Easy Vegan Hot Chocolate Mix

There’s nothing that screams winter like a comforting cup of cocoa. I warm up my favorite plant-based milk, add the mix, then mix it up with my handy dandy frother. Right now, that cup of milk is homemade cashew oat!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

When the weather outside is frightful, there’s nothing quite like a cozy mug of hot chocolate to warm your hands and soothe your soul. That said, pre-made mix cocoas are often filled with weird additives, milk products and cost far too much.

Luckily, I’ve discovered the secret to making the best hot cocoa mix around! Aside from being delectably rich and chocolatey, this simple recipe is:

• Quick & Easy – You only need 4 ingredients, 5 minutes, and a blender or food processor to make a batch.
• Budget-Friendly – Making your own hot chocolate mix costs mere pennies compared to the expensive (and wasteful!) packets they sell at the store.
• Endlessly Adaptable – Feel free to mix up your own mug of wintertime magic by adding your choice of spices or flavorings to the mix. Read on below for lots of ideas!

Ingredients & Substitutions

As promised, you only need a few basic pantry staples to make this dairy-free hot cocoa mix. Here’s what to grab:

• Rolled Oats – Oats add a marvelously rich and thick mouthfeel to the cocoa, making them a perfect swap for milk powder. If you are gluten-free, be sure to choose a bag that is certified GF. You can also swap in instant oats if needed! Can’t have lots? Use dry coconut milk or soy milk powder instead.
• Cocoa Powder – you can use any natural cocoa powder
• Coconut Sugar or Brown Sugar – You’re also welcome to use coconut sugar or any other *dry* sweetener of your choice. If you want to use a wet one, add to the cup with the mix. You can use mink fruit or stevia to make it sugar-free.
• Salt – A pinch of salt really makes the flavors come out, but you can leave it out if you are on a no-salt diet.

How Can I Use a Liquid Sweetener?

I would suggest that you add any liquid sweetener per cup rather than to the mix. Then you can use date syrup or paste, maple syrup, or any flavored simple syrup you might have on hand.

If you are insistent on adding it to the mix, you will need to dehydrate the mix and then blend again to get it dry enough to store and powdered enough for it to work well.

I Don’t Have Any Cocoa Powder – What Can I Do?

Well, you can just melt a good quality vegan chocolate chip or even vegan white chips to make white hot chocolate. Add that to your milk, then heat along with any flavor add-ins.