Tropical coconut chia pudding parfait

(with a pistachio matcha variation!)

Enticing to look at and so good to eat, I’ve served these magical parfaits to health food aficionados and to an old meat-and-potatoes curmudgeon. They’ve nourished the sick, delighted a young child, and brought joy to anyone who’s scooped up a spoonful and tasted it.

To me, the word, “chia” has always referred to a clay animal that sprouts green hair.

If you don’t remember chia pets, never mind…

Luckily, I have a daughter who keeps me updated on food trends, particularly those geared towards vegetarians. So, I now know that these little seeds can do more than sprout. They can also soak up a ton of liquid and then thicken said liquid into a pudding-like texture. And, they’re also really good for you.

Go know!

Unlike old-fashioned puddings, chia pudding doesn’t need to be cooked, so there’s very little time and effort involved in whipping this up. That said, since I’m using canned coconut milk—which needs to be heated to become homogenous—I’m tossing this in a small saucepan. If you use another liquid you won’t need to do this. I just love coconut anything.  

As a parfait, layered with an array of tropical fruits, this is as gorgeous to look at as it is to eat.

Chia pudding makes a great grab-and-go breakfast, a super snack, and if you make it a bit sweeter, a delicious dessert.

Tip: Personally, I like my chia pudding made in a blender. It’s smoother. It’s creamier. It’s also easier to make, because you won’t have to whisk it, then refrigerate it, then take it out and whisk it again, and then refrigerate it some more.

And, it takes only minutes to dump everything into a blender (I use my Ninja), whoosh it up, and scoop it out into a bowl.

Either way, plan ahead. Chia pudding needs several hours—and overnight is even better—to firm up.

Ingredients:

• 1 can unsweetened full-fat coconut milk (Asian brands work well. Look for one without additives.)

• 4 tablespoons (more or less according to taste) honey, maple syrup, or agave,

• ½ cup chia seeds (either black or white—they’re equally good)

• a pinch of salt

• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

• I’m adding ½ teaspoon pistachio extract. You can use any additional pure extract, to add any flavor you’d like to introduce. It’s optional.

• I’m also adding a pinch of crumbled saffron threads dissolved in a tiny bit of hot water—also optional.

As you can see, you can use your creativity to add anything you’d like.

Toppings:

• 1 star fruit, sliced into stars

• 1 banana, sliced or diced

• mango, diced (fresh or frozen)

• rambutan (if you can find it. Canned lychees are a substitute.)

• 1 dragon fruit, removed from shell and diced

• 1 mango

• A few strawberries, sliced (not tropical, but nice here)

• Sliced almonds, roughly chopped macadamia nuts, and/or pistachios

• Shredded coconut for the top

• whipped cream or coconut whipped cream—optional, but really good!

It’s fine if you don’t have all of these fruits; feel free to add others that you like.

Method:

• Warm the coconut milk with the sweetener and salt until the solids are melted. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the chia seeds, the saffron and its soaking water if using, and the vanilla and other flavorings if using.

• You can use a whisk to combine the ingredients, in which case you should then pop in the fridge, let it rest for half an hour, and then give it another stir to make sure all the seeds don’t stay on the bottom.

• Or do it my way: Instead of whisking the ingredients, I like to use a food processor to combine them. This breaks down the seeds somewhat, which makes the finished pudding more homogenous. It also does a better job at thickening the pudding. And you don’t have to remember to go back to the fridge and stir it again.

• Let the pudding rest overnight in the fridge.

  When you’re ready to serve the chia pudding…

• Set the slices of star fruit to the side and combine all the other fruits. In parfait glasses, layer some coconut chia pudding, some of the mixed fruit, more pudding, more fruit, ending with fruit on top. I like to do 2–3 layers of pudding. You can add nuts to the fruit layers or just use them on top.

• To finish the parfaits, put the shredded coconut into a dry sauté pan and stir over medium heat for a few minutes until it turns golden. Watch carefully that it doesn’t burn. Squirt some store-bought canned whipped cream or coconut cream onto the top (or make your own!).

• Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the top. Make a small cut in a slice of star fruit and slide it onto the top of your parfaits as a garnish.

The afore promised pistachio and matcha variation…

After having 5 teeth pulled, I knew I would have to have a breakfast for the next morning that did not require chewing. Chia pudding sounded perfect. Smooth, cool, filling, and nutritious.

I also was limited to ingredients I had in the house.

I had no coconut milk. But I did have plain Greek yogurt.

The shredded coconut was definitely out, anyway!

Here’s what I did…

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)

• ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt, full-fat (you can replace this with canned full-fat coconut milk if you like)

• 4 tablespoons honey, more or less to taste (You can use another sweetener if you like, but I think the flavor of honey works well here.)

• 2 tablespoons matcha powder (the higher the quality, the better)

• 1 ½ teaspoons rosewater

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

• ½ teaspoon pure pistachio extract

• ½ cup chia seeds, white or black

• ⅓ cup raw pistachios, wizzed to dust in a food processor

For Garnish:

Cut 1 mango and 1 small ripe banana (or whatever fruits you’d like to use) into smallish dice.

whipped cream—homemade, high quality canned, or coconut whipped cream (optional)

Method:

• In the order listed (you want to keep the chia seeds away from the blades at first, so that they don’t clump in the bottom), put everything into the jar of a blender. See note below…

• Save a little of the pistachio dust for garnish.

• Blend on high speed until everything is well combined and the seeds have broken down. I let it go for several minutes.

• Spoon the pudding out of the blender into a serving bowl or individual bowls or glasses. The fruit can be added in layers, or be mixed through, or be put on top. It’s your pudding!

• Note: If, when you’re taking the finished pudding out of the blender you have clumps of seeds, just mix them through and blend it again. (that’s what happened to me.

• Sprinkle the remaining pistachio dust over the top and add whipped cream if desired.

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?