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If you miss tapioca pudding, this Strawberry Chia “Tapioca” is going to take you back in time! Since starting Trim Healthy Mama, one of my “I wish I could still eat that!” foods has been tapioca, specifically vanilla or strawberry tapioca. I made a pretty snazzy mockup of vanilla tapioca using barley awhile back (don’t pretend like you’re surprised at my odd ingredient choice), but some people just aren’t into barley desserts. How closed-minded. 😛 That’s why I decided to do some further experimentation with other tapioca substitutes.
Enter chia seeds. Aldi started carrying them at a very affordable price – ((hugs)) to you, Aldi! If my personality were turned into a store, I would probably look a lot like Aldi. Diverse, minimalistic, cheap, few employees (#introvert)…and German dark chocolate. I really like Aldi. And Aldi’s chia seeds.
In my chia experimentations, I found that chia pudding actually does resemble tapioca quite a lot in texture. I’ve been trying to create more dairy-free recipes for those of my readers who can’t eat dairy, so every time I make a recipe, I ask myself, “Can this be made dairy free?” If I think it can, I try it. If I don’t think it can, sometimes I still try it. I’m not strictly a dairy-free blog, and I eat quite a bit of dairy myself, so even if I don’t think a recipe lends itself to being dairy free, I usually still make it. However, I do find myself going down the dairy-free path much more often these days than I used to. It just so happens that I decided to try my hand at a dairy-free chia pudding, and it worked superbly.
Click here to see a picture index of all my dairy-free recipes!
I ate this chia pudding for breakfast, but it could easily be a dessert or snack as well. Since it includes collagen, it has enough protein to be a meal on its own.
Dairy-free peeps – what dairy-free recipe would you most like to see on my blog? Comment below and tell me!
As always, check out the Notes section of the recipe for extra info. Check out the links in and below the recipe to see the products I use and recommend. Some of the links included in the recipe and blog post are affiliate links, which means that if you make purchases through these links, I make a small commission to help defray the costs of running this blog (at no extra charge to you). Thanks for your help!
You may also enjoy:
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Starting THM
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my recipe index
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my recipes grouped by fuel type, allergy info, and theme
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all my strawberry recipes
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all my dairy-free recipes
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- 1 c. unsweetened almond milk
- ½ c. strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- ½ c. water
- 2 T. collagen
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/32 tsp. (3 doonks) salt
- 3/32 tsp. (3 doonks) THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder
- -
- 3 T. chia seeds
- Blend everything but the chia seeds until smooth. (I do this in a saucepan with an immersion blender, but a regular blender would work fine.) Pour the mixture into a saucepan, whisk in the chia seeds, and bring to a boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, pull it off the heat. Refrigerate overnight to thicken. Enjoy!
If you don't have a dairy intolerance and want to increase the creaminess in this, add 2 T. cottage cheese and/or 2 T. half and half. Add before blending.
You can try substituting whey protein powder for the collagen, but I prefer the taste (rather, the lack of taste) of collagen.
Suggested products:
- Great Lakes Collagen
- Great Lakes Collagen (iHerb)
- THM Integral Collagen
- THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder
- Chia Seeds (Amazon)
What is the point of boiling this? Is it too thicken it or because of the collagen? I’m still learning so I am wondering the purpose for it. Love all of your recipes!
Yes, to activate the chia seeds and thicken it. 🙂 I know some people say their chia puddings thicken up just fine without boiling, but I’ve always had better success when I cook them.
I’m such a literal learner that I have a couple of questions.
1) After bringing to a boil and removing from heat, do you allow it to cool a little bit before you put it into the refrigerator?
2) Do you leave it uncovered or cover it in the refrigerator?
Thank you!
It will turn out the same whether you let it cool before refrigeration or not, but I do let it cool first so I don’t bring my fridge temp down. I cover it before refrigerating.
I meal prep on Sundays all of my breakfasts and lunches to be eaten at work throughout the week. How long would a batch of chia pudding last?
I’m sure it would last for a few days, but I’m not sure that it would last for an entire week. You’re welcome to try and see! Mine usually doesn’t stick around that long before getting eaten. 😛
Most chia pudding recipes that I have seen/used so not call for cooking the pudding. What is the advantage to boiling the pudding before chilling it?
It allows you to get a thicker result without using so many chia seeds. 🙂
Thanks.
How many servings does this make? Or how much shouldnyou eat to stay in the guidlines? Ive started THM a couple weeks ago and I LOVE your recipes. Just had your superfood breakfast smoothie and then for dessert I had your milk chocolate pudding. Love your stuff! Thank you! Any tips for me starting out?
Hi Katie! This is a single-serve recipe; you can find serving information towards the top of the printable recipe. 🙂
Some of my best tips can be found in this index: https://www.briana-thomas.com/indexes/my-journey-and-tips/
Briana, I have been experimenting with Chia and love it! Could you tell me why this is an S? Wouldn’t it be fuel Pull?
Chia seeds are considered an S ingredient unless you use a very small amount. 🙂 Seeds and nuts are a fat source.
Oh my, I didn’t realize that!
Thank you!
I used the new THM strawberry protein instead of collagen. Since it is already sweetened, i cut down on the stevia. It was very strawberry-ish and delish. Thanks.
I LOVE your Chunky Monkey chia pudding recipe, and since then I’ve been wondering how easy it would be to make it more like a vanilla tapioca (my favorite). This strawberry one sounds amazing, but do you have any suggestions for leaving the strawberry out and just striving for vanilla?
You could probably just omit the strawberries and add a little extra vanilla extract. I recommend adding the cottage cheese as noted to add a little more body in that case. That idea is on my list to make eventually. 😉
i love your posts. sometimes it helps me know what to make for the next meal. sometimes it just keeps me inspired! sometimes i walk away with my head down…. since it includes dairy! i would love to have a sub for the cream cheese layer in many desserts. like the whipped cream/cream cheese layer in strawberry freezer fluff, pumpkin torte, lemon lush, fruit pizza, swiss roll, misisissippi mud pie, etc. it would open a whole new world for me. i hate to deny my family some of these tasty desserts, but i cant find the time to cook EVERYTHING double! n neither do they want to eat the blah choices if they dont HAVE to! thank you for being an inspiration to me! God bless you for it.
Thank you for the suggestion!