Warm up with a mug of dairy-free, honey-sweetened chai hot chocolate! The chai spice blend really adds depth to this homemade hot chocolate mix. Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove, and nutmeg bring that classic chai flavor to our sweet and delicious homemade chai hot cocoa!
Chai hot chocolate
I grew up enjoying a lot of hot chocolate from premade mixes.
You know, those big tubs you simply add boiling water to? I sure enjoyed it!
It made me think that homemade hot chocolate may be hard to make.
Boy was I wrong!
Creamy hot chocolate is super simple to make and my favorite way to enjoy it.
All you have to do is warm your milk, add the powdered cocoa, chai spices, and sweetener and you end up with a delicious mug of warm chai-spiced hot cocoa.
Top with a little whipped cream, add a cinnamon stick or star anise, and you have the perfect cozy drink for the winter months!
What goes into chia spice?
Here are the spices that go into what you’d like in chai tea bags:
You can give your chia spice more bite by increasing the ginger or adding ground black peppercorn to it. Or just keep it as is for a kid-friendly, sweeter chocolate masala chai drink.
Ingredients in chai hot chocolate
Scroll down to view the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions.
- dairy-free milk (make your own almond milk)
- cocoa powder
- cinnamon
- cardamom
- allspice
- clove
- ginger
- honey
- vanilla extract
How to make my favorite hot chocolate recipe
- Add the dairy-free milk to a small pot and warm over medium-low heat. Bring to a gentle boil and whisk in the cocoa powder, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, clove, and ginger. Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes.
- Remove from the heat so that the gentle simmer stops. Stir in the honey and vanilla. Whisk until the honey has combined with the hot cocoa.
- Serve your chai hot chocolate with marshmallows or coconut whip cream and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon!
Watch me make the best cup of hot cocoa!
The full how to video can be watched below, or on my YouTube channel!
Substitutions
Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in this chocolate chai latte recipe.
If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!
Dairy-free milk – My go-to for this recipe is almond milk, however, coconut milk, oat milk, and whole milk are great choices here too!
Cocoa powder – Two great options to substitute cocoa powder for include cacao powder and dark chocolate chips. Cacao powder can be substituted 1:1. If you use dark chocolate chips and let them melt into the warm milk, you’ll want to reduce the sweetener slightly as the chocolate chips add sweetness too.
Chai spices – If you don’t have all of the spices available, no worries! Add additional spices to what you have on hand. You can also open up a chai tea bag and use that. You can steep a chai tea bag as well in the milk. If you have chai concentrate on hand, you can also use that!
Honey – Good substitutes for honey include maple syrup, agave nectar, and coconut sugar.
Treats to enjoy with your hot chocolate
- Chewy orange almond butter oat cookies
- Healthy chocolate oat cookies
- Chocolate hazelnut almond pulp energy balls
Chai Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 2 cups dairy-free milk (make your own almond milk)
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp cardamom
- ⅛ tsp allspice
- ⅛ tsp clove
- ⅛ tsp ginger
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the dairy-free milk to a small pot and warm over medium-low heat. Bring to a gentle boil and whisk in the cocoa powder, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, clove, and ginger. Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes.
- Remove from the heat so that the gentle simmer stops. Stir in the honey and vanilla. Whisk until the honey has combined with the hot cocoa.
- Serve your chai hot chocolate with marshmallows or coconut whip cream and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon!
Nutrition
If you try this classic hot chocolate with warm spices, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!
XO
Heather
*Originally published in December 2010. Updated November 2022.*
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I definitely look forward to spending time with my family in the kitchen. It’s the best of both worlds!
This looks so delicious. I agree with you about the family thing. I spent the beginning part of this years holiday season searching for ways to embrace the spirit…it wasn’t until I put up the tree with my mom and baked out first batch of cookies that I realized what it was all really about…
You’re so right. The holidays are all about spending time with your family & friends! This hot chocolate sounds totally delicious (and what a cute mug). I’m most looking forward to seeing Josh’s family! Its been too long
I enjoy Christmas breakfast, eggs + bacon ! Plus just spending time with my family and dogs :)) Your hot cocoa sounds SOOO good!!! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I’ll be looking forward to spending the first Christmas with my new nephew.
I’m looking forward to not working, seeing my family for the first time in a few months and being somewhere where there is snow! 🙂
That hot chocolate sounds wonderful! I love cocoa, chai and hot drinks so a great combination. I could use some right now since I’m so cold! We are going to have a white Christmas this year 🙂
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