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These single serve chia seed pudding for babies 6 months and up is the perfect make ahead breakfast or snack that you can whip up in under 5 minutes! Simple, nutritious, and DELICIOUS, it’s sure to keep you and your family energized. I’m sharing the basic recipe as well as 6 fun flavors to tickle your taste buds.

If you love overnight oats or quinoa, you’re going to love chia pudding! It’s ridiculously simple to make with ENDLESS flavor combinations. You really can’t go wrong!

Health Benefits for Babies and Toddlers

  • Chia seeds may be tiny but they sure do pack a nutritional punch! They contain many nutrients that help support young children’s rapid brain development and strengthen immune systems: omega-3s, iron, complete protein (contain all 9 essential amino acids), calcium, and soluble fiber to name a few. 
  • If battling constipation, these chia puddings may provide relief! They truly helped my son when he was a baby.
  • You can simply sprinkle chia seeds on yogurt, oatmeal, toast, add to baked goods (baby and toddler muffins) or go a step further and make these chia puddings
  • As you know, offering a variety of foods in the early years is so important for food acceptance, helping shape their food preferences, and much more. Chia seed pudding is an excellent vehicle for helping you to achieve that goal, thanks to its versatility. The sky is the limit when it comes to flavorings and toppings. Sharing some of our favorites below. 
  • When chia seeds combine with liquid, they form a gel-like consistency, making it a fun and unique texture to expose your baby to. The seeds “pop” inside the mouth.
  • It’s a great dairy-free, egg-free breakfast option if your child has allergies
  • If your child is underweight, this is a great way to make every bite count.

Ingredients for the basic recipe

ingredients for the basic recipe on a wooden board
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  • Chia seeds
  • Milk of choice. You can use breastmilk, dairy (whole fat recommended), or a plant-based alternative (here’s a blog post on the best milk for toddlers). Canned full-fat coconut milk is one of my favorites because it really makes the pudding extra thick and rich, and I love the flavor. Feel free to experiment! 
  • Optional add-ins:
    • 1-2 teaspoons sweetener of choice: maple syrup, honey (do NOT serve if your child is under 12 months as it may cause botulism)
    • 2-3 tablespoons mashed fruit: banana, berries, mango, unsweetened applesauce, etc.
    • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1/4 teaspoon spices (e.g. cinnamon, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice)
  • Toppings (See below) – to be added right before eating

How to Make Chia Pudding

  • Combine the chia seeds, liquid of choice, and optional add-ins in a small container. I like to use these mason jars. Stir well and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. Give it another stir, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight. You shouldn’t see any clumps so STIR STIR!
  • You’ll see that the chia seeds will “ch-ch-ch-chia” expand and absorb the liquid, resulting in a pudding-like consistency, hence the name. 
  • Troubleshooting: If you  want the pudding to be thicker, add a bit more chia (a teaspoon at a time). Refrigerate for an additional 30 minutes or until it becomes thick. If it’s too thick, you can add more milk.
  • When ready to eat, give its good stir to break up any lumps
  • Now top with whatever your heart desires! 

How to Modify for Babies

  • If you don’t like the texture of chia pudding, blend the chia seeds and milk before refrigerating. You’ll end up with a smoother and creamier pudding rather than one that’s tapioca-like. It will also set faster so you don’t have to wait as long to enjoy.  
  • While pre-soaked whole chia seeds can safely be offered to babies 6 months and up, if your child has difficulty swallowing, then follow the blended version of chia pudding.
  • I purposefully developed these recipes so that they’re not too sweet (but plenty sweet for the baby). You can always top with more fruit before serving or add more to the base recipe, if you wish. 
  • When adding fruits as toppings for young babies (6-9 months), be sure to mash, flatten, or finely chop. As for nuts, finely grind or chop.
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Toppings

Anything you add to oatmeal or yogurt will work here too! 

Related Post: Nuts and seeds for baby

How to Meal Prep

Purchase some small containers or mason jars and double or triple any of these recipes. Then pour into the single-serving containers/jars.

You can also make more than one variation to rotate through since they keep in the fridge for several days. If you’re blending, just give the blender a rinse before proceeding with other flavors.

You can have several different flavored jars of chia pudding ready to go in under 15 minutes. Fun! Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

6 Fun Flavors

Peanut butter Banana Chia pudding

peanut butter date pudding in a glass bowl

Raspberry Tahini Chia Pudidng

raspberry tahini flavor in a glass bowl

To the basic recipe (canned full-fat coconut milk HIGHLY recommended!), add 1 tablespoon tahini + 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract + 2 tablespoons mashed raspberries. Top with chopped nuts, cereal, more raspberries.

Blueberry Lemon Chia Pudding

blueberry lemon pie chia pudding in a glass bowl

To the basic recipe, add 1 tablespoons mashed blueberries + 1 tablespoon mashed banana + 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest. Top with yogurt, more zest, blueberries, walnuts

Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding

pumpkin pie chia pudding in a glass bowl

To the basic recipe, add pumpkin puree and some warm pumpkin pie spices!

Carrot Cake Chia Pudding

carrot cake pudding in a glass bowl

To the basic recipe (canned full-fat coconut milk), add 1/4 cup finely grated carrots + 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon cardamom. Top with yogurt, walnuts, unsweetened shredded coconut, optional: maple syrup or finely chopped raisins

Mango Avocado Chia Pudding

mango avocado chia pudding in a glass bowl

To the basic recipe (canned full-fat coconut milk), add 2 tablespoons finely minced mango. Top with mango, avocado, unsweetened shredded coconut

More Breakfast/Snack Ideas

5 from 17 votes

Single Serve Chia Puddings for Babies and Kids

Single serve chia seed pudding for babies 6 months and up is the perfect make ahead breakfast or snack that you can whip up in under 5 minutes!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Resting Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 1
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Equipment

Ingredients 

The Basic Recipe

  • 1/2 cup milk of choice (breastmilk, dairy, plant-based)
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Optional

  • 1-2 teaspoons sweetener of choice (e.g. maple syrup, honey, date syrup) or
  • 2-3 tablespoons mashed or finely chopped fruit
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon spice (e.g. cinnamon, cardamom, pumpkin pie)

Toppings

  • fruits, finely chopped nuts/seeds, shredded coconut, nut butter, yogurt, lemon zest

Instructions 

  • Combine the chia seeds and liquid of choice in a small container. I like to use a mason jar. Stir well and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. Give it another stir, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight. You shouldn’t see any clumps so stir stir. 
  • If you  want the pudding to be thicker, add a bit more chia (a teaspoon at a time). Refrigerate for an additional 30 minutes or until it becomes thick.
  • When ready to eat, give its good stir to break up any lumps
  • Top with whatever your heart desires! 

Notes

  • If you don’t like the texture of chia pudding, blend the chia seeds and milk before refrigerating. You’ll end up with a smoother and creamier pudding rather than one that’s tapioca-like. It will also set faster so you don’t have to wait as long to enjoy.  
  • While pre-soaked whole chia seeds can safely be offered to babies 6 months and up, if your child has difficulty swallowing, then follow the blended version of chia pudding.
  • I purposefully developed these recipes so that they’re not too sweet (but plenty sweet for the baby). You can always top with more sweetener or  fruit before serving or add more to the base recipe, if you wish. 
  • When adding fruits as toppings, be sure to mash, flatten, or finely chop. As for nuts, finely grind or chop.

Nutrition

Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Sodium: 57mg | Fiber: 9g | Calcium: 291mg | Iron: 2mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Min

Thank you so much for stopping by! I am Min, a Registered Dietitian, a Christ follower, a wife, and a mom to our two miracle babies! Currently, I’m having a ton of fun feeding their tummies and sharing our baby led weaning journey! Follow me on Instagram if interested in seeing daily menu as well as tips and tricks.

5 from 17 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




18 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This is a fam fav! My littles loves helping making them almost as much as eating them. Thanks so much for always making easy, healthy meal ideas!

  2. 5 stars
    Love these recipes. I’ve never gotten the quinoa to turn out very tasty, but use the chia seed base recipe (usually half milk half Greek yogurt) all the time, it is so versatile!

  3. 5 stars
    Hi MJ, thank you for taking the time to share all your wonderful recipes. I was wondering how long does a batch of chia seed keep? I made way too much, and didn’t realize the chia expanded so much. Can I save it for another day?

    Thanks so much again. I love the idea of overnight preparing, makes the mornings so much easier.

    1. HI! Yes they expand a lot don’t they? Absolutely that’s one of the beauties of these puddings. You can keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. The seeds will clump so just give it a good stir before enjoying. And hold off on adding the toppings until right before eating 😉

  4. 5 stars
    I started making this for our kids ever since I learned about it from your blog. They are now almost 4 years old and this is still their favorite breakfast!

    1. You can use milk at that age. You just don’t want to offer it as a drink. It’s fine to use it in recipes. You can also use breastmilk, formula, coconut milk, etc.

  5. Hello, is it possible for lo to become constipated after having chia? I’ve noticed this several times in my lo and am not sure if it’s normal.