Okay, I know this Mango Coconut Chia Pudding is a little out of the ordinary for me, since I don’t usually hop on to health food trends, but let me explain. I have this obsession with seeing food in restaurants and cafés and wondering about how much less it would be if I made it at home. I was in Tennessee last week and we stopped by a coffee shop to grab coffee before our long drive home and when I looked around for something I could grab for breakfast and eat in the car, I spotted some tiny cups of chia pudding. And when I say “tiny” I mean TINY.
I couldn’t find a price on the chia cups, but I have no doubt they were at least $3 (is anything in a coffee shop less than $3? lol). Knowing that chia pudding is usually just chia seeds mixed with some flavorful liquid, I just had to try to make it at home. And guess what? I’m really glad I did! The Mango Coconut Chia Pudding that I made is soooo good, less than $1.50 each, and at least a couple ounces larger than the cups in the café! They’re light, fresh, filling, and not too sweet. I love them for breakfast or a snack, and I can’t wait to try more flavors!
What Are Chia Seeds?
If you’re not familiar with chia seeds, they’re tiny little seeds that contain a lot of soluble fiber and they gel up when mixed with liquid. So it’s almost like little tapioca beads with crunchy centers. They’re very interesting and fun to eat! As for nutrition, people love chia because it’s high in fiber, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and other nutrients. I mainly like them because they’re fun to eat. ;) You can find them at health food stores and if you don’t plan to use them often, I suggest checking the bulk bins so that you can buy just the amount that you need.
And don’t worry, if you’re more of a comfort food person, I’m sure I’ll be back to making things like Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese in no time. 😜
Mango Coconut Chia Pudding
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. frozen mango chunks* ($1.65)
- 1 13oz. can lite coconut milk* ($2.19)
- 1 tsp sugar ($0.02)
- 6 Tbsp chia seeds ($0.93)
Instructions
- If the mango chunks are in large pieces, chop them into smaller, 1/4-inch pieces. Place half of the mango chunks , the coconut milk, and sugar in a blender and process until smooth.
- Divide the remaining mango chunks between 4 small containers (10-12oz. containers). Add 1.5 Tbsp of chia seeds to each container. Finally, pour the mango coconut milk mixture into the containers, dividing it evenly between all four.
- Stir the contents of each container to make sure all the chia seeds have adequate exposure to the liquid. Place lids on the containers and refrigerate over night, or up to 4-5 days.
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Equipment
Notes
**Do not use full-fat canned coconut milk as it has a lower moisture content and may not fully hydrate the chia seeds.
Nutrition
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How to Make Mango Coconut Chia Pudding – Step by Step Photos
Chop 1/2 lb. fresh or frozen mango chunks into small 1/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups).
Add half of the mango chunks (about 1 cup), one 13oz. can lite coconut milk, and 1 tsp sugar (or your favorite sweetener) to a blender and purée until smooth.
Make sure you’re using lite coconut milk instead of full-fat because full-fat has a lower moisture content and it might not fully hydrate the chia seeds.
Divide the remaining mango chunks between four small containers. Place 1.5 Tbsp chia seeds in each container as well. I suggest a 10-12oz. container. These are actually 8oz. mason jars, but they were filled all the way up to the top, so a 10oz. would give you a little more wiggle room.
Pour the mango coconut purée over the mango chunks and chia seeds, dividing it equally between all four containers.
Stir each container of pudding to make sure all the seeds get exposure to the liquid. Make sure there are no clumps of seeds in the corners or on the bottom of the containers. Place lids on the containers and refrigerate over night.
And then by morning the liquid will have gelled and thickened from the chia and you’ll have delicious little “pudding” cups with chunks of mango!
It might not be a looker, but this Mango Coconut Chia Pudding is quite good! :D
If you’re the type of person that can’t handle certain textures, like me, then I would suggest doubling the fruit per container. Once it’s sit for a couple days then I find the texture of the chia seeds intolerable once there’s no more fruit. However, I’ve found that eating it with some granola and a banana make it a much more pleasant experience for me. I LOVE the flavor of the coconut milk, I used frozen peaches instead of mangos because that’s what I had, I also added some yogurt to make it a little more filling.
This is a favorite of ours. I now just cut up oranges and add diluted whole coconut milk. With a little maple syrup. Bet, this is such a great “concept” recipe that I’ve been able to adjust according to what I have on hand. It reminds me of an old fruit salad called ambrosia.
Wow! This was so easy to make and so good! I used full fat coconut milk and added a bit more sugar. Very pleased with it. I will definitely make it again. Refreshing and flavorful. Nice to meal prep for breakfast.
My laziness got the best of me and I just dumped everything in a plastic container and put it in the fridge overnight. I also used brown sugar instead of white, and added vanilla extract. I didn’t blend anything. It was still really good. The coconut milk in the can that I used had 3.5 grams of fat per serving, and it still had a nice consistency. This is a really easy recipe for when you just don’t feel like like doing anything at all and you have a nice dessert/snack the next day. Love it!
I made the mistake of buying chia seeds at Costco last year, so I’ve had a huge surplus. Then my dad read something in the news and bought me another 1 lb bag! So needless to say, we’ve been swimming in chia seeds over here.
This recipe is just what I needed to use up some of my prodigious stock and it was phenomenal to boot. The texture is great and the mango coconut milk flavor is perfect. I’m not even a huge mango fan, but it tastes fresh and natural. I used a little more sweetener because I already know I have more of a sweet tooth when it comes to breakfast than Beth :) I was licking the leftovers out of my food processor. I can’t wait to try other flavors!
Can you add rolled oats?
Sure! You may want to increase the liquid, though, as oats will absorb quite a bit.
I typically don’t buy lite coconut milk. I take regular and thin it with water (1 part milk to 2 parts water). I use coconut milk regularly, so the left over normally gets used. If I don’t have plans for it, I freeze it and just re-emulsify when it defrosts.
Hi! Do you have an idea of how long these will last in the fridge? Does any of it spoil? I used fresh strawberries in mine and it turned out really good.
Fresh strawberries sounds delicious! It should last about 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Thanks for the great idea! I am making multiple batches of this and switching up the fruit is a great idea!
Hi I forgot to get coconut milk. I do have whole milk and coconut flakes. Do you think that would be a good substitute?
Yes that would be fine!
Hello! Im very new to cooking and with how hard coronavirus has hit our stores i couldnt find any lite coconut milk. I have normal and unsweetened coconut milk instead. Is there any way to use those instead? Im a bit worried about the chia seeds not getting enough moisture.
Yes you could use either one of those, it just may be thicker. You can add a little water if you’d like.
I accidentally bought dried mango instead of frozen (benefits and downfall of online grocery shopping!). Do you think this could be used instead of fresh/frozen and slightly rehydrate through this process? If not, then I guess I just have a healthy snack of dried mango laying around. Haha
Hmm, yeah, I’m not sure that will work because the mango juice is what flavors and sweetens the liquid that the chia are soaked in. You could try soaking the mango in the liquid before puréeing to see if it still flavors and sweetens it, but I’m not sure how that will work out. You could also just try sweetening the milk with a little honey and then just add in your dry mango pieces with the chia. They’d still be tasty little chunks throughout the chia. :)
Thanks!! I have honey so I’ll give that a try :)