To make dairy-free hot chocolate, melt 100% cacao into a warm plant milk such as oat, coconut, almond or soy, or into plain hot water, and sweeten it to taste. Made with a plant milk and maple syrup, it is a vegan hot chocolate too.
We make ours with Alma Cacao pieces, whole cacao paste shaved small. Alma Cacao is one ingredient, 100% cacao, so it has no dairy ingredients; the milk you choose decides the rest. Its cacao butter gives the mug a creamy body without any cream.
Dairy-free hot chocolate recipe (1 mug, 5 minutes)
Makes 1 mug, about 8 oz. Heat about 180°F (82°C).
Ingredients
- 20 g cacao pieces (about 2 tablespoons)
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- ¾ cup (6 oz, 180 ml) unsweetened plant milk (see the guide below)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons maple syrup, or to taste
- A tiny pinch of fine salt, plus ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract if you like
Steps
- Melt the cacao in water, not milk. In a small saucepan over low heat, stir the pieces into the hot water until no bits remain. With only water in the pan, there is no milk to scorch while the cacao melts.
- Add the plant milk slowly. Over medium-low heat, whisk it in a splash at a time, and take the pan off at the first steam, about 180°F (82°C).
- Sweeten and froth. Off the heat, whisk in the maple syrup, salt and vanilla, then froth it (tips below).
This is the plant milk version of our cacao hot chocolate recipe, which has the full method and a microwave option. Prefer it unsweetened? See our sugar-free hot chocolate.
Make your own dairy-free hot cocoa mix
Fill a few small jars ahead, each with 20 g of cacao pieces, 2 teaspoons of coconut sugar and a pinch each of fine salt and cinnamon, then seal them and keep them cool and dark. For a mug, tip one jar into the pan with the hot water at step 1, then skip the maple syrup and salt in step 3.
The best plant milk for hot chocolate
Any unsweetened plant milk works. Here is how each one behaves:
| Plant milk | In the mug | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Oat | Usually the creamiest: smooth and full, a little sweet on its own | The easy all-rounder. Taste before you sweeten. |
| Coconut | Richest: canned coconut milk makes a thick, dessert-like mug with a coconut note | Use 1 part canned to 2 parts water or carton coconut milk. |
| Almond | Lightest: thin and nutty, so the cacao flavor comes through | For more body, use half almond and half oat milk. |
| Soy | Most protein: usually the closest to dairy milk in body and foam | Warm it gently: it can curdle if it gets too hot. |
By USDA figures, a cup of unsweetened soy milk has about 7 g of protein, against about 2 g in unsweetened oat milk and about 1 g in unsweetened almond milk. Canned coconut milk has about ten times the fat of the coconut milk drink sold in cartons, so a little goes a long way.
For a richer holiday mug, make a small, thick French hot chocolate with oat milk. If lactose is your only concern, lactose-free milk works too, but it is still a dairy milk, so the mug will not be dairy-free or vegan.
Hot chocolate with water (no milk needed)
You can make hot chocolate without milk at all, and whole cacao makes it surprisingly good. Cocoa powder in water tastes thin because most of its fat has been pressed out. Whole cacao brings its own: by USDA figures for unsweetened baking chocolate, the closest USDA match for 100% cacao, a 20 g mug carries about 10 g of cacao butter.
Whisk 20 g of pieces into 6 to 8 oz of water at about 180°F (82°C) until melted and frothy, then add 1 to 2 teaspoons of maple syrup and a pinch of salt. For a fuller mug, use half water and half plant milk. Water is also the traditional choice for cacao: see the traditional water method in our guide to making ceremonial cacao.
Is cocoa dairy-free? What to check on the label
Plain unsweetened cocoa powder is dairy-free by ingredients. US standards for cocoa allow a few extras, such as alkali, spices, flavorings and salt, but list no milk ingredients (21 CFR Part 163). So cocoa powder whisked into a plant milk makes a simple dairy-free or vegan hot cocoa.
Chocolate needs a closer look. The same standards allow butter or milkfat in unsweetened baking chocolate, and milk ingredients in many sweetened chocolates. So if you melt a chocolate bar or use a hot cocoa mix, read the label: in the US, labels must name milk when it is used to make the food, in the ingredient list or in a "Contains" statement (FDA).
"Non-dairy" on a label is not the same as dairy-free. A non-dairy creamer, for example, can contain sodium caseinate, which the ingredient list must identify as coming from milk (21 CFR 101.4(d)). If you have a milk allergy, check with the maker.
How to froth dairy-free hot chocolate
- Froth at the end, off the heat. Hold a milk frother just under the surface and tilt the pan so the liquid covers the whisk head. No frother? A balloon whisk and a minute of brisk whisking will do.
- Choose a milk that foams. Soy and oat milk usually hold a foam best. Plant milks sold for coffee, often labeled barista, are made to froth and to handle heat.
- Use a blender for café-style foam. Start on low and follow your blender's instructions for hot liquids.
Vegan hot chocolate, top to bottom
- Sweeten with maple syrup, date syrup or coconut sugar rather than honey.
- Top with whipped coconut cream: chill a can of full-fat coconut milk overnight, then whisk the firm cream from the top until fluffy.
- Check the extras. Many marshmallows contain gelatin and some sauces contain milk, so read the label.
Good to know: a mug made with 20 g of cacao has about 16 to 32 mg of caffeine. The low figure is USDA's; published lab data for baking chocolate run about twice as high, because cacao varies from bean to bean. Cacao also contains theobromine. Theobromine is a mild stimulant, so people sensitive to caffeine or other stimulants may feel it. If you are pregnant or nursing, take medication or manage a health condition, check with your healthcare provider first. Cacao and chocolate are toxic to dogs, so keep your cup out of reach. More on how much caffeine is in cacao.
Common questions
Which plant milk makes the creamiest hot chocolate?
Oat milk usually makes the creamiest everyday dairy-free hot chocolate: smooth and full-bodied, with a mild sweetness of its own. For a richer mug, mix in canned coconut milk, about one part to three parts oat milk. Almond milk gives the lightest cup, and soy milk tends to have the most milk-like body.
Can you make hot chocolate with water instead of milk?
Yes. Melt 20 g of 100% cacao into 6 to 8 oz of water at about 180°F (82°C), whisk until frothy and sweeten to taste. Because whole cacao keeps its cacao butter, a water-based mug still tastes smooth, while cocoa powder in water tends to taste thin.
Is cacao paste dairy-free?
Yes, by ingredients. Cacao paste made from 100% cacao is ground cacao beans and nothing else. Its fat, cacao butter, comes from the bean, not from milk, despite the name. Check the label on any chocolate or mix you add, and if you have a milk allergy, check with the maker.
Does plant milk split in hot chocolate?
It can, mostly when it gets too hot. Melt the cacao in a little hot water first, add the plant milk a splash at a time and warm it only until it steams (about 180°F). A plant milk made for coffee also helps. Hard whisking can hide small specks, but curdled milk will not turn fully smooth again. A greasy film is different: usually cacao butter that separated from too much heat, which frothing tends to mix back in.
How Alma Cacao fits in
Alma Cacao is ceremonial cacao made for cups like this one: 100% whole cacao paste with nothing added, shaved small so the pieces melt into hot water or plant milk in about a minute. It is single-origin, from native communities of the Peruvian Amazon, traditionally fermented, sun-dried, stone ground and made in small batches. It is tested for heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury) by an ISO 17025 accredited lab and made in a GMP certified facility.
New to it? The ½ lb Starter makes about 11 mugs of this recipe, and the 1 lb size, our most popular, about 22. US orders over $99 ship free.
