Super easy and healthy hot cacao dessert drink (dairy free)

Sharing a super easy and healthy hot cacao dessert drink with you to start your week! It can be dairy free and gluten free, if you like those things too.

Hi, my friends, how are you? I hope you had a nice weekend! It’s still pretty cold in our neck of the woods (well, cold for Northern California anyway), and I often find myself in need of a hot beverage in the evening, but I don’t feel like drinking tea again. 

I recently went through a box of fancy adaptogenic mushroom hot cacao and realized I could probably make something just as tasty, if not tastier, for a fraction of the price, so that’s where this hot cacao recipe came from — a need!

After I finish dinner, I always need a little something sweet, and in addition to grabbing a couple of coconut-covered dates, hot cacao is my new thing. 

Grab a cozy blanket (may I suggest anything from this brand), your favorite mug and get ready for a comforting beverage full of antioxidants, magnesium and iron. As you know, magnesium aids in helping your body handle stress and get great sleep, so this drink is perfect for an evening wind-down ritual too.

Super easy and healthy hot cacao dessert drink

Ingredients

Here’s what you need …

• Raw organic cacao powder — you can buy this at the grocery store or order it online (this is my current fave version), and it’s different from cocoa, it’s a superfood and is essentially a more raw version of cocoa, thus having more nutritional value and a less sweet taste
• Raw honey
• Coconut or almond milk — I usually use coconut or pea, but almond should work fine
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon
• Sea salt
• Stevia

You’ll also want to get a hand-held frother or a fancy stand-up frother that will also heat your milk.

It may seem “extra,” but believe me, my hand-held frother is the best $10 I’ve spent in a long time, because I like to froth about three beverages a day, and it makes them seem oh-so-special. (If you don’t have a frother, you can try hand whisking the beverage, but it may not be quite as creamy.) Oh and I’m pretty sure it paid for itself the first two times I skipped a weekend afternoon Starbucks run to make my own frothed latte at home. Truth!

Directions

Here’s how you make it …

First up, you put the milk in a mug and put it in the microwave for about 75 to 90 seconds (omit this step if your frother also does the heating). At the same time, turn a tea kettle to boil. Once the mug of milk is hot, use your hand-held frother in an up-and-down motion to get the milk to create a most delicious foam.

Then, add your cacao, your cinnamon, a sprinkle of sea salt, the vanilla extract, your honey and perhaps an extra packet of stevia if you like it sweet (I always use the stevia, of course), then pour in some boiling water. Fill the mug up until there’s about an inch and a half left of room. Then froth it again. Let it sit for a minute and enjoy!

The perfect healthy evening dessert beverage to look forward to, with lots of beneficial nutrients included too!

Super easy and healthy hot cacao dessert drink (dairy free)

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Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup milk of choice: coconut almond or even pea
• 1 heaping tablespoon of raw cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Sprinkle of sea salt
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• Packet of stevia optional

Instructions

 

• Turn a tea kettle to boil.
• Heat up the milk in your mug in the microwave for about 75 seconds.
• Froth the milk using a hand-held frother (you can hand whisk if you don't have a frother).
• Add the honey, vanilla extract, cacao, sea salt, cinnamon and stevia to the mug.
• Pour the boiling water over the mixture until there's an inch and a half left of space in the mug.
• Froth the entire beverage again or hand whisk the entire beverage again for about a minute so that everything is mixed and dissolved.
• Let it sit for another minute to cool.
• Sip and enjoy!

If you’re a fan of cacao, make sure you check out this recipe too … “Make this cacao baked oatmeal for a week’s worth of breakfasts.”

Have a great one, my peeps! If you try out this drink, please let me know! And I’ll see you over on Instagram until we meet back here again. xoxo

Questions of the day

What’s your go-to healthy dessert?

How was your weekend?

Do you have any evening wind-down rituals?