Don’t want to spend your mornings in the kitchen? Make this Zesty Lemon Chia Protein Pudding the night before for a quick, delicious, and customizable breakfast! With just 8 simple ingredients and less than 10 minutes of prep time, it’s perfect for a stress-free start to your day.
The humble chia pudding, star of the overnight breakfast, now adapted into an easy and delicious protein-rich recipe! After all, who doesn’t love pudding? At one time in my life, before I was aware of the importance of nutrition for living a health and fitness lifestyle. I used to eat industrialized pudding a lot. Packets that you purchase at the store. Nice and easy for dessert, nice and easy for breakfast.
But the little jars of sweet and colorful grocery store pudding are filled with nasty ingredients that I didn’t want in my body anymore. But what to do? I still love pudding…
No problem, we can make it!! A homemade pudding that’s sugar-free, without preservatives or artificial colors, using wholesome ingredients that we can choose ourselves!
This delightful chia pudding is basically an alternate (and much more delicious!) way of getting your protein shake in. So, whatever protein powder you already use for your before/after gym/bed shake will work. This recipe is a simple and tasty protein-rich snack or dessert!
I love to meal prep. It’s not only a massive time saver to prepare a whole week of meals from breakfast to dinner, snacks, and lunch, but it’s also much cheaper and healthier than eating any kind of take-away food or store-bought meal.
For this week’s meal prep, I wanted to have a sweet, creamy snack that was loaded with protein because, it’s essential to refuel with enough protein to keep a healthy body (and mind!).
Chia pudding is a great way to work more fiber into your diet too. It’s easily whisked into a pudding with sweetener, milk, and vanilla. While chia seeds do have a good amount of protein for a plant food, it’s not enough to really power your day.
This simple recipe using a combination of Greek yogurt and protein powder to add a decent amount of protein with minimal work. The result is an extra creamy chia pudding, perfect for topping and enjoying!
But Chia seeds are fantastic ingredients that are loaded with protein, fiber, and other nutrients. It’s, of course, the key ingredient of a chia pudding, because it brings a great texture and gooeyness.
Chia pudding is delicious, especially when paired with nuts and berries. Pack your pudding in mason jars for grab-and-go breakfasts. I leave room at the top of my jars to add lots of toppings! My favorites are whipped coconut cream (recipe below in notes) berries, chopped nuts, nut butters and coconut flakes.
Its an amazing snack. It’s not creamy, it’s velvety. It’s not good, it’s delicious. It’s not colorful, it’s vibrant! So, indulge in the delightful combination of flavours with my chia pudding recipe. Packed with high-quality ingredients and bursting with flavour, this pudding is not only delicious but also nutritious.
On those busy mornings (I’m looking at you Mondays!) when you need a quick and easy breakfast, this chia seed pudding will be your new go-to! Its a creamy, satisfying breakfast or dessert perfect for anyone looking to enjoy a sweet treat without compromising on your nutritional goals.
Good thing that my favourite thing to do is take an old fashioned ‘not-so-healthy’ recipe and ‘healthify’ it – turning it into a healthier alternative.
If you are looking for the ultimate pudding recipe, then look no further. I promise you these are the best damn lemon puddings you will ever taste.
Bold claim I know!
When life gives you lemons, you make lemon bars. It’s just what we do.
Top tips:
- Use at least 2% cottage cheese – It makes the pudding extra creamy and adds more protein.
- Fresh lemon juice is key – For the brightest, most natural flavour, use freshly squeezed lemon juice – not bottled.
- Add a pinch of turmeric – Want a vibrant yellow colour? Add a pinch of turmeric powder!
- Sweeten to taste – Depending on your lemon’s tartness, you may want to add a touch more honey or maple syrup to balance it out.
- Let it chill overnight – This gives the pudding time to thicken fully.
- Add toppings – This chia pudding is great as is, but is even better with toppings like yogurt, chopped nuts, hemp seeds or coconut shreds
Because these lemon puddings are crazy amazing you can feel good about eating one of them for breakfast and not feel one piece of guilt about it!
Zesty Lemon Chia Protein Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 2 scoops protein or collagen peptides powder
- 1-2 lemons, juice and zest (depending on how lemon-y you prefer)
- 1-2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup (to taste)
Toppings Optional
- Whipped coconut cream – recipe link below in notes
- Lemon zest or slices
- Chopped nuts or seeds
Instructions
- Place the almond milk, yogurt, protein powder, lemon zest and juice, honey and turmeric into a bowl and mix together. Stir in chia seeds and mix thoroughly to prevent clumping.Let the mixture sit for 5–10 minutes, then stir again.Taste and adjust sweet and tang. Add more honey or lemon juice or zest to taste and mix/blend in. Or add more turmeric for a deeper lemon colour.Pour the mixture into 2 glasses. Chill overnight in the refrigerator. Stir once after an hour or so to distribute the chia seeds if needed.Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until thickened.Stir before serving and top with whipped coconut cream (recipe link below in notes) and lemon zest and serve.
Notes
If you are looking for more delicious, healthy, protein-rich, no bake desserts and treats to help you reach your health, wellness and fitness goals, you will love my collection here: Blended Bites
