Flaxseed Pudding

This easy flaxseed pudding recipe is a quickstart weekday breakfast that is meal-prep friendly! It’s incredibly speedy to put together, requires only 3 ingredients and it’s healthy. Flaxseeds provide substantial dietary fiber, plant-based omega 3’s, and lignans.

This great low-carb/keto breakfast recipe is easy to make and happens to be both vegan and gluten-free.

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Flax Pudding Ingredients

If you’re a fan of chia pudding, you’re gonna be fast friends with this. Flaxseed pudding is very similar in texture but packs a nuttier flavor profile! In addition, flaxseeds are far less expensive than chia seeds (at least where I live).

Flaxseeds: For this recipe, you’ll need ground flaxseeds (also called flaxmeal). They are sold in the bulk bin or the specialty flour section at most grocery stores.

Milk: Any non-dairy (or even dairy milk) works in this recipe. I prefer full-fat coconut milk for a very creamy pudding but you can use any milk.

Sweetener: A liquid sweetener works best as it will mix into the pudding. Maple syrup, honey, agave, or simple syrup are all great. You can use mashed banana or applesauce to keep things on the healthier side. Even cane or granulated sugar will work but the pudding may have some grittiness.

Related Recipes: Flaxseed Smoothies | Flaxseed Oatmeal | Blackberry Flaxseed Jam

Flaxseeds v. Flaxmeal

I want to answer the most common question I get about this recipe… flaxseeds, flax meal, ground flax- what’s the difference? Should I buy whole flaxseeds or a flaxseed meal?

Flaxseeds: the whole seed, these are commonly found in two varieties: brown flax seeds and golden flaxseeds. Both work interchangeably in this recipe. Gold flaxseeds are more mellow in flavor, so I usually opt for those.

Flax meal: this is simply a convenient option for you to buy pre-ground flaxseeds. The seeds have been milled and are no longer whole. I recommend storing flaxseed meal in the refrigerator. It’s painfully simple to save money by making your flaxseed meal at home!

Ground flax: another name for flaxseed meal!

How to make your own Flaxseed meal

We usually purchase whole flax seeds in the bulk bins and make our own flax meal at home. All you need is a blender, food processor, or even a coffee grinder! It’s easy and saves you money!

Simply add flaxseeds into your blender or food processor and let it run for about 15 seconds! Use a spatula to scrape the sides down a bit to be sure all the flaxseeds are breaking down.

Depending on the quantity you process, you may need to scrape the sides of the blender several times, scraping every 10 seconds or so and checking to see if any whole seeds remain.

You might need to blend at least 1 cup of flaxseeds to get the seeds moving through your blender blade.

We prefer using flaxseed meal over whole flaxseeds in flaxseed recipes for several reasons:

• Flaxseed meal has stronger gelling properties than whole flaxseeds! Flax meal is a more powerful thickener.
• If the flaxseeds are ground into flax meal, it’s easier for your digestive system to process and absorb the nutrients from the flaxseeds. Whole seeds just pass right through!

Toppings For Flaxseed Pudding

Once you have your basic flaxseed pudding down you can add flavor and nutrition by stirring in additional ingredients and topping your pudding with other foods.

Stir in: yogurt, peanut butter, almond butter, or tahini. Or swirl in fruit jams, mashed fresh or frozen fruit, vanilla or almond extract, lemon, orange, or lime zest. Or protein powder for a protein boost!

Top with: Granola, chopped nuts or seeds, shredded coconut, puffed quinoa, chopped fresh or frozen fruit, drizzle with coconut butter, or sprinkle with cinnamon.

Flaxseed Pudding Variations

Flax pudding is easy to switch up with different variations based on the season, your dietary goals, allergies, or even simply what you’re craving at the moment!

Give any of these flaxseed pudding variations a try:

Chocolate Flaxseed Pudding: Add 1 tablespoon of sifted cocoa powder to the pudding and 1 teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract. You can stir in some chocolate chips or mini-chips as well if you’d like.

Tropical Flax Pudding: Use coconut milk and top with chopped mango or pineapple and finely chopped macadamia nuts or shredded coconut. Delicious!

Blueberry Pie Pudding: Sweeten with blueberry jam then top with fresh blueberries and finely chopped pecans.

High Protein Flax Pudding: Add 1 scoop of your favorite protein powder and an additional 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter for added protein and to help prevent a chalky texture from protein powder.

Chunky Monkey Pudding: Use mashed banana as the sweetener and stir in 2 tablespoons of drippy peanut or almond butter. Top with chopped peanuts and chocolate chips!

Flaxseed Pudding Storage & Meal Prep

Similar to chia pudding, flaxseed pudding is so popular because it is meal-prep friendly! You can spend 15 minutes and make enough flaxseed pudding to last the week =]

To meal prep this for breakfast we recommend making the base pudding of flax meal, milk, and sweetener inside of individual containers with room to add toppings. This way you can eat the pudding in the same bowl it set in and you have room to add the fixings.

Flaxseed pudding will last about 5 days in the fridge and you can even freeze it! It’s easiest if you freeze it in single-serving portions and remove it as needed.

Flaxseed Pudding FAQs

1. Are flaxseeds and flaxseed meal the same thing? Flaxseed meal is the result of processing or milling whole flaxseeds into a meal or coarse flour. Flaxseed meal needs to be stored in the refrigerator to retain maximum freshness and nutritional value. Flaxseed meal is easy to make at home with a food processor or blender and has a variety of uses in the kitchen.
2. Can you freeze flaxseed pudding? YES! Flaxseed pudding freezes well. It’s best if left to defrost in the fridge overnight and we recommend freezing it in single-serve portions.
3. What do flaxseeds taste like? Flaxseeds have a nutty, slightly bitter flavor that is stronger than oats but milder than chia seeds. Golden flaxseeds have a less pronounced flavor than brown flaxseeds.

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