Vegan Orange Hot Chocolate
Cozy up with a mug of this fragrant Vegan Orange Hot Chocolate! Rich chocolate meets orange, warming cinnamon and ginger for a delicious twist on classic hot chocolate. Creamy, decadent, and easy to make on the stovetop — the perfect festive winter drink!
I’ve always loved the combination of orange and chocolate, so I decided to create my own version for an upcoming Christmas gathering. After a little experimenting, this vegan orange hot chocolate was born — and it turned out even better than I hoped!
While many orange hot chocolate recipes call for orange extract or liqueur, I only had orange juice on hand. I gave it a try anyway, and I’m so glad I did! Not only does it give the drink a natural citrus flavor, but you also get a little boost of vitamin C with your cocoa.
A touch of cinnamon and ginger rounds everything out beautifully, making this warm, spiced hot chocolate feel both cozy and festive. It’s healthy-ish, completely dairy-free, and absolutely delicious. I think you’re going to love it too!
Without further ado, let’s make a cup of something wonderful!
How To Make Vegan Orange Hot Chocolate
Making this cozy vegan orange spiced hot chocolate is surprisingly simple and comes together in just minutes!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make the best orange hot chocolate:
- Unsweetened non-dairy milk – Use your favorite plant milk. You may even like to use unsweetened vanilla non-dairy milk or a little Vegan Cream.
- 100% pure orange juice – With or without pulp is fine.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – Use 100% cocoa powder, usually found in the baking section of the grocery store. Raw cacao powder is great too!
- Sweetener – Raw sugar, pure maple syrup, or coconut nectar/sugar all work great!
- Cinnamon – Adds a nice warm layer of flavor to your orange hot chocolate.
- Ginger – Added for another layer of flavor. Feel free to omit it if you don’t have it on hand.
- Cayenne (optional) – For a little heat, add a dash or two of cayenne.
- Salt – A generous pinch of salt will enhance all the flavors for a delicious orange cocoa.
Steps to Make it
Follow these simple steps and you’ll have a mug of flavorful vegan hot cocoa ready in minutes!
Combine ingredients: In a small to medium saucepan, add the non-dairy milk, orange juice, cocoa, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and a pinch of salt, then heat over medium-low heat.
Warm through: Heat until the cocoa is completely dissolved and cocoa is warmed through. Turn the heat to low to keep the cocoa warm until ready to serve.
And that’s all it takes. Now you’re ready to sip and enjoy!
Delicious Orange Hot Chocolate Toppings
One of the best parts about this hot cocoa is how fun it is to add toppings! Feel free to get creative and use whatever you have on hand. Enjoy!
Here are some of our favorites:
- A sprinkle of cinnamon
- A generous dollop of whipped coconut cream
- Vegan mini chocolate chips
- Shaved dark chocolate
- Fluffy vegan marshmallows
More Chocolate Recipes You’ll Love!
- Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate
- Best Vegan Brownies
- Chocolate Cherry Smoothie
- Vegan No Bake Cookies
- See all vegan chocolate recipes on TSV!
If you make this hot cocoa recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
Print Recipe
VEGAN ORANGE HOT CHOCOLATE
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2 – 3 1x
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Vegan
Description
Change up your plain hot chocolate routine and keep warm and cozy with a mug of delicious vegan orange hot chocolate with warming spices! It’s super easy to make and will add some vitamin C to your cocoa.
Ingredients
- 3 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 cup 100% pure orange juice
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup raw sugar, pure maple syrup or coconut nectar/sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of salt
garnish options:
- whipped coconut cream
- sprinkle of cinnamon or cocoa powder
- mini chocolate chips
- shaved dark chocolate
- orange zest
- vegan marshmallows
Instructions
In a small/medium saucepan, heat milk and orange juice over medium-low heat. Add cocoa, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and a pinch of salt, stir until cocoa is completely dissolved. Turn the heat to low to keep the cocoa warm until ready to serve.
Serve in individual cups topped with any garnish you like. I added coconut cream, dusted with cocoa powder and topped with orange zest.
Serves 2 – 3
Notes
Feel free to use water in place of non-dairy milk, or use an equal mix of water & milk (3 cups).
For the orange juice, use fresh-squeezed or bottled (no-pulp to medium-pulp preferred). If using fresh-squeezed, you may want to strain the pulp before using.
Make your 1/4 cup of cocoa heaping if you like a little extra chocolate flavor.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 5 min
- Category: Beverage
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Beverage
FOLLOW TSV on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, or Subscribe (email) for more recipes and inspiration! ♥︎
Hi there!
What kind of dairy-free milk did you use to calculate the nutrition?
Thank you!
Great question, Amber! The nutrition was calculated with unsweetened almond milk. I hope that helps!
Of course; thank you!