Chocolate Chia Pudding Mousse
181 Comments
Updated Nov 23, 2020
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
Chocolate chia pudding mousse is a smooth, blended version of chocolate chia pudding. There’s no chia seed texture, just a classic creamy mousse consistency that you’ll love!
For those who love the idea of chia pudding but don’t love that tapioca-like texture, this recipe was made for you. It’s a blended version of my super popular chocolate chia pudding recipe turned into a beautiful mousse.
And a healthier, dairy-free version of mousse that tastes like a chocolate dream.
If you’ve tried any of my chocolate dessert recipes such as my paleo chocolate zucchini bread or paleo brownies, you’ll know that I never compromise flavor. And this recipe is no different. It’s rich, creamy and indulgent.
Top it off with my homemade coconut whipped cream and fresh chocolate shavings for a match made in heaven. Now let’s get into it.
Chocolate Chia Pudding Mousse Ingredients
Lucky for you, this recipe comes together with just a few staple ingredients. In fact, you probably have them already stocked in your pantry. Here’s what you’ll need to blend together:
- Dairy-Free Milk – 2 cup (I like to use cashew milk or almond milk for this recipe)
- Chia Seeds – 1/2 cup
- Cacao Powder – 1/4 cup
- Maple Syrup – 1/4 cup
- Vanilla Extract – 2 teaspoon
Toppings are completely optional, but why not add more fun, right? Here are my suggestions for the ultimate flavor combination.
- Coconut Whipped Cream: Add a dollop of this on top for extra creaminess.
- Chocolate Shavings: I like to use a bittersweet chocolate, with 50-60% dark chocolate.
- Fruit: Raspberries and strawberries pair nicely with chocolate.
- Nuts: Chopped pecans (or any nuts) are delicious, giving a contrasting crunch with every bite.
Tips for Blending the Mousse
The key to blending chia pudding is having a minimum amount of ingredients in your blender. You need a minimum amount to allow the blades to properly blend everything together. I’ve chatted about this before on my Vitamix tips video.
That’s why this recipe is a double version of my regular chocolate chia pudding recipe. The larger quantity just blends better.
As soon as you’re done blending, you’ll see it’s immediately thickened. That’s thanks to the chia seeds. It will firm up a smidge more after chilling.
How Long Will it Last?
The mousse will last for 4-5 days in the fridge. You could always make a double or triple batch though and freeze in individual portions for several weeks or longer. This is perfect for when the chocolate cravings strike (wink wink). Just thaw and enjoy!
More Chia Pudding Recipes
If you’re a chia pudding lover like I am, you won’t want to miss my other recipes.
- Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding Mousse
- Peanut Butter And Jelly Chia Seed Pudding
- Blueberry Chia Pudding With Figs And Hazelnut
- How To Make Chia Seed Jam
- Brownie Trifle
Chocolate Chia Pudding Mousse
Description
Ingredients
- 2 cup dairy-free milk
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 cup cacao powder , or cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Garnish
- coconut whipped cream
- chocolate shavings
- chopped nuts
- strawberries, (or other fruit)
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender.
- Blend on high for a minute, or until the pudding is creamy.
- Transfer the pudding to a bowl, cover and chill at least 4 hours.
- Serve the chocolate chia mousse with a dollop of coconut whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and chopped nuts.
Lisa's Tips
- Don't reduce the quantity (i.e. cut it in half) or there won't be enough ingredients to blend properly in a blender.
- You can certainly double or triple the recipe though for a party or gathering!
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
I’ve made this my breakfast several times thank you! Now I’m wondering if there is a version of it with matcha instead of cocoa. What would be the ratio of matcha and should I dissolve it in hot water first?
I haven’t tried a matcha version, but I think it would be best to dissolve it in hot water first!
Excellent, excellent, yummy and decadent! I just made this yesterday and it was so simple to make! It was so tasty and satisfying! I added some more maple syrup and even some date sugar I had. I will make this often since it is just so easy to make and so good for you! I added nuts but tonight I will whip up some coconut cream to add! This would be great as an ice cream base. I am thinking about freezing it after adding whipped cream to it and using it in my Ninja Creami ice cream maker. Thanks again!
So happy you loved it, Elizabeth!
I added a small drop of peppermint oil and a dash cinnamon. Delicious.
Hi Pamb – Great idea on adding a dash of peppermint oil!
Can you freeze this? I’m wondering if it can be an ice cream substitute for my toddler. Thank you!
Hi Lauren – You can freeze this, but I think the texture would be better when it’s soft.
Why does it have to be non-dairy milk? Can you use normal milk?
Hi Kelly – You can use normal milk if you’d like. I typically use non-dairy.
Made this, it was really good 😊
Quick question though, it says that there are 229kcal, does that mean there are 229 thousand calories or am I missing something 😭
kcals are just the official term for calories. So it’s just 229. Hope that helps! :)
Do I need to soak the chia seeds?
There is no need to soak the chia seeds for this!
What is the serving size?
Hi Jenna – I’d say each serving is about half a cup.
Can I use baking dark chocolate bars (melted) instead of cocoa powder? Thank!
I haven’t tried it, but I’m thinking it could work!
Is there another option for maple syrup?
You could use honey as well.
I absolutely love this pudding. I’ve been making it every week ever since I found the recipe. I have dessert every night of the week now.
Happy to hear you’ve been enjoying this mousse, Andrea :)
Is this recipe Keto friendly?
Hi Saz – You can make this keto-friendly by using a keto sugar.
Rating a 5 before trying because it sounds delicious & I actually just have a question first. I don’t have a high quality blender that will blend the seeds smoothly with everything combined. Can I pre blend the chia seeds in a coffee grinder first before putting in the blender with the other ingredients? Just wondering if it will work the same?
You can if you’d like, but I find there’s no need to if you’re already going to blend up the chia seeds with the mousse ingredients.
I made this and soaked it all overnight in homemade cashew milk. I did add a little more chia seeds. A whirl thru the Vitamix until smooth. We really enjoyed it.
Glad this chocolate mousse was a success!
I can’t stand the texture of chia pudding so I was happy to find this recipe! For people that had trouble getting the seeds to blend: I first used my coffee grinder to process the chia seeds into a very fine powder, then I added them to the blender with remaining ingredients. It worked really well.
I so badly wanted this recipe to work. I ended up trying it twice. So the first time I did it it came out crunchy after blending for probably 5 minutes on high. I read about this happening in the reviews and figured my chia seeds went bad or something so I went out and bought new ones and the exact same thing happened again. I had to throw away 3 batches of this (because the first time I made it I did a double batch). The blender I used was a Ninja that has three sets of blades.
Great recipe!
I used white chia seeds, soaked them in the cashew milk I was using for about 15-20 min before adding to my vitamix (high speed blender a must to get that creamy perfect consistency). I added a generous pinch of salt, and added some allulose sweetener to my liking shy of about 1/4 cup.
I topped it with a little chopped banana, walnuts, cocoa nibs, and a light pinch/sprinkle of flakey sea salt.
Good Lord was it good! Kind of tasted like meted chocolate ice cream, yum!
Glad you enjoyed this chocolate chia pudding mousse! I’m sure this came out beautifully with white chia seeds as well :)
I find it funny the amount of people blaming the recipe because their blender sucks lol. Chia seeds should blend down to wear you can’t taste them if you use a decent blender. I have a nutribullet and it works really well for recipes like this bc you can just shake the blender and they don’t get stuck higher up the sides. If you don’t have a good blender use a coffee grinder and grind the dry seeds up first and then blend the rest of the recipe. But please don’t blame the recipe creator and hurt her ratings bc your blender isn’t good. It isn’t a fair rating and prevents others from trying this that would absolutely love it.
So are we supposed to soak the chia seeds before blending? It doesn’t say to do that anywhere in the recipe but I added everything together in the blender like stated in the recipe and the chia seeds were hard and didn’t break down in anyway to form the creamy mousse. If we are supposed to soak the chia seeds overnight can you include that in the recipe and let us know if we soak it in the milk? Do we put everything together in the fridge overnight? Then just blend it the next day? I am looking forward to this recipe just trying to figure out how to get it to work. Thanks!
There is no need to soak the chia seeds for this recipe as they should blend up into a mousse! May I ask what you are blending with by chance?
It’s a ninja blender? It has the three boxes all the way up the center so it usually works pretty well.
Or do you mean the type of milk lol. We use oat milk. Could that be the problem?
Thanks so much for your response back!
Hmm, that milk shouldn’t make a difference. The mixture should be creamy right after blending (as you can see in my photos). But becomes even thicker and smoother after it’s chilled for several hours.
I’m very disappointed with this recipe. I followed the recipe to the T and immediately after blending the chia seeds were still solid and crunchy. I blended the pudding an extra 4 minutes to see if that would help and it didn’t. I know from experience that as the pudding rests in the fridge that the seeds expand and become soft. That did not happen! It rested overnight and the pudding thickened a bit, but the texture was still crunchy. Not pleased at all!
Hi Joan – not sure what went wrong, but your chia seeds should definitely not be crunchy after soaking with the milk for 4 hours. It sounds like your chia seeds may have gone bad. Hope your next try turns out better!
I read it is best to soak chia seeds over night and that this may lead to a smoother consistency, is that true?
Chia seeds should soak for a minimum of 4 hours, though overnight is what I usually do. :)
The Chocolate Cia Mousse Pudding is outrageously decadent. I’ve made it 3 times this past week. Not much of a pumpkin pie fan so for dessert at our Thanksgiving meal, I enjoyed it with a some chopped walnuts, whipping cream and a dash of cinnamon! Going to make it for a family brunch at Christmas and have it set up with multiple topping options. Highly recommend!!!
Hi Lisa,
I love your original recipe, but this looks delicious. I know you state not to 1/2 it, but could I if I was making it in a smaller blender like a nutribullet or small ninja processor?? Also, can this techinique be used with all of your chia pudding recipes? I would like to try this with your original one as a vanilla mousse.
Thank you!
If you’re using a smaller blender, I think you could halve the recipe just fine. But, let us know how it works out!
This looks delicious! I’m diabetic and can’t use maple syrup. Do you think this would work with stevia or monk fruit? Your recipes are great!
I’m sure that could work!
I always use either stevia or monk fruit powder with this recipe and it’s delicious. I just Google conversions for maple syrup to whatever sweetener I’m using.
Erm girl??? This is BLOODY DELICIOUS! I put an oat based whipped cream on top! Not going to lie, I didn’t think it was going to be as banging as this! Thanks honey!!!
Yay! Glad you loved this chia pudding mousse :)
Hey, Lisa! I will be making this recipe tonight but had one question. How long will this keep in the fridge?
The mousse will last for 4-5 days in the fridge. You could always make a double or triple batch though and freeze in individual portions for several weeks or longer.
This was delicious! Blending it up made such a difference. I’m going to recommend this to everyone :)
This was really yummy! Made exactly as directed, using almond milk and dark cocoa powder. Even bought the weck jars, which I will be using for lots of your other recipes too.
Could I add protein powder to this delicious recipe and if yes how much. Thanks very much
You can add 2 tablespoons if you’d like! If you find it to be too thick, just add a bit more milk and blend again.
Hi maam i like all your recipes thank you for shearing good night tc God bless you and your family 🙏
Happy to hear you’re enjoying all my recipes so far Sujata!
Where did you get the cute little jars, they’re the perfect size?!
You can find them linked in my Shop page :)
Can you blend after it’s set up? I followed another recipe with the chia seeds left whole. I would like to try it smooth like a mousse.
Should be okay!
Hi, I’m not sure if I’ve made a mistake somewhere but the pudding tastes strongly like cardboard. Any idea as to why? Please advise.
Raw cacao powder isn’t sweet like your normal milk or dark chocolate. You can always add more sugar if you’d like or use cocoa powder instead.
Mine tasted like cardboard too. Were your chia seeds old? I’m thinking mine maybe were. I’ve never had chia pudding before so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Can you use chia hearts?
Its best to use chia seeds with this!
A weekly go to!! Delicious.
Hi are the chia seeds cooked first.i read that chia seeds uncooked are not good for some peoples digestion. It looks and sounds yummy.
No, the chia seeds do not need to be cooked in this recipe.
Love this! Now we can have a light dish in the evening knowing we will be completely satisfied with dessert. Thank you very much!
Glad you’re loving this dish Margarita!
This recipe looks really good and healthier than my usual chocolate pudding. I have all the ingredients in my kitchen and I can’t wait to try it. But, I was wondering if I could use my stick blender instead of the blender ?
Yes, that should work!
Hey! I tried chia mouse at a restaurant the other day and it was delicious. If I do not have non dairy milk on hand, could I use regular milk?
Yes, you can use regular milk!
I only use organic cacao and although I use maple syrup in many things I’m cutting calories right now as I have a few pounds to lose so I used pure organic stevia. The consistency is spot on but since cacao I has a richer flavor then cocoa, in the future I will reduce it a bit.
Hi Lisa, this looks delicious like so many of your recipes. I love your YouTube channel also! A suggestion, if one is starting from scratch and doesn’t have the non-dairy milk already made, it would be great if this recipe started with those ingredients so we could make this in one process. Bonus, you only have to clean the Vitamix once!
ABSOLUTELY DELISH!! Tastes just like chocolate pudding, but with chia in it. I made this version – used macadamia nut milk for dairy free milk, used 1/4c unsweetened cocoa and 1/4c dark cocoa, subbed 1/4 tsp of almond extract in with 1 3/4 tsp vanilla. I topped it with a dollop of Silk brand non dairy Heavy Whipping Cream and sprinkled some cacao nibs. HEAVENLY!!
Glad you enjoyed this chocolate mousse Bridget!