5 of Our Favorite Vegan Chocolate Recipes

Some people think "vegan" and "chocolate" don’t go together. But these five delightful recipes help correct that misguided notion. The list includes a quick but delicious breakfast, brownies, muffins, truffles, and biscuits. Here are five of our favorite vegan chocolate recipes.

*Recipes provided by Kristell Gathoye.

1. Breakfast Smoothie

Vegan | Prep Time: 10 min | Level: Easy | Makes 1 large glass

As you may have read in our previous article on using cacao as a yogurt replacement, chocolate for breakfast can be both healthy and flavorful. Cacao alone is loaded with nutrients.

Along with cacao powder, this vegan breakfast smoothie has all the ingredients needed to give you a boost of energy. It’s quick and simple—perfect for busy mornings, just like our Two-Step Healthy Chocolate Smoothie.

Ingredients:

• 250ml Oat Milk
• 1 Tbsp. Peanut butter
• 2 Tsp Instant coffee granules
• 3 Tbsp. 100% T. Cacao powder
• 1 banana cut into small slices

Recipe: 

1. Prepare all the ingredients. Dilute the coffee with a spoonful of hot water and then add it to the cacao powder to make a paste.

2. Add the paste to the Oat milk followed by the banana slices and the peanut butter.

3. Blend and enjoy!

Recipe Tips:

• Mix it up: Try any other nut butter instead of peanut or use any other non-dairy milk.
• Child friendly: Skip the coffee for a child-friendly breakfast.

2. Lavender Brownies

Vegan | Prep Time: 20 min | Baking Time: 25-30 min  
Level: Easy – Kid friendly | Makes 9 squares - 18cm x 18cm tin used

Enhance your regular vegan brownies with a hint of lavender using this easy—and kid-friendly—recipe. The richness of dark chocolate pairs perfectly with the floral taste of lavender. It makes for a chocolate treat that’s both elegant and enjoyable.

Ingredients:

• 70g Coconut Oil
• 180g Sugar
• 100g 100% T. Cacao powder
• 45g Oat milk
• 3-4 drops Vanilla extract
• 130g Flour
• 3g Baking powder
• ¼ Tsp salt
• 2 handfuls of Dark chocolate chips
• 2 Tsp dried lavender

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.

2. Prepare all the ingredients. Add the coconut oil to a pan with the sugar and cacao powder. Heat until everything is melted. Then, transfer into a large mixing bowl.

3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and sift it into the wet mixture. Mix well to form a batter.

4. Add the chocolate chips and the lavender.

5. Pour the batter into an 18cm x 18cm square tin that you have lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake at 175°C for 25-30min. To check if it is ready, see if a small knife or stick comes out clean.

Recipe Tips:

• Up the indulgence: Replace the lavender with swirls of peanut butter.
• Energy Kick: Add a couple spoons of espresso coffee into the wet mix.
• Go nuts: Replace the Chocolate chips with nuts.
• I use washed and dried lavender from a local field. If you don’t have lavender, you can also use lavender extract or even rose extract, to keep the flowery touch. 

3. Chocolate, Almond & Cherry Truffles

Vegan, GF | Prep Time: 25 min | Refrigerate: 1h  
Level: Easy | Makes 15-20 truffles

Not only is this a fully vegan recipe, but it's also 100% gluten-free. A large batch of chocolate almond and cherry truffles is perfect for sharing with family and friends. Or, you can keep them saved in the fridge for whenever you’re craving a treat.

This is one of the healthier options when it comes to chocolate treats, but that doesn’t mean it's any less delicious.

Ingredients:

• 60g Coconut Cream
• 20g Sugar
• 80g 100% T. Cacao Powder
• 40g Ripe Cherries (mashed)
• A few drops Almond extract
• 10g Almond flour + some for the coating

Recipe:

1. Prepare all the ingredients.

2. Warm the coconut cream and the sugar in a pan. When it starts to simmer, pour onto the chocolate and mix to make a ganache.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the mashed cherries with the extract and the almond flour. Pour this mixture into the chocolate ganache and blend.

4. Place in the fridge. This will cause the mixture to firm up. Once firm enough to handle, roll into walnut-sized balls and place them back into the fridge.

5. Prepare a small bowl with some almond flour and roll the firm truffles in it to coat.

Recipe Tips:

• You can skip the extract or replace it with Vanilla.
• You can skip the sugar for a healthier treat. It will bring out more sourness depending on the ripeness of the cherries.
• You can use any other non-dairy cream to make the ganache.

4. Vegan Chocolate Muffins

Vegan | Prep Time: 20 min | Baking Time: 15 min 
Level: Easy | Makes 9 muffins

Whether you’re looking for something to pair with your breakfast smoothie or a filling snack, these vegan chocolate muffins are the perfect solution. They’re easy to make and are ready in under an hour. They’re also chocolatey, moist, and all around tender. What more can you ask for in a muffin?

Ingredients:

• 20g Coconut oil
• 30g 100% T. cacao powder
• 20g Sugar
• 200ml Oat milk
• 5 Tbsp Maple or Agave syrup
• 1 Tsp Vanilla extract
• 75g Ground almonds
• 60g Flour
• 2 Tsp Baking Powder

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Melt the coconut oil and mix in the cacao and sugar. Add the oat milk, syrup, and vanilla extract. Transfer into a mixing bowl.

3. Combine the ground almonds, flour and baking powder. Fold it into the coconut oil mixture to make a batter.

4. Pour the batter into a muffin tray or muffin cases.

5. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes. Demold as it comes out of the oven and let them cool. These are best eaten fresh.

5. Viennese Biscuits

Vegan | Prep Time: 15 min | Baking Time: 15-20 min 
Level: Intermediate | Makes 12-15 biscuits

Viennese biscuits are a delicious buttery treat. This recipe is an equally-delicious vegan version. It uses aquafaba, or chickpea liquid, which is a great vegan substitute for egg whites. It produces the same soft and chewy texture in pastries and you don't taste it at all.

Ingredients:

• 70g Vegan spread
• 25g Icing sugar
• 10g Aquafaba (chickpea liquid)
• 75g Flour
• 1g salt
• 100g 100% T. Cacao powder with 5g sugar or 70% T. Cacao powder

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.

2. Prepare all the ingredients. Then, mix the vegan spread with the icing sugar until homogenous.

3. Add the aquafaba and mix.

4. Fold in the flour and salt to make a batter.

5. Fill a piping bag with a large open star piping nozzle. Prepare a non-stick baking sheet. Pipe around 12-15 biscuits in the shape shown on the photo below.

6. Bake at 170°C for 15-20 minutes or until they start to turn golden on the edges. Let them cool on a cooling rack.

7. When cooled, melt your chocolate over a bain-marie or in a microwave (do this 10 seconds at a time to avoid burning the chocolate). Here, you have 2 options. You can simply dip the large side of the biscuits into the melted chocolate and place them in the fridge to harden. Or, if you want more of a shine and you have a thermal probe on hand, you can temper your chocolate by following these steps:

8. Melt 80g of your chocolate over a bain-marie. Its temperature should be 45-50C. Take it off the heat and place the bowl onto a tea towel/cloth.

9. When it goes under 40C, mix in the remaining 20g. Keep mixing until it’s all melted and smooth and reaches between 30C and 32C.

10. You can now dip the large side of your biscuits into the tempered chocolate.

Recipe Tips:

• Aquafaba behaves similarly to egg whites but comes from the liquid left after opening a tin of chickpeas. As you will only need 10g for this recipe, you could empty the rest into an ice cube tray, freeze it and store the cubes in a sealed freezer bag for future use.
• Grate a little lemon zest into the batter to add an extra touch.

So Good That Anyone Will Love Them

Whether you’re vegan or not, you’re sure to enjoy these five recipes. Many vegan recipes call for ingredients that you or your family might have never heard of before. But these treats are all easy to make and use ingredients that are already in your pantry or easily found at the store.

We should mention that these vegan chocolate recipes aren't just delicious. They'll also leave you feeling satisfied.