Vegan Orange Hot Chocolate

This hot chocolate recipe is totally vegan made from almond milk, with a squeeze of orange juice, the peel and raw cacao powder. A drink that is guaranteed to warm you up on a cold winters day.

During the winter months I simply cannot get enough of soups, stews and hot drinks. With that being said, I just had to share one of my favourite combinations - orange and chocolate.

Both come together quite harmoniously in this simple hot chocolate drink with orange. It's suitable for vegans, paleo and GF, so tasty and comes together in less than 30 minutes.

Before I started to focus my life around plant based milk I used to consume regular hot chocolate, cocoa. While the two aren't the same thing for the sake of this post I'm going to refer to both terms interchangeably so stick with me.

Anyway, here the UK there's a brand called " Options" which was a ready made hot chocolate powdered mix. My mother used to drink all the time and she subsequently got me addicted to namely the mint and orange flavoured drinks.

As a food blogger I wanted to make my own version that was solely plant based making it suitable for those who are afflicted with lactose intolerance or vegans. I'm pleased to say I have just that, made my very own veganised orange hot chocolate from scratch.

It's so good that you can sip on this hot beverage while eating some Gluten Free Orange and Almond Cake.

Ingredients you will need

How to make orange hot chocolate

• Pour the almond milk into a medium sized saucepan on medium heat.

• Add the cacao powder, agave nectar, vanilla,  half the juice from the orange (reserve the rest) and use a whisk to evenly combined everything together.

• Toss the peel of the orange into the saucepan and bring the saucepan to the boil while stirring.
• Once boiled reduce the saucepan to a low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the saucepan from the stove and pour the remaining orange juice into the saucepan (do a taste test to determine how much additional orange you want to any if any), stir and allow the hot chocolate to steep for 5 minutes
• Remove the peel with a slotted spoon or strain the contents in a sieve
• Serve in heatproof glasses

Notes and tips 

• Don't be alarmed if the drink separates, this may happen and it's normal, just give it a good stir.
• To eliminate the pith (the white flesh from the skin, which is bitter) sit the orange peel in hot water for 15 minutes, then use a teaspoon to scoop and discard the white part.
• I prefer to use a more neutral tasting plant based milk for this recipe. However, you are more than welcome to use cashew or hazelnut which is creamier. I wouldn't suggest using coconut or pistachio because they will inhibit the taste and counteract the orange flavour.
• Double up by removing the peel from an orange, cut it in half then extract the juice and add it to your drink.
• You can add fresh orange juice instead about ¼ cup in two stages (during simmering and when steeping) instead if you wish. This is optional as the orange juice will make the flavour very strong.
• The longer the orange is left to seep the more intense the flavour becomes. I personally only remove the peel before I'm serving. It's okay to leave the peel in for several hours or overnight if you want to.
• If you don't care for a strong orange flavour only use the peel and omit the juice. This will yield a very mild taste of orange.
• You can make this recipe in a blender such as a vitamix but do make sure to pour out the hot chocolate before steeping with the rind.

Toppings

• Learn how to make your own vegan whipped cream
• Sprinkling of cacao powder
• Cacao nibs
• Orange zest

Nut milks you can use for this recipe 

More chocolate drink recipes

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Vegan Orange Hot Chocolate

Enjoy this delicious plant based zesty orange hot chocolate during the winter months - vegan, paleo, gluten free

4.88 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American, British

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 2 servings

Calories: 246kcal

Author: Charla

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 cups of almond milk 600ml
• ▢ 2 tablespoon cacao
• ▢ ¼ cup agave nectar 60ml
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ The juice of an orange squeezed (see notes and tips, the amount added is optional)
• ▢ The rind/peel of a whole orange

Instructions

• Pour the almond milk into a medium sized saucepan on medium heat.
• Add the cacao powder, agave nectar, vanilla,  half the juice from the orange (reserve the rest) and use a whisk to evenly combined everything together.
• Toss the peel of the orange into the saucepan and bring the saucepan to the boil while stirring.
• Once boiled reduce the saucepan to a low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the saucepan from the stove and pour the remaining orange juice into the saucepan (do a taste test to determine how much additional orange you want to any if any), stir and allow the hot chocolate to steep for 5 minutes
• Remove the peel with a slotted spoon or strain the contents in a sieve
• Serve in heatproof glasses

Notes

• Don't be alarmed if the drink separates, this may happen and it's normal, just give it a good stir.
• To eliminate the pith (the white flesh from the skin, which is bitter) sit the orange peel in hot water for 15 minutes, then use a teaspoon to scoop and discard the white part.
• I prefer to use a more neutral tasting plant based milk for this recipe. However, you are more than welcome to use cashew or hazelnut which is creamier. I wouldn't suggest using coconut or pistachio because they will inhibit the taste and counteract the orange flavour.
• Double up by removing the peel from an orange, cut it in half then extract the juice and add it to your drink.
• You can add fresh orange juice instead about ¼ cup in two stages (during simmering and when steeping) instead if you wish. This is optional as the orange juice will make the flavour very strong.
• The longer the orange is left to seep the more intense the flavour becomes. I personally only remove the peel before I'm serving. It's okay to leave the peel in for several hours or overnight if you want to.
• If you don't care for a strong orange flavour only use the peel and omit the juice. This will yield a very mild taste of orange.
• You can make this recipe in a blender such as a vitamix but do make sure to pour out the hot chocolate before steeping with the rind.

Nutrition

Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 489mg | Potassium: 237mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 295IU | Vitamin C: 70mg | Calcium: 502mg

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