If you’re looking for a decadent, elevated hot chocolate with wholesome ingredients, this one’s for you! We’ve been serving up this frothy, tahini-infused, super dreamy hot chocolate, and even cocoa connoisseurs agree this one deserves accolades.
Despite being naturally sweetened and blended with water, it’s perfectly sweet, deeply chocolaty, and velvety on the palate. It even sneaks in healthy fats, fiber, protein, and cinnamon for balancing blood sugar levels. Enjoy as is, or top with the whipped cream of your choice for the ultimate cozy treat.
Protein-Rich Tahini Hot Chocolate Ingredients
This is not your average hot chocolate! It’s super creamy, decadent, and loaded with wholesome ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Cocoa powder – a generous amount of cocoa powder ensures this drink is super chocolaty, almost like a drinking chocolate!
- Tahini – not only is tahini one of our all-time favorite ingredients for its nutritional benefits (hello vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats), but it adds a gorgeous thickness, richness, and nutty flavor to this hot chocolate.
- Sweetener – we love a combination of maple syrup (or honey) + a medjool date, but you could sub nearly any sweetener here. The date adds a caramel-like flavor and makes the texture even creamier!
- Sea salt – a tiny pinch is all you need to elevate all the flavors here. Plus, salt + tahini + maple = MAGIC!
- Cinnamon – adds a little extra sweetness and blood sugar-balancing benefits.
- Collagen – if you’re into protein hot chocolate, definitely add the collagen! Along with the tahini, it gives one mug of hot chocolate a hefty 15 grams of protein. It also adds extra creaminess. If you’re vegan, your hot chocolate will still be amazing without it!
- Coconut milk powder + water // milk of choice – when it comes to picking your milk, options abound. We love a combination of coconut milk powder and hot water to make a super creamy, rich dairy-free “milk,” but you can simply sub coconut milk in place of both, or use another milk you enjoy (almond, oat, and cashew would all be amazing).
How to Make Tahini Hot Chocolate
When it’s hot chocolate time, blend everything (including the hot water) in a heat-safe blender (one that has a lid with a vent to allow steam to escape, such as a Vitamix). Blending makes it extra frothy and also breaks down the date. The reason you don’t want to blend using a sealed container is that hot liquids can cause the pressure to build up and the container could explode. Yikes.
What to do if you don’t have a heat-safe blender? Or a blender at all? You could try making this drink in a saucepan on the stovetop and adding coconut sugar (or a liquid/granulated sweetener) instead of a date. Optionally, you could then use a handheld frother to make it creamy/frothy!
We can’t wait for you to try this hot chocolate! It’s
Rich
Creamy
Chocolaty
Perfectly sweet
Frothy
Dreamy
Fiber- & Protein-rich
Nourishing
& SO delicious!
This is the perfect cozy drink for the holiday season, for refueling after playing in the snow, or any time you want something decadent yet nourishing. It would pair beautifully with holiday cookies, especially anything chocolaty, like our Gluten-Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies or Fudgy Vegan Brownie Cookies.
More Cozy + Nourishing Beverages
- Adaptogenic Hot Chocolate (5 Minutes, Low Sugar)
- 5-Minute Vegan Golden Milk
- Golden Matcha Latte (2 Ways!)
- 5-Minute Mushroom latte (2 Ways!)
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Tahini Hot Chocolate (Super Dreamy, Protein-Rich!)
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp tahini (we like this brand)
- 1 pitted medjool date (or 2 tsp coconut sugar, or other sweetener of choice)
- 1/2 tsp maple syrup or honey (if not vegan)
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp collagen peptides (adds creaminess + protein // omit if vegan)
- 2 Tbsp coconut milk powder* (or omit and sub the hot water called for below with warmed milk of choice)
- 1 ¼ cup very hot water (or milk of choice)
FOR SERVING optional
- Coconut whipped cream
- Drizzle of tahini
- Dusting of cocoa powder
- Shaved dark chocolate
Instructions
- For best results, add all ingredients to a high-speed blender that has a lid with a vent to allow steam to escape. If you don’t have a blender, heat on the stovetop, omit the date, and sub with additional sweetener of choice (or blend ingredients with cold water/milk, then heat on the stovetop).
- Blend until creamy and smooth. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more honey or maple syrup for sweetness, cinnamon for warmth, cocoa powder for richer chocolate flavor, or coconut milk powder or tahini for creaminess.
- Enjoy as is or top with whipped cream of choice (we love coconut), and an optional drizzle of tahini, dusting of cocoa powder, or chocolate curls (use a vegetable peeler on your favorite chocolate bar).
- Best when fresh, though leftovers can be kept sealed in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop.
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without optional ingredients.
Alice says
So creamy and delicious I freaked out a little! Not too sweet, sooo chocolately, perfect for a snow day. I added a splash of vanilla extract and a scoop of chocolate protein powder for extra protein and creaminess but would have been delish as written too.
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed this hot chocolate, Alice. Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! We hope you’re staying warm and cozy in this cold, snowy weather :)
Lorraine says
This recipe is ridiculously good. Pretty sure my eyes rolled back in my head when I had my first sip. AND it’s good for you! Wouldn’t change a thing! 🥳
Aw, we’re SO happy to hear you loved this hot chocolate, Lorraine! Thank you for making it and taking the time to leave a review! xo
sarah says
I made this on the stove top without the collagen, cinnamon, and date (I used coconut sugar) and with oat milk and a little extra maple syrup. It is so delicious!!!!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Sarah! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo
Stephanie says
Delicious with soy milk! The second time I made this recipe I tripled the amounts, adding an extra date and more cinnamon per batch. Putting a square of dark chocolate at the bottom adds to the decadence :)
YUM, that sounds extra wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Stephanie! xo
Constanza says
I made this using an inmersion blender and it turned out perfect! So creamy, thick, and flavorful <3 I added a raw egg yolk for extra nutrition and it was a dream! If you have good quality pastured eggs, try adding a raw egg yolk and it would be top notch 👌🏼 it does not have smell or funny taste, I promise
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Constanza! Thank you for sharing! xoxo
Megan says
This looks great! Just a note that I looked up the collagen link and it’s made from bovine collagen, so it’s not vegetarian/vegan (even though the recipe is). Looking forward to making these collagen-free tonight :)
Hi Megan, sorry for any confusion on that! We have a note that says “omit if vegan” :) It’s an optional ingredient for creaminess/protein, but definitely not essential. There is also a vegan collagen by Vedge that might work!
Megan says
Thanks, appreciate it! :)
Cheryl says
So good! I made it as written, but with carob powder.
Yum, that swap sounds great! Thank you for sharing your experience, Cheryl! xo
Beth Ann says
Thank you. Dessert in a mug and Absolutely “sinfully delicious” 😈!!!
I loved with the coconut powder, though with so much cocoa I needed to add a bit more maple syrup for my taste. Perhaps I’ll try an extra date next time.
Dessert in a mug :) – we love that description! Thank you for the wonderful review, Beth Ann! xoxo
medjooliemomma says
…Made this yesterday and it was yummy — tahini is an unexpected flavor kick and nice healthy fat addition to a seasonal favorite. Thanks for this one. :-)
But WOW. This page is and the site are now INUDATED w/o UNRELATED ANNOYING SUGGESTIVE POP UP/SIDE BAR/FLOATING BANNER ADS that were *not* an issue until the holidays hit. What happened?
It’s one thing to have a link for a sponsored recipe ingredient embedded in the recipe text and many many times on your site I have gladly clicked away and found a brand that I still use today, but quite another to be flooded by ads that jump when scrolling, open up on their own and ruin the recipe sharing experience.
I love this site and never had ad problems before, for YEARS. And nothing has changed w my browser, my settings. These ads are here now, on the page, in the code. All over the place.
Can you please go back to the way it was, a lovely, healthful and helpful ad-free recipe experience? xo
Hi, thank you for this feedback and we’re so glad you enjoyed this hot chocolate! We absolutely hear you and wish we could have no ads. The reality is that sponsored recipe links alone simply don’t cover anywhere near the costs of running a blog. A lot has changed on the internet in the past few years that has necessitated changes to ads. We always try to optimize for user experience while also having ads to keep the content free and high quality! We apologize for any inconvenience it causes!
Hil says
Not sure what browser you are using but the Brave browser (vs chrome or firefox) seems to block a lot more ads on this website and others.
Liz says
This looks very good. Going to try this! Could I sub vegan chocolate protein powder for the collagen? Or do you think it will change the taste too much?
Thank you,
Liz
Hi Liz, it might be okay for flavor if reducing the amount of cocoa/sweetener, but we think it would make the texture too chalky! If you want to try it, we would suggest going with just a very small amount! It would be best to leave it out though :)
Liz says
Ok thanks!!
Gina says
A stroke of genius, adding tahini to hot cocoa. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks!
It’s truly magical! We’re so excited for you to try it!
Shamo Atsal says
really.
Kaka Daski says
This looks unbelievably cozy — truly a buongiorno in a mug ☕✨