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dairy free hot chocolate whole 30
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Healthy Hot Chocolate Recipe

Katie WellsMar 6, 2015Updated: Mar 21, 2020
Reading Time: 2 min

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Drink Recipes » Healthy Hot Chocolate Recipe

We don’t get much snow since we moved (or any!) but back in the day the kids loved to play outside for hours when it snowed. It’s pretty much a sacred tradition of every childhood to have a cup of steaming hot chocolate to warm up when you come inside, so I was eager to find a substitute for the conventional hot cocoa mix packets.

Thanks to this healthier hot chocolate recipe, I am happy to oblige when my children ask for hot cocoa after coming in from many hours of playing in the snow.

The Best Hot Chocolate Recipe (Option for Dairy Free)

This healthy homemade hot chocolate combines natural ingredients like cocoa powder, turmeric, gelatin, coconut oil or butter, and optional raw honey or maple syrup and cinnamon. I’ve also included options for making it dairy, coconut, or nut free.

I whipped this up in the blender in under two minutes and it was easy to make by the glass or by the blender full. The recipe lists ingredients per cup, but you can easily double, triple, or multiply the recipe as needed to make more than one serving.

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TIP: I don’t recommend making this at night as the chocolate may keep kids (and adults) awake!

This can be easily customized to your preferences and I’d love to hear your variations in the comments. Some of my favorites are to add a dash of cayenne for a spicy version or a few frozen raspberries for a berry variation. This hazelnut hot chocolate recipe is also a family favorite.

Hot Chocolate With (Healthy) Marshmallows

We think of marshmallows as junk food, but when made homemade with grass-fed gelatin, they can actually have health benefits. It also is a fun process that makes for a great snow day activity! See the full recipe here.

No time make from scratch?

This Organifi superfood chocolate powder makes a healthy and delicious hot chocolate! I’ve also used these better-for-you marshmallows in a pinch.

dairy free hot chocolate whole 30

Healthy Hot Chocolate Recipe

Katie Wells
This delicious real food hot chocolate recipe combines cocoa powder, coconut oil or butter, water or coconut milk, honey or maple syrup, and turmeric for a satisfying and healthy drink.
4.54 from 26 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 minutes mins
Total Time 2 minutes mins
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 1 serving
Calories 183 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 8 ounces water (hot, or coconut milk, whole milk, or almond milk)
  • 2 TBSP cocoa powder 
  • 1 TBSP  gelatin powder
  • 1 TBSP butter (or coconut oil)
  • 1 tsp  maca powder (optional)
  • ½ tsp  ground turmeric (optional)
  • ½ tsp  cinnamon (optional)
  • 1 tsp  maple syrup (or honey or stevia drops to taste, optional)
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
  • pinch salt (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients in blender and blend to combine.
  • Warm over medium heat in a small saucepan while stirring. 
  • Top with marshmallows if desired and enjoy!

Notes

Variations:
  • Double or multiply recipe as needed.
  • For thicker hot chocolate, add more butter or coconut oil. This must be done in a blender, since with the added coconut oil or butter, just stirring will not make a smooth mixture.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 183kcalCarbohydrates: 13.6gProtein: 8.2gFat: 13.1gSaturated Fat: 8.2gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 99mgFiber: 4.1gSugar: 6.3g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!

What is your favorite warm drink on snowy days?

Category: Drink Recipes, Recipes

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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a wife and mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

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Reader Interactions

Discussion (44 Comments)

  1. Fouzia

    March 8, 2015 at 2:23 PM

    Looks divine! How much gelatin should we add in? It wasn’t listed, but stated in the intro. Thank you for the recipes; keep them coming! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Jane

    March 7, 2015 at 7:44 PM

    5 stars
    OMG! This looks soo good! I’m about to try it right now. Thank for sharing.

    Reply
  3. Susanne

    March 7, 2015 at 9:44 AM

    5 stars
    My kids love it when I make them a healthy hot chocolate. We call it a ‘bulletproof hot choc’ and add raw cacao powder, hot water, coconut oil and butter, hydrolysate gelatine powder, a dash of maple syrup and sometimes I add a drop of grapefruit essential oil or mint to give it a special flavour. It’s perfect for warming them up and satisfying that ‘peckish’ feeling in between meals.
    I’ll definitely be trying your ‘extras’ Katie! Thanks for the great blog.

    Reply
    • Suzy

      March 8, 2015 at 8:32 AM

      Mine is similar to yours in that I use raw cacao powder (to me tastes better than cocoa) and I put in a little bit of orange oil (tastes like a chocolate orange) but you gave me the idea to use mint as my favorite hot chocolate used to be the William Sonoma pepperment hot chocolate. I’ve never used coconut oil in my hot drinks, I think I’m going to try that today. Thanks

      Reply
  4. Tamar

    March 6, 2015 at 11:21 PM

    Thank you for this recipe! I’ve been wanting a healthier way to make hot chocolate.

    Reply
  5. Gillian

    March 6, 2015 at 9:52 PM

    Do Amazon pay their taxes, or use tax avoidance?
    Have you looked into this?

    Reply
  6. Sara

    March 6, 2015 at 7:02 PM

    This does sound pretty tasty. I want to ask, though: I noticed above the recipe you mentioned gelatin as one of the natural ingredients, but not in the recipe itself. How much gelatin would you add (I haven’t played around with the gelatin much yet) and do you prefer it with or without? Thank ya!

    Reply
    • Katie - Wellness Mama

      March 8, 2015 at 8:48 PM

      I use 1 tablespoon of gelatin per serving, but I’d work up slowly if you aren’t used to it.

      Reply
  7. Jess

    March 6, 2015 at 6:49 PM

    Is there any reason why u recommended a different brand of maca now?

    Reply
    • Katie - Wellness Mama

      March 8, 2015 at 8:49 PM

      I have several brands and use them for different things. I take Mighty Maca as a greens powder, especially when I travel. I get capsules from the maca team, and use the powdered one for this since the green powder doesn’t taste as good in chocolate.

      Reply
      • Melissa B.

        March 9, 2015 at 5:42 PM

        This is good to know – thanks for answering her question! Funny thing – I drink the Mighty Maca green drink (thanks to your recommendation in another post) – and I love it. A few days ago, I got to looking at the ingredients and I noticed “Natural Flavors” as one…I couldn’t remember if you are funny about natural flavors as an ingredient, but I actually JUST sat down and opened your website up to this page to ask. On this recipe, I saw you use a different maca and wondered if you had changed brands – glad I read the comments to find the answer to my question already there! 😉 I do wonder how you feel about “natural flavors,” if you get a sec to give me your thoughts. I’m not swayed too much one way or the other, but really respect your thoughts on just about everything! 🙂

        Reply
        • Holly

          November 20, 2022 at 9:44 AM

          5 stars
          From what I’ve read natural flavors are not good for you. They make you crave more of the food they are in and can come from an array of weird things including beaver anus juice. No joke, look it up. It’s used to flavor strawberry flavored things.

          Reply
          • Jamie Larrison

            November 27, 2022 at 5:00 PM

            Castoreum comes from the beaver’s castor gland, not the anus. Some sources say it’s no longer commonly used to flavor items because it’s more cumbersome and expensive than newer methods of natural flavoring. Some people may still wish to avoid natural flavors though for various reasons.

      • Lauren

        November 7, 2015 at 5:46 PM

        Is Maca safe while nursing?

        Reply
  8. Inbar

    March 6, 2015 at 5:45 PM

    It looks delitiose. Can you take maca when you take thyroid meds like eltroxin?

    Reply
  9. Leam

    March 6, 2015 at 4:42 PM

    Can you taste the tumeric? I mean, does it alter the flavor? And is the maca what might keep people awake? Looks inspiringly healthy!!! Can’t wait to try!!!

    Reply
  10. Alexis

    March 6, 2015 at 4:38 PM

    You mentioned gelatin in the description but not in the ingredients list. How much would you add and would you use gelatin or collagen? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Joy

      March 8, 2015 at 10:10 PM

      1 tablespoon

      Reply
      • Holly

        November 20, 2022 at 10:39 AM

        5 stars
        Hi Katie thank you for all your wonderful recipes and time researching. I wish I knew how you did it all. My questions is are you blending in the liquids or are you adding those in the pot? It sounds like it all go in the blender and then to warm in the pot. Also if you put this in a jar in stockings do you still blend the oil or butter in it?

        Reply
        • Jamie Larrison

          November 27, 2022 at 4:52 PM

          It all goes in the blender, then it’s warmed in the pot. If you’re making this as a mix, just use the dry ingredients in the jar and then add the butter/oil, water, and maple syrup right before drinking.

          Reply
    • Christina

      March 8, 2015 at 10:16 PM

      5 stars
      In the recipe it says 1TBS of gelatine and has a link for the brand she uses.

      Reply
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