Coffee Chia Pudding with Protein

This low carb coffee chia pudding is a delicious way to start your day with a protein boost! Full of healthy ingredients it’s low in carbs but high in fiber and protein. And it has the added kick of caffeine from either coffee or matcha green tea!

You might also like these low carb coffee breakfast popsicles!

I think it’s the fall weather that has me craving coffee drinks and so I thought I’d update this healthy coffee chia pudding. It has it all for a healthy breakfast drink – it’s low carb, high in fiber, high in protein and a boost of caffeine!

Best of all it’s delicious. And if you are not a coffee drinker I have a matcha green tea version too. If caffeine is not a something you seek in the morning feel free to substitute with decaf coffee or tea. These are great for make-ahead breakfasts or just for a sweet pick me up in the afternoon.

Why I love chia seeds.

According to Dr. Axe chia seeds have many nutritional benefits as they are high in fiber, omega-3 fats, protein, vitamins and minerals. Considered a superfood, they can hold up to 12 times their weight in water.

I love chia seeds and have many chia recipes on this blog which I’ll list below. I have used them in drinks, puddings, in crackers, in granola, jams etc. Usually I use them as I have in this recipe, with a liquid to make it gel. It’s a weird consistency but I rather like it. 

If you don’t like the gel like consistency you can also pulverized them in a blender like I did in this chocolate chia pudding.  Either way you prepare them, they are great for making jams, puddings, or to thicken drinks. Plus you get all the added  health benefits!

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredients you need for this chia latte recipe is brewed coffee (or tea), chia seeds, protein powder, unsweetened almond milk, heavy cream and sweetener.

• Brewed Coffee or Tea: Today I used decaf coffee because I wanted to eat this for dessert but you can use your favorite coffee with or without caffeine and if you liked flavored coffee use that. I also made this with Matcha green tea because it’s such a good food for you and the caffeine buzz is much more subtle.
• Chia Seeds: You can pretty much find chia seeds anywhere and I actually got might at Aldi. Since this is a chia seed recipe you can’t really substitute them but if you can emanate them and just have a delicious coffee protein drink.
• Unsweetened Almond Milk and Heavy Cream: The almond milk is mostly used to cut down on the amount of heavy cream used in this recipe. You can use any kind of dairy free milk you want such as oat milk. And if you use coconut milk or coconut cream you can eliminate the heavy cream altogether. The heavy cream is used to give it a more rich and decadent taste.
• Vanilla Protein Powder: I like to use Isopure Zerocarb Vanilla protein powder because of the flavor and it has no carbs. However you can use whatever your favorite vanilla protein powder is. Protein powder adds not only protein but also some flavor and thickness to the chia pudding.
• Sweetener: I love Swerve sweeteners but you can use whatever kind of sweetener you want. I also like to add one of my many Torani sugar free coffee syrups.

If you are into mocha lattes you can add a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder or even some sugar free chocolate syrup to the mix.

How to make coffee chia pudding with protein.

I’m calling these breakfast pudding for a few reasons. They are somewhat like oatmeal but because you eat it cold and it’s not as heavy as oatmeal so it’s more like a protein pudding.

Step 1: First you need to make the chia seed drink. You do that by adding 4 tablespoons chia seeds to 1 cup of brewed coffee but you want it to be cold. Mix well and refrigerator for at least an hour.

If you want to make this recipe as a meal prep breakfast just use the ratio of ¼ cup of chia seeds to every 1 cup of liquid.

Step 2: Next take out the chia mixture and add in the sweetener, protein powder, almond milk and cream. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to eat.

NOTE if you don’t like creamy coffee drinks you can eliminate the almond milk and cream and just use water. These have more of a latte flavor than a black coffee one.

You can also adjust the amount of sweetener you want. The protein powder will add a little bit of sweetness but I wanted mine more sweet.

I loved the taste of this coffee chia protein pudding as it tasted like a creamy ice coffee drink but had a lot of healthy components to it. It is also very filling and these mason jars were more like 2 servings for me. And I ate it for both breakfast and as a dessert.

You can add toppings like whipped cream for a more decadent flavor. You could also add toppings on the whipped cream like some keto friendly chocolate chips, a sprinkle of cinnamon or cocoa powder too.

How to make matcha tea chia pudding.

Matcha is very good for you and it gives you a more subtle caffeine kick. I love the flavor of coffee but matcha is easier on me when I need a bit of caffeine.

Step 1: Mixed 1 teaspoon of matcha powder with a cup of hot water. If you add the powder first and add just a bit of hot water and whisk together it will blend easier.

Step 2: Once you have the matcha tea made, add in the 4 tablespoons of chia seeds and refrigerate for an hour or so just like the coffee version. When it’s done add in the protein powder, cream, almond milk and sweetener of choice.

You can use any sweetener and protein powder you wish. The Torani sugar free syrups work well in these drinks as well. I especially like the fruity flavors with tea.

More chia seed recipes to try.

Here are a few of my favorite and most popular recipes you might want to use the your seeds with.

• strawberry or ginger peach chia jam
• keto chocolate milk chia drink
• keto pumpkin spice coffee or fruit tea chia drinks
• pumpkin chai tea or Thai tea chia drinks
• almond torte chia pudding recipe
• peanut butter and berry chia pudding (below)

Well I’m excited to start eating this coffee chia pudding for breakfast. These jars give me 2 servings so I use them in my meal planning. I can just make 3 jars on Sunday and it will take me through the week. I hope you enjoy this latte flavored pudding and give chia seeds a try!

The nutritional information for 1 whole jar (though you can get 2 servings per jar) is:

Coffee: 349 calories / 17.5g fat / 16.7g carbs / 13.6g fiber / 31.2g protein = 3.2g net carbs

Matcha: 362 cals / 17.3g fat / 16.7g carbs / 13.6g fiber / 30.9g protein = 3.1g net carbs