- It’s an easy make-ahead breakfast pudding that’s like a dessert with PB&J vibes.
- This chia pudding is packed with protein, healthy fat and fiber for a filling, satisfying meal.
- For extra strawberry flavor, you can add a strawberry-flavored milk or protein powder.
This Strawberry-Peanut Butter Chia Pudding has definite PB&J vibes. Protein-rich chia seeds and soy milk are infused with berries and vanilla, creating an amazing pudding that is then layered parfait-style with fiber-filled fresh strawberries. Creamy peanut butter and yogurt get a touch of sweetness from honey and serve as the topping for the pudding, bringing it to a whole new protein-packed level. Keep reading for our expert tips, including how to ensure your pudding is fully set and ready to eat.
Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen
These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!
- For an extra-potent strawberry flavor, try using strawberry milk, or add a scoop of strawberry-flavored protein powder to get a boost of protein too.
- You can garnish with any berry of your choice in addition to strawberries, as well as add a sprinkling of granola.
- For extra pizzazz, top the pudding with a chocolate shell by melting dark chocolate and a bit of coconut oil together. Pour on top of the peanut butter mixture in the jar and chill for 10 minutes until the shell is hardened. Add a dash of flaky salt, if you like.
- To save time, you can skip making the peanut butter mixture and simply swirl peanut butter on top of the pudding. However, choose a peanut butter made with just peanuts and one that’s more liquid than solid so you get a perfect consistency.
Nutrition Notes
- Chia seeds are tiny yet mighty packages filled with fiber, plant protein and healthy fats. Much of the fat in chia seeds is omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to reduce inflammation and lower disease risk. The fiber in chia seeds feeds your beneficial bacteria and helps keep things moving through your gut.
- Soy milk is one of the few plant-based milks that naturally contains protein. Including more soy, like soy milk, in your diet may help improve heart health and lower cancer risk, and might even improve menopause symptoms.
- Strawberries are filled with fiber and antioxidants that have been linked with lower inflammation and better heart and brain health. Eating more strawberries and other berries may help prevent disease and improve gut health
- Greek-style yogurt adds more protein to this pudding, plus calcium and probiotics—those beneficial gut bacteria. The probiotics will thrive on the fiber in the strawberries, chia seeds and peanut butter, helping to create a lush, thriving microbiome. Speaking of peanut butter, you’ll get a little more fiber, protein and healthy fats from it in this recipe.