I know, I know quit it with the pumpkin recipes already! It’s inadvertently turned into Pumpkin Week. I promise to lay off pumpkin after this.
Wait, no I don’t. Who do you think I am here? I can’t make any promises when it comes to pumpkin. I can only promise that I fell in love with this pumpkin pudding and I think you will too. I’ve made it 3 times already and it’s strangely addictive.
I don’t know why, but I haven’t made chia pudding since 2009 or early 2010. I guess I didn’t like it as much as I thought. I think the problem with my original attempt was that I made it too slimy. It was too heavy on the chia seeds (slim factor) and too light on filler ingredients.
Last week while I was busy screwing up perfectly good pumpkin pies with avocado, I decided that I really want to eat an entire bowl of pumpkin pie filling. You know, normal thoughts. If you’ve made the Pumpkin Pie Brownie you probably know how delicious the pumpkin filling is! I could live off that stuff. Or I wish I could live of that stuff.
My goal was to make a pumpkin-based pudding made with chia seeds. I envisioned it very similar to my Vegan Overnight Oats, only without the oats, but with the addition of a vanilla protein powder for some staying power. I also wanted it to taste like pumpkin pie filling, of course.
I Googled ‘Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding’ to see what was already out there. I found recipes by Living Lindsay, Spinach and Yoga, The Non Dairy Queen, Confessions of a Young Woman, Choosing Raw, Edible Perspective, The Challenged Health Nut, and Pure 2 Raw, to name just a handful! Apparently, I’m not the only one who wants to eat a bowl full of pumpkin pie.
After checking out a few recipes I decided to just throw stuff in a bowl and taste test as I went. This recipe is very similar to my Pumpkin Pie Vegan Overnight Oats. It’s not too heavy on the chia seeds and it’s thinner and smoother in consistency than many pudding recipes. I didn’t find this pudding too slimy unlike my previous attempts.
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Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding
Yield
2 servings or 1 & 3/4 cups
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
2 hours
Total time
A healthier alternative to a delicious pumpkin pie filling! Feel free to play around with the ingredients to suit your taste buds. I Googled ‘Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding’ to see what was already out there. I found recipes by Living Lindsay, Spinach and Yoga, The Non Dairy Queen, Confessions of a Young Woman, Choosing Raw, Edible Perspective, The Challenged Health Nut, and Pure 2 Raw, to name just a handful! This recipe is inspired by the bloggers mentioned above.
Ingredients
- 3/4-1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup canned pumpkin, chilled if possible
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp GOOD tasting vanilla protein powder, optional
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1-2 tbsp maple syrup, to taste
Directions
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together all ingredients until combined and no clumpy bits remain.
- Place bowl in the fridge for 1-2 hours or overnight, to thicken and chill.
- Serve with raisins, walnuts, or crushed ginger cookies if desired.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
This pudding takes just 5 minutes to throw together. Exactly why I’ve made it 3 times already!
I recommend chilling your can of pumpkin if you can. This just means that your pudding will chill faster after making it. No big deal if you don’t though.
A peek at the ingredients I used:
After mixing:
The pudding thickens slightly in the fridge, but the consistency is still pretty thin compared to “normal” puddings. If you want it thicker you can try using less Almond Milk. Personally, I like more volume.
I’m working on a gluten-free version of my Wedded Bliss Soft Ginger Cookies and made parfaits for Eric and I for dessert. It was such a tasty, light dessert for the Fall season! I love a dessert that doesn’t weigh me down.
You can also try adding raisins or walnuts, or whatever tickles your fancy.
What I like about this recipe is how versatile it is. So far, I’ve had it for breakfast, a snack, and now dessert.
When I start eating this for dinner, I think an intervention might be necessary.
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I’m off to finally get my ultrasound results this morning! My doctor was away for a couple weeks, so I haven’t been able to find out the results yet. My food sensitivity testing, which was scheduled early this week, was also rescheduled to next Wednesday. So I’ve been playing the waiting game which is why you haven’t had any updates from me yet.
Anyways, fingers crossed for good results! If you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, see this post.
Happy Friday!








bring on the pumpkin!!! it’s a shame so many are wasted in the name of decoration…we, for our part, should personally shoot to close that gap.
Hey Ang, have you gone gluten-free for the most part? I know you were consulting with a naturopath, but I see so many GF recipes on here now. NOT that I’m complaining… I LOVE IT! You’re making my life 1000x easier ’cause I can never find GF AND vegan recipes anywhere. I’m just curious. :)
Looks YUMMY!!!
Just noticed you in the “Women of The Year” pages of my new Chatelaine magazine! Congrats!! :)
Thanks Tammy! I didn’t know until someone told me yesterday on facebook (they haven’t announced the winners online)! Pretty cool :) I will have to look for the new issue.
You take the most beautiful food pics! What kind of camera do you use? Good luck at the doctors. I hope all goes well for you!
I love the texture of desserts like this! I’ve been pumpkin deprived since moving to college.. they don’t have it ANYWHERE on campus :( So drooling over this needless to say ;)
i use to think that chocolate chip cookies were the only cookies worthy of eating. However, I have come to really love ginger cookies. Looking forward to your vegan recipe for these!
My bad. I read ginger cookie and got too excited… I see that you are going to make the cookie recipe gluten free. Your original recipe is already vegan. Woo hoo! Off to do some baking :)
Do you think you could put this in pumpkin pie crust and serve as a chilled pumpkin-pie alternative? or potentially bake it a little to make it more solid and then serve as a pie?
Hey Ella,
I don’t think it would bake up thick enough for a pie. I hope to make a pumpkin pie soon though!
fingers crossed for you!
Yum! This parfait is so scrumptious looking!
That looks divine! If I only had time to make all the stuff you’re posting! When is your book coming up? I think it should be all about baking, only baking!
heh :) Hopefully soon!
Don’t stop posting pumpkin recipes–I love all the fall-inspired treats! And I love that you added chia seeds to your pudding…I made peanut butter banana chia seed pudding yesterday and it was amazing! Thank you :)
http://beingla.com/2011/peanut-butter-banana-chia-seed-pudding/
This recipe is fantastic! I am currently fighting a horrible cold, and this is the only food I had a craving to eat. Keep the pumpkin recipes coming :)
I haven’t tried chia pudding yet so maybe I should start with this one and I’ll instantly be a fan :)
mmmmmm! delicious! gbnna make this as soon as i get me some pumpkin!
These recipes look amaaazing. Unfortunately they don’t have canned pumpkin here in Germany!! That’s something I miss soooo much!
Mmmm. I’m rather glad you haven’t stopped with the pumpkin yet – this looks divine :)
Good luck with your tests and ultrasound results! :)
Brilliant banner Angela, absolutely love it! and im lovely this recipe too!
woops, i meant *loving
Thank you!
This dessert looks absolutely delicious and your photos are amazing! I can’t wait to give it a try!
Have a great weekend Angela! xx
I was wondering if you could use Quinoa flour in the Ginger cookies? I’m excited that you are seeing a Holistic Nutritionist, I am an RHN myself :) Keep glowing Angela.
I’m not too sure Heather, I haven’t used Quinoa flour before. How does it bake/taste?