🌱 What Are Chia Seeds?
Chia seeds are tiny black or white seeds from the Salvia hispanica plant, a member of the mint family. They’re famous for absorbing liquid and forming a gel-like texture, making them a popular base for puddings and thickeners.
🥗 Nutrition Highlights
- High in Fiber: About 10g per 2 tablespoons — great for digestion and satiety.
- Plant-Based Omega-3s: Rich in ALA, a heart-healthy fat.
- Protein & Minerals: Contain protein, calcium, magnesium, and antioxidants.
- Low Net Carbs: Most of their carbs are fiber, so they’re blood-sugar-friendly.
💡 Uses
Sprinkle on salads, stir into yogurt or oatmeal, blend into smoothies, or soak in liquid to make puddings, jams, or thickened dressings (like your ranch-chia dip!).
I made some Chia Seed Pudding with some milk, chia seeds, sweetener, and some cinnamon. I had too much milk so it remained too watery. I plan to make these in the new 4 oz. Ball jars, if the 1/2 C of milk fits. *I just made two of the 4 oz. jars with 1/2 C of milk and 2 TBS chia seeds, and some cinnamon and a little Stevia. It only filled the jar about 2/3rds so enough room to add fruit and then shake up. **No need to shake it up the next day. If you use 1/2 C of milk and add 2 TBS of chia seeds they make a complete gelled desert. Just add some sweetener (stevia) and some pureed fruit (raspberries, blackberries or whole blueberries).
I have tried this with ripe Kiwi fruit & raspberry puree, (homemade cranberry sauce w/o sugar) and I also added some hulled hemp seeds and plain Greek yogurt. The Kiwi is citrusy. The Chia Seeds Pudding is a good little desert. *I have added some Ceylon Cinnamon in the sweet chia puddings.
At a later date, I decided to explore putting chia seeds into other liquids. I used cranberry juice to replace the milk in one batch, and orange juice to replace the milk in another batch. Both turned out surprisingly well. *I don’t recall if I added plain Greek yogurt to either of these. I added either Splenda or Agave Nectar to these going for a sweet chia pudding, but I see that you can go savory just as easily. I’m thinking that chopped olives, dill or sweet pickles, sweet onion, or adding cayenne, cumin, or garlic powder might make a delicious savory pudding. **Sweet or dill pickle juice, or the brine liquid from a can of black or green olives. I’ve always thought that liquid should go into something and this might be just soooo earthy. How about tomato juice as a starter?
I tried the tomato juice as a starter and definitely would try it again. I added those Tex-Mex flavorings like chopped cilantro, jalapeno & onion, with some cumin and made a savory chia seed pudding. Add some blue corn tortilla chips, and maybe even some refried black beans.
*I’ve also added chia seeds to Peach Schnapps, but you have to dilute it with some water for the seeds to form their gelatinous coatings.
🥣 Creamy Ranch-Chia Dip (½ Cup Yield)
Not even sure where I thought I was going with this, but I had an opened packet of powdered Ranch Dressing. This is what I use to make my “Ranch Dill Pickles.” It’s cheap. 50 cents a packet at Food Lion, and not much more for the GV version at Walmart.
I put some plain Greek Yogurt in a small jar, then some 2% milk, and then the powder. The reason I added the lime juice was an attempt, in reverse, to make the milk, homemade buttermilk. I also chopped up part of a Ranch Dill Pickle and added it to the mix. Put it in the refrigerator and left it to solidify. It firmed up nicely. It became a cool, thick Ranch Dressing with dill pickle in it. Delicious, maybe as a form of Ranch Dressing, but with chia seeds.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (0% or 2%)
- ¼ cup 2% milk (or any milk of choice)
- 1 Tbsp powdered ranch dressing mix
- 1 tsp lime juice (fresh is best)
- 2 Tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
- Mix Base: In a small container, whisk together yogurt, milk, ranch mix, and lime juice until smooth.
- Add Chia: Stir in chia seeds until well combined.
- Thicken: Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (2–4 hours for full gel texture).
- Stir Before Serving: The chia seeds will settle — stir well to even out the texture.
- Adjust Consistency:
- Too thick? Stir in 1–2 tsp milk.
- Too thin? Stir in 1–2 tsp yogurt and let sit another 10 min.
Nutrition (Per Entire Batch, ~½ Cup)
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Calories | ~225 |
| Protein | ~12g |
| Net Carbs | ~7–8g |
| Fiber | ~10g |
| Fat | ~11g |
| Omega-3s | ~4g (ALA) |
💡 Storage: Keeps in the fridge 3–4 days. Stir before each use — it will continue to thicken.
💡 Uses: Dip for veggies, sandwich spread, or dollop over salads.
I made a chia seed pudding with tomato juice a few days ago. I added some chopped mild jalapeno, sweet diced onion, some chopped cilantro, ground cumin, garlic powder & salt and let it sit for a while in the fridge. This set up nicely and then I ate it with some guacamole and some blue corn tortilla chips
Well, I just found a really delicious combo: I had opened a new jar of dill pickles and drained the brine into a glass. I then poured the flavored brine (flavored with the Ranch Dressing) from the previous jar of Ranch Dill Pickles into the new dill pickles, put the lid on a set in the fridge for the 24 hours it takes to induce the flavor into the dill pickle spears.
But here’s the rub. I took two small glass jars with lids and filled them about 2/3rds full each with the plain dill pickle brine. Then I put in 2 tbl of chia seeds in each, and the remainder of the Ranch Dressing powder. I left them in the fridge. Several hours later they still hadn’t set up completely, but I poured some tomato juice into a glass and then scooped several spoonfuls of the chia seed, dill pickle brine and a little sweetener in. It was delicious!
I have looked for assorted flavorings to add to plain tomato juice (like garlic powder, assorted hot peppers, sweet onion, chopped cilantro) and this was the first unique flavor that I think I could enjoy repeatedly. The only problem is I will have to wait for the next time that I need to open a new jar of dill pickles and that usually takes about a couple of weeks. *I did add some Hemp seeds and white sesame seeds to the juice and this just gave it more body. The hint of dill pickle brine made this concoction.
Bill Gibson, II 