This creamy oat milk chia pudding with fresh cherries is a delicious breakfast recipe that you prep before going to bed. Combine it with yogurt and granola for an easy healthy breakfast!

Three lasses filled with cherry oat milk chia pudding.

Have you tried making chia pudding? Chia pudding recipes are all the rage, and this oat milk chia pudding breakfast recipe is so easy that it can almost make itself overnight in your refrigerator.

I have always been scared to try chia pudding. It looked gross, slimy, and lumpy. It had no appeal to me at all. Bleh! Lucky for me, Mr. Fearless Dining had me try it. I have to admit; I was pleasantly surprised!

Add any toppings you like! I have included some of my favorite toppings below. If you love chia pudding as much as I do, you will also want to try this Vanilla Chia Pudding recipe.

Why This Oat Milk Chia Pudding Recipe Is Great:

We hope you like this fresh cherry coconut chia pudding as much as we did! If you did, try this delicious Matcha Green Tea Chia Pudding recipe.

Ingredient Notes:

Photos of the ingredients in this chia pudding.
  • Chia Seeds
  • Oat Milk (or another dairy-free milk if you can’t eat oats)
  • Gluten Free Granola – Be sure your granola has certified gluten free oats!
  • Cherries – I prefer using fresh cherries, but they have such a short season that you can use frozen cherries, too.
  • Vanilla Yogurt (regular or dairy-free to keep this vegan)

Recipe Step By Step Directions:

I consider this a dump-and-go recipe because you dump your ingredients into a container, stir them up, then assemble them into jars with the fruit and yogurt in the morning.

The chia seeds in a container.

Step 1: Start with your chia seeds. I find it is easier to use a glass food storage container or make it in small mason jars!

The non-dairy milk in chia seeds.

Step 2: Add your favorite non-dairy milk. I like using oat milk because it is really creamy. Not all oat milk is gluten free, so check to see Is Oat Milk Gluten Free for a list. If you can’t eat gluten free oats, non-dairy milk will also taste great.

Step 3: Stir the chia seeds and milk together with a spoon. Cover the container with the lid.

Step 4: Place the air-tight container into the refrigerator. Wake up and stir.

If you are fully meal-prepping this recipe, use a cherry pitter to prep your fresh cherries. Place a cherry into the pitter and press the lever to remove the pits. Store the pitted cherries in another small air-tight container.

Step 5: Your pudding is ready the following day. Spoon layers of this oat milk chia pudding, vanilla yogurt, granola, and cherries into a mason jar.

You can also try adding blueberries and other fresh fruits to this recipe. You really can’t go wrong with this healthy chia pudding with coconut milk.

Chia Pudding Mix-Ins:

  • Try making homemade gluten free granola. It is quick and easy and takes just minutes. If you are paleo, this paleo granola recipe is great and has no oats or grains!
  • Slivered Almonds and other nuts.
  • Shredded Coconut
  • Mini Chocolate Chips – Cherries and chocolate taste really good together!
The top view of two jars of cherry chia pudding.

Tips and Recipe FAQ:

Can you freeze chia pudding?

You can freeze chia pudding, but it may affect the texture when thawed out again. Freezing tends to make the oat milk more water as well.

Is chia pudding slimy?

Chia pudding can have a little bit of a slimy texture….not too different from tapioca pudding. You can add more chia seeds to thicken the pudding more to eliminate a little of this.

If you love tasty, healthy breakfast recipes, give these Oatmeal Breakfast Bars a try as well! This recipe was updated from an older June 2014 post with new photos and better directions.

More Easy Pudding Recipes:

glasses filled with cherry oat milk chia pudding

Oat Milk Chia Pudding With Cherries

Sandi Gaertner
An easy creamy chia pudding breakfast parfait.
5 from 1 vote
dairy free allergen icon
an egg free allergen icon
gluten free allergy icon
nut free allergen icon
Prep Time 10 minutes
Chill Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Course Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 220 kcal

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup chia seeds Use whole chia seeds.
  • 1 cup oat milk * see note
  • ½ cup fresh cherries fresh or frozen
  • ½ cup vanilla yogurt regular or non-dairy
  • cup granola * see note

Instructions
 

  • Grab an air-tight container. Add the chia seeds to the container.
  • Pour in the oat milk and stir the chia seed mixture.
  • Cover tightly and place the container into the refrigerator to sit overnight.
  • Meal prep the cherries by removing the pits and placing them into a small air-tight container. Place into the refrigerator.
  • In the morning, create parfaits by layering the chia pudding, yogurt, cherries, and granola.

Notes

  1. Not everyone with celiac or gluten intolerance can eat gluten free oats. If you can’t eat oats, you can use any non-dairy milk.
  2. Some oat milk brands are not gluten free, check to see if the oat milk you have is gluten free.
  3. This chia pudding will keep fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 220kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 7gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 55mgPotassium: 261mgFiber: 9gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 159IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 284mgIron: 3mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @FearlessDining or tag #FearlessDining!

Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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Recipe Rating




36 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This sounds wonderful to me! I love chia seed puddings and think coconut and cherry sound fabulous! Another I really love is with mango – so good!

  2. 5 stars
    I have tried it. I reminds me of “tiny” tapioca balls….but healthier. I use chia in lots of different recipes. It is a very nutritious addition for sure.

    1. That is a fun way to look at it. My kids love tapioca so maybe I should just market it to them differently 🙂

  3. 5 stars
    I like chia pudding. Two of my favorites that I make are a blood orange and a banana macadamia nut. I will have to try your coconut and cherry combo. It looks good!

  4. I’m not a pudding fan and I’ve never made anything with so I’m the perfect test case for whether this chia pudding can win over converts. I’m willing to try:) In any event, my family loves pudding and my daughter keeps mentioning how good chia seeds are for you, so I’m looking to experiment. The good news is that I love both cherries and coconut:)

  5. This looks really good. I’m trying to come up with a gluten free recipe with some crushed pineapple and I might use your recipe as inspiration. Thanks.

  6. I love chia seeds so many uses for them, although i’ve never heard of coconut sugar, would turbinado sugar or dried coconut work, or I’ll try and let you know.

    1. Regular sugar will work just fine Lori. Sweetened coconut would be interesting as well. Let me know how it turns out 🙂

      1. yeah I made this last night and it was so good, I used the turbinado sugar cause it has more of the good stuff but sweet, not so strong like molasses. i’m trying hard to stay away from as much regular refined sugar as possible, I’ve got to try this again with different fruit but cherries were so awsome

      2. I am really glad you liked it Lori. I saw a chocolate chia pudding recipe on Pinterest not too long ago. That sounds delicious as well. I also do see chia seeds sprinkled on top of smoothies occasionally.

      3. I’ve got to try more of these recipes now that I’ve gotten over the fear of it being slimy so far I;ve only used them in infused water, but now I want to explore more options. I want your opinion do you think you get more nutrition from the ground or whole seeds, I’ve heard if you grind them your body can break them down better therefore you get more benifits but also I’ve heard that every time you process (grinding) something you loss the nutritional qualities of the whole.

      4. That is a really good question Lori. I am not sure. I would suspect once it is ground, it should be kept in the refrigerator to prevent them from going rancid.

      5. thanks for that advice I didn’t even think of that, that is why they recommend storing ground flax seed in the refrigerator then too, I would think, I didn’t know all I know if it says store in the refrigerator I do it. Again thanks.

  7. I love the addition of cherries and the coconut milk in the chia pudding. I have some cherries left from my ice cream recipe, I will make the pudding. Thanks so much for sharing. Pinned/shared.

    Joanne

    1. Thank you Joanne. I hope you enjoy this recipe.
      Sandi
      PS I loved your post on baking fails. I have had so many of those as well. Sounds like a potential link party 🙂

  8. Can’t go wrong with the addition of chia seeds! I’ve been putting them in everything lately; can’t wait to try this recipe.

    1. I agree Kayla :-). What have you been putting them in lately? Would love to hear some ideas. Thanks for your comment.

      1. I have also used them in drinks. I’ve seen a lot of jam recipes to but I haven’t tried any yet. Has anyone else? I’d love to hear what others think about them, I hate to try something like that and it to turn out bad, on my budget I can’t afford that.

  9. That looks delicious!! I love the coconut and cherry combo and will have to give it a try even though I’ve never really tasted chia but see it a lot. I do recommend organic and non gmo cherries though. Thanks for the recipe!

    1. Hi Heidi. I definitely agree with the organic cherries. I was terrified to try chia pudding for a long time. It wasn’t until a trip to Austin that I finally gave in and tried it. The consistency is very similar to tapioca pudding. Give it a try 🙂

  10. What a great recipe! I love the combination of coconut and cherry flavours. Perhaps I’ll finally take the chia pudding plunge!

    1. You are too funny Julia. If I can try it, you can too 🙂 I had no idea how flavorful it could be, especially when the chia seeds soak up the coconut milk. Thank you for commenting, I appreciate it.

  11. This looks delicious Sandi! I’ve tried chocolate chia pudding in the past, but I’m really drawn to the coconut and cherry additions here. The texture has always reminded me a bit of tapioca, which my mom used to make me as a kid, so I’ve never been turned off by it. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂

    1. Hi Lauren, Thank you for leaving a comment 🙂 This pudding is different from any I have tried as well. The fresh cherries add a sweet tart effect when you bite into one. I did have to add extra chia seeds to compensate for the added moisture as well, which is why the extra teaspoon is added. Thank you so much.