10 Nutrient-Packed Recipes to Whip Up With Chia Seeds

This warm bowl is sweet with a touch of spice. It combines almond milk, Chai tea, cooked quinoa, maple syrup, chia seeds, and cinnamon.

“With its high protein content, the quinoa helps boost the protein to nearly twice the amount of two large eggs,” Palumbo says. That, plus the whopping 13 g of fiber (an excellent source!) in this quick breakfast will help satiate you until lunchtime, she adds.

One serving (½ the total) of this recipe from Simply Quinoa provides 568 calories, 76 g of carbs, 16 g of protein, 22 g of fat (2 g of saturated fat), and 13 g of fiber.

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For a meal that’s packed with nutrients, go for this salad from Choosing Chia. “This recipe is an excellent source of vitamin K from the kale, spinach, and broccoli,” Palumbo says. Vitamin K plays an important role in blood clotting and maintaining healthy bones, notes the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This salad also features tons of filling seeds (including chia seeds), quinoa, nuts, and fruit. Quinoa, for example, helps satiate with 8 g of protein and 5.2 g of fiber, according to the USDA.

Top everything with the accompanying vinaigrette dressing, which calls for olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and a pinch of cayenne.

A serving (¼ of the recipe) of this salad provides 250 calories, 13 g of fat, 24 g of carbs, 6 g of fiber, and 8.5 g of protein. To enjoy it as a meal, Palumbo suggests doubling the serving to get 500 calories, 17 g of protein (as much as 2 ½ ounces of meat), and 12 g of fiber.

This recipe from Feasting at Home features pan-seared wild salmon coated in a chia seed crust. “The wild salmon provides those hard-to-get eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) found in fatty fish, while the olive oil is rich in both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids,” Palumbo says.

Pair the fish with nutritious fennel slaw, pickled onions, and fresh herbs. Fennel, for example, adds fiber, folate, potassium, and vitamin C, Palumbo notes. A single raw fennel bulb is an excellent source of fiber, vitamin C, and potassium, per estimates from the USDA.

One serving (½ the recipe) provides 399 calories, 27.3 g of fat (4.1 g of saturated fat), 11.9 g of carbs, 3.7 g of fiber, and 30.3 g of protein.

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For an occasional dessert, whip up this nutrient-rich chocolate chia seed pudding recipe from Downshiftology. All you need are five simple ingredients: chia seeds, cocoa or cacao powder, dairy-free milk, maple syrup, and vanilla.

“The unsweetened cocoa provides heart-healthy nutrients such as flavanols, methylxanthines, and polyphenols, which may reduce inflammation and boost HDL cholesterol,” Palumbo says. According to a past review, consuming cocoa with high amounts of flavonoids (the name for a group of plant compounds that includes flavanols) may reduce high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and levels of fat in the blood.

Be sure to prep the pudding at least four hours ahead of time so it can chill in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to dig in, top it with raspberries, chocolate shavings, coconut whipped cream, and your favorite nuts and seeds.

Divide the recipe in half to get 232 calories, 9 g of fat (1 g of saturated fat), 30 g of carbs, 10 g of fiber, and 8 g of protein.

This breakfast recipe from Ambitious Kitchen is rich in potassium, largely thanks to the banana and sweet potatoes. “If someone has this as a post-workout meal in the morning, that potassium could be very helpful for soothing sore muscles,” Cording says. For the record, one banana offers 451 mg of potassium, while one medium sweet potato adds 717 mg, notes the USDA.

Meanwhile, the healthy fats in the almond butter and chia seeds help your body absorb the beta-carotene in the sweet potato, Palumbo says. Beta-carotene is the pigment that gives sweet potatoes their bright color. It also turns into vitamin A in the body, where it contributes to immune function and eye health, according to the NIH.

Each sweet potato in this recipe provides 273 calories, 9.4 g of fat (1 g of saturated fat), 44.7 g of carbs, 9.4 g of fiber, and 7.7 g of protein. To make this meal more filling, Cording suggests upping the chia seeds to a full tablespoon per sweet potato.

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This summery smoothie blends nutritious ingredients like spinach, orange, pineapple, and chia seeds.

You’ll score plenty of vitamin C with this recipe, courtesy of the tropical fruits. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that supports immune health, per the NIH. It works by neutralizing free radicals (found in pollutants like cigarette smoke and industrial chemicals) before they can cause damage inside your body, according to a past review. A single smoothie provides 145.6 mg of this powerful antioxidant — making it an excellent source!

Every time you drink this recipe from Simple Green Smoothies, you’ll get 192 calories, 4.5 g of fat, 10 g of fiber, 38.1 g of carbs, and 5 g of protein.

For a healthier take on a breakfast classic, try these lemon chia seed pancakes. They combine simple ingredients like spelt or whole wheat flour, chia seeds, vegan buttermilk (nondairy milk plus lemon juice), pure cane sugar, and lemon zest.

“This recipe is good, it has some protein, a decent amount of fat, and a great amount of fiber,” Cording says.

Still, the recipe does have a higher carb count, so Cording suggests topping the cakes with a tablespoon of nut or seed butter to give them more staying power. “Our blood sugar goes up really quickly as we digest carbs, and then it tends to drop quickly if we don’t have enough protein or fat to slow things down,” she explains.

One-third of this recipe from The Simple Veganista provides 250 calories, 6 g of fat (less than 1 g saturated fat), 44 g of carbs, 8.8 g of fiber, and 8 g of protein. Serve with your favorite berries and pure maple syrup.

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These popsicles from Jessica Gavin are the perfect snack for warm days. Simply blend together coconut milk, pineapple juice, crushed pineapple, honey, and chia seeds and pour into popsicle molds. Give them several hours to freeze before enjoying.

Cording recommends these for a pre-workout snack. “If you’re looking for something to have before a workout on a hot day, this could be very refreshing just to give your body a little bit of naturally occurring sugar to work with for exercise,” she says.

Plus, the recipe doesn’t have a lot of slow-digesting fiber, protein, and fat, which means you won’t be troubled with gastrointestinal problems during your workout.

A single popsicle offers 77 calories, 1 g of fat (1 g saturated fat), 16 g of carbs, 1 g of fiber, and 1 g of protein.

This recipe transforms a fast-food favorite into a healthy meal or appetizer.

To make, dip each chicken strip in flour, then egg wash, and, finally, coat with a crunchy crumb mixture before cooking. The crumb mixture combines several nutritious ingredients, including rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp hearts, and a variety of herbs and spices.

Chia seeds aren’t the only healthful seed — other types provide plenty of protein and healthy fats. They also tend to be high in magnesium, a mineral that regulates blood sugar, blood pressure, muscle, and nerve function, and helps build protein, bone, and DNA, according to the NIH. Pumpkin seeds, for example, have 156 mg of magnesium per ounce, per the USDA, making them an excellent source.

Three of these chicken strips from Cooks with Cocktails offer 214 calories, 8 g of carbs, 19 g of protein, 11 g of fat (4 g saturated fat), and 1 g of fiber.

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While simple, this homemade granola from A Mind “Full” Mom is loaded with helpful nutrients. This healthy breakfast or snack option features oats, chia seeds, unsweetened shredded coconut, maple syrup, and cinnamon.

Oats, for one, contain a type of heart-healthy fiber known as beta-glucan. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, beta-glucan can bind with cholesterol-heavy bile acids to carry them out of the body. Oats also have plant compounds that may reduce the damaging effects of chronic inflammation, which is often linked with conditions like heart disease.

One serving (1/12 of the recipe) has 174 calories, 20 g of carbohydrates, 3 g of protein, 8 g of fat (5 g saturated fat), and 4 g of fiber. Optional: Add in up to 1 cup of your favorite dried fruits and nuts after baking.