Vegan Hot Chocolate – Just Like Starbucks!

This rich, creamy homemade vegan hot chocolate recipe is the perfect drink to warm you up from the winter chill!

The best vegan hot chocolate

With no milk and just five ingredients, this could be the thickest, smoothest, creamiest hot chocolate you’ve ever tried.

The recipe is absolutely delicious and very easy to make.

It is collected inside more Unlike traditional hot cocoa recipes, chocolate per serving delivers an extra rich and chocolaty taste.

Your kitchen pantry may already have everything you need to make a cuppa at home.

It’s the perfect vegan hot cocoa for Christmas morning, Valentine’s Day, chilly snowy days, or any time a hot chocolate craving strikes.

You may also like these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

How to make hot chocolate like Starbucks

The biggest advantage of making your own hot chocolate at home is that you have control over all the ingredients. It also saves time and money.

To recreate Starbucks’ hot cocoas, I first looked at their ingredients.

Almond milk (filtered water, almonds, sugar, tricalcium phosphate, sunflower lecithin, sea salt, xanthan gum, guar gum, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol)), mocha sauce (water, sugar, cacao with alkali, vanillin) .

So it basically calls for cocoa processed with milk, sugar, vanilla extract and alkali. That last ingredient just means they use Dutch cocoa powder.

It sounded pretty easy to recreate at home.

Starbucks hot chocolate can now be vegan when ordered with oat milk or soy milk. This information is good to know if you’re ever running errands and find yourself craving a cup of hot chocolate.

Instead of making a sauce for a homemade milk hot chocolate recipe by combining water, sugar, and cocoa, I decided to simplify the process. I left out the water, both for simplicity and to avoid messing up the flavor of the final product.

All you need to do is whisk together all the ingredients except the vanilla in a saucepan or microwave-safe cup. Boil or microwave slowly in 30-second increments

Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and whisk to dissolve the cocoa. Serve warm or refrigerate and enjoy ice cold.

Try this too Healthy chocolate cake

Vegan Hot Chocolate Recipe Video

Watch the step-by-step video above

Health benefits of easy vegan hot cocoa

At only 60 calories per large serving, this DIY dairy-free hot chocolate recipe is also gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, sugar-free, egg-free, paleo- and keto-friendly.

Depending on the milk you choose, it contains an incredible 36% of the daily value of calcium. And it provides more than 20% of the DV for iron, magnesium, and potassium.

Antioxidant-rich cocoa powder helps this healthy hot chocolate recipe get six grams of fiber and nearly five grams of protein in just one cup.

Even if you use full-fat coconut milk, the hot chocolate is still under 200 calories.

Serve hot or cold, for breakfast, snack or dessert!

Hot chocolate flavors

Peppermint Hot Chocolate: Add 1/8 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract while adding the vanilla. Or spike with some mint schnapps.

Mocha Hot Chocolate: Instead of using brewed espresso, which can dilute the cocoa liquor, simply mix in 1/2 teaspoon of regular or decaffeinated instant coffee.

Orange Hot Cocoa: Add the peel of an orange and a spoonful of juice.

Nutella Hot Chocolate: Add a spoonful of your favorite plant-based chocolate hazelnut spread or this vegan one Homemade Nutella recipe.

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate: Stir in a tablespoon or two of peanut butter before heating the hot chocolate drink. Or try almond butter or cashew butter.

Ginger Hot Cocoa: Use blackstrap molasses or regular molasses to sweeten. Add a pinch of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

Top with mini vegan marshmallows or hot cocoa Coconut Whipped Cream.

Hot Cocoa Variation in Casserole

If you want a large slow cooker hot chocolate recipe to feed a crowd or dinner guests, try the extended version below instead of the single serving recipe further down in this post.

4 cups milk of your choice, 2 cups full-fat canned coconut milk or cashew cream, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup regular or unrefined sugar, pure maple syrup or agave, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

Add everything except the vanilla to the pot and cook on low for 1 1/2 hours. Mix in the vanilla extract and any other extracts or flavors you like.

Decorate each cup with mini marshmallows or whipped cream.

Ingredients and tips for success

Cocoa powder – Starbucks uses Dutch cocoa, which has a milder and more chocolatey taste than regular unsweetened cocoa powder. The recipe will taste perfect with regular cocoa, not Starbucks.

Selected milk – I tried many different milks in this recipe and found that my favorite is a combination of coconut and almond milk.

If you don’t need a low-fat recipe, I recommend trying it with coconut milk. The added butter makes the recipe ultra creamy. Subbing if you are allergic to coconut cashew cream or mixed with 2 tablespoons of raw cashew butter also works well.

Vanilla extract – If you want the best hot chocolate flavor, make sure you use pure vanilla extract, not artificial imitation vanilla flavor.

Sugar – For unsweetened hot chocolate, feel free to go with pure maple syrup, cane sugar, unrefined coconut sugar, or stevia or monk fruit. The amount of sweetener will depend on whether you use sweetened or unsweetened milk, as well as your personal taste.

A pinch of salt – Don’t forget a pinch of salt. It may be small, but a little salt enhances the flavor of the chocolate and adds depth to the recipe. Leaving it out will completely change the results.

More Vegan Chocolate Recipes

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Black Bean Brownie

Chocolate Mug Cake

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Brownie Cheesecake