Learn how to make the Best Vegan Hot Chocolate EVER! Even readers agree! Just 6 ingredients and ready in 5 minutes! This is better than the dairy versions I used to drink. Semi-sweet chocolate and cocoa powder are what gives a rich chocolate flavor!
Today I’m sharing the absolute best hot chocolate I’ve ever had, vegan or not! It is so creamy, so rich and so decadent and nobody would guess it’s vegan. The same goes for my Homemade Vegan Chocolate Milk.
This recipe is the dairy-free chocolate of my dreams and very exciting to share today.
I haven’t posted here in about a month and I don’t think I’ve ever done that since I started this blog in 2013. However, I had been working nonstop and posting new recipes weekly and was feeling a bit tired. Then I got into a really bad car wreck and got pretty bruised up and really sore. I’m completely healed and fine now, but my car was totaled. I’m truly the most thankful that my daughter was in school and not in the car with me!
I also am back with this delicious best vegan hot chocolate recipe! This dairy-free hot chocolate recipe was a creation from last year and shared a snap of it on this Instagram. I never got around to sharing it on my blog, but now that the weather is cold again and I’m drinking it again, now is the time.
WHY THIS IS THE BEST VEGAN HOT CHOCOLATE
I’m very, very picky when it comes to hot chocolate. Too many recipes are too watery, too bland, not chocolatey enough or sweet enough for me. I’ve tried so many. I don’t want my hot chocolate cloyingly sweet, but I don’t like it too bitter either.
Well, this dairy-free hot chocolate is my favorite ever.
It’s rich, creamy and a rich, decadent chocolate flavor, as well as perfectly sweetened. It’s not too thick, in other words, it’s not a French hot chocolate, haha. I’ve had a French hot chocolate in Paris many years ago and it’s VERY thick and rich and like drinking straight chocolate. Yummy, yes, but a bit too much for when I want to sit down and enjoy a full cup of hot chocolate.
THE BEST INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN HOT CHOCOLATE
So, to achieve my perfect Vegan Hot Chocolate, I used:
- semi-sweet chocolate
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- maple syrup
- canned “lite” coconut milk (forget almond milk, not creamy enough and too strong of a flavor)
- ground espresso
- vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Lite coconut milk leaves no flavor whatsoever of coconut, but is the perfect creamy base for this.
The need for chocolate chips is because they contain cocoa butter and that is what helps make this a rich chocolate flavor, as well as thicken it up when it heats up. My favorite brand is Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, because they are vegan. Just cocoa powder is hot cocoa, but this is hot chocolate. It should be richer and creamier. I see many often get them confused, but they are definitely different.
See those delicious cookies in the photos? They are my DOUBLE CHOCOLATE FUDGE CRINKLE COOKIES and are to die for! Get them here!
The Best Vegan Hot Chocolate!
Ingredients
- One 13.5 oz can "lite" coconut milk (this truly is the best milk to make hot chocolate, I would advise against subbing as others I've tried were not good. Lite leaves NO coconut taste!)
- 2 tablespoons (12g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 heaping tablespoons (40g) semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)
- 1-2 tablespoons (20g) maple syrup, depending on your sweet-o-meter, I did 2
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground espresso or instant coffee
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Optional: whipped cream, shaved chocolate, marshmallows, etc.
NOTE
- I recommend Thai Kitchen brand for the lite coconut milk. It is amazing and always so smooth and creamy, not watery. Many brands can be rather watery and not smooth.
Instructions
- If you have a Vitamix, then add all of the ingredients to the blender and blend for a few minutes on high until completely smooth and frothy. If you don't have a high-speed blender, then add all of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips, to a blender or food processor and process until smooth and frothy. It will only get frothy on a high speed and after a few minutes.
- Add the mixture to a pot over medium heat and then add the chocolate chips. Once it begins to bubble, whisk continuously for about 4 minutes until well heated and has thickened just a bit. You don't want to overcook it, or it will get too thick. I found this to be the perfect level of sweetness, but if you want yours a tad sweeter, add a little more maple syrup. Remove and pour into mugs and add whipped cream, shaved chocolate, marshmallows, cinnamon, etc. Enjoy!
- This makes enough for 2 mugs. If you are just wanting 1 serving, then place the rest in the fridge and when you are ready to use it, give it a good whisk and reheat on low.
Sadly, this recipe keeps getting stolen and posted on other sites. If you make this recipe, please do not re-post it on your site, please link to me instead giving proper credit. If you are inspired by this recipe, again, please give proper credit and do not simply post it on your site.
Thanks so much for posting Brandi! We will totally have to use this recipe and share it with our peeps! It still amazes us how many people don’t know that there are great vegan hot chocolate alternatives! Tis the season!
Wonderful! Let me know what y’all think of it!
This hot chocolate recipe is amazing, the best hot chocolate I have ever had. Thank you so much for creating it. It is so much healthier then chemical filled hot cocoa powders and yet so much better. You can’t go wrong here. I haven’t gotten my roommate to try it yet but I have no doubt that everyone will love this recipe, vegans, non-vegans, everyone. I don’t think one person would be able to tell it was non dairy. So delicious best ever. Your recipes are always such a sure hit.
Yay! I’m so glad this is the best you’ve ever had! Thank you so much for the amazing feedback Christina! You really made my day!!
We are transitioning to a vegan lifestyle and this hot chocolate was a hit with our kiddos, 10 and 5 yrs old. Thanks so much for posting this. I’m so excited about getting healthy and feeling well.
That makes me so happy to hear Shannon, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!
Why did I take so long to try this?! It is delicious, so gosh darn good! And of course I made it when I was alone so I had both cups ahahaha!!! Great job!
Haha! Awesome! More for you!
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I have been vegan for over 1 year now and it’s been pretty easy besides really missing a cafe mocha from Starbucks. Not only because of the dairy but they just have too much sugar in them. This cocoa is incredible, it’s exactly like a cafe mocha or when poured over ice an iced cafe mocha. I’m so grateful to all of the incredible vegans out there that share their talents and recipes with all of us, you make living cruelty free so much easier!!!!
Awww, thank you so much Tina for such a lovely comment! So very happy to hear how much you loved this and wow, that sounds heavenly over ice. I need to try that!!
I’m excited to try this. I am also very VERY picky when it comes to hot chocolate and I am the same way. So many vegan ones I’ve tried are watery, not chocolatey enough, etc. Can’t wait to give this one a go! 😀
I totally know what you mean, cannot stand those watery versions, but I promise you this one is thick, creamy and amazing!
This hot chocolate is so delicious! And full of fairly healthy ingredients, not crap! Lol
Haha, thank you so much Stephanie! I’m so glad you love it and yes, crap-free, lol!
My husband and I made this the other night and both agreed it’s the best hot chocolate we have ever had! Thank you!
Yay! Thank you so much for the lovely review and so glad you agree!
You weren’t kidding, this hot chocolate is perfect. I’m VERY picky with my hot chocolate too and yeah this is awesome. Thanks for such a great recipe.
I’m so glad to hear you feel the same as I do, haha! Thank you so much Shanna for the lovely review!
This is hands down the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had, and I’m a bit of a hot chocolate snob, lol. A google search led me to your blog, and now I’ll be back to check out your other recipes! I didn’t have any light coconut milk on hand so used Silk almond original. I think the coffee, salt and vanilla are what took it to a whole new level… brilliant!!! This will be a regular treat this winter. Thank you for sharing!
Woohoo! Love hearing that Karma! I’m a total hot chocolate snob too, which is why I said in the post I’m so picky about them. Don’t give me bland watery “hot chocolate”! Thank you so much for the lovely review and star rating, you are so very kind!
Brandi, I chose your Hot Chocolate recipe for Christmas morning. I couldn’t find appropriate chocolate chips but based on your comment about only using them for the cocoa butter, I added extra cocoa and a big chuck of cacao butter (not sure if product endorsements are appropriate here, if not just delete: Bulletproof brand) . I used alcohol free liquid stevia for sweetener. Thank you for your recommendation of Thai Kitchen lite coconut milk, it made shopping mistake free. So drum, roll….this was perfect, awesome and delicious. It truly is Hot Chocolate, not just hot cocoa.! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much Pat for the lovely review! So glad you loved it so much! And yes, the cocoa butter in the chocolate chips is what makes this so rich, so glad you were able to use those!
I hardly ever post comments on anything, but I had to here because this hot chocolate is the best I have ever tasted!! I can’t believe it’s vegan and has no refined sugars because it’s so good! Thank you.
Oh, thank you so much Brooke! So very happy it is the best you’ve ever had! It is for me as well, thank you for making it!
I made this using 12oz almond milk and 3 tbsp of maple syrup. Otherwise followed the recipe. It is DIVINE! Rich, chocolatey! Thank you so much!
Yay! Love hearing that Rosemary, thank you so much for the review!
Gorgeous! So rich and chocolatey. I’m in love 💘
I’ve just linked to it in my blog.
Thank you so much!!
Lady you NAILED IT! As a lover of hot chocolate – i am very particular. As I made the switch to vegan the one element that eluded me was the hot chocolate. The Almond milk was just not working for me. Winter is coming (Game of thrones reference for you) and I need my warm bevvie and you have come to my rescue. Basically my life is now complete so thank you!!
PS Drinking it right now and LOVING IT!
Yay, so very thrilled to hear that Terri! This is exactly how I felt too when I created it, it is just what I missed and the best part is it is just as good as the dairy kind!
Delicious chocolatey warmth in a mug. I have missed cocoa since going wfpb. Thank you for creating this yumminess, Brandi. This is the first recipe of yours I have tried. Now, I HAVE to buy your cookbook! 🙂
That’s so awesome to hear Michelle! So happy you loved it! Thank you for the review and book purchase!
Amazing recipe! Sorry to hear people are stealing it as their own. Just wanted to share our revisions since we didn’t have a creamy coconut milk. We ended up loving it, but I am looking forward to your recipe that you’ve worked so hard to perfect! Let me know if you try it! It may be on the sweeter side, but I wanted to ensure it was creamy enough 🙂 and it seemed to do the trick. Best hot chocolate I ever tasted! I’m sure yours will be even better!
12.5 oz unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons of cacao
4 heaping tablespoons of vegan semi-Sweet choc chips (to thicken it)
3 tablespoons of maple syrup, since we used a more bitter cacao
Same salt and vanilla amount
Sounds amazing Nichole! I’m so glad y’all loved it!!
This isn’t just the best vegan hot chocolate, it’s the best hot chocolate, ever. Oh my gosh, it is so creamy and rich and delicious. It was a perfect snack after shopping and gift wrapping. As always, Brandi, you are the best chef!
In the mood for hot chocolate and this only happens once or twice a year. I crave either white hot chocolate or dark hot chocolate and this time it’s the later.
It’s almost impossible to find lite coconut milk where I live though. Would diluting full-fat milk with a bit of water do the trick do you think? Or maybe trying to whip up a home made milk with a specific water/coconut ratio?
Hi Estelle! Yes, use half of the full fat milk (shake the can well first) and the other half water. That should work!
Reporting back 🙂
I made my chocolate before seeing your comment (too impatient ^^) and ended up doing 1/3 water and 2/3 coconut milk. My milk was 7.8g fat for 100ml according to the nutritional information.
The hot chocolate is super rich and creamy with no coconut taste. It’s super chocolaty because I used bitter-sweet dark chocolate. Delicious.
It could be a bit lighter though. I did half the recipe and it’s going to be too rich to finish all in one go so I’ll follow your recommendation of 1/2 water, 1/2 coconut milk next time. It should do the trick.
It’s definitely a keeper and I know I can make it kid-friendly by using a sweeter chocolate.
Next, I’m going to experiment and see if I can adapt a white chocolate vanilla version using cocoa butter and vanilla powder.
Thank you very much for another great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it! Yes, it would be too rich because of too much of the coconut milk, it makes it so much thicker, so just use more water next time to even it out 🙂
AMAZING! The best vegan and refined sugar free hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted!
Wonderful to hear, thank you Phoebe!
We absolutely LOVE this hot chocolate! So rich! So creamy! I haven’t had a decent cup of vegan hot chocolate in years… until now! Thanks Brandi!
That is so wonderful to hear Cathrine, thank you so much for your awesome feedback!
Are used soy milk instead of coconut milk because I can’t bear the taste of coconut milk. I know you promised, but… There it is. Absolutely delicious hot chocolate! The first hot chocolate I’ve had since I gave up dairy that is actually better than the old store-bought kind. So good that I Drank it all, then doubled the recipe to have a stash in the refrigerator that I can heat up whenever the mood strikes. So good! Thank you for this
So happy you loved it so much, thank you so much Anna!
Could you just continue to blend in the high speed blender until it’s hot?
Hi Emily! I’m not too sure that would work as well because it’s heating it over the stove to a simmer to thicken it by whisking continually for 4 minutes (step 2). The constant whisking over heat is what thickens it well. It’s way too runny in the vitamix.
In the third photo, you are using an aerosol canned whipped topping! WHAT is it and where did you find it? TYVM
It was a soy whipped topping that I may have got at sprouts, I honestly don’t remember since I posted this 2 years ago. But it wasn’t good anyways. I buy the non-dairy spray bu Reddi-wip now if I buy whipped topping and it’s so delicious. They have coconut and almond and we get them at Walmart.
Wanted to try this but I only have full fat coconut milk. Can I use that?
Hi Gail, yes, but you will want to dilute it, otherwise it will be way too thick and taste like coconut. Do 1 part coconut milk to 2 parts water, blend it up so it’s smooth and then measure.
I found your recipe/link from one of my Facebook groups. I only had regular coconut milk, so I used it instead. I wish I had read the comments first (which I usuallydo with new recipes). I woukd have known to dilute it with some water. It was super thick. I thought it was because I heated it up too much. But, I guess it was the milk. The flavor was delicious. My sister really liked it, even with it being thick. Going to cut back on the maple syrup a little next time. Overall, a great recipe-I just messed it up! LOL
Hi Cherie! Oh, haha, yes, regular has 3 times the amount of fat as the lite version, so it definitely will make it overly rich and excessively thick! Get the lite next time and you’ll notice a big difference! 🙂
I am making this TODAY! I’m so sorry someone would “steal” your recipe ! 😢
This recipe is perfect! so delicious….thank you!
I am so grateful for this recipe !!! Best cup I’ve had in my entire life and I mean that !
Oh wow, thank you so much Dee for this incredible feedback! It’s honestly the best I’ve ever had too, truly, so I’m glad to hear you feel the same!
What kind of whipped cream do you use and where do you buy it?
Hi Trudy! In the photos I used a soy whip cream but it wasn’t that good so I never bought it again. I now buy the rediwhip spray can whip cream, they have both almond or coconut milk versions. You can find them at Kroger, Walmart and possibly Whole Foods. I love them both. So delicious and looks beautiful. I also like the Cocowhip by So delicious sold on the tub containers similar to cool whip. You can find those at most grocery stores these days in the freezer section of non dairy products. I’ve bought it at sprouts and HEB. Hope this helps!
I ‘ve read great critics about your recipe and I think it would be a good idea to try it. I havent tried many vegan alternatives yet but I usually like to add some hazelnut syrup in my hot chocolate, so I wondered whether hazelnut milk would give the flavour I wanted and whether I could replace the coconut milk with it. What do you suggest? <3
* sorry I'm not a native speaker
You can certainly try it!
This was good. I left out the espresso since I don’t drink coffee. I used regular semi sweet chips too. The ‘vegan’ chips cost a fortune where I live. I heated in the microwave as well.
So glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve made this recipe many times and it is always delicious! I think about it like “sipping chocolate” since it is so rich.
Hi Brandi.
Can i substitute the lite coconut milk with soy milk?
I’ve never tried that but I think it should work! Let me know after you try it!