Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate
Get cozy with a hot mug of Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate. This creamy and chocolatey drink is the ultimate hot cocoa drink for a cold day. Everyone loves this milk-free hot cocoa recipe!
Once the weather gets chilly, a homemade hot chocolate using clean ingredients is a welcome treat. With just five simple ingredients, you’re only 10 minutes away from this creamy chocolate drink.
I use creamy oat milk or almond milk to make the perfect cup of hot chocolate, but you can use whatever type of non-dairy milk you like.
Simply simmer all of the ingredients together and then enjoy warm with coconut or rice milk whipped cream. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season or warm up on a chilly day.
Key Ingredients
- Oat milk – Any plant-based milk will work in this recipe, but homemade oat milk has a thick and creamy texture. Feel free to use your favorite option including unsweetened almond milk, soy milk, cashew milk, hemp milk, coconut beverage, or even full-fat coconut milk.
- Cocoa powder – If you prefer a milk chocolate flavor use regular unsweetened cocoa powder. If you like a darker and richer chocolate flavor use Dutch-processed cocoa. You can also use raw cacao powder too for the ultimate in dark chocolate flavor.
- Maple syrup – If you don’t have pure maple syrup you can also use regular sugar, coconut sugar, or brown sugar. Maple syrup is great because it doesn’t need to dissolve since it’s already a liquid and it’s full of antioxidants. It’s also less refined than cane sugar.
Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact measurements.
Recipe Steps
Step One: In a small or medium saucepan, heat up your dairy-free milk.
Step Two: Whisk in the cocoa powder, maple syrup, and other ingredients (see recipe card below).
Step Three: Whisk until combined and simmering.
Step Four: Pour into a mug and serve hot.
Top with whipped cream and enjoy. If you want to keep this hot drink dairy-free, use a dairy-free whipped cream option like rice whipped cream or coconut whipped cream.
You can also add vegan marshmallows if you prefer. See my article that answers the question, “are marshmallows dairy-free?”
I hope you agree that this oat milk hot chocolate is full of rich chocolate flavor and satisfies anyone’s sweet tooth.
Recipe Benefits
- This oat milk hot chocolate is not heavy but just as indulgent as versions made with whole milk or heavy cream. It’s also a whole lot healthier than using packaged and processed hot cocoa packets or any hot chocolate mix. There’s nothing like homemade.
- This version is sweetened with maple syrup as opposed to refined sugar. Even though hot cocoa is a sweet treat doesn’t mean it has to be unhealthy. While maple syrup still contains plenty of sugar, it’s a natural sweetener full of antioxidants and nutrients.
- You can whip it up in 10 minutes. Everyone loves this healthy hot chocolate recipe, especially during cold weather.
Recipe FAQs
Toppings are half the fun of a delicious cup of hot chocolate. Whipped cream or marshmallows are always delicious but you can also add sprinkles, crushed peppermints, chocolate syrup or shavings, toffee bits, caramel sauce, sea salt, or crushed up cookies!
Yes, cocoa powder does contain caffeine which means so does hot chocolate. Each tablespoon of cocoa powder has about 12 mg of caffeine.
This recipe uses cocoa powder instead of a chocolate bar which helps reduce the calories and fat content. So, I recommend using cocoa powder or cacao powder instead of a chocolate bar or chocolate chips.
Yes! You can make this recipe sugar-free by replacing the maple syrup with a natural low-glycemic sweetener like monk fruit, erythritol, or stevia. Start with just a little bit and adjust to taste, since some are sweeter than sugar. Mix it in while the milk is warm to help it dissolve evenly.
The cocoa powder you use will change the flavor of your hot chocolate. Natural cocoa (non-alkalized) creates a classic, lighter chocolate taste. Dutch-processed cocoa is richer and smoother, making the drink taste more like café-style hot chocolate. Raw cacao powder gives the darkest, most intense flavor. Any of these work and can be used interchangeably.
“Barista-style” oat milk and soy milk froth the best for dairy-free drinks. Almond milk froths lightly, while coconut milk also makes a thick, creamy foam.
I hope you make this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a starred review below.
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Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate Recipe
Get cozy with a hot mug of Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate. This creamy and chocolatey drink is the ultimate hot cocoa drink for a cold day. Everyone loves this milk-free hot cocoa recipe!
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened dairy-free milk (I like almond milk or coconut beverage)
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder or cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- Coconut whipped cream (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, pour in the plant milk.
- Whisk in the cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla, and sea salt.
- Let the mixture come to a simmer, then turn off the heat and serve the hot chocolate immediately.
- Feel free to top your mug of hot chocolate with a dollop of whipped cream.
Notes
- If your plant milk is already sweetened, then leave out the maple syrup.
- You can use either prepared or homemade oat milk for this recipe.
- Look for prepared coconut or rice milk whipped cream in the refrigerator section of most grocery stores. Or, if you aren’t dairy-free, you can use regular whipped cream.
- If you don’t have maple syrup you can also use white or brown sugar in it’s place. It will need to dissolve as it simmers though.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Beverage
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 of recipe
- Calories: 118
- Sugar: 12.4 g
- Sodium: 190.6 mg
- Fat: 4.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.3 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 3.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Shelf-Stable Version
You can easily turn this recipe into a convenient powdered hot chocolate mix that only requires hot water to prepare.
This powdered version is shelf-stable, great for gifting, and perfect for keeping on hand for quick, dairy-free hot chocolate anytime.
- Combine cocoa powder with coconut milk powder, a natural sweetener such as coconut or maple sugar, and a pinch of salt, then store the blend in an airtight jar.
- To serve, stir about three tablespoons of the mix into a cup of hot water or warm oat milk.
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About the Author: Carrie Forrest has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition and is a certified holistic nutritionist. She is a top wellness and food blogger with over 5 million annual visitors to her site. Carrie has an incredible story of recovery from chronic illness and is passionate about helping other women transform their health. Send her a message through her contact form.
This drink is my new morning obsession. I LOVE it!