Meatless Friday: Peanut Butter Chia

Monica Portogallo shares an easy-to-prepare recipe that works for breakfast, lunch, or even a high-protein dessert. Download our printable recipe card!

For those not familiar with chia seeds, you might remember the Chia Pet fad from the 1990s. Oddly enough, those seeds that amused us by growing on pottery are also quite nutrient dense. They also act sort of like tapioca when soaked in fluid, so they can turn milk into pudding with very little effort. 

This recipe is what happens when one combines a peanut butter pudding and a chia pudding recipe. The result is a tasty pudding that works for breakfast, lunch, or a protein-rich dessert!  

Peanut Butter Chia

Ingredients: 

3 cups milk or soy milk
2 tbsp. maple syrup or honey
pinch of salt
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup peanut butter
½ cup chia seeds 

Optional toppings include: chocolate chips, sliced banana, chopped apples 

Directions: 

In a medium saucepan, stir together milk, maple syrup, and salt. Heat over medium-low heat until almost boiling, stirring often, then turn off heat. Stir in vanilla. With a whisk or a fork, stir in peanut butter until well combined. Slowly stir in the chia seeds with a whisk or a fork. Transfer to a dish with a cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Add toppings as desired before serving.