Add the liquid ingredients to a mixing bowl (plant milk, syrup, and vanilla extract) and whisk until well combined.
Incorporate the chia seeds and whisk again.
Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.
When ready to eat, stir well, serve, and top with ingredients like fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cacao nibs, dark chocolate, jam… Or even with a little bit of coconut butter or almond butter!
Keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Notes
I suggest you make your own vanilla extract at home, as it’s more affordable, so easy to prepare, and has a wonderful flavor. However, this ingredient is optional.
Use plant milk with high-fat content, like coconut milk or any other kind of nut milk. However, if you prefer low-fat plant milk better, your pudding will be delicious as well.
Full-fat canned coconut milk can be too high in fat for this recipe, so I would use half full-fat coconut milk and half nut milk, or reduced-fat coconut milk instead.
Maple syrup is completely optional and you can replace it with any other kind of sweetener. You could also blend the plant milk with 1 or 2 Medjool dates in a high-speed blender before making the pudding.