Vanilla Chai Spiced Chia Breakfast Pudding
1 - 13.5-oz can coconut milk*
1 c unsweetened almond milk
2 tbs honey**
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 chai tea bags
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon
½ c chia seeds
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:caramelized bananas
granola
fresh fruit
coconut
honey
nuts
seeds
puffed rice cereal
INSTRUCTIONS
MAKE THE PUDDING BASE: Add coconut milk and almond milk to a small pot on the stove, bring to a boil. Once it has reached a boil add the honey and vanilla and stir until melted in. Turn down to low heat, add chai tea bags, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and cinnamon and stir until well incorporated. Remove from heat and carefully remove tea bags from hot mixture, be sure to squeeze out all the extra liquid from the tea bags for maximum flavor (using tongs with help do this while protecting your fingers from the heat). Discard tea bags and stir in chia seeds.
CHILL PUDDING: Pour into glass dishes, cover, and refrigerate for at least a few hours. Overnight works best to get the most ideal consistency. The longer you are able to let it sit in the fridge the thicker the consistency will get. You can test if it’s “ready” by tilting the container side to side and seeing how much the pudding slides back and forth. It’s best when it hardly budges when tipped.
TOP AND SERVE: Add toppings for texture (like granola, coconut, chopped nuts, seeds) or to make it more filling and substantial (like fruit, jams, purees). Layer with Greek yogurt, fruit, and granola to make a filling high-protein breakfast parfait.
EASY CARAMELIZED BANANAS: Cut a banana into ½” slices. Add ½ tbs coconut oil to a small pan over medium heat. Pan fry until lightly caramelized on both sides, flipping once. Dust with cinnamon and add a drizzle of honey or coconut nectar and flip around until well coated. Serve hot on top of chilled chia pudding.
NOTES
*I used full-fat coconut milk and then cut it with lower fat almond milk but you could use all coconut milk with no almond milk, or swap for light coconut milk as preferred. This will just alter the texture slightly.
**Swap for equal parts maple syrup, coconut nectar, coconut sugar, or brown sugar as preferred. Alternately you could use liquid stevia drops to keep it sugar-free.
