Today, I'm delighted to share my review of my luscious new hot chocolate recipe, just in time for Christmas and other winter holiday celebrations and the long, chilly weather during the months that follow them.
Once you taste this decadent cold-weather treat, you'll never want to settle for ordinary hot cocoa again! It's so rich, thick, intensely chocolaty, and indulgent, no one who tastes it will ever guess—or even believe—that this fabulous beverage is also sugar-free and very low in carbohydrates. That means you can enjoy it with your family and friends, even if some of are following a low carb or ketogenic diet.
My carb-loving husband and I, both serious hot chocolate snobs, agree that it's The Ultimate Hot Chocolate Recipe, keto or not!
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©2020 Margaret Schindel, all rights reserved |
Gourmet Hot Chocolate Any Chocolate Connoisseur Will Love (Just Don't Tell Them It's Keto!)
'Tis the season for hot chocolate! During Christmas and other winter holidays, and straight through the cold weather months, hot cocoa a welcome indulgence, warming us from the inside out after we come in from the cold (and especially after we've been playing outside in the snow...or shoveling it!). Unfortunately, for those of us who follow a low carb or ketogenic diet, most keto recipes for low carb hot chocolate just aren't all that tasty or satisfying.
After trying and being disappointed by five or six different keto recipes for hot cocoa and a couple of low carb hot chocolate mixes, I finally realized the only way to find a keto hot chocolate recipe that would live up to my very high expectations standards would be to develop one myself.
It took a lot of experimentation, but the final result definitely has been worth all the time and effort I invested into the process. In fact, this is the closest thing I've ever sipped to the gold-standard chocolat chaud L'Africain at the world-famous Angelina café in the Rue de Rivoli in Paris (where I had the good fortunate to enjoy a cup once, many years ago).
That's why I'm confident that my recipe truly is worthy of the title, The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe. In fact, second only to Angelina's iconic L'Africain, I think this may well be The Ultimate Hot Chocolate Recipe, period.
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©2020 Margaret Schindel, all rights reserved High carb or keto, hot chocolate doesn't get any more sumptuous than this recipe! |
Hot Chocolate or Cocoa? Both!
As my fellow Review This Reviews contributor Wednesday Elf explained in her recent review of National Cocoa Day (which is just five days away, on December 13), although both terms for this beloved beverage are often used interchangeably, the main difference is whether they are made with real chocolate (often ground) or with cocoa powder.
As I experimented with different combinations and proportions of ingredients for my recipe, I found that mixing my favorite Dutched cocoa powder, sugar-free chocolate chips, and Good Dee's Sipping Chocolate low carb hot cocoa mix resulted in the perfect, intense, dark chocolate flavor I wanted.
Combining the cocoa and dark chocolate with macadamia milk (instead of the more commonly used almond milk), heavy cream, and 1/8 teaspoon per serving of xanthan gum, and then using a handheld immersion blender (aka stick blender) to emulsify all the ingredients and thicken the mixture, worked synergistically provided the rich, creamy taste and smooth, luxurious consistency that other low carb hot chocolate recipes and mixes I had tried lacked. Salt and pure vanilla extract to complement the dark chocolate flavor that, together with the smoothness and creaminess rounded out the flavor profile, smoothing out the intense, dark chocolate flavor with to create The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate.
Regular, Mint, and Salted Caramel Keto Hot Chocolate
Once I had perfected the recipe, I decided to take this challenge to the next level, creating low carb versions of my husband's favorite hot cocoa flavors that we could both could enjoy: keto mint hot chocolate and keto salted caramel hot chocolate.
I hadn't thought this recipe could get any better, but I was mistaken. The mint and salted caramel variations turned out to be even more delicious than the original version!
The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe
You Don't Have to Follow a Low Carb Diet to Love It!
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©2020
Margaret Schindel, all rights reserved |
Prep Time:
10 minutes
(approximately 6 fluid ounces per serving)
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp Good Dee’s Sipping Chocolate (no substitution!)
- 2 tablespoons Ghirardelli Majestic Premium cocoa powder
- 4 Tbsp BochaSweet sugar replacement (granulated, not powdered)
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 3/8 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used fine Himalayan pink crystal salt, which contains beneficial amounts of 84 trace elements and iron, and is less processed than regular table salt)
- 2 cups Milkadamia Unsweetened Vanilla Macadamia Milk
- 2 Tbsp keto-friendly sugar-free dark chocolate chips (ChocZero dark chocolate chips or Lily’s dark chocolate chips work well in this recipe)
- 2 teaspoons ghee (clarified butter) or butter
- 4 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
-
Measure the dry ingredients (Good Dee's Sipping
Chocolate, Ghirardelli Majestic Premium unsweetened
cocoa powder, granulated BochaSweet sugar replacement,
xanthan gum, and salt) into a small bowl. Mix well
(pressing out any lumps of cocoa) and set
aside.
-
Pour the Milkadamia unsweetened vanilla macadamia milk
into a 2-cup Pyrex glass measuring cup and microwave
for 60 seconds or until hot. Remove from microwave.
-
Place the sugar-free chocolate chips and ghee or
butter into a 4-cup Pyrex glass measuring cup.
Microwave on high for 45–60 seconds, depending on how
powerful your microwave is. Stir the mixture well to
melt as much of the chocolate as possible, then
repeat, stirring until the chocolate is completely
melted.
-
Stir the hot macadamia milk into the melted chocolate
mixture in the 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup until well
incorporated. Then, microwave for another 60
seconds.
-
Stir in the dry ingredients, and then use an immersion
blender (without any attachments) to blend the
contents of the measuring cup. (I find it helpful to
glide the immersion blender slowly over the bottom of
the cup and tilt it slightly in different
directions.)
-
Add the heavy cream, then blend with the immersion
blender for 20–30 seconds, until the mixture thickens
slightly.
-
Microwave on high for 30–60 seconds, or until very
hot, and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Divide evenly among four small mugs or two large mugs. Top with optional whipped cream, if desired. Serve immediately.
Keto Mint Hot Chocolate Recipe Variation
- Replace the vanilla extract with 3/8 to 1/2 teaspoon (to taste) of pure peppermint extract or pure mint extract.
Keto Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Recipe Variation
Transform this beverage into a keto salted caramel hot chocolate so divine, it will make you close your eyes and purr with pleasure when you take your first sip! Just make these simple tweaks to my original recipe:
- Increase the amount of salt to 3/4 teaspoon.
- Increase the vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon.
- At the end of step 4, blend in 4 tablespoons of ChocZero Caramel Sugar-Free Syrup to the hot chocolate mixture.
Optional Whipped Cream Topping
-
At least 30–60 minutes before you plan to make this
Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe, put some heavy
whipping cream in a mixing bowl, stir in a few drops
of vanilla, mint, or peppermint extract, and sweeten
to taste with your favorite keto-friendly, natural,
powdered sweetener (confectioner's sugar
replacement), such as powdered BochaSweet, powdered
monkfruit allulose blend sweetener, or powdered
allulose. Place the mixing bowl with the flavored
cream in the refrigerator to chill, along with a
wire balloon whisk or the whisk attachment of your
electric mixer.
-
After making the hot chocolate recipe through step 6
(before you heat the hot chocolate mixture for the
last time and stir in the extract), whip the cold,
flavored, lightly sweetened cream in the chilled
bowl with the chilled whisk.
- Finish preparing the hot chocolate recipe (steps 7 and 8), topping each mug with a cloud of freshly whipped cream. Finish the whipped cream topping with a light dusting of unsweetened cocoa, if desired.
Recipe Notes
-
Good Dee’s Sipping Chocolate is a key ingredient in
this recipe! You can order it, as well as the Good
Dee’s Dark Chocolate Chips, either on Amazon or on
the Good Dee’s website. Consider adding some of the
delicious Good Dee’s keto cookie mix flavors I’ve
reviewed previously to your cart while you’re at it.
After all, what’s better than cookies and hot cocoa
on a chilly day, especially around the holidays?
Note: If you don't get Amazon Prime free shipping, or the Good Dee's products you want are out of stock on Amazon, or you'd prefer to shop the full selection of Good Dee's products, you can save 15% off your total purchase price any time you use my Good Dee's website affiliate shopping link and enter my unique discount coupon code GOODDEES15MRS during checkout.
-
Using Ghirardelli Majestic Premium Cocoa makes a big
difference in the taste of this decadent hot
chocolate. The more expensive nib-alkalization
process gives it a richer, smoother, better flavor.
Even though the generous 2-pound (32-ounce) canister
looks as though it would be a lifetime supply, I use
this extraordinary cocoa powder so often in this and
other recipes, such as my luscious low carb keto
chocolate yogurt chip pudding parfait recipe (my
favorite quick and easy breakfast, lunch, dinner,
dessert, or snack when I’m in the mood for something
sweet), that I have to replenish my supply a few
times a year.
If you are unable to get the Ghirardelli Majestic Premium and need to substitute a different brand or formula, please make sure to choose a high-quality, unsweetened, alkalized or Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Although your hot chocolate won't taste the same as my original recipe, if you use a different brand of alkalized or Dutch-processed (aka Dutched or "Dutch"), it should still be delicious!
-
Making this hot beverage in a large, flat-bottomed
Pyrex glass 4-cup measuring cup lets you can see
what's at the bottom of the hot mixture, so you know
whether the chocolate chips have melted completely
and, if so, whether all the melted chocolate has
been incorporated into the hot macadamia milk and
melted butter mixture.
-
Using an immersion blender on medium speed creates
the perfect consistency. If you don't own one, you
can use a regular blender, and use a slim silicone
scraper to make sure you get all of your delicious
hot beverage out of the container. My decades-old
stick blender was a gift from someone who knew how
much I enjoy cooking and baking, and that model was
discontinued long ago. However, if you're looking
for a good one, the powerful
Müeller Austria Ultra-Stick 500 Watt 9-Speed
Stainless Steel Immersion Blender
has more than 20,000 5-star ratings on
Amazon.
Nutrition Facts
The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe (Original, Mint, or Peppermint) Nutrition Facts
The Ultimate Keto Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Recipe Nutrition Facts
The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe by Margaret Schindel
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