Oat Milk Hot Chocolate

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This oat milk hot chocolate is ready in just 5 minutes. Plus, it's naturally sweetened, easy to make, and uses a handful of ingredients you likely already have on hand. This recipe is dairy-free, nut-free, and vegan.

Ingredients

• Oat milk - I love this as creamy, neutral-tasting base for dairy-free hot chocolate.
• Cocoa powder or cacao powder - cocoa powder provides a nice milk chocolate flavor whereas cacao powder has more dark chocolate characteristics - think bitter, richer flavor, more antioxidants, and minerals.
• Maple syrup - adds a really nice natural sweetness that pairs really well with the cocoa.
• Vanilla extract - helps to balance out the chocolate and give it more dimension.
• Salt - a pinch helps to balance out the sweetness.
• Marshmallows (optional) - use homemade marshmallows if you're feeling extra fancy.

How to Make Oat Milk Hot Chocolate

1. Add all the ingredients (minus the marshmallows, if using) to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Whisk to break up any clumps and continue stirring until everything is well-combined and the mixture is hot.
3. Drink up, buttercup!

Substitutions & Variations

Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.

How can you make this oat milk hot chocolate using what you already have? Here are some ideas…

• No oat milk? - use any kind of dairy-free milk (or regular milk if you're not dairy-free). If using canned coconut milk, I recommend using it in combination with another type of milk so it doesn't have an overpowering coconut flavor.
• No cocoa/cacao powder? - you can also use chocolate chips in place of the powder. I would start with ¼ cup.
• No maple syrup? - use coconut sugar or any granulated sugar instead.
• No vanilla extract? - Peppermint extract is also nice if you like that flavor combination (but start by adding only ¼ teaspoon) or just omit the vanilla completely.

Top Tip

If using chocolate chips in place of the cocoa powder, add them to the saucepan with a little bit of the milk until the chocolate has melted before adding in the rest of the ingredients. You'll also need less maple syrup.

More Dairy-Free Chocolate Recipes To Try

• Puppy Chow Bars
• Snickers Bites
• Homemade Peanut Butter M&M's

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5 from 5 votes

Oat Milk Hot Chocolate

This oat milk hot chocolate is ready in just 5 minutes. Plus, it's naturally sweetened, easy to make, and uses a handful of ingredients you likely already have on hand. This recipe is dairy-free, nut-free, and vegan.

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time5 mins

Servings: 2

Author: Lindsey Jenkins

Ingredients

• 2 cups oat milk or substitution
• ½ cup water
• 2-3 tablespoon cocoa or cacao powder see notes
• 2-3 tablespoon maple syrup or sweetener of choice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or substitution
• pinch of salt
• homemade marshmallows optional

Instructions

• Add all the ingredients (minus the marshmallows, if using) to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Whisk to break up any clumps and continue whisking until everything is well-combined and the mixture is hot. Serve immediately.

Notes

For a deeper chocolate flavor, use 2 tablespoons of cacao powder or 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

If using cacao powder, you may want to use the full 3 tablespoons of sweetener since its flavor is more bitter than cocoa powder.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

No oat milk? - use any kind of dairy-free milk (or regular milk if you're not dairy-free). If using canned coconut milk, I recommend using it in combination with another type of milk so it doesn't have an overpowering coconut flavor.

No cocoa/cacao powder? - you can also use chocolate chips in place of the powder. I would start with ¼ cup.

No maple syrup? - use coconut sugar or any granulated sugar instead.

No vanilla extract? - Peppermint extract is also nice if you like that flavor combination (but start by adding only ¼ teaspoon) or just omit the vanilla completely.