Chia Yogurt Bowls

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Made with only a handful of ingredients, these chia yogurt bowls are the perfect protein-packed breakfast for busy mornings. Healthy, filling, and easy to make, your mornings will feel effortless with this chia yogurt in the fridge!

Similar to chia pudding, these chia yogurt bowls are thick, creamy, and absolutely delicious! I’ve shared a ton of overnight oats recipes and chia pudding recipes on the blog because I love easy breakfast ideas and this chia yogurt bowl recipe is a great way addition to the rotation of breakfast recipes.

A close up view of a bowl of chia yogurt topped with peanut butter and fresh berries.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

I always try to start my mornings with protein, and thanks to to Greek yogurt, this is a pretty protein-packed recipe. I love starting my mornings with Greek yogurt and you can read more about its benefits here!
If you find plain Greek yogurt to taste too tangy but still want that extra boost of protein that plain Greek yogurt has over vanilla Greek yogurt, this is the perfect way to use your yogurt! The other add-ins help mellow out the tangy flavor and you end up with the perfect bowl of yogurt.
You can customize it so many ways with what you have on hand. I usually top my chia yogurt bowls with some peanut butter and berries but you can top yours with hemp hearts, granola, nuts, and more!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients needed to make chia yogurt bowls.

Greek yogurt — you can use low-fat or regular Greek yogurt, but I prefer regular full-fat yogurt as the fat content helps keep you feeling full for longer. Also, while regular yogurt is great, this recipe uses Greek yogurt as it is thicker, tangier, and more protein-rich than regular yogurt. Greek yogurt is also higher in protein and lower in sugar than regular yogurt.
milk — I use regular whole milk, but you can use any type of milk such as oat milk, almond milk, cashew milk, etc.
chia seeds — chia seeds come in both black and white seeds, but there is no difference in nutritional content. I buy whichever that’s on sale! They’re also an excellent source of plant-based protein! When they absorb the milk and yogurt, they expand and thicken.
maple syrup — to add some sweetness, but I mostly add it here to help balance out the tangy Greek yogurt. You can also use honey if you prefer.
vanilla — just a splash! I prefer real vanilla extract over artificial extract.
toppings — you can add whatever toppings you like or skip them altogether. Hemp hearts, granola, nuts, cinnamon, everything but the bagel seasoning, and jam are great topping ideas!

How to Make Chia Yogurt Bowls

In a bowl, add Greek yogurt, milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix until everything is fully combined.
Cover with a lid and let the chia yogurt set in the fridge for at least three hours or overnight.
Give it a stir before serving, and add in your favorite toppings, such as peanut butter, fruit, nuts, and seeds.

Set of two photos showing before and after chia yogurt set in the fridge.

Recipe Tips and Notes

To prevent lumps, you can stir the chia yogurt again after allowing it to set for 5 to 10 minutes in the fridge.
If you’re not a fan of the texture of the chia seeds, you can blend them in a blender like I do in my raspberry chia pudding recipe.
For a grab-and-go meal, mason jars are great. 16-ounce wide-mouth mason jars are great if you plan on adding toppings and don’t want anything to spill or overflow. I also LOVE a good weck jar. You can portion it out into jars after they’ve set but when I’m not looking for a grab-and-go meal, I just spoon out the chia yogurt from the mixing bowl in the fridge.
For more protein, you can stir in nut butter. I usually top mine with peanut butter anyways but you can stir it in for more effortless mornings. (Check out my homemade cashew butter recipe!)

A chia yogurt bowl topped with peanut butter and fresh berries.

Make Ahead Tips

Meal prep: store the creamy chia seed yogurt without any toppings in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Freezer: I haven’t tried freezing this yogurt recipe but I’ve frozen overnight oats, chia pudding, and greek yogurt in general and haven’t had any issues, so this might be freezer-friendly.

What are chia seeds?

Chia seeds are tiny seeds from the plant Salvia hispanica. You may recognize them from those cute little chia pet commercials from way back when but other than a cute terra-cotta pet, the seeds are packed with healthy goodness. Despite being tiny little seeds, an one-ounce (28 grams) serving of chia seeds contains 11 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, and 9 grams of fat (5 of which are omega-3s).