Chocolate Hazelnut Chia + Flax Pudding {Paleo, Vegan, Keto}
In my humble opinion, the hazelnut is a widely underutilized nut. With a flavor like nothing else, it can easily stand on its own. It also becomes a wonderful enhancement when paired with other foods. And few foods go with hazelnut like chocolate. This is most commonly seen in the popular treat, Nutella. Thankfully we no longer have to reserve this delectable pairing just for dessert. Our Chocolate Hazelnut Chia + Flax Pudding can even be enjoyed for breakfast. Yes, I am serious!
I realize not everyone likes chocolate for breakfast. As you may have guessed, I have been known to enjoy it at my first meal of the day. I mean, a real chocoholic knows that it can be enjoyed at any time. And the same goes here, there is no when-to-eat chocolate discrimination in this house.
I likely wouldn’t eat an actual dessert for breakfast, though. But you also may notice I used likely here, because this certainly has happened at some point.
Nowadays, however, my priorities are a little different. I am far more conscious about what I am eating, and aim to consume the most nutritious foods possible. Which means I still eat delicious combinations, but now they are packed full of nourishing ingredients. This is where our Chocolate Hazelnut Chia + Flax Pudding comes in.
Here you will find ingredients such as a quality nothing-else-added hazelnut milk. Hazelnuts are full of Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Calcium, and potent antioxidants. You pair this with the antioxidants, essential minerals, and vitamins in pure chocolate, and you have one healthy combination. It still blows my mind how nutritious dark chocolate really is.
Then we add chia and flax seeds for fiber and anti-inflammatory Omega fatty acids. It’s all topped off with satiating MCTs from coconut cream. And lest we not forget about raw cacao seeds and toasted hazelnuts for a crunch and final nutritional punch.
You may be wondering why we add flax to our chia seed pudding. I mean, chia pudding is great on its own, right? It absolutely is. But I think adding flax bring it up a notch. Flax is full of healthy fats and essential minerals, plus fiber to improve digestion. It also acts as great binder, and the resulting pudding is wonderfully rich in both texture and flavor.
Now that we have the nutritious ingredients down, the most beautiful part is yet to come. When a delicious meal is full of healthy ingredients, there can be zero guilt about enjoying it. With that realization, we understand we can actually enjoy this dish any time of day. Isn’t that a freeing feeling? Knowing that you get to choose what food to eat, and when, based on your own personal needs.
That is my favorite part of my intuitive eating journey. I learned to understand what I truly need, and not what everyone else is telling me I need. How to communicate with my body, instead of fighting against it. I learned how to strengthen my mind-body connection. I learned all about me.
And one of the main benefits of that journey has been allowing myself the freedom to eat chocolate at breakfast. Or not eat breakfast at all. Or eat breakfast twice in a day. It is whatever I feel my mind, body, and soul need that day. Learning to connect these dots has me breaking all sorts of food rules, and I am absolutely loving it.
We would love for you to follow Well Rooted on instagram and tag your recipes with #the.WellRooted.life! You can also share photos on facebook. Thanks for your support!
Chocolate Hazelnut Chia + Flax Pudding {Paleo, Vegan, Keto}
Ingredients
Pudding
- 3 cups hazelnut milk homemade or we like Elmhurst 1925
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup plus more to taste if needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup raw cacao or unsweetened chocolate powder
- 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
Optional Toppings
- Sliced bananas or berries
- Coconut heavy cream
- Raw cacao nibs
- Crushed raw hazelnuts
Instructions
Pudding
- Add milk, maple syrup, vanilla, sea salt, cacao or chocolate powder, and flax seeds to a high powdered blender. Blend on high until smooth and fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes. Alternatively, you can whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl, mixing in chia seeds last. This will have a different texture than the blended version, but works great as well.
- Add chia seeds to a large airtight storage container and pour pudding mixture on top. Stir chia seeds into the pudding until incorporated. Then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Shake the container or stir the pudding a couple of times to prevent lumping.
- Arrange pudding in small individual containers such as mason jars, ramekins or drink glasses. Layer toppings between pudding or add them right on top. We like a little bit of everything.
I love that you used chia seeds and flax seeds in here. I make refrigerator oatmeal with both as well. Hazelnut is one of my favorite flavors, so I’ll definitely be giving this recipe a go!
Thanks so much, Kelsie! This would be great in overnight oats too, I love how there are so many variations. Totally agree on hazelnut too, enjoy!
I love that you used chia seeds and flax seeds in here. I make refrigerator oatmeal with both as well. Hazelnut is one of my favorite flavors, so I’ll definitely be giving this recipe a go!
Thanks so much, Kelsie! This would be great in overnight oats too, I love how there are so many variations. Totally agree on hazelnut too, enjoy!
Yummy, Your photos are wonderful and staged so well. This sounds like a tasty recipe. I love pudding.
Thanks very much, Kim! Really appreciate it, and I’m with you on pudding, its delicious ?
These sound delicious and they look so pretty too! I’ll have to give them a try!
Thank you so much! I hope you love it as much as we do ?
This looks delicious! I’ve never been a chia seed person – but I’d try it! 🙂
Thanks so much Josephine! The great thing about chia pudding is that you don’t really notice the seeds. You can even blend the pudding after it sets to avoid them altogether ?
I love chocolate anything! And if its healthy, that is just a great bonus! Thank you for sharing!
I am with you on that one, Ann! I hope you enjoy this recipe ?