Do you have 10 minutes? If so, then you have time to make yourself a decadent and rich mug of vegan hot chocolate. Here is my base recipe with three optional variations: Mexican-style, Mocha, and Peppermint!
Warm drinks are a fixture of the holiday season and hot chocolate is definitely a perennial favorite. This recipe is not one of those thin and watery versions. Rather, it is creamy and thick with the richness of a drinking chocolate and features a deep cocoa flavor. I often like to drink it less sweet and with a pinch more of salt but the recipe below is for a classic sweetness level.
As chocolate is the main flavor here, you’ll want to use a good quality dark chocolate. A higher percentage of cacao in the chocolate translates to a deeper and more pleasantly bitter taste. If you prefer a more traditional style of hot chocolate, use a dark chocolate with a lower cacao percentage.
I’ve included some fun variations to this base recipe. Instant espresso powder makes a hot chocolate mocha coffeehouse drink, cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper make for a spicy and warming Mexican-inspired version, and cool peppermint extract creates a festive holiday favorite.
Don’t be limited by these flavor suggestions! Why not add some orange zest and candied orange bits or swirl in some raspberry coulis or drizzle with some salted caramel sauce.
- 2 cups soy milk, plain or vanilla
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder (I used dutch-process cocoa)
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar, more or less to taste (also depends on the sweetness of the chocolate you use*)
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 2oz (55g) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the soy milk, cocoa powder, cornstarch, sugar, and salt.
- Add in the coconut oil, and chopped dark chocolate and whisk occasionally as the mixture comes up to a boil.
- Once the mixture starts to boil, you will notice that it thickens slightly. Let it boil for 30 seconds then remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Take a taste for sweetness and adjust as desired.
- Pour into serving mugs, garnish as desired, and serve.
-If you're using an unsweetened soy milk, go ahead and add an extra teaspoon of sugar to the recipe to achieve the same level of sweetness. Keep in mind the sweetness of the chocolate. Some dark chocolates contain a lot of sugar so you may not even need to add any additional sugar at all.
-Garnish your hot chocolate with steamed and frothed soy milk, whipped coconut cream, shaved chocolate, or a dusting of cocoa powder.
- Add 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder or 1½ teaspoons of freeze-dried coffee granules
- Add ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch or two of cayenne pepper
- Add ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon pure peppermint extract, depends on the strength of your extract
You have a very beautiful and interesting blog, I like it! 🙂
Have you tried oat milk? It’s my new discovery. I really don’t like the taste of soy milk, so oat milk comes to the rescue. Plus it’s super creamy, perfect for a scrumptious cup of cocoa!
Thank you so much Aryane! You know, I tend to forget about oat milk. I don’t know why because it really is delicious. After I read your comment, I made a batch of oat milk and used it to make this recipe (ahem…for “research” purposes 🙂 )—it worked great! Thank you for the reminder and I’ll update the recipe with your suggestion!
hello omar,
Clean website with no clutter, easy navigation, crisp layout, nice fonts , nice easy recipes in the basics section. Very impressive.
Thumbs up to u for responding to queries in the comments section.
Keep up the good work!
Regards,
Estelle
Mumbai, India
Thank you, Estelle! I’m glad you like the website and find it to be informative. Please let me know if there is anything else you’d like to see, recipes or otherwise!
Omg this totally looks like food porn. Writed in my must try list, as other recipes of your blog.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Haha Sofia, that first picture IS a bit over the top! Let me know how you like the recipes or if there is anything you’re interested in seeing “veganized” 🙂
Wow! So I have printed out about 5 recipes so far! Everything sounds delicious and I cannot wait to try them. I wanted to ask you, for this hot chocolate recipe if it would be possible to substitute the coconut oil with another type of oil (or no oil at all)? I am unfortunately allergic to coconut oil, but hot chocolate has to be one of my most favorite hot drinks and having a vegan option would be wonderful!
Thank you so much!
Thanks so much for your kind words Hannah! I’m sorry I took forever to respond. I actually saw this message when I was in Hawaii, then I went to Greece, then life happened haha! But better late than never! You can totally make this without the coconut oil. It just adds another layer of decadence to it. Just omit it and proceed with the recipe. The cornstarch helps give a nice mouth feel even without the coco oil! 😀