How To Use Chia Seeds and Chia Seed Recipes

If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you may well have witnessed commercials for the chia pet (or grown one yourself). Individuals massively popular terra cotta planters had been basically sprouting chia seeds – and now that acceptance has transitioned into the meals and diet planet, the place chia seeds are a beloved electric power foodstuff. Chia seeds are smaller, but don’t enable their measurement fool you – they are totally packed with nutrition and can be integrated into a multitude of chia seed recipes. If you are looking for inspiration for how to use chia seeds, we’ve obtained the merchandise for you. 

Well being Benefits of Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are nutrient-abundant. They have:

Chia seeds have mucilaginous homes, which are very relaxing to the digestive tract. They are also hydrophilic, meaning they absorb big quantities of drinking water – in excess of 10 situations their bodyweight in water. They are a good enhancer in hydrating our bodies. 

How to Choose and Retailer Chia Seeds

At the grocery retailer, you may perhaps see black or white chia seeds (or both of those). They just about have the very same nutritional price. White chia seeds have a teensy bit far more omega-3s and black seeds are a little bit higher in protein, but truly, the distinctions are negligible. 

We advocate getting full seeds instead of ground. Omega-3-abundant foods and oils are delicate to heat, mild and air. Grinding the seeds exposes them to all 3 of those people features, so they’ll go rancid speedier (primarily because you may perhaps not know how prolonged a bag of floor chia seeds has been perched on the shelf).

Irrespective of whether complete or ground, chia continues to be basic to digest (not like flax seeds, which don’t crack down when consumed in their complete type – they’ll arrive out wanting the exact same way they did heading in!). 

Store your seeds in a sealed container in the fridge or in the freezer, the place they should really past a couple of several years. Learn more about how to finest keep create and ideal freezing strategies to make the most of your elements. 

how to use chia seeds

Chia seeds have an exceptionally moderate and neutral flavour (we’d say they barely have any taste at all). In The Culinary Nourishment Expert Program, we regularly use them for their nutritional reward and their texture in chia seed recipes. 

These are our major 10 ways to use chia seeds.

Chia Pudding

Chia’s mucilaginous attributes make it suitable for recipes where you want a thick, creamy texture like pudding. 

Recipe To Check out: Chocolate Chia Pudding by Meghan Telpner (*Culinary Nourishment Skilled Software Founder + Director)

Chia Eggs (Egg Replacer)

Chia eggs are a basic different to chicken eggs that are wonderful in baked merchandise. Substitute 1 chia egg for one rooster egg.

Recipe To Try out: Essential Recipe for Chia Egg

Smoothies

Picture: iStock/boyarkinamarina

Increase an additional dose of nutrition to any dairy-free smoothie recipe, or smoothie bowls with a tablespoon of chia. They’ll also aid to thicken it up.

Recipe To Consider: Energizing Pineapple Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie by Carla Matthews (*Culinary Nutrition Pro)

Jam

No have to have to incorporate any pectin for thickening – chia will do the task! (Are you observing a concept here for how to use chia seeds?)

Recipe To Attempt: Rhubarb Orange Chia Jam by Sondi Bruner (*Culinary Nutrition Qualified Plan Head Plan Coach)

Crackers

Fold chia into your cracker recipes, or sprinkle them on top rated, for the crunch element. 

Recipe To Try: 22 Most effective Gluten-Absolutely free Cracker Recipes

Chia Fresca

In Mexico and Central The united states, avenue distributors and eating places include a sprinkle of chia seeds to drinks. This improves the nourishment and thickens up the liquid a small.

Recipe To Try: Agua de Limon con Chia by M.A. Kitchen area

Yogurt Topping

Really don’t forget about to involve a dash of chia seeds when topping your dairy-free of charge yogurt. 

Nut and Seed Butters

The following time you mix up a batch of handmade nut or seed butter, combine in a tablespoon or two of chia seeds by hand at the conclude. Notice: do not consider and make seed butter out of chia seeds only they won’t blend appropriately. 

Recipe To Check out: How to Make Nut and Seed Butter

Granola and Granola Bars

Scoop chia into gluten-absolutely free granola and granola bar recipes. If generating granola, add them after baking with your other combine-ins. 

Recipe To Consider: Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Granola Bars by Functioning on Real Meals

Electricity Bites

The protein-body fat-fibre combo of chia seeds suggests they’re the best component to include in electrical power bites and balls and is one particular of our favorite approaches to use chia seeds.

Recipe To Consider: Chocolate Hazelnut Electrical power Balls by Lifestyle + Lemons (*Culinary Nutrition Skilled)

Dairy-Free of charge Elixirs

Improve a incredibly hot or iced elixir with full or floor chia. Just be certain you consume it right absent – as leaving it for a while will make your elixir much much too gloopy. (If you’re curious to master about elixir-producing, we have an overall module in the Culinary Nourishment Professional Application on elixirs and herbal drugs!)

Recipe To Test: 20 Greatest Dairy-Free of charge Elixir Recipes

If you have been wanting to know how to use chia seeds or hunting for inspiration, you are all established to go now! Attempt out these strategies to use chia seeds – we’re self-assured you’ll find out new faves to insert to your cooking and meal prep rotation.