I know, I know. Every blogger is bombarding you with pumpkin recipes since we’ve been experiencing fall for, oh, not even a full week.

I promise in the next couple of months I will share comforting, warming, autumn-inspired dishes that feature other ingredients, but since I haven’t done a lot of cooking lately, this pumpkin chia pudding is what I’ve got.

Some people don’t enjoy the texture of soaked chia seeds—and I totally get that—so if you’re one of those people, try blending the chia seeds into a powder first. You may need to tweak the amount of milk to obtain the perfect consistency, but I think you should give it a shot.

Pumpkin Chia Pudding

serves 1

Ingredients

• ½ cup pumpkin purée
• 3 Tbsp chia seeds
• ¾ cup milk of choice
• 2 Medjool dates
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg and cloves

Directions

1. Place pumpkin, milk, dates, and spices into a blender, blending until smooth.
2. Pour mixture over chia seeds, stir, and refrigerate (covered) for 30 minutes to an hour (or overnight).
3. Top with chopped pecans, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, or whatever you fancy—and dig in.

This past week my breakfasts have consisted of various flavors of overnight oats or a smoothie, so this chia pudding was a nice (and delicious) change. I topped mine with pumpkin seeds, mini chocolate chips, and a bit of honey granola. Since chia is pretty high in dietary fiber and protein (as well as healthy Omega-3s), this dish is quite filling; plus, by using dates as opposed to maple syrup, sugar, or other sweeteners, there’s even more fiber. Let us not forget the abundance of antioxidants and carotenes found in pumpkin, which help make this a very well-rounded breakfast (or healthy snack/dessert).

Now go enjoy some pumpkin…and happy friday! 🙂