Looking for an easy meal prep breakfast – or a tasty dessert? This apple pie chia pudding doubles as both! This recipe prepares four servings, but can also be divided down to make a single serving. Just remember to prep it the night before and you’ll have a delicious, nutritious breakfast waiting for you in the morning.
Ingredient Notes
Here’s a photo of all the ingredients you’ll need, along with selected ingredient notes:
- Chia seeds – Cha-cha-cha-chia! If you’re unfamiliar with these, they’re the same types of seeds that were used in those popular chia pets, just produced food grade for consumption. They absorb liquid, making them a great option to make a pudding like this, or to thicken up a mixture in the case of something like a strawberry chia jam or blueberry chia jam.
- Maple syrup – You want pure maple syrup for this recipe (not pancake syrup). It mixes well into the liquid and also adds a hint of maple flavor.
Instructions
You’ll find the full recipe amounts and instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s a helpful overview with photos and tips.
Start by mixing together the ingredients for the chia pudding – the chia seeds, almond milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla.
You can mix them in a large jar (I love saving spaghetti sauce jars for this!) or in a bowl. Shake or whisk together until well combined.
At this point, you have two options – refrigerate in the large jar or bowl, or portion the chia pudding out now into small mason jars. You can decide what to do based on what storage options you’ve got on hand.
Either way, you’ll pop that in the fridge. After an hour or two, be sure to shake it or whisk it again. This prevents any clumps from forming. Then put it back in the fridge overnight.
Meanwhile, you can prepare the apple pie topping. Heat butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, then add the apples, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Cook it for about 5-7 minutes, until the apples have softened up a bit. This should smell just delightful!
You can refrigerate the apples in a food storage container – or, if you’ve portioned out the chia pudding already, just add the apple topping directly to each.
In the morning, enjoy the chia pudding with the apple topping!
Recipe FAQ
Here are some common questions that may come up as you’re preparing this recipe:
Chia pudding can set in as little as a couple hours, but it’s recommended to let it sit overnight for best results.
When stored properly in the refrigerator, chia pudding should last for up to 4-5 days.
Sure! If you’d rather skip the apple topping – or want something else to add to it – try topping with fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, granola, shredded coconut, or a drizzle of nut butter.
Yes. As long as you choose a butter alternative or oil instead of dairy-based butter, this recipe will be dairy-free and vegan-friendly.
Nutrition Benefits
As a dietitian, I love this recipe for a few reasons:
- Packed with fiber: Do you know that 95% of Americans don’t get enough fiber each day?! Chia pudding with apples is an easy way to ensure that you start your morning well on your way to meeting your daily fiber goals. One serving has 9.5 grams!
- Contains omega-3 fats: Chia seeds are one of the few good plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids. These plant-based sources aren’t used as efficiently in the body as those from fish, but can still be a very valuable addition to your diet.
- Lower in added sugar: While many breakfast options are high in added sugar, a serving of this chia pudding is lightly sweetened with maple syrup. This means it has just 6 grams of added sugar per serving. (If you’d prefer minimizing that to zero grams of added sugar, you could use a liquid sugar-free sweetener instead).
Keep in mind that this recipe does fall a little lower in protein (4.5 grams per serving) so I like to combine this with a higher protein option for a full meal. For example, you could have scrambled eggs, a few slices of deli turkey meat, Greek yogurt, or a protein shake alongside this if you wanted your breakfast to be higher in protein.
More Healthy Fall Breakfast Ideas
If you’re looking for more healthy breakfast ideas that are perfect for fall, try one of these tasty options:
- Healthy apple oatmeal bars
- Pumpkin breakfast cookies
- Healthy morning glory muffins
- Pumpkin breakfast bars
- Cranberry apple quinoa breakfast bowl
- Cranberry walnut overnight oats
I hope you enjoy this recipe – it’s become a favorite of mine this fall. If you get a chance to try it, feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below.
Apple Pie Chia Pudding
Ingredients
For the pudding:
- ½ cup chia seeds
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
For the apple topping:
- 1 tbsp butter (or dairy-free butter, or olive oil)
- 3 apples, peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large jar or bowl, mix together the chia seeds, unsweetened almond milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla. Place in the refrigerator. (See notes for alternative of portioning out ahead of time).
- Prepare the apple topping: add the butter to a pan over medium-low heat. Add the apples, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender. Place the apples in a food storage container in the fridge.
- After an hour or two, remove the jar or bowl of chia pudding mixture and whisk or shake well. This will help break up any chia seeds that have gravitated together. Return it to the refrigerator overnight.
- In the morning, divide the chia pudding into four jars or bowls. Top with the sauteed apples and enjoy cold.
Notes
- You can also portion this out ahead of time if you have enough mason jars. Just divide up the chia pudding mixture evenly between four jars, and add the apples directly to each right after cooking. Proceed with refrigerating overnight.
- If you prefer making a single serving, you can divide the recipe by 4 and adjust up or down a bit where it makes sense. For example, instead of having ¾ of an apple, you can just use a single apple in a single serving.
- Enjoy within 4-5 days of preparing. Note that the pudding may continue to thicken over several days, so just add a splash of almond milk if necessary.
Nutrition
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