Chia Pudding With Berries and Popped Amaranth

Works great with real milk too.

Don't hate, y'all, but I made this with milk. I took the suggestions of 2 other comments and added some vanilla, and used a big pot for the amaranth. I live on the East Coast and did not have the local berries so I had to leave them out. I did not get alot of popped amaranth, like others. Still, a great breakfast dish! I made the puddings - right before a small dinner party - in small mason jars, and gave them out for guests to take home. Feeling very "Martha" right now........

Tastes good

Agave nectar is akin to corn syrup. It contains way too much fructose which is hard on our bodies. Maple syrup contains more sucrose which is better digested by the body. I’d opt for maple syrup instead.

will honey work instead of agave?

This is good! I used soy milk. However, having some experience popping amaranth seeds, I would not advise using a small skillet, because they fly all over the place. Use the pot with the highest sides you have, heat the pot first over medium high, and pop a tablespoon at a time while shaking a bit. If the pot is hot enough, they’ll pop very fast! Dump them out into a bowl, then do another tablespoon. You’ll still have to sweep the floor and wipe them out of the stove, but they’re yummy!

This is a great easy breakfast that can be made the night before and assembled just before eating. For a full batch, I use 2 Tbsp honey in the chia pudding and swap out the almond milk for whey, which isn't vegan but is quite tasty. After assembling, drizzle a little honey on top of the amaranth. Any combo of berries works, but blackberries are my favorite in this dish.

This dish seemed worthy of a special Sunday morning breakfast with the added bonus of being easy and healthy. Heeding the advice of other reviewers, I added just one tablespoon of agave and thought the pudding had just the right amount of sweetness for breakfast. After two tries, I wasn’t very successful popping the amaranth, and the result was too crunchy, although I liked the taste. I’m not sure what the problem was but will try again the next time I buy a fresh bag of amaranth.

The first time I tried to toast the amaranth it got really burnt while only a tiny handful popped, the second time I heated up the pan more before hand and had the heat on high, and then the amaranth started popping the minute it hit the pan. In under a minute half the amaranth had popped and it came out very nicely. So if you’re not seeing popping, try turning up the heat!

As suggested, I reduced the sugar. I also found this produces a very thick pudding; I prefer a ratio of closer to 1/4c chia seeds to 1 1/2c milk. I think you need some fat as well and replaced part of the milk with coconut cream. No access to the suggested berries, but the amaranth was interesting and toasty and the recipe gave me a reason to try out a new ingredient.

Just in time! First Watch made a breakfast pudding like this, and I could not wrest the recipe from them, nor could I afford their cookbook. And now, they have removed it from the menu and replaced it with some awful frozen chocolate bowl., This is much better.

Is amaranth vital to this recipe? It's not as low-carb as I need for my diabetic diet. Otherwise, the recipe works for me.

This is the best way I've found to make chia pudding. Lovely and filling with extra toppings. Some favourites toppings in our house: cocao nibs, dried mulberries, toasted coconut, berries and bananas.

I subbed red quinoa for the amaranth. The grains pop like popcorn when heated! I also used honey in place of agave, as that’s what I had on hand

The amaranth seeds popped a little at just about the time they started to smell burned, I've just checked the notes to see if someone else has mentioned this. An interesting experiment, I used oat milk, too, because I had it, I'd like to try it again with the almond milk and some other readers' suggestions for my vegan friend.