One of the cravings that people love to satisfy is chocolate. Cocoa powder comes from processed cacao beans, and in its raw form, it’s vegan. When chocolates hit the shelves, the raw cocoa undergoes processing, turning it into an animal-based product. Making vegan chocolate requires replacing animal-based ingredients with plant-based substitutes.
Know how to make vegan chocolate, and you can gratify your sweet cravings in a healthier, tastier, and cruelty-free way!
Easy Vegan Chocolate Recipe
Usually, to make vegan chocolate, you would need to mix cocoa powder and cocoa butter with a few more ingredients. Cocoa butter is not an animal product but a fat separated from the cocoa mass. Therefore, it’s undoubtedly vegan.
However, if you want to know how to make vegan chocolate, here’s a recipe that simplifies the process because it uses only three ingredients. You won’t need cocoa butter in this Vegan Chocolate Recipe from Broke Bank Vegan since coconut oil replaces it. The coconut oil provides a softer texture, while the cocoa powder provides its depth of flavor. Sweeten the mixture with your favorite sweetener, add your favorite flavors, and once hardened, enjoy.
You can swap the coconut oil with refined coconut oil if you prefer a more neutral taste. Using coconut oil is ingenious because it creates a softer and more economical chocolate. However, you can use cocoa butter if you prefer a firmer texture.
Finally, use the best quality cocoa powder possible to ensure you enjoy its excellent antioxidant benefits.
Dairy-Free Chocolate Delight
It’s so easy to learn how to make vegan chocolate. Here’s the recipe for a dairy-free chocolate delight that you can make into bars or mold into smaller shapes:
Ingredients for 12 servings or 3 chocolate bar molds
- 1 cup cocoa butter, broken into smaller pieces
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 5 T. agave syrup
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- Pinch of pink salt
Instructions
- Bring one inch of water to a simmer in a double boiler or a pot with a heat-poof bowl.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Place the cocoa butter into the bowl and allow to melt entirely.
- Next, whisk in the rest of the ingredients, ensuring they are fully incorporated. Work carefully, and use mitts to stabilize the bowl of hot chocolate.
- Once fully incorporated, remove from the heat.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into molds and allow to set. It requires two hours in the fridge and longer at room temperature.
Decadent Vegan Chocolate Desserts
Chocolate desserts provide the opportunity to create show-stopper moments during special dinners and family meals. Learn how to make vegan chocolate from scratch, allowing you always to have it on hand for your creations with wholesome and natural plant-based ingredients.
Inspiration for some excellent vegan chocolate desserts is never difficult to find, thanks to its appeal to most people. Even if they aren’t vegan, chocolate lovers worldwide will not believe how versatile vegan ingredients can be. Don’t be surprised if they keep coming back for another helping.
When you feel like whipping up some decadent vegan chocolate desserts like Chocolate Mousse, Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Truffles, a No-Bake Chocolate cake, Vegan Chocolate Sweey Potaot Milkshake, or Baked Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake, then Rainbow Plant Life has the recipes. Find even more ideas and inspiration by looking through all the recipes.
Homemade Vegan Chocolate Bars
It seems like there are endless recipes for how to make vegan chocolate. Another easy way to make homemade vegan chocolate bars is to mix melted chocolate chips and coconut oil and mold the mixture.
You will need one cup of vegan-friendly chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of refined coconut oil to make six 5-inch bars. Melt the two ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often. Once the ingredients have heated and melted, remove from the heat and stir until fully incorporated. Mold and chill the chocolate. Use your homemade vegan chocolate from the fridge or freezer for up to five months after making it.
If you want the chocolate for baking, you can leave it plain. However, you can use add-ins to flavor your vegan chocolate bars. With this recipe, avoid liquid extracts to prevent changes to the texture. However, you can add crushed candies in any flavor, chopped nuts, chopped dried fruits, crushed cookies, or rice cereal.
Irresistible Vegan Chocolate Treats
You can create many baked and no-bake treats once you know how to make vegan chocolate. Are you looking for irresistible vegan chocolate treats to make? Here are some excellent ideas from Nutriciously.
Try the Vegan Bounty Balls made with shredded coconut and coconut milk. The Chocolate Covered Snicker Dates will become a favorite in many homes thanks to the indulgent combination of their vegan dark chocolate coating and the peanut butter creamy-filled Medjool dates and almondy crunch.
The collection includes incredible recipes for cupcakes, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake, and ice cream. Try them all!
Vegan Chocolate: Indulgence without Guilt
Vegan chocolate is a definite indulgence without guilt. Learn how to make vegan chocolate at home, and you will know that it’s naturally sweetened, has only the ingredients you prefer, and is customized in the way you prefer.
One of the most extraordinary chocolate indulgences that everyone enjoys is truffles. Here’s a simple recipe for vegan chocolate truffles that are rich, satisfying, and entirely guilt-free:
Best Vegan Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup full-fat coconut milk, heated
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- Options for coating – Cocoa powder, crushed nuts, or shredded coconut
Instructions
- Slowly heat the coconut milk in a saucepan until it simmers.
- Use a heat-proof bowl to place the chocolate chips and pour the heated coconut milk over them. Let the two combined ingredients rest for 1-2 minutes as the chocolate chips melt.
- Add vanilla extract to the bowl and stir, ensuring everything has melted and the mixture looks smooth.
- Refrigerate the mixture in the bowl until firm enough to handle – about 2 hours.
- Use a melon baller to scoop out small portions. Roll each into a ball with your hands.
- If desired, roll each ball in cocoa powder, crushed nuts, or shredded coconut.
- Place the finished truffles on a plate or in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
These are the simplest vegan chocolate truffles you can make, but you can see some dessert ideas from above for even more decadent ideas.
Flavorful Vegan Chocolate Creations
When making flavorful vegan creations, you may have some questions. Here’s some tips to help you make perfect vegan chocolate every time:
- For your preferred recipe, always source high-quality ingredients like cocoa powder, cocoa butter, coconut oil, cocoa nibs, and sweeteners.
- Don’t overheat the ingredients. Instead, heat everything gently to prevent changes in the taste of the ingredients.
- Always integrate ingredients properly to avoid a grainy result.
- If using cocoa powder, sift it first to prevent clumps and to get a smoother texture.
- Add-ins like nuts, fruit, candy, salted pretzels, etc., always go in last.
- Don’t make your chocolate bars too thin because they will become brittle; if you make them too thick, they don’t set easily.
- Silicone molds and baking trays make chocolate-making easier. However, if you don’t have silicone molds and trays, use parchment paper to make removing the chocolate from the trays easier once set.
- Don’t break chocolate for baking or eating until it has fully set.
- If you make vegan chocolate with coconut oil, remember it has a low melting point. Therefore, if your room temperature is too low, it will melt. It’s better to store it in the fridge.
- Vegan chocolate requires storage different from shop-bought chocolate because it contains no additives. It will last for about two weeks in the fridge.
- You can also store vegan chocolate in the freezer for up to three months.
Vegan Chocolate: A Sweet and Healthy Delight
The health benefits of cocoa have been known for thousands of years. Cocoa pods and their beans are the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree. Therefore, they are vegan. Once cocoa is roasted and milled into cocoa paste, it’s mixed with sweeteners and emulsifiers to create vegan chocolate.
Cocoa is rich in natural antioxidants known as flavonols, which it contains in higher doses than blueberries. So far, researchers have found that these can help protect the body in several ways, including protecting from chronic illnesses like cardiovascular disease and with an improved metabolism and cell proliferation. Cocoa also contains magnesium, fiber, protein, copper, zinc, phosphorus, and iron.
Using raw cocoa powder for your homemade vegan chocolate is always better. It’s made with unroasted and cold-pressed cocoa beans, allowing it to retain the antioxidants and minerals in cocoa beans.
Eating dark chocolate has more benefits than milk chocolate because it contains more flavanols. However, not all vegan chocolates are equal. If you prefer to buy instead of learning to make vegan chocolate, ensure it contains natural ingredients, no non-vegan sweeteners or flavors, and no milk derivatives like lactose, whey, or casein. That way, you know you are getting a sweet and healthy delight!
