Is there any better way to end your day than with a big mug of hot chocolate? This homemade Oat Milk Hot Chocolate is such a quick and easy way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Similar to our Oat Milk Pumpkin Spice Latte, it's dairy-free, vegan and only requires a couple of simple ingredients. Topped with some Plant Based Whipped Cream it has become my all time favorite hot drink, especially during these cold fall and winter months.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's a comforting, warm drink with a super chocolatey flavour!
- It's dairy-free and vegan.
- It contains less sugar than regular hot chocolate drinks.
- It takes only 5 minutes to prepare!
How to Make Oat Milk Hot Chocolate
Step 1: Combine oat milk, cocoa powder & sugar
Add oat milk, cocoa powder and sugar to a small saucepan and let simmer on low heat for about 2 minutes. Make sure to constantly keep stirring with a whisk to avoid bigger lumps!
Step 2: Add chocolate
Add chocolate chips (or chocolate pieces) and let simmer for 2 more minutes. Again, while constantly stirring.
Step 3: Serve with toppings of choice
Ingredients & Substitution Notes
- Oat Milk: You could make this hot chocolate with oatmilk or almond milk or any other plant milk. I tried using plant drinks such as almond or soy milk but for this recipe I definitely prefer oat milk. It's naturally sweeter than other types of plant milks. I used the Oatly Barista Milk (which is an unsweetened oat milk).
- Cocoa Powder: I used unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe.
- Chocolate Chips: I used vegan chocolate chips. You could also use chopped pieces of dark (vegan) chocolate instead, no need to buy the chocolate chips! The combination of cocoa powder and chocolate chips is responsible for the chocolatey taste of this drink!
- Brown Sugar: Feel free to use any type of sugar (coconut sugar, white sugar…) other sweetener of choice such as maple syrup or agave syrup.
(Vegan) Toppings and Add-Ins
- Vegan Whipped Cream: Can easily be made at home within less than 10 seconds. Or choose store-bought whipped cream instead.
- Caramel Sauce: Try my 2-Ingredient Vegan Caramel Sauce as a topping! I promise you won't regret it!
- Cacao Nibs: Top your hot chocolate with chocolate chips or grated dark chocolate for some additional super chocolate flavor!
- Marshmallows: Marshmallows are another very popular hot chocolate topping. To keep this recipe vegan, make sure to opt for vegan marshmallows.
- Cinnamon Powder: Will slightly change the taste of this recipes but can make a great addition to it.
- Vanilla: Similar to cinnamon powder results in a different taste. If you like vanilla, add a dash of vanilla extract and see how you like it!
- Peppermint Extract
FAQs
This depends on the recipe. This one contains less sugar than most regular hot chocolate drinks and also doesn't contain additives such as whole milk powder.
Finding the perfect dairy-free milk can be a challenge. I prefer the Oatly Oat Milk Barista Edition. It's a Scandinavian brand that I discovered and fell in love with during my stay in Norway. We also use it for our coffee because it froths up really nicely! Additionally it has got some vitamins and nutrients added such calcium, vitamin A, B12 and D3.
Yes, it does have some amounts of caffeine because cacao beans contain caffeine. The exact amount of caffeine though depends on the brand (the darker the chocolate, the higher the caffeine content) you use and the size of your cup. In terms of actual numbers, a cup of brewed coffee contains between 80-350mg of caffeine whereas a cup of hot chocolate contains between 10-70mg.
This depends on the milk and chocolate powder you use. This recipe is vegan friendly!
Recipes To Try With Hot Chocolate
- Hot Chocolate with Cocoa Powder
- 5-Ingredient Vegan Banana Bread
- Vegan Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Peanutbutter Chocolate Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
- Eggless Almond Cake (Vegan)
- Vegan Rocky Road
- Vegan Chocolate Brownies
- Almond Milk Overnight Oats
- Chocolate Milk with Cocoa Powder
Oat Milk Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 2 cups oat milk
- 3 teaspoon cocoa powder *unsweetened
- 3 teaspoon brown sugar
- 3 teaspoon (vegan) chocolate chips
- pinch of salt *optional
Instructions
- Add oat milk, cocoa powder and sugar to a small saucepan.
- Let simmer for about 2 minutes on medium to low heat while constantly stirring with a whisk.
- Once fully dissolved, add chocolate chips and let simmer for another 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt if your prefer adding it!
- Keep stirring to avoid any lumps!
- Serve with toppings of choice such as this homemade vegan whipped cream and enjoy with a big slice of my 5-Ingredient Vegan Banana Bread!
Video
Notes
- Oat Milk: I used the Oatly Barista (unsweetened).
- Brown Sugar: Feel free to use any type of sugar (coconut sugar, white sugar…) other sweetener of choice such as maple syrup or agave syrup. For a sugar-free version, choose stevia instead.
- Chocolate Chips: Or chopped up pieces of chocolate.
Elle says
Yummy! So easy and lovely in a cold day!
Katie says
Very happy to hear that you liked it!
Kenny says
Love this recipe. As-is is great but I doubled the amount of chocolate chips for a more decadent experience.
Katie says
Thanks for the feedback Kenny! Happy to hear that you liked it 🙂