Cherry Chia Seed Pudding

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This Cherry Chia Seed Pudding is extra creamy, vegan, and has a true, fresh cherry flavor. It has 8 simple ingredients and takes just 10 minutes to make. It's the perfect summer breakfast for busy mornings and meal prep! Plus, it doubles as a snack! You can make it with both fresh and frozen cherries.

Cherry chia pudding in a short glass garnished with one whole cherry and one cherry sliced in half and pitted and with more cherries around the glass in a small bowl on the left.

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Why You'll Love This Cherry Chia Pudding
Ingredients
Variations and Substitutions
Step-by-Step Instructions
Tips & Tricks!
Serving Suggestions
Storing
FAQs
More Chia Pudding Recipes
📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Cherry Chia Pudding

Sweet cherry flavor - Cherries are one of my favorite summer fruits because they're rarely available outside of their season in most places. I used fresh cherries here, but it's just as delicious with frozen ones! My secret (and optional) ingredient is almond extract. It tastes like marzipan, and the flavor goes so well with cherries!

Easy and great for meal prep - The recipe calls for just a few simple ingredients, and you can prep it in just about 10 minutes. It's super easy to make a bigger batch for yourself or your whole family, and you can divide it into individual jars so you can just grab it and go in the morning!

Cherry chia pudding in two short glasses garnished with one whole cherry and one cherry sliced in half and pitted and with more cherries around the glasses.

Ingredients

Chia seeds - I use regular black chia seeds that should be easy to find at most grocery stores or online. There are also white chia seeds, but the main difference between the two is just the color.
Yogurt and milk - I add both because yogurt makes it extra creamy and milk thins it out a little bit so it's not too thick. If you want the pudding to be extra decadent, skip the milk and add more yogurt! I like unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk by Elmhurst and vegan coconut yogurt like Yoggu. Whole milk, any non-dairy milk (except canned coconut milk), and Greek yogurt will all work too.
Sweet cherries - I used fresh cherries, but frozen cherries work too, and you don't even have to defrost them! I just like to let them thaw slightly so they're easier to roughly chop into smaller pieces.
Maple syrup - I sweetened the chia pudding with pure dark maple syrup, but you can use agave, coconut sugar, brown sugar, stevia, or any other sweetener. Try it with my Cherry Simple Syrup!
Vanilla and almond extract - You can use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. If you use vanilla powder, you'll have to add a little less of it. I also add almond extract, but it's optional. It has a unique flavor, similar to marzipan, and it goes really well with cherries. I highly recommend it!
Cinnamon - I add a touch of cinnamon to practically all my sweet recipes where it fits. You can skip it if you prefer. It just balances all the flavors and adds that little something.

Variations and Substitutions

Blend the cherries - I wanted to keep it simple, so I chopped the cherries and just stirred them into the chia pudding, but you can blend them to make the chia pudding more vibrant pink! If you do this, I recommend adding slightly less milk because the blended cherries will act like cherry juice.
Protein powder - You can add a scoop of your favorite vanilla or unflavored protein powder. Be careful not to add too much so it doesn't taste chalky. I usually do about ½ scoop per person or less. See my Protein Chia Pudding for more tips.
Chocolate - Cacao powder would be a great addition if you want to turn it into more of a black forest cake flavor!
Flax seeds - I like to add ground flaxseeds to any overnight oats or chia pudding I make for added fiber, protein, and healthy fats, among other nutrients. They also soak up liquids and gel up, so they might help thicken it.

Step-by-Step Instructions

To a medium bowl, add yogurt, milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon, and chia seeds.
Whisk until well mixed.
Stir in the cherries.

A glass bowl with chia seeds, milk, yogurt, and cinnamon on the left and after whisking and with added chopped cherries.

Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes and stir again to get rid of any clumps.
Cover or divide into two jars and chill in the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours.
In the morning, give it a quick stir to see if you like the consistency and add more yogurt or milk if needed.
Serve it with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

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A glass bowl with cherry chia pudding before and after chilling in the fridge and the chia seeds soaking up the liquid and thickening the pudding.

Tips & Tricks!

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Serving Suggestions

You can serve the chia pudding for breakfast or a snack on its own, or add various toppings. You can serve it either in a grab-and-go jar or in a bowl with toppings.

If you want to add anything like berries, more fresh cherries, an extra scoop of yogurt, almond butter, or anything else that won't lose its crunch, you can add your toppings into each jar with the pudding so that you can just grab it in the morning to save time!

If you're adding anything crunchy like granola, roasted nuts, or seeds. I recommend adding those in the morning because they'd soak up the moisture from the pudding and lose their crispiness.

Storing

Store the chia pudding in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. You can either divide it into individual jars right after you make it, or let it soak in a big bowl (covered with plastic wrap) and divide it once it thickens up in the morning.

I don't recommend freezing it. The texture of the yogurt and milk just wouldn't be the same.

FAQs

My chia pudding is too thick/too thin. How do I fix it?

Too thick - Add a little more yogurt or milk until you reach your desired consistency. Do it in small amounts to avoid adding too much.
Too thin - You'll have to add more chia seeds and give them at least 30 minutes to soak (or as long as possible). You can also add 1-3 teaspoon of ground flax seeds. They gel up when added to a liquid as well, so they might help thicken the pudding.

Can I use dried cherries?

No, you need fresh cherries to achieve the right flavor.

More Chia Pudding Recipes

Below are a few of my other chia puddings you can make if you want to try other flavors. To see all the latest ones, head over to the Chia Pudding Recipes category!

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Have you tried this Cherry Chia Pudding? Please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!

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