Our Spiced Golden Milk Hot Cocoa leaves sugary, powdery hot cocoa mixes in the dust (plus, it’s good for you!)
Coffee > Hot Cocoa
That’s always been my motto until now. And this is the drink that converted me: Spiced Golden Milk Hot Cocoa.
You see, I’m not a lover of sweet things. I love chocolate but it has to be super dark and only in small quantities so hot cocoa has never been my ‘thing’. Admittedly, I do like the whipped cream (which is divine when dolloped into a hot cup of black coffee!) but this recent round of Whole30 has finally gotten it through my thick, thick skull that dairy and I do not play well together. Which is why this recipe is 100% dairy-free, not too sweet and plenty chocolatey!
No, this doesn’t mean that I’m giving up coffee it just means that instead of my go-to cuppa decaf after a day on the slopes I’ll be reaching for this Spiced Golden Milk Hot Cocoa instead.
Treat yourself right with this dairy-free Spiced Golden Milk Hot Cocoa #realfood #paleo Click To Tweet
And, it gets better. It’s also infused with some of my favorite warming spices and a touch of honey and features turmeric for it’s powerful anti-inflammatory properties and rich-earthy flavor.
Really, it’s just a dark chocolate lovers twist on the ancient elixir, golden milk, made with turmeric which makes it all that much more perfect for curling up with at the end of a long day.
Why add turmeric to hot cocoa?
The obvious answer is that it’s good for you. Turmeric is one of those hot new-old fads like bone broth. It’s a food that’s been used for centuries by ancient cultures to promote better health and lately it’s been enjoying the spotlight for it’s powerful anti-inflammatory properties and it’s ability to boost the immune system and promote relaxation.
All this goodness is made possible by a knobby, brightly-colored root that’s rich in the active compound, curcumin. Your average turmeric powder contains up to 3% of curcumin by weight, in case you were wondering (which is why I love the turmeric from Pure Indian Foods – not only is it organic but it’s higher in inflammation-fighting curcumin to help me recover faster from CrossFit and other active outdoor pursuits).
How to get the most benefit from turmeric
Just a minute now, before you rush off to get the recipe for this ridiculously decadent Spiced Golden Milk Hot Cocoa you should know how to get the most benefit from the turmeric – and sound really smart the next time you whip up a batch for some friends after a day of adventuring.
In order to get the full benefits of turmeric you need:
- Good quality, organic turmeric
- Heat
- A pinch of black pepper to enhance the absorption of the turmeric (don’t worry, you won’t taste it with the cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa in there!)
- A little fat. The active compound in turmeric is fat-soluble, meaning it needs fat to be absorbed by the body. Fat also gives this drink a luxurious mouthfeel and helps stabilize blood sugars so don’t fear the fat here.
Okay, enough talking. You’ve got to try this Spiced Golden Milk Hot Cocoa!
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Spiced Golden Milk Hot Cocoa
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Beverages, Sweets & Treats
- Cuisine: Dairy-free, Vegetarian, Vegan
Ingredients
- 16 ounces unsweetened vanilla coconut milk (we like So Delicious)
- 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp. ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- Tiny pinch of black pepper & ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp. honey (substitute maple syrup for a vegan option)
- 2–3 tsp. coconut oil
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, warm coconut just to the point of a light simmer.
- Add cocoa, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, honey or maple syrup and coconut oil.
- Whisk vigorously or use a handheld immersion blender to combine.
- Top with optional non-dairy whipped topping and a sprinkling of grated dark chocolate, if desired
Notes
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ recipe
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 85mg
- Fat: 13g
- Carbohydrates: 10g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 1g
What’s your favorite way to dress up hot cocoa? Share in the comments below!
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This sounds great but wondering if I can use almond milk instead of the coconut milk? Thank you.
You sure can!
Hot chocolate + golden milk?! Can’t wait to try!
The best combo! We hope you enjoy!
In the instructions , the dry ingredients have salt, did you mean pepper? Definitely gonna make this!
★★★★★
Ha! Yes, pepper – sorry….recipe writer autopilot #facepalm
can I use regular milk?
Of course! If you tolerate dairy, ‘regular’ milk is amazing in this recipe.
This sounds good!
We are allergic to coconut and all other tree nuts in our house.
You mentioned there needs to be far to absorb the turmeric.
Can we use rice milk in replace of the milk?
Is there a replacement for the coconut oil?
Hi Cyndi,
Yes, you can use rice milk in place of the coconut milk. Ghee is an excellent substitute for the coconut oil.
I made this and was not as excited about the outcome as I thought. I used canned coconut milk and I’m wondering if I should have used the boxed/container of coconut milk instead. Also, I wanted to see if I could drink it without added sugar so that may have been my problem (LOL…some things really do need a little extra sweetness I guess)
Hi Julie,
Canned coconut milk should be fine (in fact, it’s probably richer as the boxed version has very little fat in comparison). My guess is that leaving out the sweetener is what made it lackluster – when testing the recipe I tried it without the honey and it was only ‘meh’. The honey definitely
enhances the flavor of the turmeric and the cocoa powder, both of which can be somewhat ‘earthy’ tasting without the sweetener.
Your recipe calls for cocoa powder. What about Cacao instead?
Hi Melissa,
Cacao is a perfect substitute. I tested the recipe using cocoa powder simply because it’s more widely available – but I use them interchangeably at my house.
Is there nutmeg in the recipe?
I see you say it in the story but don’t see it in the ingredients.
Thanks
Hi Dee! Yes, the recipe should say “Pinch of black pepper AND ground nutmeg”. Just updated the recipe accordingly. Thanks for the catch! Enjoy!
Hi! Love your site. I’m just getting around to trying this recipe and all of a sudden the ingredients aren’t showing up for me!
Hi Valerie! Sorry about that. We noticed that happened on a couple of our other recipes, too! Thanks for letting us know. It’s fixed now 🙂
Hi there,
I just made this recipe and it tastes great but for some reason my beverage isn’t golden, instead it’s just dark brown like dark chocolate milk. Could it be that I did something wrong and that the tumeric isn’t developping the right way. Or did I just add to much cacoa?
★★★★★
Hi Anouk,
It could have been that your turmeric wasn’t as intensely colored or that, like you said, you added too much cocoa or your cocoa was just very richly colored (which is sometimes the case). If your turmeric is rather pale looking and you’ve had it in the spice cabinet for a while, you may want to consider replacing it as it does lose it’s potency (and thus color and health benefits) over time.
Do you have (or know of) a drink mix that offers this? I really want to make it but I am bedridden at this time due to a hip injury. Then I deveined a small sore on back that no Dr can help me with. I would love to add this drink to my diet so if you know of an easy drink mix or one that offers that and only requires a few ingredients? Thank you Mel
Hi Mel,
I’m so sorry to hear that you’re struggling with these health issues. I really like the premade Golden Milk mix from Gaia Herbs. You just mix it with your milk of choice along with a little cocoa powder and sweeten to taste.
Can I use olive oil
I suppose you could but I don’t think the flavor would be very agreeable.