I have been cooking with chia seeds longer than… I have been reading blogs. We stocked them in the dispensary at the clinic, and I started out adding them to salads. I learned what happens when mixed with water – they turn to a gel – and I started using them in smoothies and baking.
Why chia? Many reasons:
It is a plant based complete protein (energy!), and a plant based source of omega-3 (heart health!). Chia seeds are high in antioxidants as well as calcium, magnesium, niacin, zinc and fiber. Chia has a long shelf life (more than flax) and nutrients are available as is, rather than having to be ground (like flax).
Also? You can bake with them, reducing the butter or oil in a traditional recipe.
Chai is one of my favorite flavors – warm and spicy – and it makes a unique and tasty cookie!
The chai powder I use is a ready to drink tea powder, not a concentrate. If you are using a concentrated powder, reduce the amount to taste.
chai chia protein bites
makes 10-12 cookie balls
1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
1/4 cup chai tea powder (Natures Flavors)
3 tablespoons chia seeds (reserve 1 tbsp for topping)
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed
5 – 8 drops NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia
In food processor or blender, puree beans. Add sunflower butter, chai and stevia, blend. It should form a ball of dough, if it is still crumbly, add a tiny amount of water, a teaspoon at a time. Process – it should quickly form a dough ball.
Stirring by hand, 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. Form into 1-inch balls and roll into the last tablespoon of chia seeds (just across top of ball). Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
What is your favorite tea? Do you use chia seeds? Did you ever have a Chia Pet?
I shared this post with Wellness Weekends over at Diet Dessert and Dogs! Go visit for some great recipes!
{ 82 comments… read them below or add one }
cha cha cha chia! love it. and of course, another great recipe. I’ll have to give this one a whirl for sure.
haa… cha cha cha CHIA! I can’t NOT say it.
I love these little balls of chia! How good they look! I love chia seeds too, I always put them in my oats!
Happy Tuesday girl! xoxo <3
happy Tuesday to you, katie!! on the rare occasion I eat oats, chia definitely goes in!
I still have not tried chia seeds. I love chai tea though so this recipe sounds fantastic. I only have the tea bags though.
the powder was just easy because it doubled as a “flour” you know? I have a concentrate as well, and was thinking of trying that… it may give a similar flavor, although the recipe may change due to liquid…
They look wonderful. 1/2 c of sunflower seed butter is RIGHT up my alley!
Yummy work
I am LOVING sunflower seed butter – just recently became a favorite.
more for my list…
hee! yes! these are a MUST make!
Love chia seeds…except how they get stuck in my teeth!!!
ha… that they do!
thats so cool that you knew about chia seeds long before the blog world! i’m glad the blog world introduced them to me
these bites look so good. i used to be obsessed with chai!
I think it’s definitely a blog thing for many, you know? and obsessed is a GOOD description – I think I used to be obsessed with chai also!
Ooo! I have everything I need to make these, they’ll be a perfect snack.
hi Alayna, I hope you make them – they ARE a great snack!
I love chai! Man alive, I cannot stop thinking of ways to infuse the spices into everything…I have to say I was considering a chai-spiced ‘beanie’ bar, but you made bean balls, and that’s probably MORE fun. [Plus, you managed a little wordplay with the chia/chai thing. So you win.
]
I made these into bars last summer… ‘bites’ are just too fun
and yeah, the chai chia is fun too!
Love chia seeds!!! My clients are always so confused when I encourage them to give ‘em a shot. They are fantastic and I happen to love the gel like consistency they form.
I LOVE chia gel! it does take some getting used to for some, though.
perhaps you could make something for your skeptical clients…
I love chia seeds — I put them in smoothies, in oatmeal, on salads, on toast, etc. Jason actually introduced us to them — he read about chia in Born to Run (which also turned him onto Vibram shoes as well…)
Yes we had chia pets when I was younger! Have you seen the Presidents chia heads? They had George Washington, President Obama, plus a few more. I saw them around Christmas and thought they were pretty funny.
ah, yes! Born To Run WAS something I learned of through blogs!
I probably would have found it eventually. we had a chia when I was a kid too, and a couple years ago we picked one up as a joke gift for a friend on our way to their holiday party – he and Jason “activated” it right there in the kitchen. it was the Goofy character. 
I love chai flavor, too. One of my favorites. I’ve been afraid to use chia seeds while I’m pregnant because I read something that said they may not be safe for pregnant women. I have no clue if it’s true, but I’m not one to take chances.
oh, I definitely would not chance it either! it’s a short amount of time and with a great payoff, right???
then you can enjoy chia again.
what an awesome idea I have been on a white bean kick lately so I definitely have them on hand ill have to try these
white beans are my favorite! I hope you love these, Kate!
How cute are these little guys!? I can’t wait to make them! What a clever use of chia seeds!
thanks, Kelly! I thought they were cute little buggers too. and SO tasty…
Ok, I am totally going to finally hop on the chia train, I have been a flax gal forevs. Maybe if I smear it on my 2mo’s male pattern baldness hairline, she could be my personal chia pet?
haaa, haaa, Cat! awesome, and good luck with that
flax is GOOD STUFF, I just use chia way more nowadays.
OH. I miss chia. I suppose I should look for them as “Salvia” here, and then sell my other kidney to pay for them. Ha ha. A little “ha ha”, anyway. Looks fab!
I’ll trade you some chia for a red pepper the size of my head!!
I LOVE chia seeds and have found a delicious new drink Mamma Chia to get my daily fix of chia seeds. It tastes great and has all the nutrition of the chia seeds. I get it at my Whole Foods. I’m addicted to it!
oooh, I will be looking for my own Mamma Chia next time I’m there!
thanks for the heads up, Audrey!
No chia pet, but I DO love chia seeds. No chai tea powder, though (I’m not sure I’m a fan of chai tea anyway). I wonder if a protein powder substitute would work? That would be health x10…
protein powder will definitely work – I have done it many times
it will change the chai flavor, obviously, unless you have a chai protein powder I NEED to know about?? 
I was like wait a minute chia chia bites? Oh CHAI. Took me awhile. I swear it could be Monday. I’m totally with you on the chia awesomeness. I don’t know how I ever lived without the stuff. Great recipe!
what day IS it??
I’m looking forward to a THING later in the week, so I’m thinking it’s later than it is… 
and you don’t know HOW many times I typed chia chia. or chai chai. 
Uiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiui, fancy! And I see *beans* in there!
My favorite tea is … hm. I can’t tell, it really depends on my mood. I love Earl Grey or a good Ceylon tea, but also my basil and orange Yogi Tea and peppermint tea. And green tea. And charmomile, sometimes.
so you just don’t really like tea all that much, huh?
I love tea!
your basil and orange sounds the best to me… not just because of Basil.
Chia!!! Love them! Love these. They’re cute and sound soooooooooooo good.
thanks, Lori!! they are kinda cute, huh?
Yay for chia seeds! I don’t know how I had never had them until about 9 months ago. Now I HAVE to have them once a day – they’re my vitamin!
ahh, YES – they ARE a vitamin!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE CHIA!!! Never had a chia pet though haha
Cheers to chia love all around
cha cha cha CHIA!
Oh YUM! Chai is one of my all time favorite flavors too! I’ve been wanting to get my hands on chia seeds for I don’t know how long and haven’t gotten any yet. After seeing this…I need some! These sound perfect!
isn’t chai SO good? and thank you – I hope you make these and LOVE them!
ch ch ch ch chia!
I can NOT say it either
see? addicting. just like these cookies are.
I love chia seeds! Favorite use is in my oatmeal – plumps that shit up! And used as an egg replacement in baking. I don’t think I ever had a chia pet, but my best friend in elementary school had one.
yep, my rare oatmeal breakfast always gets the chia. FLUFFY OATS!
I have! Love chia seeds. I add them to smoothies, pancakes, muffins, as an egg replacer, etc…
http://www.slim-shoppin.com/chia-seeds/
yep, they are good in ALL of those things! I love a chia pancake, so fluffy!
I never understood the chia mania in blog land. I’m like, “dude, it looks like poppy seeds and costs twice as much! They don’t even make you HIGH!!!”
then again, poppy seed will never deliver a “chia pet”
But that being said, I’m just so happy you didn’t call these “amazeballs”
oh, I was so close.
they do amaze, though.
yep, a poppy pet just wouldn’t do.
YESSSS.
another winner.
thank you, Shannon! XO!
These are so pretty! I love chai and had never thought about having a chai-flavored dessert, but it makes so much sense! Definitely going to give these a try
thank you, Alyse!
I love everything chai… it was bound to become a dessert sooner or later!
I’d heard about eating chia recently and was skeptical at first. The only place I had heard about them were on Chia Pets. It hadn’t occurred to me to eat the seeds that are used to grow hair on Shrek but now I’m curious!
haa – Krista, I completely get it! I remember feeling the same way the first time I heard of people eating them.
Oh wow! These look like the perfect guilt free snack! I started using chia seeds just this year and am always looking for new ways to use them. Like you, I add the gel to my smoothies. I also make a balsamic dressing using the gel + avocado in place of the oil.
I haven’t tried baking with chia seeds yet. Any tips?
Thanks for the always wonderful site!
with baking, I use them as an egg replacement. I’ve also used them in place of PART of a fat – butter or oil – and it works pretty well (baking gluten free, I became more used to a ‘dense’ result, which I like better anyway!). and thank YOU, Wendy, I appreciate your visits!
Thanks for the great advice! I made some quinoa cookies yesterday – the recipe was already eggless and I substituted 3 T chia gel for a portion of the butter! I used the cookies to make healthy ice cream sandwiches for my boys. It was a big hit! Thanks again!
So interesting and sounds yummy! I like to add chia to my smoothies and make puddings. Many years ago I had a chia pet (fun!) but never knew at the time that any part of it was edible let alone good for me but now I do.
ha! chia pets! so funny. chia makes smoothies so… smooth!
I love chia! These look great. And beans are such a great addition–like bean fudge in a quick and portable energy ball! Thanks so much for submitting this to WW (and sorry about the clafoutis. And wow–quickest response I’ve ever gotten to a comment!!)
thanks, Ricki – we love these around here! and no biggie, I understand. I missed that rule!
These sound amazing. I’m looking for good chia energy balls. Do you happen to know the nutritional breakdown of the recipe?
hi Maryann, I have not figured the breakdown on these, but I know they are very similar to a chocolate chip bean ball I make –> cookie ball stats they are tasty – I hope you like them!
I made these tonight and… FAAAAAABUUUULOOOOOUUUUS!
we made these too this weekend, and LOVE thEM!!! thank you.
made these too, and the flavor is perfect for the holidays!! I added these to my cookie list!
I LOVE THESE!! JUST MADE THEM THIS MORNING. CAN’T WAIT TO TRY THE APRICOT ROSEMARY ONES!!!
I’m always looking for new recipes to use with my whey protein. I think I’ll give this one a try, thanks!
you are so welcome – I hope you enjoy!
I made these, a little crumbly at first but when rolling they were fine. very tasty, thank you!
I saw these on Earth Balance website – followed you here to tell you this is our new favorite! the kids are back in school, and I surprised them with these in their lunches. The first thing they said was what were those cookies LOL we want more cookies! any more like this?
hi Natalie! so happy everyone likes these! it adds to the excitement of a new school year (or takes away the sting?)
I do have several others you guys may like:
double rich chocolate protein cookies.
rosemary apricot tahini bites.
apple crunch protein bites.
mint and chocolate chickpea cookies.
enjoy!
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