Drinks Recipes

Dairy-Free Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate

What a crazy winter we’ve had! This week we had another foot of snow and two snow days to the girls’ great delight. They spent as much time as they could outside playing with their friends, building snowmen, and catching snowflakes. We had more than enough snow to build a snow fort in the backyard, or at least three quarters of one before the kids got too wet and cold and decided they’d had enough.

So in we all trooped inside to dry off, warm up, and have some hot chocolate.

A long time ago, I’d buy those tins of hot chocolate mix, but when we switched to healthier eating I took a closer look at the ingredients and promptly tossed them out. Fortunately, it’s really simple to make delicious hot chocolate from scratch. And when you ditch the mix, you control the sugar, additives, and any allergens.

Warm up with this rich and creamy, non-dairy hot chocolate made with coconut milk.

Hubby is allergic to milk proteins, so he used to miss out on this snow day tradition. Luckily for him I’m a pretty awesome wife, so I developed a simple recipe for making non-dairy hot chocolate with coconut milk. There are other non-dairy substitutes of course, but coconut milk is my preferred non-dairy milk because it’s shelf stable in tins or cartons, affordable, and I cook with it a lot so I always have some around the house.

Proper hot chocolate should be rich and creamy. When I make my own I use full-fat milk, never water. But if you just replace the dairy milk with coconut milk, it’s too rich to drink an entire cup. The trick is to dilute the coconut milk down about half and half to make a cup of sweet, creamy, and delicious hot chocolate that warms you all the way from the inside out to the tips of your fingers.

Warm up with this rich and creamy, non-dairy hot chocolate made with coconut milk.

Is there anything cozier than curling up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate while the winter wind howls outside? Now nobody misses out!

Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1-2 tablespoons sugar or honey
  • 1 cup hot water divided
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch cinnamon optional

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan over medium heat, add cocoa powder, sweetener, and a splash of hot water. Mix into a smooth paste while heating.
  • Once smooth, add remainder of hot water, coconut milk, vanilla extract, sea salt, and cinnamon.
  • Whisk while heating being careful not to bring to a boil.
  • Serve hot.

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