seconds.
My name is Ellis Francis and I have been a personal fitness trainer, sports nutritionalist and health and fitness advisor for over 25 years. I am the lead health and fitness advisor at https://awellnessbody.com.
