If you’ve never made anything with chia seeds before… this is definitely a recipe to start a love affair.
I made this fruit salad for a few friends that came over for dinner. I served it as a dessert, although it could easily be served anytime of day – especially for breakfast or a snack.
This fruit salad contains ZERO refined sugar is full of wonderful chia seeds!
And look what happened after I served it. Yes… all quickly gone.
It must have been good if I can say so myself 🙂
Chia seeds grow 10 times their weight in size when combined with liquid, helping the body stay hydrated and full. The word “chia” comes from the Aztec word that means “oily” — the oils found in this small little round seed is the secret to its health benefits. Having the most content of omega 3 fatty acids of any plant food, they fight inflammation in the body, reducing the chance for heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and depression.
I hope that’s reason enough to add chia seeds to your repertoire….but if it isn’t, just try this recipe and you will get a chance to feel their magic!
- ⅓ cup chia seeds
- 2 cups nut milk of your choice
- 4 cups of diced fruit of your choice (for this recipe I used pears and strawberries)
- ¼ cup currants or raisins or goji berries
- zest of one orange
- juice of one orange
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- mint leaves for decoration
- Add 1 cup diced fruit and a sprinkle of currants to 4 different bowls
- Combine nut milk, chia seeds, orange juice, zest, vanilla and cinnamon in a small pitcher and stir
- Pour ½ cup mixture on top of fruit in bowls
- Top fruit bowls with shredded coconut
- Refrigerate fruit bowls for at least 30 mins (or chill overnight)
- Top each bowl with a mint leaf before serving
Chia Seed Tips: Remember to store chia seeds in an airtight container. My favorite brand of Chia Seeds is from Nutiva because they 100% organic and I love their support for GMO-labeling.
For this recipe I used homemade pistachio milk, but you can use any nut milk you like.
Please let me know if you make this recipe or any others. I have a new star system on my recipes… I’d love your honest opinion.
Mmmmm…I think I’ve having one of these for breakfast tomorrow.
Food Babe
Looks delicious, love Chia seeds! Can you recommend a great probiotic?
Food Babe’s favorite brand of probiotics is Renew Life Ultimate Flora Adult 15 Billion Bacteria!
I’m curious why she chose this brand of probiotics over Dr. Hyman’s brand?
Thank you
Finally made this today. I tweaked it a little by adding more chia seeds and used almond milk. I also added a bit of raw honey and lemon. I did not like the orange taste so I tried to mellow it out. Besides the orange this recipe was fantastic! Next time I am going to try coconut milk and different add ins
Let us know if you try it a different way and how you like it!
I made this chia seed fruit salad and it was delicious!!!!! Love your blog, Facebook, Pinterest!!!!
Glad you liked it!
What brand of nutmilk do you use? I have yet to find almond milk that does not contain carrageenan (sp?) and am making it instead myself. Do you know of any store bought almond milks that are acceptable/clean?
Silk brand Almond Milk is free of carrageenan, at least the Original sweetened and unsweetened variety in the refrigerated section.
Whole Foods 365 Organic Almond Milk does not contain carrageenan. Homemade is much more delicious though!
The Cornucopia Institute – Shopping Guide to Avoiding Carrageenan http://www.cornucopia.org/shopping-guide-to-avoiding-organic-foods-with-carrageenan/
Kroger/king snoopers/frys/ fredmeyer/ city market all carry a brand called simple truth and their almond milk does not contain carrageenan
This looks so delish! I think I’m going to have to try this out this weekend. I’ve never had Chia seeds before but I definitely want to try it!
Whole Foods 365 Organic Almond Milk does not contain carrageenan. Homemade is much more delicious though!
The Cornucopia Institute – Shopping Guide to Avoiding Carrageenan
http://www.cornucopia.org/shopping-guide-to-avoiding-organic-foods-with-carrageenan/
Chia seeds come from a flowering plant in the mint family that’s native to Mexico and Guatemala, and history suggests it was a very important food crop for the Aztecs. It’s remained in regular use in its native countries, but was largely unknown in North America until researcher Wayne Coates began studying chia as an alternative crop for farmers in northern Argentina about 29 years ago.*’-,
My personal blog site http://healthfitnessbook.com/index.php
Vani, according to Ayurveda, fruit should be eaten alone. Fruit and regular milk is considered a bad food combination that is not good for the digestive system, but even nut milks and fruit are not supposed to be taken together. Apparently, fruit digests much faster in the stomach than milk/nut milk, so if taken together, fruit stays too long in the stomach while the heavier nut milk is being digested and results in a fermented mess that is not good for the digestive fire, “Agni”. And strong digestive fire is absolutely essential for great health. However, it may be OK to enjoy this sometimes, while keeping this in mind. The recipe does sound and look delicious, though! And also wanted to tell you that I love your blog, keep up the good work for all of us!
Thanks for this helpful information…very interesting. I’ll look to incorporate Chia in a different way.
It looks like they say to avoid bananas and milk and sour berries with yogurt. I find this quite interesting since smoothies are good for you but I think you can find a wide range of fruit to use that is not sour.
Looks yummy! Can you suggest a comparable alternative for a nut milk? We have a boy with food allergies. Thanks!
You can use whatever milk you normally use… Hope you like it!
I am wanting to make this for a group of 10 people this weekend – do you think I could make it in a 9×13 pan the night before, refrigerate it and dish it up in the morning?
Yes, I think that would work fine…
Hi! Thanks for all the info. I was wonering what the Indian name for Chia seeds are? Is it the same as Subja seeeds? Subja seeds are round and black.
Hi Kavita – they are very similar but not the same seed.
Kavita, I beleive Chia seeds are from South America, not India. So there may not be an Indian word for them.
Thanks for the great recipe. I made this last night for today morning. I used one and half cups of almond milk and added fresh orange juice, pinch of cinnamon, one teaspoon vanilla extract and half cup chia seeds. I kept in fridge overnight. In morning i found it formed a layer at the bottom of the bowl and was very lumpy. I had to try hard to break the lumps. Is it normal or did i do anything wrong? I added chia seeds first time to my diet…this was great otherwise.
I made this last night and was looking forward to eating it. The orange juice and nut milk did not blend so well. I am disappointed, it was unbearable to eat and a waste of good ingredients. I like delicious healthy food and this definitely wasn’t!
I made this tonight with strawberries, apples, pineapple and my homemade cashew milk… so good!!! I loved it! I have been looking for more ways to use chia seeds. Thanks for the recipe!
I will be going to the Dollar Tree tomorrow and getting nice (cheap) stemmed glasses to eat my Chia Fruit Salad from. This recipe makes me feel like singing.
Thank you so much for ALL your good work. I am enjoying everything on here.
OMG! I have BAGS of organic chia seeds that I got at Marshalls for $2 (who knew?) And I was wanting to use them for something other than fruit juice….
This sounds amazing! I wonder if it would also work good in some organic greek yogurt overnight? Yummyyyy!
On my screen, the advertisement after the Food Babe picture is for Pizza Hut. Seems wrong somehow.
Do the chia seeds turn this into a pudding like consistancy and thicken it?
This is what I want to know too! 🙂
Yes!
Mine didn’t thinken like pudding at all (maybe I did not let it sit for long enough)…however it was DELICIOUS and I WILL be making it again!
Chia seeds are awesome, but the amount of fiber gives me terrible gas if I eat too much of it at once. I can only eat about a tablespoon at a time. The recipe sounds delicious.
This sounds great! I usually put the chia seeds in my hot cereal, adding extra hot water. (It’s cold in the midwest.) I will try this when the weather turns warm or maybe for a brunch. P.S. It’s easy to make almond milk. I got my recipe here, but Food Babe may have posted her own. http://www.veganreader.com/2009/09/12/almond-milk-recipe-the-creamiest-of-them-all/
Great Recipe. I added the homemade cranberries on top of the diced fruits and it is super delicious. Thank you for the recipe!!
We made your recipe last night. I just put little cutie oranges in it instead of risking the orange juice curdling the almond milk and we used guava, raspberry, banana & mandarin oranges. It was very tropical and the coconut on top was perfect. I liked it because it wasn’t unnaturally sweet. The kids liked it but thought the texture was different but ate it all. It was also the first time we have tried fresh guava, so it was a win win! The kids voted that they would eat it again. Thank you for the recipe! I love trying new things with stuff I already have in the house!
Great twist to the recipe Fonnetta! I’m glad you and your family like it.
How many calories? Would be great to see that info in all recipes
First off, I am a HUGE Vani/Food Babe fan and as a conscious eater myself, your site has become my go-to website for all things legitimately natural (and more importantly, the well researched updates on foods that are not!) We celebrated our vegan family Xmas this year with a wonderful feast up here in Canadaland and to top off the meal, I made your amazing Chia Seed Fruit Salad (with a few tweaks…I added 1 tsp cardamom and upped the cinnamon a wee bit & instead of raisons/gojis, I used chopped organic Majool dates) to rave reviews! Thank you!! Keep up the great work!! Big holiday cheers from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada!
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe Cydni! Happy holidays!
Why thank you Madeline! All the best of the Season to you as well! Keep up the wonderful work you all do at Foodbabe! Loving the recipes as well 🙂
I just made this and I love it!!! I used goji berries. For milk I used a mixture if coconut milk and almond milk. I used pears, strawberries, wild blackberries and grapes. I love the hint of orange! Great recipe.
I just made this with coconut milk and almond milk, a little honey, strawberries, blackberries, apple, a banana and some dates. No orange… SO good!! I can’t stay out of it!
This is yummy! Also great with strawberries and granola for breakfast!
How many calories would be in a cup of the chia seed fruit salad?
Is this going to turn a little thicker as it sits in the fridge?
I LOVE this!! I fix this for breakfast for my husband and myself. I make the pudding/dressing mixture (with quantities as instructed), and let it sit in a container over-night in the refrigerator, stirring very well at first, and again before I pour it over fruit in the morning. It thickens perfectly…no lumps or anything! (I’ve used almond and coconut milk).
I also add chopped walnuts on top with the coconut. My husband says this fantastic fruit salad gives him more energy than coffee, even! Very nice for a mid-morning pick-me-up!
I’m new to the Food Babe. I discovered her from her interview on Alex Jones. She’s my new love!! 🙂 Can’t get enough of her recipes! Healthy and delicious! Thank you!!!
How long will this stay well in the refrigerator? I would make the recipe just for myself and I wouldn’t be able to have it all in one serving.
Is there a way to modify to serve one person or will it be OK in the fridge to have for a few days?
Awesome! I used cherries and pears came out great!
Hi,
Do you need to put the almond milk / Chia seed into the blender or does the chia seed soften on it’s own?
Thanks!
I have a brand new love for chia seeds- I just posted an amazing strawberry chia seed pudding recipe on my blog over the weekend! They are filling and so healthy! I can’t wait to try it with more fresh fruit , thanks for the recipe! 🙂 http://www.bowlofdelicious.com/2014/03/29/strawberry-chia-seed-pudding/
I just “liked” nutiva on FB… Now what? How do I get my $10 off? Thank you!!
How long it can stay in the fridge before it goes bad
do you need to soak the chia seeds first?
Made this over the weekend and licked the bowls clean. Made it with almond milk, strawberries & mango, and the goji berries. I don’t worry about zesting – just squeeze in juice and keep going. I didn’t bother garnishing for just the two of us. We loved it. Perfect for something creamy – and I don’t tolerate milk well so I am always looking for creamy – and a great way to eat chia seeds. Dessert with NO guilt. None. Nada.
What nut milk did you use? I used coconut milk (unsweetened) and it didn’t come out creamy as expected. It came out a little soggy, I let it sit for 3 hours. I’d like to retry….thanks!
Can you please tell me if I can use milled chia for this and other chia recipes, like chia oatmeal? I have diverticulitis and I’m afraid to use whole chia. Does the chia plump up, so it’s not like a seed anymore? I would love to try these recipes. Please respond.
Thank you,
Noel Aly
Hi Courtney Cef!
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I started making chia pudding but for some reason got stuck in rice pudding traditions. So: almond milk, cardamom, cinnamon, touch of rose water, raisins and toasted almonds. Am anxious to try all the other fruit and fruit juice ideas.
I add some raw cocoa powder and cocoa nibs when looking for a chocolate fix. Love it!
looks like tapioca
I love your site! I am wondering if the chia seeds need to be thoroughly chewed to get the omega 3 benefits?
thank you!
I have not tried this recipe yet! 🙂
Looks delicious! I have a hard time with citrus and coconut. Do you have any suggestions for something that could be substituted out for those flavors?
I have a question. Your recipe calls for chia seeds. Aren’t they similar to the seeds of cardamom pods?
I made a batch this week with some modifications to the original recipe. I added some local honey for sweetner and used tangerines instead of orange since that is what I had on hand. Like other folks who posted, my pudding wasn’t very thick but still quite tasty. However, yesterday, when I ate it the tangerine flavor was overwhelming and I felt like I was eating a cleaning product. Today, the flavor was more refined as the flavors blended better and I tasted much more of the cinnamon. I will definitely try again, maybe with pineapple juice, because it is still acidic but is also sweet, which would allow me to eliminate the honey. The coconut does sort of remind me of an ambrosia, of course, this is the healthy version without the marshmallows!
I made this chia seed fruit salad and it was delicious! Made it with almond milk.
I tried this recipe for the first time this weekend and it was a huge hit. I was wondering if there was a calorie count out there somewhere? Thanks, Food Babe for another amazing recipe!
Tried it and it was delicious. Thanks a lot for this simple and healthy recipe
I am extremely allergic to oranges (and grapefruis) can you omit or substitute another type of citrus???