Cooking with Kids is an ongoing series where we share recipes that are easy enough to make with a two-year-old. If you’re new to the series, our first post that provides our detailed tips for cooking with little ones.

We’re so excited about today’s chia pudding because it’s a delicious dessert that’s  amazingly healthy thanks to the chia seeds. This is also a dish that a little chef can put together *almost* entirely on their own! Why almost? There is a pesky can opener involved, and that can slow down even the most ambitious 4 year old.

There are so many benefits to letting your kids help in the kitchen, from the basics of learning to count and measure, to the more advanced following of instructions. You’ll also delight in seeing them take pride in their work and their ability to do something for others – how excited will they be to serve this pudding to everyone else in the family?! And finally, for some kids, this recipe may introduce new tastes; there’s the strong coconut flavor with a hint of cinnamon, and there’s the unique texture of the saturated chia seeds.

Read on to learn more about chia seeds and our simple recipe for chia pudding!

Chia Seeds

Yes, we’re talking about the same seeds that used to cover the Chia Pet sitting on your mantel. Maybe it’s time to pick up a Chia Bob Ross for your next White Elephant party.

All joking aside, those little seeds on your chia pet are packed with essential nutrients and healthy omega fatty acids! They’ve been on the super-foods list for a while now, but some of us *cough* are slow on the uptake. Better late than never.

The nutrition facts below are for a 2 Tbsp serving. Unlike flax seeds, you’ll reap the nutritional benefits of these seeds whether you eat them whole or ground.

Chia Pudding

Most, if not all, of our past posts in this series have required some sort of heat. I’m particularly excited to offer a cooking-with-kids suggestion today that does not involve the use of a stove-top or oven.

Below I’m sharing a photo play-by-play of Alex measuring and mixing the pudding. I’m sure you could make this without the visual aid, but I really wanted to emphasize how easy this is for your kiddos to do.

We’ve always kept the pudding that simple and the boys (both big and little and biggest) love it! Their babysitter likes to bring some for breakfast, sometimes adding fruit to hers. At first Alex was convinced that we couldn’t eat it without the fruit, but now he’s a purest. And then there was one time that I suggested mixing things up by adding mango purée. That was immediately ixnayed.

Try some tomorrow, but be warned that by next week you’ll be buying chia in bulk!