When winter hits, it's all about comfort food and things to keep us warm. If you're Canadian (or if you get a cold winter where you live!), then you and/or your kids probably like to have hot chocolate after coming in from sledding, skating, snow fort making, or shovelling.
It's a nice, sweet treat and the bonus is that it helps to get us warm again, quickly! This creamy vegan hot chocolate recipe is our favourite hot chocolate recipe, for many reasons.
My family and I spent a good part of the day outdoors, a few days ago.
Those who know me well, know this is not my ideal way to spend my time during the winter (ha!). But it was a really beautiful day.
The sun was shining and the temperature was nicer than it had been in a long time, so we took advantage and spent a good part of the morning sledding at a nearby hill, and after we got home, the kids built a snowman.
After being outside in the cold, it's kind of a tradition for us to warm up with hot chocolate. But being me, "classic hot chocolate" isn't going to cut it.
My hot chocolate goes a step beyond. It's dairy-free hot chocolate, of course, and it contains delicious coconut milk. I call it my "Decadent Creamy Vegan Hot Chocolate."
Sure, you can buy a pre-made mix, add it to your non-dairy milk, and call it a day, but taking the extra minute or two to make it from scratch is so worth the extra effort. (And when you read the recipe, you'll see that there is not a whole lot of extra effort needed!)
So what exactly makes this creamy vegan hot chocolate so creamy? It's all thanks to one special ingredient: thick, rich coconut milk.
You can use either full fat or light coconut milk (we're talking the canned stuff here, not the refrigerated stuff you buy in cartons).
Using the full fat coconut milk thickens the hot chocolate slightly and makes it extra creamy. Yum...treat yo'self for braving the cold!
Once you make your hot chocolate, you can enjoy it as-is with a cookie (or two!) a muffin, or just on its own.
Or you can make it extra special by topping it with coconut whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon or cocoa powder, a drizzle of chocolate or maple caramel sauce, or you can have it the classic way with vegan marshmallows (I love Dandies brand!)
Once you have your creamy vegan hot chocolate prepared, get under a blanket and you'll be warmed up in no time.
Whether you've just come in from the cold outdoors or not.
If you like this recipe, then you'll probably like these too!
- Decadent Vegan Peppermint Hot Chocolate
- Oat Milk Hot Chocolate
- Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Mint Doughnuts
- Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate Banana Coconut Chia Pudding
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies
Oh, and those cookies in the photos? Those are my Chewy Vegan Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies cookies 🙂
Pin this recipe for later and if you make this easy vegan hot chocolate (or the gingerbread cookies!), share a pic with me on Instagram 🙂
Creamy Vegan Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup coconut milk (full fat or light, see note below)
- 4 ½ teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- sweetener of choice, to taste
- coconut whip (optional)
- cinnamon, cocoa powder, or chocolate sauce for garnish (optional)
Instructions:
- Heat non-dairy milk and coconut milk in a small pot. Heat until steaming but not boiling.
- Whisk in cocoa powder.
- Add sweetener to taste, stir.
- If using coconut whip, add to the top.
- If garnishing with cinnamon, sprinkle on top.
Recipe Notes:
- Recipe makes 1 ¼ cups of hot chocolate. Double or triple as needed.
- You can use either canned full fat or light coconut milk (not the refrigerated coconut milk you buy in cartons). Using the full fat coconut milk thickens the hot chocolate slightly and makes it extra creamy.
- I love Dandies marshmallows, they are 100% vegan, taste amazing, and so perfect with hot chocolate!
- Nutrition info listed below is for hot chocolate made with unsweetened almond milk, full fat canned coconut milk, no garnishes, and no sweetener (since sweetener calorie counts have a wide range of calorie counts, depending on what kind is used). Click Click here to find out how nutrition data is determined on this website.
Nutrition Info:
This Creamy Vegan Hot Chocolate recipe was originally published on March 11, 2015. Images were updated January 2018.
Teresa says
I'm sending this one to my partner (a vegan) - he loves hot chocolate, but isn't thrilled with the vegan almond milk variety.
Gwen says
I think he'll like this one, especially if he likes coconut milk!