Breakfast plans: Chai-spiced banana chia pudding with almond butter, fresh berries and crunchy teff granola! It’s vegan, naturally gluten-free, and perfect for meal prep.
This post is the second in a series of recipes featuring local, Michigan-made products in partnership with Crowded Kitchen!
This month, we’re featuring Tenera Grains Teffola! It’s a delicious, crunchy granola made with teff, an ancient Ethiopian grain. Teff is extremely nutritious and has an earthy, nutty flavor.
The flavor is fantastic. We’re granola addicts (no joke!) and we couldn’t get enough of this stuff. It’s nutty, rich and crunchy (but not too crunchy, if you know what I mean! Some granolas are a tooth hazard). It’s studded with almonds, dried cranberries, buckwheat and a few other nuts and seeds.
Such a great topping for yogurt, oatmeal, and chia pudding, of course! We also love eating it straight out of the bag as a snack.
Chai Chia Pudding with Teff Granola
This delicious chai-spiced chia pudding is easy to make and perfect for your weekly meal prep. You can prepare a big batch on Sunday and portion out for breakfasts all week!
If you haven’t made it before, chia pudding is incredibly easy to make. In its most basic form, it essentially involves stirring together chia seeds, milk and some sort of sweetener. Chia seeds absorb up to 10x their weight in liquid, so after soaking for a while, the mixture thickens into a pudding.
Our chai-spiced version involves just a little more work, but it’s well worth the extra effort.
Warming chai spices include cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.
In addition to chai spices, we also add in a whole banana, maple syrup for sweetness and some almond butter for creamy, nutty flavor. It couldn’t be easier to throw together. Simply add everything but the chia seeds to a blender, blend until smooth, then stir in the chia seeds.
It will take at least 30 minutes for the chia to thicken, but you might as well make it overnight. We suggest stirring once after about 5 minutes to break up any chia clumps that may have formed.
There you have it! Easy, delicious, chai-spiced chia pudding.
toppings
When it comes to toppings, I always say the more the better. Here are my essentials:
Granola. Teff granola, specifically! Granola is a much-needed textural element.
Fresh fruit. We personally prefer raspberries and blueberries, but you can also use blackberries, strawberries, orange slices, banana, etc.
Nut butter. Peanut, almond, cashew, even tahini! They’re all good in my book.
What’s your favorite chia pudding topping? Are you a purist, or do you load it up with everything in sight?
ingredients
2 cups nut milk (we used cashew)
1 banana
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp creamy almond butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cloves
⅛ tsp ground allspice (optional)
¼ tsp salt
½ cup chia seeds
For topping: Teffola Nutty Teff Granola, fresh fruit, nut butter, etc.
instructions
Add milk, banana, maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, salt, cloves, and allspice to a blender and blend well.
Pour into a bowl and stir in chia seeds. Whisk well, set aside, and whisk well again after 5 minutes to break up any clumps. Refrigerate in a covered container for 30 minutes until chia has completely thickened.
Serve topped with teff granola and fresh fruit.