Vegan Chai Hot Chocolate that’s ready to drink in 5 minutes! This delicious vegan hot chocolate is low calorie, creamy and full of chai flavor. Make this homemade chai hot chocolate recipe today!
HOT CHOCOLATE. One of my all time faves in the fall and winter months. It really brings me back to all the years I spent at skating rinks growing up. After a long evening of practice, I’d always grab a hot chocolate from the concession stand on my way out. You know, the kind that came in a packet with those tiny hard marshmallows. Anyway, we thought we’d figure out a way to create a clean ingredient vegan hot chocolate that has all the delicious creamy chocolate flavors or our coconut hot chocolate recipe, but with the added kick of a little chai spice. We knew we wanted to use our DIY Chai Spice for this, too. It’s been sitting patiently in the cabinet waiting for this season 😀
If you don’t have the time or ingredients to make your own chai spice, it will be easy to find this time of year at pretty much any grocery store. But, I do have to say, making your own mix is SO MUCH BETTER. And you can always mix up a big batch to last you all season. Yum. Let’s get into this recipe!
How to Make Hot Chocolate (with Chai!)
Step 1: Gather your vegan chai hot chocolate ingredients:
- Almond milk
- Cocoa powder
- Chai spice (here’s our fave DIY chai spice recipe!)
- Vanilla extract
- Maple syrup
Step 2: Pour wet ingredients in a medium sauce pan, and then add in your dry ingredients. Bring to a rolling boil and stir with a whisk until all dry ingredients have dissolved. Reduce heat and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Step 3: Pour in mugs and add your favorite whipped cream, frothed milk or mallows, and enjoy! This recipe serves 2, but feel free to double or triple if you’re serving a crowd.
Vegan Chai Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 4 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1.5 teaspoons DIY Chai Spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or more to taste
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a medium-size saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and whisk until spices and cocoa powder have dissolved. Reduce heat and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.
- Top with your favorite whipped cream or frothed milk.
This was so good! Instead of using maple syrup, I used 1 packet of stevia per serving (4 total for the recipe) because I have a sweet tooth! It was delicious 🙂
Delicious *vegan* way to warm up during the fall, especially when it’s snowing outside!
Almond milk or coconut milk with cacao powder and Stevia along with a pinch of cinnamon or sea salt is my favorite healthy hot chocolate combination! The chai spice is unique though–I have never tried that flavor before, but I definitely have to upon stumbling on this recipe! Your mug of hot chocolate looks glorious! I’d slurp it up by the fireplace any evening!
Thankyou very much for this recipe. I will try to make it.
those little mugs are really cute
Thank you! TARGET!
I halved the recipe and used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and two Truvia packets. I topped it with a bit of ReddiWip. It was tasty, but not quite sweet enough for my taste. Next time, I’ll be sure to use sweetened vanilla almond milk.
Your chai hot chocolate recipe is phenomenal!! My fiance and I are both allergic to dairy so we looked for a recipe to make our own and this one wins hands down! We live in Phoenix so we never really get hot cocoa weather but we’ve made it for every trip we’ve taken up to the mountains (i.e. – cold weather) this year. Thank you!
Yay! This comment totally made my day. I am so glad you guys love the recipe! You should try it over ice for a chilled version in that AZ heat 😉
This looks absolutely DIVINE! Can’t believe cocoa weather is here already…definitely making this…and heading to Target for these mugs!!
I know right. Kind of sad. I love fall, but not what comes after it 😉
chai and chocolate sounds like an awesome combo! Im totally making this! YUM!
The best thing about this recipe is how healthy it is! I love drinking hot chocolate, but always feel so guilty after devouring one so I rarely make some. But If I make this recipe, I can have hot chocolate all the time! Thanks for sharing it!
Obsessed with the mugs and the recipe!
I know, right?!?! TARGET!
Your photos are beautiful and this Chai hot chocolate sounds dreamy!
Thanks, Stephanie 😀
Love that spice photo, and the top one! Pinned!
Thanks doode!! #yourethebest
Those extra 30 calories are going straight to your cheeks?
I just want to say you’re killin it on the recipes lately! I made your rice pudding (last week, I think) and it was so good! Even better cold the next day! I’m thinking I’ll have to make this hot chocolate as a treat tonight.
Also, come to Phoenix if you’re looking for some warm weather. Fall is nowhere to be found!
o0o YAY! Question for you. Did it turn out crunchy? Someone made it this week and complained it was crunchy :/. Did you have to do any modifications to the original recipe?!
I cooked it on the stove instead a rice cooker, but other than that no substitutions! I covered it while it was simmering to keep the liquid in. I can see it coming out crunchy if the lid was left off, though!
Hmmmmmmm. Well I’m glad it turned out for you 😀
Never even thought of making my own Chai Spice but I’ve got all these spices so why not?
Also, target might put me in the poor house too so I feel ya. I try not to step foot in there for anything unless I absolutely have to or I’ll go crazy. I keep failing at that tho haha
I try not to go more than twice a week 😀 Since they are headquartered here in Minnesota, we literally have like 2 in every town. TARGET ERRYWHERE!
Ha ha Target and Costco seriously are the blackholes of shopping. Go in for 1 thing, come out with 10 things you totally don’t need but want! Cute mugs though!
This looks so good. How many times do you typically need to test a recipe before it comes out the way you want it to? PS I totally send my fiancé for things at the store too and he comes home with the wrong thing. #itsthethoughtthatcounts, right?
Hmmmmmmm all recipes vary. Usually baked good are at least 2 times, but a lot of things come out great the first time…especially if you modify old recipes that worked! This recipe in particular…I had started off with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and half the amount of chai spice and then doubled it after taste testing it. Technically I only made it once….
PS: That’s why I’m not aloud to get a Costco membership. I’d spend my life savings there.
Come visit me in CA if you’re not quite ready to move into fall yet… Sunny and 90° with no end in sight! I practically have to turn the A/C on full-blast to make it feel like pumpkin weather indoors. 😉 And this chai hot chocolate? Totally brilliant! They’re my mom’s two favorite drinks — she’d get a kick of of this!! Pinned!
OMG SO JEALOUS. What part of cali do you live in? I lived in the Bay Area for a while when I was little. I’m a total California Girl 😀
NO WAY!!! I was born and raised in the East Bay Area. Small world!! 🙂 What part of the Bay were you in?
Pleasanton! I want to say from 1993 to 1997?
Those adorable cups…I can’t even. I never walk out of Target without paper towels, one item of clothing, lip gloss, and Amy’s burritos. It gets me EVERY TIME. Pinning!
Is it me or do food bloggers use an OBSCENE amount of paper towels. Like at least a roll a week.
Those mugs are SO cute!! I am so glad that hot cocoa weather is almost here 🙂
WOOT WOOT! It’s going to be in a blink of an eye. #whomp