Easy Homemade Raw Chocolate

Raw chocolate is a nice alternative to regular dark chocolate, especially because you can easily control what goes into it. This recipe has just three main ingredients – cacao butter, cacao powder, and maple syrup or honey to sweeten – but a touch of salt and vanilla add some depth of flavour.

There are some measurable health benefits to consuming raw chocolate, but I’m not really qualified to speak on that, so I’ve included a couple of links to articles below instead. I notice a real and positive change in how I feel both mentally and physically when I reach for raw over store bought chocolate, so you might too.

Though I talk about the positives of raw chocolate here for PMS and its associated symptoms, raw cacao isn’t just good for women! In addition to supporting menstrual-related illnesses, magnesium can be helpful in preventing cardiovascular disease (and everyone has a heart) so it’s a good choice for anyone.

With that in mind, I still wouldn’t choose raw chocolate over a normal chocolate bar if it didn’t taste great, and it does! We’re not about drinking kelp over here, but if something is tasty and healthy, then it’s the better choice for sure. And store-bought raw chocolate is gross so you’re much better off making it at home!

I first shared this recipe in 2020. It’s been updated with improvements to the recipe instructions and a retested and improved recipe, new photos, including step-by-step photos, and more helpful information.

I don’t use affiliate links. Any links you see here are to other recipes or related information, not paid links.

Ingredients You’ll Need and Why

The base ingredients are cocoa butter, raw cacao, honey, salt, vanilla, and then any toppings you’d like. These are my notes from recipe testing – I’ve been making this for over a decade – and you can find the full recipe card with complete measurements and instructions below.

• Cocoa: you can use baking cocoa, but it won’t really be raw chocolate in that case. Buy raw cacao (it will be labeled as such) for true raw chocolate.
• Cocoa butter: there isn’t a good sub for cacao butter. You can add coconut oil if you’ve run out and need to add just a touch more fat to reach the full amount, but all coconut oil makes for a greasy end result. Make sure you’re getting cocoa butter that’s labeled for food preparation. Some grocery stores sell it with the baking supplies.
• Honey: note that the honey you use will impact the flavour of the chocolate, so use a more neutral type, like spring blossom honey, if you want to taste the cacao more clearly. I use local raw honey because it’s a good environmental choice, not really for any trace minerals, but it does keep the chocolate raw. Maple syrup can be used for a vegan option. Since I’ve now updated the recipe, you don’t need to worry about it being at room temperature.
• Toppings: try freeze dried fruit as pictured, nuts or seeds (salted pistachios are excellent), coconut, orange or grapefruit zest, or even try swirling some hazelnut butter or another nut butter into the chocolate.
• Vanilla: a small amount of vanilla extract balances the flavours and makes the chocolate taste slightly sweeter and more complex. I highly recommend including it.
• Salt: a pinch of salt, like vanilla, balances the chocolate and makes it taste more interesting. Without salt it can be a bit flat.

How to Make Raw Chocolate

It’s important to use a double boiler to avoid over-heating the chocolate, which makes it grainy and can cause seizing and an unpleasant taste. This can be as simple as a stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water, as pictured, or a proper purpose-use double boiler.

Step 1: place the cocoa butter and honey into the bowl of a double boiler, or a heat-safe bowl like stainless steel or borosilicate glass. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. If your cocoa butter is in chunks, give it a rough chop first.

Step 2: heat until the cocoa butter has melted, then remove from the heat. You can take it off the heat just before the cocoa butter has fully melted and let the residual heat do the rest of the work.

Step 3: add the cacao, vanilla, and salt, and whisk to combine. Don’t worry about any lumps in the cacao. The heat will help it dissolve and it’ll incorporate easily into the mix.

Step 4: pour into a lined loaf tin or other mould. I often make dollops on a lined baking sheet if I don’t have an appropriate container on hand. Note that it won’t be as smooth as tempered chocolate, but that’s normal for raw chocolate.

Step 5: add any toppings you’d like while the chocolate is still warm and liquid. Freeze dried fruit is excellent, and you don’t need too much of it.

Step 6: chill the chocolate until it sets before slicing or breaking into pieces. Even when frozen, it will be slightly softer than tempered chocolate.

Expert Tips for the Best Chocolate

• Don’t worry about tempering: it’s raw, so by definition can’t be tempered. The texture will be much softer than tempered chocolate, without that characteristic snap, and it’s best stored in the freezer.
• No need to buy moulds: you can use metal moulds to make actual bars, or go for drops on parchment paper, or just pour the whole batch into a parchment lined container or ice cube tray for a more relaxed bar. That’s what I do, so there’s definitely no need to buy a mould if you want to make it yourself. It’s just more waste!
• Make it with cocoa: if you want to make chocolate but don’t want to pay the higher price tag for raw cacao, then go with normal cocoa powder. It’ll taste just as good, if not even more mild, and is a lot easier on the wallet. You lose some benefits but it’s still good!

Suggested Uses

Apart from eating your chocolate as is, you can use it in any treat that’ll be stored in the refrigerator. Peanut butter bars, bounty bars, or top your overnight oats with a couple squares. Top off your treats (like these peanut butter banana popsicles) with a drizzle of raw chocolate, and coat anything you like.

It makes a nice gift, too, as long as it doesn’t get too warm during transportation. I like to eat a bit of raw chocolate every day and then amp it up a bit when experiencing PMS symptoms. It works for me and might work for you too.

If you find that the chocolate is a bit too bitter for you, but you still want those vitamins, then try this dairy free hot chocolate instead. It’s still got the raw cacao and cacao butter, but with some plant based milk to round things out for a nice mild chocolate taste.

More No-Bake Chocolate Recipes

• Chocolate Coconut Balls
• Peanut Butter Chocolate N0-Bake Cookies
• Vegan Chocolate Mousse
• Chocolate Chia Mousse