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Healthy Hot Chocolate Recipe

Katie Wells Avatar

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dairy free hot chocolate whole 30
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.

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

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.
Prep Time 2 minutes
Total Time 2 minutes
Calories 183kcal
Author Katie Wells

Servings

1 serving

Ingredients

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!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Healthy Hot Chocolate Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 cup)
Calories 183 Calories from Fat 118
% Daily Value*
Fat 13.1g20%
Saturated Fat 8.2g51%
Cholesterol 31mg10%
Sodium 99mg4%
Carbohydrates 13.6g5%
Fiber 4.1g17%
Sugar 6.3g7%
Protein 8.2g16%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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.

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?

Katie Wells Avatar

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 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.

Comments

46 responses to “Healthy Hot Chocolate Recipe”

  1. Del Avatar

    If you want to keep it healthy, use an almond or cashew milk for protein and skip the gelatin which is comprised of the skin, cartilage, and bones from animals. It’s made primarily from the stuff meat industries have left over — pork skins, horns, and cattle bones.

  2. Dana Avatar

    When I was reading about maca it says it’s good for fertility! So you use it in anything else to help boost that?

  3. Jenny Avatar

    4 stars
    I used what I have on hand (dark & regular cocoa powder, coconut oil, vanilla), skipped the spices… Added a pinch of salt & doubled the maple syrup (bigger mug, sweeter palate), and topped it off with a little cream. Wanted some whipped cream, too, but I wasn’t feeling that patient. It was delicious, way better for me than typical hot chocolate, and a great way to celebrate National Hot Cocoa Day! Thanks for the recipe, Katie!

  4. Madileine Avatar

    5 stars
    Just whipped up a big batch of this to enjoy over and over again!
    I will add that incorporating real cacao into anything + the maca is bound to give you a decent jolt of energy, so be warned—I wouldn’t recommend consuming in the evening (unless you’re planning to have a late night on the town)! Tripled the recipe and used about 10 liquid vanilla stevia drops + real vanilla bean and a couple pinches of Celtic salt for an extra boost of magnesium and umami! SO SO YUM! Next time, I plan to add some fresh ginger and honey (instead of stevia). Talk about superfood beverage!

  5. Kelly Avatar

    5 stars
    I just made this, using water as a base. I added a teaspoon of agave nectar and 12 drops of vanilla stevia. Finally-a hot chocolate for which I don’t feel guilty drinking!

  6. Rosaria Avatar
    Rosaria

    5 stars
    Is it ok to drink this if you have an auto-immune disease like Hashimoto’s?

    1. Jill Goldstein Avatar
      Jill Goldstein

      If you substitute organic cacao powder, and add the optional spices, it’s good for your thyroid and hashis

  7. Cassie Avatar

    I made this recipe with raw cows milk and added some black pepper… it was freaking delicious!

  8. Katie L Avatar
    Katie L

    I used to make hot chocolate using my mother’s recipe. Since going sugar-free now I make my hot chocolate with stevia. It’s 1-tsp of stevia for a half cup of cocoa powder. Use a flat teaspoon of this in a mug & add hot water. I have weaned myself off adding milk now. It’s certainly not as super foody as yours but healthier than a sugar version. Can add a drop of essence or cinnamon to vary flavour.

  9. Fouzia Avatar

    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! 🙂

  10. Jane Avatar

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

  11. Susanne Avatar
    Susanne

    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.

    1. Suzy Avatar

      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

  12. Tamar Avatar

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

  13. Gillian Avatar
    Gillian

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

  14. Sara Avatar

    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!

  15. Jess Avatar

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

    1. Katie - Wellness Mama Avatar

      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.

      1. Melissa B. Avatar
        Melissa B.

        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! 🙂

        1. Holly Avatar

          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.

          1. Jamie Larrison Avatar

            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.

  16. Inbar Avatar

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

  17. Leam Avatar

    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!!!

  18. Alexis Avatar

    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!

      1. Holly Avatar

        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?

        1. Jamie Larrison Avatar

          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.

    1. Christina Avatar
      Christina

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

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