Overnight Coconut Chia Pudding is thick, creamy, and so delicious! I add ground cardamom—it pairs beautifully with the coconut milk and takes the flavor to the next level.
Hooked on chia seed puddings? Try my mango chia pudding or peanut butter chocolate chia pudding next!
A Quick Look at the Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Coconut Chia Pudding Recipe
🕒 Ready In: ~4 minutes plus soaking time
👪 Serves: 2 servings
🧑🍳 Main Ingredients: Chia seeds, coconut milk, maple syrup or honey and ground caradmom
📖 Dietary Info: Vegetarian and vegan option
📌 Difficulty: Easy, no cooking or baking
Why you’ll love these coconut chia seed pudding?
This coconut milk chia pudding is ultra-thick, creamy, and full of coconut flavor —perfect for breakfast, a snack, or a cool summer treat. Topped with your favorite seasonal fruits, it’s refreshing, naturally sweet, and so delicious.
Canned coconut milk gives it a rich, velvety texture, and a hint of cardamom adds a warm, aromatic touch and it’s also naturally gluten-free and vegan. Once you try it, it might just become your go-to healthy dessert or breakfast!
- maria doss
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Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.
- Chia seeds - Use a combination, all black or white chia seeds for this coconut chia pudding recipe. Make sure that the seeds are not old.
- Coconut milk - Coconut milk is the liquid extracted from the meat of a mature coconut. You can find regular and light canned milks available in the stores. Light milk is just regular fat milk thinned down with some water. Although either will work, regular fat coconut milk makes the creamiest pudding and also thickens faster.
- Sugar - Maple syrup or honey tastes delicious. If you'd like to keep it vegan, then use maple syrup.
- Flavorings - I love the magical combination of coconut and cardamom. Refer to my blog post on how to make cardamom powder and also the round up post of yummy recipes using cardamom powder.
Tips for Success
- Cardamom – Use freshly ground cardamom instead of store bought cardamom powder.
- Mix twice - Mix again after 5 minutes to avoid clumping and then refrigerate for a few hours.
- For the perfect texture, place in the fridge overnight to set so the chia seeds really have time to expand.
- Check the expiration of chia seeds: Make sure that the chia seeds aren't old to ensure optimal thickening.
- Coconut milk - Use regular or light variety. Give the can of coconut milk a good shake before using! Coconut cream naturally separates—mixing it ensures a smooth, creamy pudding every time.
- Salt - A scant pinch of salt elevates the taste.
- Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days in a sealed jar or container. It can also be frozen for up to a month. Leave overnight in the refrigerator to thaw.
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Coconut Chia Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 ½ tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 to 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder or use vanilla extract
- 1 scant pinch salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a large mason jar and mix until thoroughly combined. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes and then stir well again. 👉 This step will make sure that the seeds mix evenly to create a luscious pudding like texture, without any clumping.
- Seal the jar and chill for at least 5 hours (or up to 4 days). Top with fresh berries or chopped mango and enjoy!👉 If your pudding has thickened too much, simply stir in a splash of coconut milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
Watch How To Make It
Substitutions & Variations
- Replace coconut milk with other milks, such as regular cow's, almond, oat or cashew milk.
- Use other flavorings like vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, almond extract or ground nutmeg instead of cardamom.
- Top with toasted and chopped nuts such as almonds, pecans, cashews or macadamia nuts.
Serving Suggestions
Ideally, this overnight chia seed pudding recipe is best served cold straight from the fridge. However, it can be enjoyed hot as well. If you want to eat it warm, then heat in a microwave, until lukewarm as you would with oatmeal.
Topping Ideas
- Fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or blackberries.
- Combination of chopped fresh pineapple and shredded coconut like the pina colada smoothie recipe.
- Sliced banana and toasted almonds.
- Diced mangos! Mango, coconut and cardamom is such a delicious pairing. You can find more tasty ideas in the roundup post of mango recipes.
- Top with your favorite fruit jam.
- Chopped toasted almonds, cashews or macadamia nuts.
- Chopped fresh cherries.
- Mini chocolate chips or shredded chocolate.
- Your favorite granola.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chia seeds are supposed to be chewed. Since they can absorb liquid 10 times their weight, chewing the seeds thoroughly will help in digestion and prevent them from expanding in your throat.
The chia seeds begin to absorb the liquid almost right away. We like give it a stir after about 5 minutes to avoid clumping up. The coconut chia pudding is then refrigerated for at least 4 hours to overnight. If you are in a rush, then you can eat in about an hour or so.
Fresh chia seeds have a mild flavor and also smell a bit nutty. Although the healthy oils in the seeds are actually good for you, it also causes the seeds to eventually oxidize and turn rancid.
It might have passed the expiration date, if you see any lumping or mold. Open the jar and give a shake test. If you notice that the seeds stick to the walls after a good shake, or most of them stuck to the bottom, throw them away. Also, if you take some seeds by hand and find them slimy or sticking to your fingers, it might be a good idea to toss them out.
Clumpy chia pudding usually happens when the seeds aren’t stirred early enough or don’t have enough liquid. Chia seeds absorb 10–12 times their weight in liquid, so if there’s too little, they gel together in clumps.
To prevent this, stir well right after mixing, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, stir again, and then refrigerate. These simple steps will give you perfectly smooth, creamy chia pudding every time.
The standard chia pudding ratio is 3 tablespoons of chia seeds per 1 cup of liquid, since chia seeds absorb 10–12 times their weight in liquid. But canned coconut milk is much thicker than regular milk, so I find 2½ tablespoons of chia seeds per cup works best. Want it slightly thinner? Use 2 tablespoons instead.
To get perfect chia pudding every time, make sure you use the right ratio of chia seeds to liquid and let the pudding sit long enough—otherwise it can turn out runny. Stir the mixture early to prevent clumps from forming, and if it becomes too thick, simply add a bit more liquid and mix. Finally, don’t forget a pinch of salt and enough sweetener—these little touches make the flavor shine.
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Hi, I’m Maria! I share easy, flavor-packed dinners, high-protein meals, and irresistible baking ideas. If you’ve ever asked, “Don’t know what to cook tonight?” you’re in the right place. And yes—there’s plenty here for breakfast, snacks, and dessert too. More about maria ->
Heather
This was so delicious and filling. I added sliced strawberries and pomegranate seeds to it and it was so good. FWIW I didn't notice much difference when i blended it but I also don't have an issue with the texture. Highly recommend.