You can make your own rich, comforting keto hot chocolate mix with a few simple ingredients.
Note: Instructions included for a dairy free keto hot chocolate mix.
This simple keto hot chocolate recipe will be a new staple in your house. For more recipes check out our Keto Recipes.
Do you need a keto dessert to go with your keto hot chocolate? How about some Keto Brownies?
Our Keto Chocolate Mug Cake is a reader favorite and perfect with hot chocolate.
Keto Hot Chocolate
We started making our own keto hot chocolate mix as soon as we started eating more of a keto diet.
There are so many additives in store bought hot cocoa mixes and tons and tons of sugar.
And some hot chocolate mixes contain gluten in the ingredients, which is crazy.
Things got really tricky when we discovered that one of our girls also had an intolerance to dairy.
I experimented with ingredients and shortly found the right ratio to achieve delicious results for a low carb hot chocolate.
You can make this low carb hot chocolate recipe into a dairy free hot chocolate mix really easily. Top it with vegan marshmallows for an extra sweet treat.
Is cocoa powder keto?
Natural cocoa powder (meaning no added ingredients or added sugar) is gluten-free and keto.
Where you might find gluten is if the cocoa was processed on shared equipment that also processes gluten products.
Also, if a company adds any ingredients or fillers to cocoa products. Always check labels before purchasing cocoa.
This keto hot chocolate recipe only uses a few simple, naturally gluten free ingredients and a sugar free sweetener.
Is milk powder keto?
Yes, whole milk powder with no added ingredients in keto friendly. There are 3 carbs per tablespoon of milk powder.
This recipe calls for 1 cup of whole milk powder, that is 48 carbs from the whole milk powder.
The 1 cup of cocoa adds 16 net carbs (48 carbs-32g of fiber). The total net carbs for this entire recipe is 64.
There are 32 servings, so that's 2 net carbs per serving.
The carbs in this recipe come from the cocoa and the dry milk powder (you can leave this out and use hot heavy whipping cream and water instead of just hot water, for lower carbs).
Cocoa - 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa has 16 net carbs total
Dry milk powder - 1 cup of dry milk powder has 48 net carbs
There are 64 total net carbs in this recipe for the dry cocoa mix, but 32 servings of 2 tablespoons (it makes 64 tablespoons worth, approximately). Each serving is 2 net carbs. Again, if you want to reduce it, you can omit the dry milk powder from the dry mix.
Ingredients in Keto Hot Chocolate
Sugar Free Sweetener - We like to use Swerve granulated sweetener and Lakanto Granulated Sweetener. You can also use the confectioners sugar version of either brand. Adjust the quantity of sweetener up or down for sweetness.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - The star of the keto hot chocolate! Use a high quality unsweetened cocoa powder for the best taste.
Unsweetened Dry Milk Powder - Dry milk powder is low in carbs but if you want even lower carbs, omit the dry milk powder and use a high fat, low carb milk or dairy-free milk when you're ready to make your low carb hot cocoa. Heat the milk and stir in the cocoa mix.
Salt - Salt adds flavor and it enhances other flavors. You're keto hot cocoa won't be salty, but you can leave out the salt if you like.
Vanilla bean powder - Vanilla bean powder is optional, but it helps add to the flavor. You can also add ⅛ teaspoon of vanilla extract to your steaming hot low carb hot chocolate.
Dairy Free Keto Hot Chocolate
This low carb hot chocolate mix is really easy to make and stores well in a glass jar in the pantry. You can double or triple the batch of low carb hot chocolate to stock up for winter.
If you are not able to have dairy, omit the dry milk powder to make this a dairy free hot chocolate.
Dairy Free Hot Chocolate Mix Option
To make this hot chocolate a dairy free hot chocolate mix, use unsweetened coconut milk powder instead of milk powder.
It gives it a slight coconut taste, and is delicious. You can also leave out the milk powder all together and stir in your favorite dairy free milk for a creamy touch.
How to make keto hot chocolate
Whisk all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Store in airtight container or glass jar in the cupboard.
When you’re ready to make your keto hot cocoa. Add 2 tablespoons to 8 ounces of hot water (or hot milk for a more creamy hot chocolate).
If you are making the dairy free version add cocoa mix to 8 ounces of water or plain, unsweetened hot coconut or almond milk.
You can double or triple this keto hot chocolate recipe and stock up. Don't forget to add the keto whipped cream!
I’ve used this Low Carb Hot Chocolate Mix to make homemade keto mochas several times. I put a couple of scoops of the keto hot chocolate mix into a mug with a teaspoon of coconut oil.
Then I pour the hot coffee over the hot cocoa mix and stir until no lumps remain.
Add in a splash of your favorite milk, or dairy-free sugar-free milk and stir.
It’s incredible and it’s a lot less expensive than purchasing a mocha at a coffee shop.
How many people can find keto mocha's at the coffee shop? I can't find anything like that in my area. If you like comforting hot beverages you will love this Pumpkin Spice Latte.
How to store keto hot chocolate mix
This keto hot chocolate mix is best stored in an airtight container out of the sun. You can also store it in the refrigerator.
How long does keto hot cocoa mix stay good
Because keto hot cocoa mix has dairy in it (or coconut milk powder if you go for the dairy-free option) it's best to use it up within 3 months.
The goods news is that it's delicious and it probably won't last that long.
Looking for another great keto staple, try this Keto Coffee Creamer.
Why you'll love this Keto Hot Chocolate recipe
- Rich chocolate flavor
- Smooth, creamy texture
- Quick to make, perfect cure for those chocolate cravings
- Perfect hot or cold
- Better and cheaper than store bought mixes
- Only 2 grams of net carbs per serving
Keto Hot Chocolate Toppings
Choose from the below list of low carb toppings to take your keto hot chocolate to the next level:
- Keto Whipped Cream - It isn't hot chocolate without whipped creamed on top.
- Keto Syrup - Drizzle chocolate, caramel or maple syrup directly in the cup or over the whipped cream.
- Shaved Dark Chocolate - For a stronger chocolate flavor and elegant look.
- Mini Keto Marshmallows - Who doesn't want some mini marshmallows in their cup of hot chocolate
Keto Hot Chocolate variations
- Sugar-free chocolate chips - For a rich hot chocolate, add some keto friendly chocolate chips to the saucepan when making your keto hot chocolate.
- Pumpkin Spice - add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice blend to the pot when heating.
- Peppermint - add a teaspoon (more to taste) of peppermint extract.
- Mocha - add a scoop of Keto instant coffee or espresso to the saucepan when heating your low carb hot chocolate.
- Bulletproof hot chocolate - Similar to making Bulletproof Coffee, simply add 2 Tablespoons of MCT Oil or Grass Fed Butter to help your body stay in a state of ketosis.
- Chai - add 1 teaspoon of unsweetened Chai spice mix
- Spicy - add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a spicy twist.
- Turmeric - packed with powerful antioxidants and immune boosting ingredients. Add a ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder.
Tips for the best Keto Hot Chocolate
- For a rich hot chocolate, heat 4 ounces of heavy cream and 4 ounces of water then add 2 tablespoons of your keto hot chocolate mix. This will increase the net carbs to 5 grams.
- For the lowest net carbs, omit the dry milk powder when making your keto hot chocolate mix. Then heat 8 ounces of unsweetened almond milk in a saucepan and add 1 and a ½ tablespoons of your dairy-free hot chocolate mix. The net carbs will be 1.5 g net carbs.
- Use a milk frother to aerate your rich hot cocoa to make it even creamier.
Does Starbucks have Keto Hot Chocolate?
Starbucks does not have a Keto Hot Chocolate on their menu, but there is a way to order one that is much lower in carbs.
Ask for a Skinny Hot Chocolate, which is made with unsweetened Mocha Sauce, Sugar-free Vanilla Syrup and Milk. The Grande version of this drink has 20 grams of net carbs, still way to high for your keto diet.
Simply ask the barista to replace the milk with half Heavy Cream and half hot water. This will bring the net carbs down to 8 grams.
Serve this keto hot cocoa with:
Keto Donuts - Who doesn't love coffee and donuts, or low carb hot chocolate in donuts? It's a delicious match.
Keto Blueberry Muffins - For those that like grab and go breakfasts, these muffins are perfect with a mug of hot cocoa.
Keto Oatmeal - While we love our keto hot chocolate, we love our keto oatmeal just as much. You can make this as sweet as you like it.
Keto Fudge - A super easy refrigerator keto fudge that only uses a few on-hand ingredients.
What do you like to eat with your keto hot chocolate? Let us know in the comments below.
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Best Keto Hot Chocolate
You can make your own rich, comforting keto hot chocolate mix with a few simple ingredients. Instructions included for a dairy free keto hot chocolate mix. This simple keto hot chocolate recipe will be a new staple in your house.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar-free sweetener (we used Lakanto or Swerve)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean powder (optional, I like a pinch of vanilla flavoring)
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa (we use Rodelle Dutch Processed Cocoa)
- 1 cup unsweetened dry milk powder (for dairy free version use coconut milk powder)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
- Store in airtight container or glass jar in the cupboard.
- When you're ready to make your hot cocoa. Add 2 tablespoons to 8-10 ounces of hot water (or milk for an extra creamy hot chocolate). If you didn't add vanilla bean powder to your mix, add a splash of vanilla extract to your hot cocoa (optional).
- Serve hot with keto whipped cream.
Notes
- This recipe makes 32, 2-tablespoon servings at 2 net carbs per serving of the dry mix. The nutrition value is for 2 tablespoons of keto hot chocolate mix mixed with water.
- To reduce the carbs further, consider omitting the dry milk powder from the dry mix and adding the dry mix to half water, half heavy whipping cream.
- If you didn't add vanilla bean powder to your mix, add a splash of vanilla extract to your hot chocolate (optional).
- Use coconut milk powder in place of the milk powder to make this dairy-free.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 32 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 67Total Fat: 1.5gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 78mgCarbohydrates: 3gNet Carbohydrates: 2gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g
The nutrition information for this recipe is an approximate total per serving. Please double check the nutrition information for your exact ingredients and brands.
Kathy
Just a question about the ingredients used to make this a Keto recipe. Is dry milk powder keto? And you say put the mix in hot water (obviously keto) or any milk...milk isn’t keto due to the carb count. Heavy cream or half and half is more keto friendly. At least this is what I have been told. I’m trying to follow a low carb way if eating, so I don’t use milk. I use almond milk instead.
Four Score Living
Hi Kathy,
Yes, dry milk powder is keto friendly as long as you don't purchase one that has added ingredients. Milk is keto friendly but heavy cream and half and half are better because they are higher in fat content. I give the option to leave the milk powder out, and to add in heavy cream (or your milk of choice) after. I hope that helps.
Elizabeth
Where do you get vanilla bean powder? I have never heard of it. When I looked on amazon it seemed that it contains sugar.
Four Score Living
Hi Elizabeth,
You can buy it online, on amazon for example. If you don't want to purchase it, you can add a splash of vanilla extract to your hot chocolate once its prepared.
Antima
This is so stinkin good! I finally made a bunch of dry ingredients in a jar so I can have it ready. I do a little less hwc and use Califia Farms unsweetened milk. What a fabulous treat for those of us trying to eat less sugar. Thank you for sharing!!??
Four Score Living
I'm so glad you liked it. Thank you for letting me know.
Tina
Awesome!!! This is the best, thank you for sharing.
Amanda
Hi I'm just wondering if the carb count is correct. It says on the nutrition facts for the milk powder that 1/3 cup is 12 carbs. If you put 3 of these in the recipe that makes a cup. Which means 36 carbs total for the milk mix. Is this correct?
Four Score Living
Hi Amanda,
The carbs in this recipe come from the cocoa and the dry milk powder (you can leave this out and use hot heavy whipping cream and water instead of just hot water, for lower carbs).
Cocoa - 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa has 16 net carbs total
Dry milk powder - 1 cup of dry milk powder has 48 net carbs
There are 64 total net carbs in this recipe for the dry cocoa mix, but 32 servings of 2 tablespoons (it makes 64 tablespoons worth, approximately). Each serving is 2 net carbs. Again, if you want to reduce it, you can omit the dry milk powder from the dry mix.
I hope that helps.
Pam
Can I use cacao instead if cocoa
Four Score Living
Yes, you can use cocao.
Kristina Johnson
Can you use nonfat dry milk instead of whole milk?
Four Score Living
Just, just adjust the net carb count if you are counting carbs 🙂
Sabrina B.
Which dry milk did you use ? I’ve been trying to find a good one without a lot of sugar
Four Score Living
We use Hoosier Hill Farm, full fat dry milk. But you can use any that you like. You can also mix the cocoa and sweetener, and add to hot whipping cream or a unsweetened dairyfree milk.
Kelly
Okay, if you add coconut milk to this mix and also use heated half and half will this still be carb friendly? And how many carbs approximately?
Four Score Living
It really depends on how much coconut milk you use and what the type of coconut milk is. The higher the fat content, the lower the carbs in coconut milk. It's best to measure out exactly and count them based on the brands you are using.
Kelly
Thank you, I will just omit the dry coconut milk next time from my keto coco mix. I know the dry cocunut milk is unsweetened though. And it was actually really good.
Peggy D. Ranz
Hi! I can't wait to try this...is the sweetener granular or confectioner's?
Four Score Living
Great question! It's granular, but you can use confectioners.
Julie
This sounds great! Can I substitute unflavored collagen powder for some of the powdered milk?
Four Score Living
Yes, enjoy!
Cindy
Great recipe. Just what I was looking for. I did use Hosier farms heavy cream powder, I had that available. Thanks!
Janet
I love this recipe! I sometimes skip the vanilla and add a drop of orange essential oil. Really makes the cocoa pop!
Really good brewed with coffee..
Four Score Living
I am so glad you like it! Thank you for taking the time to stop back by and let us know.
Renee Brown
I just made this with the swerve confectioners sugar and noticed that swerve has 3g of carbs for 1 tsp! And it calls for 2cups of the sweetener. That greatly increases the carbs for this recipe right? Or did I calculate this wrong? Which is totally possible 🙂
Four Score Living
Hi Renee,
Those are carbs from sugar alcohol, and they don't count because your body processes them differently. 🙂 Also, don't forget that the ingredients are for the entire batch, which is a lot less when you make a serving of hot cocoa.
Karla Gossen
Would this work with coconut sugar or maple sugar. Not real worried about being keto or low carb per say. That is a nice bonus. I like the recipe but would actually mix it with coffee. The coconut sugar and maple sugar are what I tend to use. I do have monkfruit also but tend to leave that for my dad. I would also be using the powdered coconut milk.
Four Score Living
Yes, you can use coconut sugar or maple sugar in place of the sweetener.
Four Score Living Team