Vegan Hot Cocoa
Delicious vegan hot cocoa topped with coconut whipped cream and a luxurious chocolate drizzle.
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A delicious treat during the winter season, vegan hot cocoa is rich, sweet, and warms your soul. It’s a comforting drink that is basically necessary during the stress of the holidays.
Between hot cocoa & my friend Lisa’s blog The Stress-Free Christmas we are bound to have a much more relaxing season.
Perhaps not surprisingly, hot cocoa is incredibly easy to make vegan. Cocoa is inherently vegan, so all you need to do is substitute your favorite non-dairy milk.
Hot cocoa is delicious on its own, but if you want to step it up and make it a decadent dessert, I love putting vegan whipped cream and chocolate syrup on mine (recipes for both below!) You might even be able to find vegan marshmallows – Trader Joe’s carries some or you can buy vegan marshmallows on Amazon.
Ingredients
For the full, printable recipe, see the recipe card below.
- Non-dairy milk: Choose your favorite! I usually prefer plain oat milk.
- Sugar
- Cocoa powder: Unsweetened
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Optional: Vegan Whipped Cream
- Optional chocolate syrup: maple syrup and cocoa powder
How to Make Vegan Hot Cocoa
- Add all of the ingredients except for the vanilla extract to a pot. Turn the stove to medium heat, and warm up the mixture. Whisk while cooking. Once the liquid heats up, the cocoa will mix in and dissolve.
- Don’t boil the mixture. Heat until the hot cocoa is warmed to your preferred temperature and all of the ingredients are dissolved.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Top with some vegan whipped cream, drizzle with chocolate syrup and sprinkle some chocolate shavings on top.
Dairy-Free Whipped Cream
For homemade whipped cream, I recommend making it from a can of coconut cream. Here are the instructions for Whipped Coconut Cream.
There are also some really great store-bought options! Reddi Whip came out with TWO non-dairy whipped toppings in Almond and Coconut. They are both heavenly but I really love the coconut version. Another option is CocoWhip which can be found in the frozen section (this is harder for me to find, but Whole Foods usually carries it.)
Make a Mix
If you’re a true chocolate lover, creating a vegan hot cocoa mix will make things much easier. Mixes also make for great holiday gifts!
To a mason jar, add:
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Whisk or shake until well combined and top with a lid. This mix will make 6 mugs of hot cocoa.
Write these instructions on a label secured to the jar: “For one serving, stir ¼ cup of mix with 1½ cup non-dairy milk. Heat until warm. Remove from heat. Stir in ¼ tsp vanilla extract.”
Vegan Hot Cocoa
Ingredients
Hot Cocoa
- 3 cups non-dairy milk choose your favorite
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whipped Cream
Chocolate Syrup
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Instructions
Hot Cocoa
- Add all of the ingredients except for the vanilla extract to a pot. Turn the stove to medium heat, and warm up the mixture. Whisk while cooking. Once the liquid heats up, the cocoa will mix in and dissolve.
- Don't boil the mixture. Heat until the hot cocoa is warmed to your preferred temperature and all of the ingredients are dissolved.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Carefully pour or ladle in your favorite mug!
- Top with some vegan whipped cream, drizzle with chocolate syrup and sprinkle some chocolate shavings on top.
Chocolate Syrup
- Whisk together the cocoa powder and maple syrup until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated. Warm up if desired.
Notes
- You can substitute the cane sugar with maple syrup or agave – whatever you like. The amount may vary.
- To adjust the serving size, hover over the serving size number at the top of the recipe card.
- Nutrition facts do not include toppings.
This is an excellent recipe, and have shared it with several family members who’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. My grandkids love it, too. Warm and soothing, not overly sweet and just the right amount of cocoa to make you smile! Thanks for sharing!