This easy sugar free hot chocolate mix makes ultra rich, decadent keto hot chocolate. It takes five basic ingredients and about 2 minutes of your time to make. And check out all the delicious flavor variations!
I can’t tell you how much money I’ve wasted on keto-friendly or sugar free hot chocolate mix. I keep hoping they will be as delicious as my own homemade keto hot chocolate.
But they never are. They’re either far too sweet, or not sweet enough, or they have unnecessary additives and ingredients.
And they are usually ridiculously expensive too. I’m over it. From here on in, I am sticking with my homemade keto hot chocolate mix. It’s easy, it’s delicious, and I can make it exactly the way I want it!
It also makes a great gift for keto friends and family.
Why make your own hot chocolate mix
Stop wasting your money on the store-bought stuff, my friends. Your own homemade version is infinitely better! And you can adjust it and customize it to your tastes.
The sugar-free hot chocolate mix you see in most grocery stores is full of junk, so don’t even go there. It’s often sweetened with aspertame or sucralose, and has fillers like cornstarch to make it thicker.
The keto hot chocolate mixes you see on Amazon and the like are better options, but they often miss the mark in flavor. Many of them are unpalatably sweet or just have an odd taste.
And they can have some suspect ingredients and fillers too. The very popular Lakanto brand contains brown rice, of all things!
Homemade keto hot chocolate mix is not only easy, but allows you to control for the ingredients, the sweetness level, and the nutrition. I will never purchase a pre-made mix again.
Developing this recipe
I’ve been making my own sugar free hot chocolate pretty much from the moment I went low carb. Usually I just do it ad hoc, when I am in the mood for a cup of cocoa.
But a ready made mix makes life easy, especially when you’re on the go. So I set about testing out perfect best ratios of ingredients.
I wanted to make a mix that could just be combined with hot water, so I tested out both heavy cream powder and coconut milk powder. But it just didn’t live up to my exacting standards.
It wasn’t creamy enough and it had an unpleasant flavor. My daughter likened it to the cheesy powder you can put on popcorn! It also added too many carbs and was too expensive for my liking.
So I went back to basics and created a sugar free hot chocolate mix that can be stirred into any preferred milk or milk/cream combination. Then I tested out a number of flavor variations like mint, mocha, salted caramel, and Mexican chocolate!
Ingredients
- Keto sweetener – Whether you prefer Swerve, allulose, or BochaSweet, you can use your preferred sweetener in this recipe.
- Cocoa powder – I recommend a good Dutched cocoa powder for the best flavor. Raw cacao powder won’t dissolve as easily.
- Unsweetened chocolate – This is what makes it true hot chocolate, rather than just hot cocoa! It intensifies the chocolate flavor and makes it more thick and rich.
- Collagen – This is optional but it produces a truly rich and frothy keto hot chocolate. If you choose to skip it, I recommend adding 1/2 tsp glucomannan for a thicker drink.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla always helps bring out the best in chocolate recipes.
- Salt – Just a little salt brings out the flavor in sweet recipes.
How to make keto sugar free hot chocolate mix
So simple and easy! Here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Use your preferred sweetener: The best part about this recipe is that you can use what you like! Just use something that will dissolve easily when mixed with a hot liquid. I use powdered Swerve but allulose and BochaSweet both work well.
- Adjust the sweetener to taste: We all have different tolerance for sweetness and we experience keto sweeteners very differently. If you aren’t sure how sweet you want it, use less and add more if necessary, after you try it out in a hot chocolate drink.
- Combine in a food processor: Using a food processor helps combine the ingredients really well, and it breaks the chocolate into tiny pieces that dissolve more easily. And yes, you can add the liquid vanilla extract right in there too. The food processor method distributes the vanilla throughout the mix.
- Stir into hot milk: Use 2 to 3 tablespoons of mix per 10 to 12 ounces of hot liquid. My favourite way to make keto hot chocolate is with 8 to 10 ounces of unsweetened hemp milk and about 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) of heavy cream.
Variations
Really, the flavour possibilities for this sugar-free hot chocolate mix are virtually endless. A few things I tested out:
Peppermint hot chocolate mix
Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract along with the vanilla and other ingredients. How much depends on how strong your extract is. I found that about 1 1/2 teaspoons was right for me, and I use Frontier peppermint extract.
Mocha hot chocolate mix
Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of espresso powder in with the other ingredients. Or if you can’t find that, use 3 or 4 Starbucks via packs.
Salted caramel hot chocolate mix
Use salted caramel collagen in place of the plain collagen, and add 1 teaspoon caramel extract along with the other ingredients. You may want to cut down on the sweetener, as flavoured collagen usually has added sweeteners.
Top with my keto caramel sauce, if desired.
Mexican hot chocolate mix
Add 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne along with the other ingredients.
How to store homemade keto hot chocolate mix
Place the prepared mix in an airtight container with a lid, such as a glass jar or tupperware. The mix will last up to 3 months.
You can also freeze the mix for up to 6 months.
Keto Hot Chocolate Mix
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup grassfed collagen, (optional)
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Hot Chocolate Mix
- Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and process on high until well combined.
To make hot chocolate
- Heat 10 to 12 ounces of your favorite keto-friendly milk (I like 10 ounces hemp milk with 1 ounce heavy cream… divine!). Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of mix until well dissolved.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Absolutely delicious! Used macadamia milk and cream. Sugar free whipped cream. ????
Seriously amazing!! Finally getting to make this. Rainy day comfort drink extraordinaire!! And so easy to make!!!
In the keto hot chocolate recipe, an optional but recommended ingredient is collagen powder. Do you recommend the chocolate flavor?
The chocolate is great… as is the salted caramel!
Do you have to use milk in your hot chocolate?
Please read the blog post! 🙂
Hi! Someone asked how you store it and you said it was on the blog. I read the blog. It says in an air tight container. But it doesn’t say if it’s shelf stable or if it needs to be refrigerated.
So my question is.. where do you store it? Thank you ???? Oh and do you have a recipe for cold chocolate milk?
Shelf stable.
I love this hot chocolate easy mix! As a diabetic it has saved me as I don’t drink coffee or tea. This warms me up. Thank you so much for making this recipe.
OMG!!! Another winner Carolyn! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this HOT CHOCOLATE MIX. Its so good. Sometimes I’ll just take a small teaspoon of this stuff and eat it. I know crazy right? But its does satisfy my sweet tooth. I love making it with hot almond milk and throwing some keto marshmallows in there. Excellent!!!
How do you store the hot chocolate mix?
That info is right above the recipe in the blog post.
This is really really good! Been missing a good winter hot chocolate. Thank you for a delicious, thick, creamy recipe. I’m did add extra sweetener… personal preference ????
Can I use this to make chocolate milk? Maybe with powdered sweetener? Mix in a blender? Having a hard time finding a powder mix for my recentally obsessed child, but he does not like hot drinks. It is amazing by the way! I LOVE to use this to make my coffee a mocha!
It won’t mix well with cold milk. You’re better off making it with hot milk and then chilling it (it will need shaking or stirring to re-combine it).
Love this
This is SO GOOD and SO EASY! For years I’ve been wanting something like this; I’ve always mixed up something random each time I wanted hot chocolate and it always took too much time and I never knew how it would turn out. It’s heavenly to have this in the cupboard and whip it out anytime. My collagen was old and had bugs in it so I didn’t use any thickener and it’s just fine. I probably added a little more sweetener than it calls for. I LOVE having the chopped up unsweetened chocolate in it! I bought almond milk for the first time ever and really like it. I use mostly that and add a little heavy cream. I’m in Texas and we’ve been having lots of unusually cold weather, so this really hits the spot.Thank you so much for this, Carolyn!!
All of the ingredients are powdered except the vanilla extract. It is liquid. So, doesn’t it clump when adding to powdered ingredients? How does it get distributed evenly?
Did you read the blog post? 🙂
I love having a hot chocolate mix ready to go rather than mixing one cup at a time all at once. This mixed up easily in my processor, I did add some additional swerve to the mix after the taste test and used 10 oz almond milk with 2 oz heavy cream and it was delicious, rich and creamy! Glad I can have hot chocolate any time without the guilt-Thank you Carolyn, your recipes are the best!
I have been looking for a low carb hot chocolate for my hubby. This is the best one! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I sure missed hot cocoa until I made this! So simple to have in a jar by the microwave. Just heat the milk and mix in. I add a little liquid stacks since I like it sweeter. Good job Carolyn. Love your recipes, they are the best.
I made this recipe tonight for my family because they were craving hot chocolate, they were surprised that it was homemade, they instantly loved it! I will definitely not be buying store-bought hot chocolate again.