Rich and Creamy Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate

I’m allergic to dairy but love hot chocolate. Standard dairy-free hot chocolate doesn’t really measure up to the drink I remember, especially the thin, watery versions usually offered in shops. This recipe, though, is something different – with cocoa butter melted into non-dairy milk to create something luxurious, with that creamy texture that’s usually missing from the vegan versions of hot chocolate.

It tastes great without, too, but the cocoa butter is what turns this drink into chocolate instead of cocoa water (traditional cacao drinks are unsweetened and made with water, but that’s something different from modern hot chocolate). Blending after heating makes this into a rich, light drink with a foam top. You could also top with coconut whipped cream or vegan marshmallows for an even more decadent drink.

I make this a couple times a week in winter and just about every day during the holidays. It’s a nice little evening treat, and can be made without the cocoa butter, as I often do. Making your own hot chocolate from scratch is such a nice way to make it exactly to your taste, adjusting sweetness, adding spices, or using more or less cocoa.

I first shared this recipe in 2019. It’s been updated with improvements to the recipe instructions and slight improvements to the recipe, new photos, including step-by-step photos, and more helpful information.

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Ingredients You’ll Need and Why

A couple extras make this into a delicious drink rather than an ordinary one – a tiny pinch of salt, a good amount of vanilla, and of course the cocoa butter. These are my notes from testing and you can find the full recipe card below.

• Sweetener: for vegan hot chocolate, sweeten with maple syrup. You could also use date syrup, but I find that granulated sugar doesn’t mix in as well, so it’s best to stick to a liquid sweetener.
• Milk: other non-dairy milks work well in place of oat milk. Nut-based milks like cashew are great and I often use soya milk. Coconut milk is good, but very rich, and can be a bit overwhelming.
• Cocoa powder: raw cacao and regular baking cocoa powder can be used interchangeably. Note that baking cocoa has a smoother flavour and that raw cacao is slightly more bitter. Use dutch process for the smoothest hot chocolate. Don’t mix up cocoa powder and hot cocoa mix. Read the ingredients to make sure, as the drink mix will have sugar and usually milk powder added, and you’ll end up with a very sweet drink.
• Cocoa butter: if you can’t get cocoa butter, don’t worry! Just sub dark chocolate in place of it and the cocoa powder. I add them individually here because it makes it easier to really control the level of sweetness in the hot chocolate, but of course you can use chocolate instead. Replace the cocoa butter with an equal amount of dark chocolate, leave out the cocoa powder, and sweeten to taste.
• Vanilla: to use vanilla extract instead of powder, heat it with the milk. This will help to reduce any slight alcohol taste from the extract.

How to Make Homemade Hot Chocolate

This can all be done in one little pot, using either an immersion blender or a whisk. I’ve never tried making it in the microwave but that should be possible, heating in short bursts.

Step 1: heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a low boil boil, then remove from the heat and add the cocoa butter. Set aside until the cocoa butter has melted. Heating the cocoa butter too much can burn it.

Step 2: once the cocoa butter is melted, add the cocoa powder, maple syrup or honey, vanilla, and salt. Start with less cocoa if you want a sweeter hot chocolate that’s more like milk chocolate and add more later if needed. As written this makes a fairly dark hot chocolate.

Step 3: mix with an immersion blender until very foamy and completely emulsified. If under-mixed, the cocoa won’t fully incorporate and the hot chocolate will be grainy. If whisking by hand, you’ll need to whisk briskly for at least a minute.

Step 4: serve hot as is or topped with whipped cream or marshmallows. Be sure to taste before serving and add more honey if you want a sweeter drink.

Expert Tips for the Best Hot Chocolate

• Blend for the best results: I highly recommend using an immersion blender to mix the hot chocolate if you have one. It creates the foam you see in the photos and really ensures a good emulsification. Something like a milk foamer might also work.
• Make it without an immersion blender: if you don’t have an immersion blender, either whisk like mad or use a heat-safe blender.
• Use store-bought if needed: homemade oat milk has a tendency to thicken slightly when heated. I don’t mind that here as I find it loosens up again when blended with the other ingredients, but go for store-bought if you want to avoid the chance of thick cocoa.
• Sweeten to taste: you can make a sugar-free hot chocolate if you’d like, as the sweetener isn’t an integral part of the recipe. Add as much as works for you.
• Mix very well: if it’s not properly mixed, you’ll end up with the cocoa butter floating to the surface of your drink and that’s not very pleasant.

4.75 from 4 votes

Deluxe Dairy Free Hot Chocolate

Author: Alexandra Daum

Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

Print Recipe

Description

This dairy-free hot chocolate is made with oat milk, enriched with cocoa butter, and sweetened with maple syrup or honey. Cocoa powder adds a deep chocolate flavour, with a touch of vanilla and a tiny pinch of sea salt to round it out.

Ingredients

• ▢ 500 ml (2 cups) non-dairy milk I usually use homemade oat or soya milk
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cocoa butter about 25 grams, optional
• ▢ 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey, to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder
• ▢ Tiny pinch sea salt

Instructions

• Heat the oat milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a low boil, then remove from the heat and add the cocoa butter.
  500 ml (2 cups) non-dairy milk, 2 tablespoons cocoa butter
• Cover and set aside until the cocoa butter has melted.
• Once the cocoa butter is melted, add the cocoa butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt.
  3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, Tiny pinch sea salt
• Mix with an immersion blender until very foamy and completely emulsified, about 30 seconds. Serve hot, as is or topped with coconut whipped cream or marshmallows. Be sure to taste for sweetness before serving and adjust to personal preference.

Notes

• If you don’t have an immersion blender, either whisk like mad or use a heat-safe blender.

Make sure the cocoa butter you’re using is meant to be eaten, and not for something like soap-making. Some grocery stores will sell it with the baking items.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 77mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 14g

Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.