Happy Friday! It's the weekend and I'm back on solid food (boy, is it good to be eating again. I don't think I've felt so hungry on a juice cleanse before). Yep, everything is GOOD.
And I made us breakfast! Now, is it just me, or do you ever find yourself in a breakfast rut? And/or, do you find yourself becoming hungry again, approximately 11 minutes after eating your breakfast? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then I have just the thing for you! A breakfast saviour if you will.
I was relatively late to the chia pudding game. I've wanted to try it for ages since it was so trendy and yet it took me an age to actually get round to buying some chia seeds. So, a few months ago when I finally did, I was half expecting to hate it as I'd read so often that you either love or hate the texture. Well, imagine my fascination when I found that I loved it! I loved it so much that I kept making it for breakfast for a few weeks (until I got bored, of course). But I found that it kept me full for barely anytime at all. Unless I threw a whole load of granola or something on top. And sometimes that's a little too much effort first thing in the morning, y'know?
So I had the idea to stir in some cooked quinoa to bulk it out a bit and also to make it feel more substantial to eat. There isn't much bite to chia pud and I like to get my teeth into something in order to feel satiated. Trust me, this did the trick. I got almost all the way to lunchtime without feeling hungry - win! And the best thing about these babies? You can make all component parts ahead, leave it in the fridge and grab and go in the morning when you have to leave the house at stupid o'clock. Yay!
You could play around with whatever flavour combos take your fancy for this - just like a regular chia pudding. Switching it up and keeping it interesting are key for me - in order to avoid breakfast rut type situations. From left to right we have: Peanut Butter with Blueberry Compote, Maple Espresso with Cacao Nibs and Maple Coated Pistachios and last but not least, Vanilla with Cinnamon Grapefruit Compote.
Quinoa Chia Pudding 3 Ways
Equipment
- Jars
Ingredients
For the quinoa chia pudding
- 1 ⅓ cups almond milk, or milk of your choice, (350 ml)
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ½ cup Greek yoghurt
Peanut Butter and Blueberry
- 1 cup quinoa chia pudding
- 1 teaspoon smooth peanut butter, (preferably natural)
- ½ cup frozen blueberries, (50 g)
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- squeeze of lemon juice
- peanut butter and Greek yoghurt, to serve
Maple Espresso
- 1 cup quinoa chia pudding
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup, divided
- pinch of sea salt
- small handful pistachios
- cacao nibs
Vanilla and Cinnamon Grapefruit
- 1 cup quinoa chia pudding
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- pinch of sea salt
- ½ ruby grapefruit, peeled
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- pinch of ground cinnamon
- vanilla bean paste, to finish
Instructions
For the quinoa chia pudding
- Mix together the almond milk and chia seeds. I find it easiest to do this in a jar. Shake a few times until the seeds are suspended in the milk. Leave to soak overnight in the fridge.1 ⅓ cups almond milk, or milk of your choice, 3 tablespoons chia seeds, 1 cup cooked quinoa, ½ cup Greek yoghurt
- In a small mixing bowl combine the soaked chia seeds and almond milk, the quinoa and the Greek yoghurt. Mix well.
Peanut Butter and Blueberry
- Mix together the quinoa chia pudding with the peanut butter. Place in serving glass or bowl.1 cup quinoa chia pudding, 1 teaspoon smooth peanut butter
- In a small pan, add the blueberries, maple syrup and lemon juice. Simmer over low heat until the blueberries have burst and the juice has thickened to your liking. Leave to cool and spoon over the quinoa chia pudding along with an extra dollop of peanut butter and Greek yoghurt.½ cup frozen blueberries, ½ teaspoon maple syrup, squeeze of lemon juice, peanut butter and Greek yoghurt
Maple Espresso
- Mix together the quinoa chia pudding with the espresso powder, maple syrup and a pinch of sea salt. Place in serving glass or bowl.1 cup quinoa chia pudding, ½ teaspoon espresso powder, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, pinch of sea salt
- Place the pistachios in a small pan with the maple syrup and heat briefly to coat. The syrup should create a sticky glaze on the nuts. Transfer to a non-stick mat and leave to cool. Serve the pudding with a sprinkling of cacao nibs and the glazed pistachios.small handful pistachios, cacao nibs
Vanilla and Cinnamon Grapefruit
- Mix together the quinoa chia pudding with the vanilla bean paste and a pinch of sea salt and place in a serving glass or bowl.1 cup quinoa chia pudding, ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste, pinch of sea salt
- Cut the grapefruit into chunks and place in a small saucepan with the maple syrup and ground cinnamon. Heat gently until the grapefruit gives up some of its juice and this begins to thicken. Remove from the heat before the pieces of grapefruit turn mushy. Leave to cool. Serve the pudding with the grapefruit compote and an extra drizzle of vanilla bean paste, if liked.½ ruby grapefruit, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, pinch of ground cinnamon, vanilla bean paste
Notes
Nutrition
That should keep us going for a few days at least.
Sue says
Never tried Chia pud before and the added bite of quinoa sounds interesting. Can'y wait to try this - looks yummy!
Mary Kennelly says
Is it three 1-Cup servings?
Sasha says
yes 🙂
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says
You pictures are beautiful and the recipe seems really good! I bought a bag of chia seeds few months ago but I have not attempted to make anything with them. yet. I printed your recipe and I'll finally try it! 😉
Sasha says
Aww thank you! Chia seeds are pretty amazing little things - packed full of nutrition. Let me know how you get on with the recipe! 🙂