Here is an easy no-bake recipe to make healthy vegan protein puddings, with strawberry and chocolate flavour. All the proteins come directly from non-processed plant-based ingredients, so no protein powders used! You can enjoy this pudding after dinner as a dessert, at breakfast, or after an intense gym session to build up those muscles.
Our goal was to make a refreshing treat that was simple to prepare, and that would bring as much benefit to your body as possible. Here's how we have done that:
We prepared this pudding without added sugars.
Instead of adding in refined sugars, we have used naturally-sweet strawberries and bananas.
We minimized fats.
Vegan recipes often use coconut milk to make things creamy. To keep fats to a minimum, we have replaced coconut with silken tofu.
Silken tofu is easy to blitz into a smooth and creamy paste. It also has 40 times fewer saturated fats than coconut. Moreover, unlike coconut, tofu has such a subtle flavour, that you won't even notice it's there.
We packed it with plant-based proteins.
Why use artificial protein powders when nature provides everything we need? To make this pudding super rich in proteins, we have used chia seeds, silken tofu, and almonds.
Tofu is an excellent addition to a vegan diet. It's a great source of complete proteins, unlike most other plant-based foods whose proteins don't have all the nine essential amino acids your body needs.
Then we have chia, with tiny seeds that pack a big punch. A single cup of chia gives you 5g of proteins and 11g of fibres, in less than 150 calories. Moreover, chia seeds are an excellent plant-based source of omega-3 fats. These fats keep your heart healthy by reducing the number of triglycerides in your blood[1].
Almonds are a staple in our kitchen. Apart from being a good source of proteins, these nuts have a ton of vitamins and minerals. Plus, they taste amazing.
We kept it simple: it's ready in less than 10 minutes of work.
The result? A healthy pudding with less than 5% of your recommended daily intake (RDI) for carbs but a whopping 25% for proteins! Plus, just 13g of fats (predominantly healthy fats from almonds and chia), 8g of fibres, and lots of vitamins.
Like most other plant-based recipes, our chocolate and strawberry pudding keeps very well in the fridge, for up to a week.
So make some more, and keep it ready to satisfy your post-gym protein needs!
And if you're looking for other pudding ideas, try this overnight quinoa with chia, matcha chia pudding, blue chia pudding, and chai chia pudding.
Can chia pudding be frozen?
Yes, you can! Freezing our high-protein chia puddings is an excellent idea if you made a big batch for future use. You can also keep them in the fridge for up to seven days.
Just know that due to the low-fat content of this recipe, the puddings will turn more into a popsicle than a sorbet once frozen. So you will have to let them thaw for at least 15 minutes before you can scoop through them.
Is chia pudding suitable for weight-loss?
We can't vouch for all chia puddings out there, as some use high-fat ingredients, but our vegan protein puddings are an excellent low-carb treat for people watching their weight.
We selected the ingredients for this recipe with a great deal of attention. We went after high-fibres and high-protein foods but excluded all refined sugars and ingredients with unhealthy fats.
That's why the list of ingredients used in our pudding is so plain and simple. We only used fruit, some nuts and chia seeds, cocoa powder, and tofu. There's no fatty coconut and no artificial protein powders.
The puddings came out with only 13g grams of carb per portion, which is less than 5% of your recommended daily intake (RDI) for this nutrient.
They also have very few fats, 20% of your RDI. But these fats come predominantly from nuts and seeds and are therefore very healthy. Even on a weight-loss diet, you have to feed your body with essential fatty acids, for it to be truly healthy. Moderation is key, of course.
Fibres play many critical roles in a weight-loss diet - or any diet, really. They cleanse our guts and keep them function well. They slow down digestion, ensuring a gradual release of energy and a slowed absorption of sugars in the bloodstream. They also help to curb hunger, helping us feel satiated for longer and by eating less. Our pudding has a good amount of fibres. A portion will give you 30% of your RDI. Not bad for a dessert!
What if you are following the keto diet? Can you still enjoy these puddings?
Keto diet is very restrictive, and only allows high-fats and low-carbs foods. Ingredients like tofu, almonds, cacao, strawberries, and chia seeds are keto-friendly as they have little sugars.
However, bananas are not usually included in very low-carb diets as they are relatively higher in carbs compared to other fruits like berries.
Therefore, if you're following a strict ketogenic diet we recommend you swap banana with the same amount of silken tofu, greek yogurt, or avocado. Also, consider adding a zero-calorie sweetener like erythritol to make up for the sweetness lost from bananas.
Is chia pudding suitable for people with diabetes?
Our vegan protein puddings have zero added sugars and are fit for people with diabetes. The majority of sugars come from fruit, namely banana and strawberries. Moreover, this recipe has a good amount of fibres, an essential component to keep blood sugar levels in check.
So we knew this recipe was fit for people on a weight-loss diet or low carb diet. To make sure it was suited for people with diabetes as well, we checked the GI and GL figures for all ingredients used.
We found out that the ingredient with the highest GI and GL is banana, with a score of 51 and 18, respectively. Anything with a GI smaller than 55 is considered a low GI food. So both these numbers are well within the safety range. All other ingredients show even lower figures, making our pudding an excellent treat for people that keep an eye on blood sugar levels.
Ingredients
| Silken Tofu | 240 g |
| Bananas | 1 |
| Water | 100 mL |
| Cocoa | 25 g |
| Chia Seeds | 40 g |
| Strawberries | 225 g |
| Almonds | 50 g |
Step 1
In a food processor, add half of the silken tofu, half of the banana, and water. Blitz the ingredients are you have a smooth mixture (1).
Then, incorporate cocoa powder and half of the chia seeds and stir well into a creamy mousse (2).
Leave the chocolate chia pudding to set in the fridge for 7-10 minutes as the seeds will swell and form a thick gel-lick mixture.
Step 2
In a clean blender bowl, blitz the remaining half of silken tofu and bananas with 130 g of strawberries until creamy.
Next, stir in the remaining chia seeds, and again leave to set to in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Step 3
Finely chop the almonds and dice the remaining 95 g of strawberries.
Now it's time to put the pudding together.
Divide the prepared cacao pudding among serving glasses or dessert cups, filling them at one-third.
Next, sprinkle almonds and strawberries over the chocolate layer.
Finally, cover the fruit and nuts with a layer of strawberry mousse filling the glass to the top.
Refrigerate before serving and garnish with mint leaves and berries to taste.
Tips
For extra flavour and crunch, toast the almonds in the oven before adding them to the dessert.
If you have a sweet tooth, drizzle the tofu pudding with a splash of maple syrup.