Lemon Curd Chia Pudding. 5 Ingredient Thick Lemon Coconut Milk Turmeric Pudding with Chia seeds. This zesty pudding is a refreshing treat for Summer. Serve with whipped coconut cream. Vegan gluten-free nut-free soy-free Recipe. Pin this for later.
Its been getting cooler the past few days and I was wondering where the Summer went. Hint, remember the 2 weeks of unbreable heat? That was the PNW summer. Oh wait, the heat is back later this week.
On some of the super hot days, we all need something to refresh and fill us up for a snack or breakfast. Cue Lemon + chia! Lemon zest and juice and mixed with full fat coconut milk and sweetener. Then some chia seeds are mixed in to make it into a thick creamy pudding. Add some vanilla or other flavors of choice.
The lemon zest + juice + coconut milk + sweetener is super delicious by itself and can substitute as a thinner lemon curd when chilled. Chia seeds make it into one filling and delicious pudding or treat. Add more or less turmeric for the color or to make a Turmeric Lemon Chia Pudding. Be sure to let the chia seeds sit for a while for best results. And also hydrate well (drink water!) when eating decent amount of chia seeds in pudding or other form.
Serve with a dollop of coconut cream or whipped coconut or non dairy cream and a sprinkle of lemon zest. For variation, use lime juice and lime zest or lime bar pudding. So easy and so Good!
More summery treats from the blog. All GF
- Mango Mojito
- Orange cream floats
- Vegan Cookie dough Blizzard
- Mocha Milk shake
- Brownie Batter Chia Smoothie
This recipe is also in my second cookbook! Loads of meals and meals and some desserts in Vegan Richa’s Everyday Kitchen.
On another note, how hard it is to photograph chia seed puddings!
Lemon Curd Chia Pudding
Ingredients
- Zest of a large lemon or 2 small lemons
- Juice of 2 large lemons
- 13.5 or 15 oz (400 or 445 ml) can full fat coconut milk about 1.5 cups
- 1/4 cup (62.5 ml) water optional
- 3 tbsp or more sweetener I use raw sugar
- a good pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) or more turmeric
- 3 tbsp or more chia seeds 5 to 6 tbsp for well set pudding
Instructions
- Blend the lemon zest, juice, coconut milk, water, sweetener, salt and turmeric until well combined. Add chia seeds and pulse once or twice to distribute the chia seeds well.
- Taste and adjust sweet and tang. Add more lemon juice or zest to taste and mix/blend in.
- Pour the mixture into glasses. Chill overnight in the refrigerator. Stir once after an hour or so to distribute the chia seeds if needed.
- Garnish with whipped coconut cream and lemon zest and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Happy Independence day India. May there be more strides for the independence of animals and equal rights for everyone.
Lisa | Mummy Made.It says
August 15, 2016 at 4:36 pmThis looks great. Is the chia pudding firm or a bit runny once set?
And yes…so hard to photograph!!
Richa says
August 15, 2016 at 5:18 pmits somewhere in between. For a more set pudding, add another tbsp chia seeds. It will also depend on how long the chia seeds take to hydrate.
sylvia burrows says
August 15, 2016 at 5:50 pmhi, I want to go vegan but what are the starcch content of these dishes as nwell as calorie count sylvia
Richa says
August 15, 2016 at 8:07 pmHi sylvia, you can copy the ingredient list into myfitnesspal.com or caloriecounter.com to find the nutrition content.
Kathy says
March 2, 2018 at 7:18 pmI would think that you should have posted the nutritional content, since this is your post!!
Richa says
March 2, 2018 at 8:14 pmIts already posted below the recipe. It was added in 2017.
Denise says
August 16, 2016 at 6:50 amThis looks so yummy! The chia seeds will gel more if you chop them; I have a coffee grinder that I use only to chop chia seeds because i use them so often. Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes.
Marissa says
August 28, 2016 at 3:23 amThanks, Denise. Definitely will give that a try.
Renee says
August 15, 2016 at 5:07 pmI just made this today and it is fantastic!
Richa says
August 15, 2016 at 5:16 pmyay!!!
Laura says
August 15, 2016 at 5:11 pmquantity of lemon juice (so I can make the lime variation) would be so helpful…I’m drooling on the pic right now!! My hubby loves lemon anytime
Richa says
August 15, 2016 at 5:16 pmstart with 3 tbsp and add more to taste after that.
Laura says
August 15, 2016 at 5:24 pmlovely, Im mixing it now!!
tamara says
August 15, 2016 at 5:20 pmGoing to make this for a work meeting in a couple of weeks! Looks delicious… thank you!!
Sharon Pettaway says
August 16, 2016 at 12:08 amDo you let it set in the refrigerator or out overnight?
Sharon Pettaway says
August 16, 2016 at 12:11 amWhen do you add the turmeric? I don’t see that in the recipe instructions.
Richa says
August 16, 2016 at 11:06 amits blended in with the lemon. The pudding is chilled in the refrigerator overnight. updated the recipe. sometimes some instructions stay in my head while writing the post 🙂
Janine says
August 16, 2016 at 6:11 amHi Richa, this is such a nice recipe. My absolutely fav smoothie is my Lemon cashew smoothie. I add cashews as well instead of chia. Need to try out your Version hon. xoxo Janine
Emma says
August 16, 2016 at 8:49 amDoes it set like a mousse/cheesecake consistency? I don’t like too gooey or slippery textures. Love your recipe pages, thanks xx
Richa says
August 16, 2016 at 11:15 amIts a chia pudding consistency. If you keep it for a few hours, then its more runny and overnight or a day later the chia seed absorb a lot of the liquid so its like a thick pudding. For a mousse like consistency, use 4 tbsp chia seeds and blend them in the lemon coconut milk until they break down. This mixture after it chills will be more like a mousse. If the texture just doent work for you, blend it into more non dairy milk to make a smoothie or make cupcakes with the mixture.
Katie says
August 17, 2016 at 8:42 amMake cupcakes? I’m intrigued. Would you just bake it as is or add some starch/flour?
Richa says
August 19, 2016 at 2:22 pmYou can use this recipe http://www.veganricha.com/2016/06/1-bowl-vegan-mango-cupcakes.html and use the pudding + sweetener instead of the wet. I have a muffin recipe coming up shortly on the blog as well
Alexandre Marques says
August 16, 2016 at 3:46 pmHi! I´m a vegan athlete 🙂
Can follow me on instagram: @_alex_marques_
Cassie says
August 16, 2016 at 5:43 pmI’m TOTALLY not ready for the summer to be over too! This definitely looks like a wonderful recipe to make for August!
jill says
August 18, 2016 at 11:40 amI followed this recipe and my pudding came out with a very runny consistency, even over night and adding extra chia seeds. Any suggestions as to why it didnt set? Should I blend the chia seeds first??
thanks
Richa says
August 18, 2016 at 11:50 amWhat kind of coconut milk did you use? Also chia seeds sometimes take a day or so to fully hydrate. So as they hydrate and soften more, the pudding gets thicker. You can also use just the thicker cream part of the coconut milk to make the pudding. blending the chia seeds in will also help. But blending the chia might add a strong chia flavor to the pudding.
jill says
August 18, 2016 at 11:55 amI used canned full fat coconut milk (not the beverage kind). Does the brand matter? I think it was Chaokoh. I’ve made lots of chia oatmeal and chia pudding and its firmed up fine. Strange. thanks
Richa says
August 18, 2016 at 12:27 pmhmm, strange indeed. I would say add another 2-3 tbsp chia seeds and see if it firms up.
Mamatha says
August 20, 2016 at 7:45 amThis was very tasty and easy to make! I was a little nervous about using turmeric in a sweet dessert but it added color without changing the taste. Also I couldn’t wait until the next day so I let St set in the fridge for 3-4 hours wit joy the added water and it set up well. Thanks!
Richa says
August 20, 2016 at 10:13 amAwesome!
Viviana says
October 26, 2016 at 1:37 pmJust made this and it’s sooooooo tasty!! I love your blog!!!
Snigdha says
October 27, 2016 at 4:49 amHey Richa, absolutely love love your blog, recipes, presentation and oh gosh the pictures!! I have never used chia seeds before. How long will this dish last in the refrigerator?
Richa says
October 27, 2016 at 10:10 am3 days. Chia seeds are like the seeds in Indian Falooda drink which has seeds and milkshake. They absorb a lot of liquid and puff up.
Tracey says
December 13, 2016 at 7:45 amdo you think this would work using lime instead of lemon in the same quantities listed in the recipe?
Tracey says
December 13, 2016 at 7:46 amsorry i just saw the note about lime! 🙂 Ps i LOVE your recipes, they always turn out so well and are so packed with flavour.
Mel says
January 2, 2017 at 10:11 amLooks so good!
Is it possible to use another “liquid” instead of the coconut Milk?
Richa says
January 6, 2017 at 3:04 pmYou can use other non dairy milks. You wil need to add more chia seeds so the pudding sets. Coconut milk sets well by itself.
Galit says
February 3, 2017 at 10:14 pmMade it, came out great. Simple and very original. I added some salt, and next time maybe cut mint leaves too
Michelle L says
February 28, 2017 at 6:33 pmI try not to use sugar very often and do no use artificial sweeteners. What is your opinion on how it would set up using honey?
Richa says
February 28, 2017 at 7:04 pmI am not sure. I havent used honey in a while. With maple it doesnt set well and is more on the liquid side. I like a more liquid pudding or custard like consistency for this rather than a set pudding concentrated with chia seeds as the flavor suffers with too many chia seeds.
Roxanne says
January 20, 2020 at 9:56 amTry coconut sugar. I’ve used it with great success. I also ground up my chia seeds because I don’t like the texture of whole hydrated seeds. It gelled so much better. After 12 hours it was pudding consistency and after 2 days was more like pot Au créme. Delicious recipe!
M says
April 22, 2017 at 7:39 pmI have a can of coconut cream, rather than coconut milk. Will that work for this, or will it be too thick, or not set properly?
Richa says
April 23, 2017 at 4:41 pmI am not sure. if it is pure coconut cream then you can add some water to thin it to coconut milk consistency and use it. Some coconut creams have sweeteners and other thickening ingredients which might allow the hia seeds to absorb enough moisture
M says
April 25, 2017 at 11:45 amThanks for the response! The coconut cream ingredients list just has coconut and water. Weirdly, the coconut milks I was able to pick up the other day (one organic, one not), both have water, coconut, and guar gum. Unfortunately the stores in my area don’t supply much without stabilizers and/or sweeteners. With that in mind, any advice on which might be best?
Richa says
April 25, 2017 at 11:58 amthe cream would work better then. Soak the chia seeds in 1/4 cup hot water for 10 to 15 mins so they expand a bit then mix in the coconut cream , lemon etc.
Stacy | POP KITCHEN says
April 27, 2017 at 5:24 pmI made this tasty pudding the other day. It firmed up nicely and was so delicious , but when I added the lemon to the coconut milk it immediately curdled. It was still edible but I thought it was weird. Any thoughts?
Richa says
May 19, 2017 at 10:12 pmi am not sure why it curdled. Coconut milk doesnt really curdle with lemon. Whisk it up really well.
Cleo says
August 8, 2018 at 4:51 amMy coconut cream also just curdled. I gave it an extra round in the blender but didn’t seem to help. I’m hoping it’ll sort itself out overnight!
Richa says
August 8, 2018 at 9:54 amIt probably just separated into cream and water, not really curled. chilling should help.
nancy rice says
June 23, 2017 at 11:58 amdo you suggest any other sweeteners? trying to watch sugar….
Richa says
June 23, 2017 at 4:13 pmstevia or xylitol or maple
Megan O says
January 21, 2019 at 5:46 pmI used 4 soft medjool dates instead of the sugar and it tastes divine. 🙂
Richa says
January 21, 2019 at 6:04 pmgreat!
Doina says
July 28, 2017 at 1:23 pmYum! made this today and loved the taste! a very nice variation of chia pudding!
Brittney says
November 7, 2017 at 11:39 amI tried making a chia pudding with a can of full fat coconut milk and the pudding set up to be as hard as the fat on top of the coconut milk in the can… is there a way to prevent this?
Richa says
November 7, 2017 at 6:55 pmyou can whisk it in. whisk once in between during chill time and whisk again before serving. or use lite coconut milk or a mix of lite and regular.
Vibeke Vale says
November 19, 2017 at 5:49 pmI brought this to a vegan potluck last summer and everyone went nuts for it!
Éliane says
January 23, 2018 at 5:07 pmI tried it yesterday, it’s really good and has a great texture with a thick coconut milk. The kids though don’t like the chia seed texture, so I would like to try something with ground chia seeds. Do you think this recipe might work with it? Thank you!
Richa says
January 23, 2018 at 5:17 pmthey dont like the soaked chia seeds right. ground chia seeds get a bit bitter. You can whip the entire mixture after it is chilled. The full fat coconut milk will get creamy and mousse like. Try the chia seeds in my lemon chia cookies or lemon chia muffins. Baked hia is a different texture somewhat like poppy seeds. Try with just a bit of chia seeds to see if they like them that way.
Eliane says
January 25, 2018 at 1:30 pmok thank you! 🙂
Anna says
February 5, 2018 at 5:49 amSo easy and SO good!
Ann says
February 27, 2018 at 2:06 pmI made this with reduced fat coconut milk. The chia seeds all pretty much got stuck in the coconut fat, and there was a lot of liquid below. The fat was the texture of crumbled butter. So there wasn’t any pudding-like texture to it.. the top of it was like eating lemon butter with embedded chia seeds, and the bottom was like lemon juice. I tried stirring it at one hour in the fridge, and in the morning, but nothing changed. It tasted good, but that butter texture grosses me out. Any way to salvage it?
Richa says
February 27, 2018 at 11:25 pmWarm it up a bit and whisk vigorously. its probably the coconut milk brand.
Vibeke Vale says
May 23, 2018 at 6:59 amI have made this recipe twice with lemons, but today I am going to try it with limes. I love this recipe so much and I get the BEST comments from guests when they eat it. YUM!
Richa says
May 23, 2018 at 12:25 pmawesome!!
Angela says
June 28, 2018 at 6:57 pmI’m making this tonight. I’ve been so saddened not to be able to find vegan treats that have the intense lemon or lime flavour I enjoy so much. I have high hope for this, as I tasted the mixture on a spoon before permitting it to set.
Thank you! I’m also going to make a lemon or lime curd, hopefully, and will be back to share my successes!
Ruby says
August 19, 2018 at 12:28 amI tried this with 2 limes and vanilla liquid stevia and it was mindblowing!! I can’t wait to make it again! I love all of your recipes and your vegan indian cookbook changed the way I cook. Thank you!!
Richa says
August 19, 2018 at 10:44 amawesome!
pym says
September 21, 2018 at 11:00 ami just made and put in fridge but its very thin like juice. how to firm up? followed recipe exactly
Richa says
September 21, 2018 at 11:08 amif you used full fat coconut milk, then it will firm up after chilling. Also chia seeds absorb a lot of liquid. so wait and see
pym says
September 21, 2018 at 11:56 amok thanks
Amber says
September 23, 2018 at 6:42 pmI just used ground chia seeds for someone sensitive to the texture of food. It was perfect! It’s not quite as cute (IMO) with all the little dots of the seeds, but it jelled up wonderfully and tastes just as amazing as the normal recipe. This is an absolute favorite of mine. I have it for breakfast, snacks, dessert, and it’s perfect for parties. Sometimes I water it down with whatever drinking nut/coconut milk I have on hand. Thank you as always Richa 🙂
Richa says
September 23, 2018 at 8:46 pmthats awesome! top it with whipped coconut cream so you wont see the dots 🙂
Amber says
January 1, 2020 at 8:06 pmThanks for sharing!! I want to make this for my mom but I know she’d hate the seedy texture. I love the normal recipe but haven’t had it for breakfast yet (I love the cardamom carrot pudding for that already) 🙂
Richa says
January 2, 2020 at 10:00 ami dontknow what you can do with the texture 🙂 you can make overnight oats version and add just a tsp of seeds. see my various overnight oats recipes for proportions and modify those with lemon
Richa says
January 2, 2020 at 10:19 amhere https://www.veganricha.com/2019/08/samoa-cookie-overnight-oats.html
Charlie says
March 27, 2019 at 2:11 amIs a blender essential for this to turn out? I’m in college and don’t have access to a blender in my tiny closet of an apartment 😛
Richa says
March 27, 2019 at 10:19 amno, just mix it with your hand until well incorporated
Sam says
May 14, 2019 at 7:28 amAbsolutely delicious pudding! Love the lemony goodness, thank you so much!
Richa says
May 14, 2019 at 10:06 amyay!
Liz says
June 12, 2019 at 8:29 pmit sounds good, but I don’t want to use full fat coconut milk. would it still be good using reduced fat, or what about using Almond milk instead?
Richa says
June 12, 2019 at 11:14 pmyou can use either, just add more chia seeds (1 tbsp more) as they will not thicken as well as the full fat. almond milk might curdle with lemon
Sarah says
August 8, 2019 at 2:42 pmThe solution to the curdling: Add acid last.
I tried this recipe and it immediately curdled. No amount of blending, whisking, or heating would fix this. The second time I tried it worked! First, blend the coconut cream/milk with the other ingredients so that the fat and water were well incorporated. After chia seeds were added and folded in thoroughly, I added the acid (lemon zest and juice) as the very last step. One last pulse in the blender and it was an amazing success. Such a treat.
Eman says
November 18, 2019 at 4:50 amYum! This was super tasty. I used coconut sugar and added collagen powder. I mixed everything in the blender at the same time and it came it out perfectly. I will be making this again.
Lee says
December 24, 2019 at 7:27 pmI must be reading something wrong, I think. How much coconut milk should I use? 1.5 cups would be 12 oz, not 27-30 oz…. thanks for any clarification!
27 or 30 oz (800 or 890 ml) can full fat coconut milk about 1.5 cups
LEE says
December 24, 2019 at 7:28 pmohhhh, I see the issue. The notes (where it says 1.5 cups) don’t change as the # servings changes, so it was for 4 servings, whereas I had updated the recipe to be for 8 servings. Nevermind!
Celeste says
January 12, 2020 at 1:52 amA bit of a vegan-newbie. Made this as the idea of lemon curd flavour grabbed my interest. I used Coconut cream which admittedly pushed the calorific value higher, but it came out PERFECTLY! Nice and thick. The lemon zest and lemon juice truly add that unmistakable lemon curd flavour. Will be making this a breakfast pick on a regular basis. So delicious. (and the chia seeds are meant to be so good for clearing out the gut and colon). Highly recommend
Richa says
January 12, 2020 at 11:44 amyay!
Nova says
February 1, 2020 at 11:21 pmI’m doing Keto and I just wanted to query the 16g (net 13g) of carbs for one serving. That seems a lot of carbs for a dish where each ingredient has very few. So I worked it out using a carb counter and the whole dish comes to 18g carbs. Divide that by 4 servings and the carbs for one serving is 4.5g carbs and that’s not working out the fibre so I would guess that the net carbs would be less. So for anyone doing Keto this is a very friendly Keto dish so thanks for sharing.
Richa says
February 2, 2020 at 11:53 amill recheck the calculation
KELLY says
June 1, 2020 at 9:01 amHi – just making this and it’s split so ive got kind of coconut ‘curds’ and a liquid, it still tastes nice – but any idea where i’ve gone wrong?
Vegan Richa Support says
June 1, 2020 at 12:32 pmok. make sure that you shake that can of coconut milk really well and try adding in the lemon juice last and slowly while stirring.
Lovethescents says
July 8, 2020 at 11:21 amExcellent recipe, very easy to throw together. My 9 year old daughter made this and it’s fantastic. LOVE that the turmeric provides such a sunshiney glow.
Vegan Richa Support says
July 8, 2020 at 4:11 pmHooray! I’m so glad you enjoyed this!
Kristin says
July 8, 2020 at 2:24 pmDo you think this could be made as is and frozen in popsicle molds? This looks amazing and I’m craving a frozen dessert!
Vegan Richa Support says
July 8, 2020 at 4:11 pmI don’t see why not! 🙂
Cris says
September 16, 2020 at 11:47 amDid not have luck with this recipe. I doubled the chia seeds to 6 Tbsp because I like my pudding thicker and it didn’t set up; the lemon juice and coconut milk took on a curdled, “snotty” consistency almost immediately that I couldn’t get rid of which may have had something to do with it. It was also way too tart. Even doubling the sweetner did nothing. I’m going to make another batch without the lemon and combine them just to make it edible.
Richa says
September 16, 2020 at 12:39 pmMaybe the lemons were a lot more juicy hence the extra tang. It’s not curdled. Coconut milk just separates sometimes. The chia seeds might be taking longer to soak because of the extra lemon. For the next batch use warmed coconut milk or other non dairy milk.