Warm up with my creamy sugar-free hot chocolate! This easy, dairy-free and keto cocoa recipe takes minutes to prepare and contains only 3.1g net carbs.
We all know that a cup of hot chocolate warms the belly and the soul on a cold day!
I am not a fan of any of the ready-made keto or sugar free hot chocolate mix you can buy. They cost a fortune and are overly sweet for my taste. On top of that, some also use dubious fillers as thickeners.
I prefer to make my own sugar free chocolate from scratch - it only takes 3 minutes.
My healthy hot cocoa recipe has deep chocolate flavor and it is satisfyingly creamy and thick. Bonus: it is dairy-free and packed with nutrients, too!
Also try my keto chocolate milkshake.
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What's To Love About This Recipe
100% enjoyable! In a nutshell, my hot chocolate recipe is velvety-thick, chocolatey and just on the right side of sweet. It tastes just like authentic hot cocoa, but without all the sugar and carbs.
Velvety texture without unnecessary fat: Many keto hot chocolate recipes use heavy cream as their main ingredient. This means the drink is thick, but unnecessarily fatty. I am adding a surprise ingredient that adds richness without the need for tons of fat. And you can enjoy a hot chocolate that won't lie in your tummy like a rock.
Healthy: My diabetic hot chocolate drink is not just sugar free. It is dairy-free, too! And last but not least, I have added collagen. This is protein rich and great for joints and gut health. Read more about the benefits of collagen.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need for a healthy keto hot chocolate:
- Almond milk - Contains much less natural sugars than dairy milk. You could also use hemp milk or any other nut milk of you preference.
- Coconut cream - The thick part from a can of coconut milk
- Cocoa powder - Make sure it's unsweetened.
- Collagen peptides - Thickens the drink and makes it taste creamy. You can replace it with whey protein powder.
- Powdered sweetener - I recommend using allulose, but any other sweetener works as well. Ideally, use a powdered variety.
- Sea salt - Just a pinch to lift the taste
- Vanilla extract - adds additional warm flavour.
Instructions
Making sugar-free hot chocolate is as straight-forward as you would expect.
It's just 2 simple steps. (Scroll down to the recipe card for ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition details.)
STEP 1
Heat the almond milk and coconut cream in a saucepan over a low heat or in the microwave.
STEP 2
Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well-disolved. Or, blend until frothy.
Katrin's Top Tips
I love my hot chocolate frothy. That's why I prefer to blend it in a high speed blender over simply whisking the cocoa into the hot milk.
You could also use an immersion blender - but be sure to pour the milk into a tall jug first. Don't blend in the pan - it will squirt everywhere and burn you.
Toppings
I normally drink my sugar-free hot chocolate without toppings. But it does taste lovely with sugar free whipped cream or with whipped coconut cream.
You can also top it with homemade sugar free chocolate chips or a square of dark chocolate.
Or, drizzle over keto caramel sauce!
Variations
Here are ideas how you can jazz up the original recipe:
- Caramel hot chocolate: Add 1 tablespoon of maca powder.
- Pumpkin spice hot chocolate: Heat 1-2 tablespoons pumpkin puree and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix with the almond milk.
- Mexican hot chocolate: add a pinch of chili powder and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
- Mocha: add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee or a shot of espresso.
Recipe FAQ
Cocoa powder contains 1.1 grams of net carbs (source: USDA), which makes it perfectly suitable for keto diets. Of course, you have to make sure you're using unsweetened cocoa powder and not a box mix!
Mix together 2 tablespoons heavy cream powder or coconut milk powder, 1.5 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1-2 teaspoons powdered sweetener and pour over 200 ml or a generous ¾ cup of almond milk. You can make larger amounts and store the mix in a mason jar in your pantry for up to 3 months.
Storage
I've given you a single portion for this hot cocoa because I prefer it fresh and frothy.
However, you can store any leftovers in the fridge for a few days. Whisk once you have re-heated it so it is frothy.
Related recipes
Recipe
Keto Sugar-Free Hot Chocolate
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup almond milk 180ml, unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon coconut cream or heavy cream
- 1 ½ tablespoon cocoa powder 9g
- 2 tablespoon grass-fed collagen powder 14g, or whey protein powder
- 1 teaspoon allulose or more, to taste
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Heat the almond milk and coconut cream in a saucepan or in the microwave (90 seconds on high).
- Pour into a jug, add the collagen, cocoa powder, sweetener, salt and vanilla. Blend with an immersion blender until frothy. Alternatively, blend in a high speed blender or whisk vigorously with a balloon whisk until the mix has dissolved).
Marie
Do you need to include the collagen powder?
What benefit does it have for the recipe please.
I’ve never used it before so don’t want to buy something that I’m not really going to use too often
Katrin Nürnberger
The collagen powder adds creaminess to the recipe. You can also use whey protein powder, or you can leave it out altogether. I like adding collagen to this hot chocolate recipe because it's good for skin, nails and digestion.
jillian
This is lovely! I seldom drink hot chocolate, but made a cup, added almond milk and cream and then a spoon of choc zero chocolate hazelnut spread. Very simple and flavorful.
Molly
If I want to add 2tbs double cream, what would be the amount of almond milk or doesn't that matter?
Katrin Nürnberger
To stick with the same intensity of chocolate, you'd reduce the amount of almond milk by 2 tbsp. But it's all up to individual taste - maybe you like your hot chocolate a little milkier!
Katrin Nürnberger
I try to have collagen every day, and it's just great for making thick and comforting drinks 🙂
I k o
It's looks so yummyyy !!!
I really wanna go to supermarket, buy all ingredients, dan make this.
Thankyou for sharing this recipes
Jo
I also really love the Plenish Hazelnut milk - theirs is the only one I can regularly find that isn't a combination of rice and hazelnuts OR filled with sugar! I've been making a similar thing with it, but hadn't thought to add xanthan for creaminess, I'll do that next time.
Karen de Wet
Thank you for the recipe and the valuable additional information. Do you explain nutritional values and how you use carbs and net carbs somewhere on the site? I'm struggling to get my head around the recipe (for 1) indicating it is 2.5g net carbs, but the nutritional value directly below indicates 6.9 g carbs. Please?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Karen, the nutrition panel shows the total carbs (6.9g). When you deduct the fibre, you get the net carbs (2.5g). Hope this helps! 🙂