This ultra creamy vegan hot chocolate uses only 4 kitchen staple ingredients for the ultimate dairy free hot chocolate recipe. Quick to make and so rich and decadent, you’ll never make a hot chocolate mix again!
As the months transition to even cooler temps, we switch from our classic vegan pumpkin spice latte to our more cozy drinks, like vegan gingerbread latte and this classic vegan hot chocolate!
Trust me, this is truly the only dairy free hot chocolate recipe you need. The ultra creamy texture and rich chocolate flavor will leave you questioning if this hot cocoa is truly even vegan!
And the best part? You only need 4 staple ingredients that you probably already have on hand, and 5 minutes of your time to make the ultimate vegan hot chocolate recipe that your entire family will love- vegan or not!
It’s perfect for any cozy winter morning with a slice of this gingerbread loaf cake, or even for Christmas breakfast with a plate of vegan cinnamon rolls or vegan monkey bread!
The 4 Ingredients You Need:
- Dairy-free milk:This can be any dairy free milk- soy milk, homemade oat milk, cashew milk, almond milk, or coconut milk!
- Cacao powder or cocoa powder:Either works here. Cacao powder will have a richer flavor profile.
- High-quality VeganChocolate:This could be in bar form or as chocolate chips. I recommend Valhrona, Pascha Chocolate, Enjoy Life, or Endangered Spices (though keep in mind, not all of Endangered species nor Valhrona’s chocolate is vegan!).
- Vanilla extract
Optional:Depending on the chocolate you use, you might need to sweeten the vegan hot cocoa to your liking! I recommend tasting the hot chocolate after you’ve blended to see if you need a bit more sweetness. Then add in coconut sugar, maple syrup, or organic granulated sugar to your liking!
To make this hot chocolate recipe sugar free:Swap in 100% vegan chocolate, such as Pascha, and add in your favorite sugar-free sweetener, such as monk fruit, stevia, or allulose.
Overview: How to make a quick and easy vegan hot chocolate in less than 5 minutes:
Making a creamy, decadent drinking hot cocoa doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the whole process takes less than 5 minutes! The full written recipe is found down below in the recipe card, but here’s a brief overview:
- Heat the dairy free milk until it’s hot, but not boiling. You can do this in a small saucepan, like I did, and heat on medium heat , or microwave it.
- Remove the dairy free milk from the heat and add in the chocolate of your choosing. Whisk or stir until it’s completely melted.
- Next, you can use a milk brother or a blender; however if you’re using a blender, allow your vegan hot chocolate to cool a bit before pouring it in your blender. Also ensure you’re using a heat-safe blender. It’s okay if the liquid is warm, but you don’t want it to be boiling or hot! You can always reheat it after blending 🙂
- Add in the cacao powder, vanilla extract, and any additional sweetener, and blender until completely creamy.
- Pour into mugs and serve with vegan marshmallows, like Dandies, coconut whipped cream, or extra cocoa powder!
Watch how to make dairy free hot cocoa:
Additional hot cocoa flavors:
If you’d like to jazz up your dairy free hot chocolate recipe, consider adding in any of these flavors!
- Peppermint extract (for a peppermint hot chocolate!)
- Dash of cinnamon or pumpkin spice
- Tablespoon of vegan Nutella
- Splash of vegan eggnog (or use eggnog as the base!)
- Tablespoon of peanut butter
Making hot cocoa for a crowd:
This vegan hot cocoa recipe is designed to serve 2 people. However, you can also scale it down to serve just 1 person by cutting the recipe in half easily. OR you can scale it up to serve a crowd on a holiday morning, like Thanksgiving or Christmas morning!
To do make hot chocolate for a crowd,you can easily click the serving sizes on the recipe card. I recommend definitely using a medium saucepan or even a large saucepan to make the hot chocolate, rather than a microwave.
You can also use a slow cooker or an Instant pot on the slow cooker setting. Either way works!
Storage:
Want to save this hot cocoa for easy reheating whenever you’d like?No problem. Simply store the made vegan hot chocolate in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or via stovetop when you’d like to enjoy!
Really easy, really quick, and absolutely delicious. You’re going to fall in love with this vegan hot chocolate recipe! It’ll be your go to for those really cold winter days or right after playing in the snow (hey, adults are just oversized kids after all, right?).
If you make it, let me know down below in the comments section! As always, I love to see your beautiful creations, so make sure to tag me on Instagram and Pinterest so that I can see!
Happy Hot Cocoa-ing!
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
Ultra Creamy 4-Ingredient Vegan Hot Chocolate Recipe
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- Author: Britt Berlin
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The ultimate healthy hot chocolate recipe that’s rich with flavor, thick like drinking chocolate, and naturally dairy free, vegan, Paleo, and an option for Keto!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups (480 mL) dairy-free milk, such as soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, etc.
- 3.5 ounces high quality vegan chocolate
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional: Additional sweetener if needed
Instructions
- Heat the dairy-free milk in a saucepan or microwave until hot but not boiling.
- Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted.
- Pour chocolate milk mixture into a blender (it shouldn’t be too hot at this point), and add in cacao powder, vanilla, and optional sweetener (you can always add in more if you’d like to after testing it).
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour into two mugs and serve with vegan marshmallows, coconut whipped cream, or extra cocoa powder!
Equipment
Buy Now →Notes
Please see blog post for full details!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup, no protein powder
- Calories: 157
- Sugar: 0.4 g
- Sodium: 187.2 mg
- Fat: 13.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.4 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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