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Gift your friends and family a mug of hot cocoa with this Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix! It’s made with just 3 ingredients in 5 minutes and is the perfect winter DIY. Wrap with our free, printable gifting tag for the ultimate homemade holiday gift!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Dutch processed cocoa powder: Unlike regular cocoa powder, Dutch processed cocoa powder has been treated with an alkalizing agent that helps neutralize the acidity, increased its solubility and reduces the bitterness. It’s also a darker, richer brown color and makes for a richer colored hot chocolate mix.
- Sugar: We like to use coconut sugar because it’s a bit more nutritious than regular granulated sugars and adds a natural caramel undertone to the hot chocolate.
- Chocolate chips: To keep this homemade mix vegan and dairy-free, opt for dark chocolate chips. One of our favorite brands is EnjoyLife because it’s always vegan and allergen friendly.
Possible Ingredient Substitutions
- Cocoa substitutes: Swap the Dutch processed cocoa powder for regular cocoa powder or cacao powder.
- Sugar substitutes: Replace the coconut sugar with light brown sugar or granulated cane sugar as needed. Using liquid sweeteners is not recommended as doing so will make this homemade mix perishable.
- Chocolate chip substitutes: If you don’t have access to dairy-free dark chocolate chips at your local grocery store, swap them out for a chopped dairy-free, dark chocolate bar. Or as a last resort, make your own Homemade Vegan Chocolate Bar from scratch!
Equipment Needed
- Food processor or high powered blender
- Glass storage jar or similar airtight container
- Medium pot (for making hot chocolate)
- Whisk (for making hot chocolate)
How to Make Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
- Process the chocolate ingredients into a powder. Add the cacao powder, coconut sugar, dark chocolate and salt to a food processor or blender. Blend all of the ingredients together until uniform.
- Transfer to an airtight jar. Carefully transfer the chocolate powder to an airtight container such as a mason jar.
- Top with marshmallows. Fill the remainder of the jar with mini marshmallows, if desired.
- Seal tightly. When making a homemade mix, it’s very important to store in an air-tight container. If the chocolate and marshmallows are exposed to air, they will dry out and spoil much faster.
- Attach the gifting tag. If you are making this hot chocolate mix for your loved ones this holiday season, Download the Holiday Instructions Tag Here!
How to Make Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe
- Combine the hot chocolate mix and milk. In a medium pot over medium heat, whisk 3 tablespoons of the hot chocolate mix with 1 cup of non-dairy milk of choice.
- Bring to a low boil. Heat the hot chocolate, uncovered, until it heats to a low boil.
- Remove from the heat. Once the warm milk begins to boil, remove the hot chocolate from the heat, whisk well to combine, then pour into your favorite mug.
- Serve. Garnish your creamy hot chocolate with your favorite topping ingredients (like So Delicious CocoWhip!) and enjoy immediately while hot.
Hot Chocolate Topping Ideas
The toppings really help turn this hot chocolate mix into a decadent cup of hot chocolate. If you only pick a few toppings, we highly recommend a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of crushed candy canes.
- Mini vegan marshmallows
- Homemade Coconut Whipped Cream or store-bought (we love So Delicious!)
- Candy canes
- Vegan Caramel Drizzle or melted chocolate
- Chocolate shavings
- Cinnamon or nutmeg
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch of salt
What do you serve with Hot Chocolate?
Hot chocolate is a classic, cozy beverage you can enjoy on its own or with additional sweet treats during the holiday season. We love sipping on a mug of cocoa with our favorite cookies and holiday desserts. Here are a few of our favorites from the blog:
Breakfasts
holiday cookies
other desserts
If you’re serving this hot chocolate at a holiday party, pick a few of our favorite desserts and give your guests an array of options to choose from! You can also create a hot chocolate bar and set out a few of the topping suggestions for everyone to make their hot chocolate to their own taste.
Storage Instructions
This homemade hot chocolate mix should keep for up to 2 months at room temperature in a cool, dry place. If the powdery mix is exposed to warmer temperatures (like a humid climate) or direct sunlight, it can spoil much faster.
If you notice any signs of spoilage, always err on the side of caution and discard.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! We don’t have a specific recipe for hot chocolate bombs, but you can fill any hot chocolate bomb shell with 1-2 tablespoons of this hot chocolate mix and a few mini vegan marshmallows.
Cocoa powder is pure, unsweetened chocolate that has been ground into a powder form. Hot cocoa mix, on the other hand, is typically cocoa powder mixed with sugar. For this reason, the two cannot be used interchangeably.
Traditional hot chocolate is very rich and indulgent. This hot cocoa mix can be made into hot chocolate using either milk or water, but if you want a rich, indulgent flavor, we highly recommend using milk.
More DIY Gift Ideas You May Enjoy:
- Vegan Chai Spiced Hot Cocoa Mix – a chia spiced version loaded with flavor!
- Easy Chocolate Covered Strawberries – perfect for any holiday and so simple to make.
- Easy Vegan Holiday Chocolate Bark – a beautiful and easy recipe to make.
- Lentil & Split Pea Soup Mix – Show someone how much you care with this lentil and split pea soup mix.
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!
Print
Easy Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: About 7 servings
Description
Gift your friends and family a mug of hot cocoa with this Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix! It’s made with just 3 ingredients in 5 minutes and is the perfect winter DIY. Wrap with our free, printable gifting tag for the ultimate homemade holiday gift!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (75g) dutch processed cocoa powder (regular cocoa powder or cacao powder work as well)
- 1/2 cup (120g) coconut sugar (or sub sugar of your choice)
- 3 tablespoons (1.2 oz) dark chocolate chips or chunks
- Optioanl: Pinch of salt
We like to serve it with:
- So Delicious Almondmilk with Cashew
- So Delicious Cocowhip or Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream (2-Ingredients)
- Garnishes such as crushed vegan candycanes, crushed shaved dark chocolate and/or cinnamon
Instructions
- Chop the dark chocolate into small chunks if needed. Add the cacao powder, coconut sugar, dark chocolate and salt to a food processor or high speed blender and blend all of the ingredients together until uniform.
- Carefully transfer to an air-tight container or mason jar and top it with marshmallows. You may need 1 to 2 jars depending on the size you use. I used a 16 oz jar, and had some leftover to fit in an 8 oz jar, so it was about 24 oz total.
- To serve: In a medium pot over medium heat, whisk 3 tablespoons of the mix together with 1 cup non-dairy milk. Heat just until it comes to a low boil. Remove it from heat and serve with a big dollop of So Delicious Cocowhip and garnishes of your choice. Enjoy!
Notes
- The nutrition facts are only for the hot chocolate mix itself and do not take into consideration the non dairy milk.
- Download the gifting instructions tag here!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Beverages, Holiday
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
Keywords: Beverages, Holiday, Vegan, Hot chocolate
Disclaimer: The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional’s advice. This recipe was made in collaboration with So Delicious, but all opinions remain my own. This page may also contain affiliate links, which simply means that we earn a commission if you purchase through those links, but your price remains the same. Thank you for supporting Sweet Simple Vegan!
such a cute holiday gift!! thank you for an easy yet delicious recipe
★★★★★
This came out great! We used agave sweetener as that is what we had on hand. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Curious why this recipe calls for 1/2 c. less cocao than chai hot cocoa but uses same quantity of sugar? Otherwise stated – why more sugar percentage wise for the one?
Hope your holiday season is lovely.
We found that it tastes better 🙂 the other is still good just not as sweet. You’re free to change it up
Do you have a download of the tag for this vegan hot chocolate as it would be nice to use as a gift tag. Thank you.
yes it’s in the blog post! 🙂 You can see it under the jar photo..
Hi Suzanne,
It’s in the blog post 🙂 It’s under the photo with the jar.
Best,
Jasmine