Chocolate Chia Pudding

The recipe, step by step

This chocolate chia pudding is creamy, deeply chocolatey and completely plant-based. Topped with a rich date and roasted hazelnut sauce, it feels like a proper dessert while remaining wonderfully simple to prepare.

Dark chocolate and cocoa powder give the pudding its intense chocolate flavour, while the chia seeds naturally thicken the mixture as it cools. Once everything has been divided between the serving glasses, the chia seeds do most of the work for you.

The recipe makes six individual puddings and can be prepared with almond, oat, rice or soya milk. Finish each one with a spoonful of the date and hazelnut sauce, followed by chopped hazelnuts or grated dark chocolate.

Make sure the dark chocolate you use is suitable for a vegan diet if you want the finished puddings to remain completely plant-based.

Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Chia Pudding

• Rich and deeply chocolatey
• Smooth, creamy and satisfying
• Completely plant-based
• Easy to prepare with mostly hands-off setting time
• Topped with a naturally sweet date and hazelnut sauce
• Divided into individual glasses before chilling
• Makes six servings

Recipe Highlights

• Ease: Easy.

• Taste and texture: Creamy chocolate chia pudding with a rich, slightly textured date and roasted hazelnut sauce.

• Serving suggestion: Serve chilled with chopped hazelnuts or grated dark chocolate.

• Quantity: Six individual servings.

• Setting time: Two hours, including one hour at room temperature and one hour in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

For this vegan chocolate chia pudding, you will need the following ingredients:

• Chia Seeds – Chia seeds absorb the liquid and thicken the warm chocolate mixture as it rests.

• Dark Chocolate – Dark chocolate gives the pudding a rich, indulgent flavour. The existing recipe card specifies chocolate containing at least 50% cocoa solids and refers to 65% dark chocolate. Check the packaging to make sure your chosen chocolate is suitable for a vegan diet.

• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Cocoa powder reinforces the chocolate flavour without introducing additional sweetness.

• Non-Dairy Milk – You can use almond, oat, rice or soya milk according to your taste and what you have available. Different varieties may produce small differences in flavour and consistency.

• Medjool Dates – The dates are softened in water before being blended into the sauce. Their naturally soft and sticky texture helps create a rich, fudge-like topping. Remove the stones before soaking the dates.

• Roasted Hazelnuts – Roasted hazelnuts are processed into a purée and then blended with the softened dates. Removing most of the loose hazelnut skins will help prevent the sauce from tasting bitter.

• Salt – Don’t Forget the Salt – I highly recommend adding a generous pinch of salt to sweet recipes. It balances the sweetness and richness while helping flavours such as chocolate, vanilla and caramel stand out more clearly. It may seem contradictory, but a little salt can also make a dessert taste sweeter—not by adding sweetness of its own, but by reducing bitterness and creating a better balance between the different flavours. The key is to add just enough to enhance the recipe without making it taste salty.The result is that salt not only alerts our ‘salt sensitivity’, but also our ‘sweet sensitive’ taste buds.

I recommend Maldon Sea salt flakes or Cornish sea salt.

How to Make Chocolate Chia Pudding

• Heat the non-dairy milk in a small saucepan until it is almost boiling.
• Place the chia seeds, cocoa powder, a pinch of salt and chopped dark chocolate in a mixing bowl.
• Pour the hot milk over the chia seed mixture. Whisk gently until the chocolate has melted and the cocoa powder is fully incorporated.
• Divide the mixture evenly between six serving glasses.
• Leave the puddings to cool at room temperature for one hour, then transfer them to the refrigerator for a further hour.
• While the puddings are setting, soak the pitted dates in the measured amount of water provided in the recipe card.
• Place the roasted hazelnuts in a food processor and process them to a purée.
• Add the soaked dates and half of their existing soaking liquid. Blend until the sauce is nearly smooth, adding more of the same soaking liquid gradually only when needed.
• Spoon the date and hazelnut sauce over the set chocolate chia puddings.
• Finish with chopped hazelnuts or grated dark chocolate, if you like.

Tips for the Best Chocolate Chia Pudding

Whisk While the Milk Is Hot

The heat from the milk melts the dark chocolate and helps the cocoa powder disperse evenly. Pour the milk over the other ingredients while it is still hot, then whisk gently until the mixture looks smooth and chocolatey.

Divide the Pudding Before It Sets

Chia pudding becomes progressively thicker as the seeds absorb the liquid. Divide the mixture between the serving glasses immediately after whisking so that you do not have to transfer it once it has begun to set.

Stir the Mixture Thoroughly

Make sure the chia seeds are evenly distributed before pouring the pudding into the glasses. If too many seeds gather in one place, the individual servings may set with different consistencies.

Add the Soaking Liquid Gradually

Begin by adding only half of the dates’ existing soaking liquid to the hazelnut purée. Blend the mixture, then add more of the same liquid only as needed. This gives you greater control over the consistency of the sauce.

Remove the Loose Hazelnut Skins

When roasting your own hazelnuts, rub away as much of the loose skin as possible. The skins can taste slightly bitter and may affect both the flavour and texture of the finished sauce.

Allow the Puddings to Set Fully

The puddings require one hour at room temperature followed by another hour in the refrigerator. Giving the chia seeds the full resting time allows them to absorb the liquid and create the intended creamy texture.

Variations

Change the Non-Dairy Milk

Use almond, oat, rice or soya milk according to your preference. Each will give the pudding a slightly different flavour, so you can experiment to discover which one you enjoy most.

Use Hazelnut Butter

The existing recipe notes suggest replacing the processed hazelnuts with ready-made hazelnut butter for convenience. Another nut butter may also be used, although it will change the flavour of the topping.

Keep the Topping Simple

The puddings can be served with chopped hazelnuts or grated dark chocolate when you do not want to add further decoration. No additional measured topping ingredients have been introduced here.

Storage

Keep the set chocolate chia puddings covered in the refrigerator.

The existing article and recipe data do not provide a tested storage duration, so no specific number of days has been added.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do the puddings need to set?

Allow one hour to cool at room temperature and another hour in the refrigerator, matching the two-hour resting time in the card.

Nutrition

Serving: one serving of Chia pudding

The nutritional values will vary according to the dark chocolate, non-dairy milk, hazelnuts and serving sizes used.

Tools You’ll Need

Here is the kitchen equipment needed to make this chocolate chia pudding:

• Small saucepan

• Large mixing bowl

My recommendations:

Earthenware Mixing Bowl Mason Cash, Cream 29 cm Chip Resistant. – I like the sturdiness of this bowl and its 4-litre capacity means I can use it for mixing just about everything in the kitchen. It is also microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safe.

Mixing Bowls Set of 5, Stainless Steel Nesting Bowls with Airtight Lids, 3 Grater Attachments, Size 5, 3, 2, 1.5, 0.63 QT – These different size mixing bowls are really useful depending on the amount of food you are preparing. They also have airtight lids that fit snugly to seal and keep food fresh, great for using as dry storage bowls with lids. The plastic lid of the largest bowl has a removable centre, where one of 3 graters can be used for grating cheese or vegetables.

• Whisk
• Six serving glasses

• Food Processor

My recommendation: Magimix 4200XL Compact Food Processor & Blender, 3 Bowls, 3L Capacity, Multifunctional 6 in 1 – This is a really good food processor. I have used Magimix before, I think they are one of the best processors on the market. The blades are very sharp, and I use them for breaking down biscuits and nuts, and for making very smooth creams or dips. It does a really good job and it’s very quiet not as noisy as some other brands. I recommend it to anybody who enjoys baking and cooking. They are a little on the expensive side but you pay for what you get.

• Silicone spatula

My recommendation: Silicone Spatulas, Heat Resistant, Non-Stick Coating with Steel core, (3PCS) – These spatulas are so useful for baking. I use them every day and not just for baking. They have good rigid handles, excellent for scraping out bowls, dishes and frying pans. The large spatula is not flat, it has a raised centre, which makes it very strong.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does chocolate chia pudding take to set?

Allow the puddings to cool at room temperature for one hour, then refrigerate them for another hour. This matches the two-hour resting time provided in the existing recipe card.

Can I use any type of non-dairy milk?

The recipe suggests almond, oat, rice or soya milk. The flavour and final consistency may vary slightly depending on which variety you choose.

Is this chocolate chia pudding vegan?

The ingredients are plant-based when prepared with non-dairy milk and vegan-friendly dark chocolate. Always check the label on the chocolate, as some dark chocolate products may contain milk ingredients.

What percentage of dark chocolate should I use?

The existing recipe card specifies dark chocolate containing at least 50% cocoa solids and also refers to chocolate containing 65%. A darker chocolate will usually give the pudding a more intense and less sweet chocolate flavour.

Can I replace the hazelnuts with hazelnut butter?

Yes. The existing recipe notes suggest using ready-made hazelnut butter as an alternative to processing whole roasted hazelnuts. The consistency of the sauce may vary, so add the dates’ existing soaking liquid gradually.

Why should I add the soaking liquid slowly?

Adding the liquid gradually allows you to control the thickness of the date and hazelnut sauce. It is easier to add more liquid than to correct a sauce that has become too thin.

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