5 Ways to Make Healthy Hot Cocoa

I love a cup of healthy plant-based hot cocoa on a cold day. It’s been so cold lately here in Idaho that I’ve been making it a lot. Thankfully, there are a lot of health benefits to hot cocoa if you make it right. Friends don’t let friends make it with hot water and a Swiss Miss packet!

Many cold afternoons, I will make a pot of hot cocoa for my family. Sometimes I will make a mug for just myself. I don’t measure anymore, but if I did, this would be the basic recipe per person:

Healthy Hot Cocoa Recipe for One

1 cup plant milk (soy milk for the most protein, almond milk for lowest calories)

1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (or alternative sweetener as detailed below)

2 teaspoons cocoa or cacao powder (I get mine fair-trade through Azure Standard or Costco)

1 blip pure vanilla extract

dash of salt

Whisk together and heat on the stove or microwave.

How to Make Hot Cocoa Healthier

If you want to jazz it up a bit, here are some ideas!

1. Use an alternative sweetener like stevia, or blending dates with your milk to avoid using an added sweetner such as honey, maple syrup, or sugar. I don’t always do this since it’s so much faster to use honey or maple syrup (my go to), but I will often use less sweetener and add a little of this alcohol-free stevia (I got mine at my local Fred Meyer) so that it’s lower in sugar. If you’d like a recipe for date-sweetened hot cocoa, this ginger date hot cocoa is a delicious base recipe.
2. Add mushroom power. You may know that I’m crazy for mushroom powder in my hot cocoa now! It’s totally tasteless and gets the benefits of mushrooms into those who don’t eat them often or don’t like them. Don’t consume more than about a tablespoon a day of chaga mushroom powder though, as it’s high oxalate and may cause issues for those prone to kidney stones. Other varieties of mushrooms are low oxalate though. This brand of mushroom powder seems to be the best deal, and combines the benefits of ten different varieties. I’m on my third bag of it this winter! Here is a full post with a mushroom hot cocoa recipe.
3. Add soluble fiber. If you’ve read Fiber Fueled by Will Bulsiewicz, you may recall that fiber is KEY to gut health! Even Dr. B himself, who eats a lot of fiber, writes that he adds fiber to his coffee every day. So why not add it to your hot cocoa? It will help you feel full longer and decrease appetite, which is helpful if you’re feeling snacky or having cravings often but want to cut back. It can also help with constipation. Best of all, it is a prebiotic that feeds healthy bacteria! Here is a link to the best deals and quality of Sun Fiber and Acacia Powder. Both are good, yet you may notice a benefit of one over the other depending on your gut. You can also mix this into water or any other other drink. It’s fairly tasteless and colorless.
4. Add anti-inflammatory spices. You may enjoy these spices, you may not. This creates kind of a mix between hot cocoa and golden milk! I add a sprinkle of ground ginger, cinnamon and turmeric to my cup often and I love the spiciness. If you’re into it, check out my post about plant-based golden milk as well. For more ideas of adaptogens to add, see my post about adaptogenic hot cocoa. Maca powder, for example, tastes great added to cocoa and can help balance hormones.  Ashwaganda can lower stress.
5. Add a spoonful of pumpkin puree. If you have a little bit of pumpkin puree leftover from a can, this is especially ideal. I whisk in a few teaspoons per cup of milk, and you can’t even taste it. It’s a unique way of getting an orange vegetable into your day! You might also like this super creamy, thick yummy Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa Latte recipe!For the ideal creamy cup, get yourself a milk frother to really break up the clumps of cocoa so you don’t have any at the bottom of your mug. This milk frother has been wonderful and durable for me.