Chia pudding has been all the rage lately–and with good cause. A single tablespoon of chia seeds packs FIVE grams of fiber. That’s 1/5 of what an adult female needs in an entire day!

Chia pudding serves as a tasty, filling breakfast that is super easy to prepare the night before–all you have to do is combine some chia seeds with your liquid of choice, stir and refrigerate, and in the morning your pudding is ready to go.

I used to stick to the basic version of chia pudding: chia seeds + almond milk. Sometimes I’d get fancy and top it with fresh raspberries and maybe some shredded coconut, but I never jazzed up the pudding itself. Until now. My beau serves as the inspiration for this recipe–he was in the mood for chia pudding recently and I caught him in the kitchen, tossing in random ingredients. Cinnamon and cacao…uhhh, what is going on in there? Turns out it was delicious.

This 5-ingredient cinnamon cacao chia pudding adds more flavor and nutrition to the basic version. Cacao powder is the raw form of chocolate (cocoa)–it is minimally processed and retains many of the nutrients typically lost in processing. Cacao is loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients including minerals, healthy fats, and fiber. Labeled as a “superfood”, cacao has long been admired for its health-boosting properties. In fact, another plant-based dietitian wrote an entire cacao cookbook! Cinnamon is often praised for being anti-inflammatory and “anti-diabetic”. It is true that cinnamon is also full of antioxidants. As far as being a diabetes miracle, the jury is still out. For more info, check out this brief review on the health effects of cinnamon.

Cinnamon Cacao Chia Pudding

This 5-ingredient cinnamon cacao chia pudding adds more flavor and nutrition to the basic version and doubles as a chocolaty snack or dessert!

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup almond milk unsweetened
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp maple syrup or agave or other sweetener
• 1/4 cup chia seeds

Instructions

 

• Blend almond milk, cacao powder, cinnamon, and maple syrup at medium speed for 30 seconds or until well-combined.
  
• Combine chia seeds and milk mixture in a resealable container and stir well.
  
• Cover and refrigerate. Preferably let sit overnight. If needed sooner, stir once every 30-60 minutes and keep refrigerated until desired consistency.
  
• Stir and serve. Top with fruit, coconut, chocolate chips, whatever you like!