Vegan Oat Milk Hot Chocolate

This homemade oat milk hot chocolate recipe is easy to make and it uses simple ingredients.  It only takes 5 minutes to make and it’s customizable to make your vegan hot chocolate extra special.

It's chocolatey, creamy, and the perfect way to enjoy the winter months.  The instructions are for a single serving, but hot chocolate with oat milk can be doubled or even tripled.  

If you’re looking for an even simpler wintery chocolate beverage, try my microwave hot cocoa recipe that only uses 3 ingredients.  For more chocolatey treats see my 2 ingredient chocolate peanut butter fudge and oil-free microwave vegan chocolate mug cake.

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• Recipe features
• Ingredient notes
• Tips
• Enhance your hot chocolate
• Frequently asked questions
• Instructions
• Related recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

Recipe features

• It's dairy-free!
• Only takes 4 ingredients and 5 minutes.
• Customizable, add more maple syrup, chocolate, or toppings!
• Warm and comforting!
• Easy to make for the holiday season or on a cold day.

Ingredient notes

Only 4 ingredients and 5 minutes are needed to make this homemade hot chocolate recipe.  To dress it up, check out the list of ideas to enhance your chocolatey treat.

Unsweetened oat milk - The base of this plant-based hot chocolate is creamy oat milk, but almost any plant-based milk can be used.  Try almond milk, soy milk, cashew milk, or coconut milk.  Some dairy-free milks are thinner or thicker than others.  

From personal experience shelf stable ones I've bought are thinner than refrigerated ones, use your favorite.  Use unsweetened dairy-free milk to be able to control the added sugar.  If you only have sweetened milk, you might want to reduce the maple syrup.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - To keep this dairy-free, use vegan chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life).  Some of the sweetness for the homemade hot chocolate comes from the chocolate chips, so use the semi-sweet kind.  They also help to thicken the beverage to give it a creamy texture.  The chocolate chips can also be substituted with 2 tablespoons of a finely diced good quality chocolate bar.

Unsweetened cocoa powder - To make the hot chocolate a little more chocolatey, add cocoa powder, not hot chocolate mix.  Since we’re not baking either natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder can be used.  Use your favorite based on flavor.  For more information, here’s an article on the difference between natural and Dutch-processed cocoa powder.

For more chocolatey treats using cocoa powder, try a vegan chocolate sauce(using only three ingredients), vegan chocolate microwave mug cake, or vegan banana chocolate smoothie.

Maple syrup - To add a little more sweetness, use pure maple syrup in your cup of hot chocolate.  It will be dissolved into the hot milk so it can be substituted with agave syrup, date paste, coconut sugar, cane sugar, or granulated sugar.

Salt - Just a pinch of salt to round out all of the flavors, this is optional so you can skip it and the hot chocolate will still be delightful. 

Tips

• Don’t boil the milk; warm it until it’s steaming and hot. 
• Whisk frequently.
• Add more maple syrup or granulated sugar if your chocolate chips are not sweet enough.  Dissolve it into the hot chocolate, taste it, and adjust if needed.
• For a more rich chocolate flavor add more cocoa powder if the sweet treat isn’t chocolatey enough.  Dissolve it into the hot chocolate, taste it, and adjust if needed.
• A large flavor element is from the semi-sweet chocolate chips, so use a brand that you enjoy.  They should taste delicious by themselves.

Enhance your hot chocolate

If this hot drink wasn’t already delicious enough, there are all sorts of great options to enhance your dairy-free hot chocolate.  It’s also really fun for kids (and adults) to dress up their own hot chocolate. 

• Vanilla extract
• Peppermint extract, a little bit goes a long way
• Pumpkin spice
• Dash of cinnamon, add to the hot beverage or sprinkle it on top of a whipped topping
• Peanut butter, almond butter, or vegan hazelnut spread (1 Tablespoon per serving)
• Candy Canes
• Crushed candy canes
• Vegan marshmallows
• Cinnamon stick
• A dollop of coconut cream or vegan whipped cream
• Pinch of cayenne pepper

Frequently asked questions

Instructions

Heat oat milk in a small saucepan on the stovetop on medium heat until it's hot but not boiling (steaming and tiny bubbles around the edge).  Lower the heat if needed and stir frequently to not scorch the bottom of the pot.

Then whisk in the dairy-free chocolate chips, cocoa powder, maple syrup (or sugar), and salt (if using), stirring frequently until combined.  The cocoa powder, maple syrup, and salt can be added before the milk is hot, but they won’t mix in until the milk warms up. 

Once the chocolate chips have melted, serve immediately with your favorite toppings.

Related recipes

• Microwave hot cocoa (3 ingredients)
• 2-ingredient chocolate peanut butter fudge
• Vegan chocolate microwave mug cake
• Raspberry chocolate truffles
• Vegan chocolate sauce

As always, I hope you enjoy this recipe for creamy hot chocolate with oat milk! If you like the recipe, feel free to rate it and leave a comment.

It was originally posted on January 21, 2019, and updated on December 1, 2021.

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