This yummy vegan chia pudding for babies (8mths+) has the goodness of chia seeds, bananas, dates and coconut milk, it’ll delight your baby!
Delicious vegan chia pudding
As babies grow older their world of food expands to more variety and more textures. So it’s time to push away the boring one or two ingredients puree aside and get a bit creative.
This chia pudding treat is made with chia seeds, banana, dates and uses coconut milk as a base so it’s 100% vegan friendly. There is also no added sugar or salt.
The chia seeds give texture to the pudding and will encourage babies to chew their food. The banana, dates and coconut milk adds sweetness and goodness in every spoonful.
This recipe is ideal for babies 8 months or older as younger babies may have trouble digesting the chia seeds.
Give this chia pudding to your baby as a snack or a treat after lunch or dinner. It’s so easy to whip up and so tasty, I would happily eat my baby’s leftovers but he never leaves any!
It can be conveniently made in batches and frozen up to 2 months.
My endless food battle with Kai
Introducing solids to Kai when he was shy from turning 6 months was a dream. He ate almost everything I offered him and I couldn’t be happier, I loved watching him gobble up my homemade purees.
‘YAY our baby loves healthy food, we are so lucky to have a baby that eats everything!.’ I told my husband Tomasi beaming proudly.
One month later and Kai turned 7-months old, he must have woken up with an epiphany. He somehow came to the realisation that not all the food on his spoon was not so tasty and therefore he would refuse to open his mouth when it was feeding time.
As a clueless first time mother, I started to panic when Kai started rejecting my purees. How can he love eating sweet potatoes one day and loathe it the next?
Maybe it was the texture, has Kai outgrown the smooth purees and preferred it to be more chunky?. Nope, he still hated it and things went downhill fast when it was feeding him. He had me concerned and stressed as he rejected most of my purees so I had to resort to store-bought baby food.
More recipes for your little one to try:
Banana Porridge
Chicken meatballs with carrots
Blueberry Puree
Congee For Baby (Asian porridge)
That’s what mothers are for!
Feeling exhausted and defeated by a 7-month-old I needed words of wisdom and support from my own dear mother. So I went over to her place for moral support and advice. As usual, instead of being empathetic to my situation, mum screamed at me.
‘It’s your own fault! Why on earth would you feed Kai food you wouldn’t want to eat yourself?‘
She was appalled by the fact that I didn’t add seasoning or tried to avoid sugar when I made Kai’s homemade food.
Mum went on to lecture me on how she raised the 5 of us and her grandchildren on food she cooked for the whole family. She never cooked a separate meal for a baby, but she would blend the food so that they could eat it.
At the time I thought my mum was being stubborn and old fashioned, babies are supposed to like healthy tasteless food!
Mum had trouble accepting the new changes and ideas when it came to raising children. Like the time she got upset when I point blank refused her suggestion to give Kai a pillow and a blanket when he was a newborn.
I could try and explain SIDS to my mum until the cows came home but it’ll fall on deaf ears. She’ll win and end our argument by defiantly saying, ‘I raised all five of you and you’re all well and healthy!’.
Sorry Kai, mummy won our food battle
Initially, I ignored my mother’s advice and kept feeding Kai the same healthy purees. I was hoping that he would revert to loving them again but sadly no. Each feeding session was a major struggle, it got so bad that he refused to sit down on his high chair.
I was seriously at the end of my rope and at the point of trying anything. My mum’s ‘know it all tone’ voice popped into my head.
‘Why on earth would you feed your Kai food you wouldn’t want to eat yourself?’
Something in me snapped and I was determined to win this food battle with Kai.
I began feeding Kai food from my plate bit by bit to my surprise he liked it. That’s when it finally clicked, Kai can eat what we eat. I just needed to tweak my cooking by making it healthier and baby-friendly without compromising on the taste.
So I started cooking foods we always loved eating with tweaks. I would be mindful of the overall texture of the food and the amount of salt and sugar I added. I also started tasting Kai’s food before serving it to him to make sure I enjoyed the flavours!
As soon as I implemented these changes Kai table manners changed completely. He loved eating with us and I finally had my cheerful baby back at the table!
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Ingredients for Chia Pudding for babies
This delicious chia pudding is adapted from a healthy dessert I make regularly for us grownups.
Coconut milk – I used regular coconut milk as it contains more nutrients than light coconut milk.
Bananas – If possible use riped bananas as they have more flavour and are easier to mash up.
Dates – Fresh or dried dates can be used.
Chia seeds – White or black chia seeds can be used.Pudding will last 3 days if kept in fridge, let puree cool completely at room temperature and place the puree in a sealed container.
STORAGE – First allow the pudding to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer the pudding in a covered container and store it in the fridge, it’ll keep for 3 days. When frozen it will keep for up to 2 months.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Chia pudding for babies (8mths+)
Ingredients
- 3 small dates (NOTE 1)
- 2 medium bananas (NOTE 2)
- 400 ml canned coconut milk (NOTE 3)
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (NOTE 4)
- 1-3 tbsp Water (if needed)
Instructions
- Place the dates In a small bowl, pour boiling water to cover the dates and leave for 10 minutes to soften.
- Drain the water from the dates and transfer it into a blender or food processor. Add the put banana and coconut milk with the dates and blend well. It is normal for the mixture to look thin as it'll thicken once cooked when the chia seeds are added in.
- Pour the mixture from the blender into a small saucepan. On medium heat bring the mixture to a boil making sure to stir continuously to prevent it from burning. Once the mixture starts bubbling lower the heat and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Let it cool off for 5 minutes then add the chia seeds and stir to combine. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to allow the chia seed to thicken the pudding. After this time if the pudding is too thick add water one tablespoon at a time and stir until you get the right consistency for your baby.
It is yummy (Mummy had a taste) but isn’t very thick at all…is it meant to be?
Hi Georgia,
Thanks for trying this recipe out. The chia seeds should’ve thickened the pudding when left to sit. That’s why my recipe recommended adding water if it’s too thick. I’m sorry this didn’t work for you. To make the pudding thicker, add a little more chia seeds (1/2 tsp to1 tsp) and let it sit for another 5 minutes. Hope this helps!