Vegan Peppermint Mocha (Better Than Starbucks)
Move over, Starbucks! You can be your own barista with some basic ingredients. I’m excited to bring you this delicious vegan peppermint mocha recipe that will teach you how.
This recipe is for those days when it’s chilly outside and all you want to do is hide out and cozy up with a warm beverage. It’s beyond easy to make your own delicious café-style beverages without needing to go out and brave the cold.
Unfortunately, many coffee shops and cafés can’t make their holiday drinks vegan because the syrups and ingredients they use usually contain dairy products. With this recipe, you can have the confidence that your drink is fully vegan and you know exactly what is going into it.
This drink is creamy, sweet, chocolaty, and refreshingly minty with just a hint of coffee flavor. Let’s dive right in!
Table of contents
The Magic Ingredient: Peppermint Extract
For this vegan peppermint mocha, make sure to use only pure peppermint extract that is meant for culinary purposes. Do not use peppermint essential oil—they are two completely different substances and most essential oils are not meant for internal consumption.
Peppermint extract, an essence derived from peppermint leaves, is a versatile addition to your culinary toolkit, especially during the holiday season. Its concentrated nature ensures that a little goes a long way, making it a cost-effective choice for infusing your recipes with a burst of cool, minty flavor.
Like vanilla extract, you can easily find peppermint extract in the baking aisle of your grocery store and even at your local health food store.
It’s very concentrated and you only need to use very small amounts, so go easy on it when using it in recipes. It will last you a long time and you can use it for other recipes too. I love to use it in foods such as smoothies, peppermint cookies, peppermint patties, mint chocolate cakes, chocolatey peppermint brownies and so much more. It’s also perfect for adding a splash to hot cocoa, coffee, or tea.
How To Make A Vegan Peppermint Mocha
For this vegan peppermint mocha, all you need to do is blend or whisk all of the ingredients together until smooth, and then heat it up and enjoy. I like to use a blender because it makes it nice and frothy, but you can absolutely just use a whisk if you don’t have a blender.
This recipe has just a few simple ingredients including non-dairy milk, coffee, cocoa powder, maple syrup (or your preferred sweetener), and peppermint extract. That’s it!
You can use either raw cacao or cocoa powder for baking as either will work perfectly. I used unsweetened almond milk for mine, but you can use any unsweetened non-dairy beverage that you like. You can even go one step further and use rich coconut milk to get an extra creamy result.
If you avoid coffee, or you want to serve this recipe to kids, you can absolutely leave out the coffee and just adjust the sweetness to your taste. Also, if you do love coffee, feel free to add as much as you like, to taste!
Variations
- Candy Cane Rim: Before pouring your mocha, melt some dairy-free chocolate chips and dip the rim of the mug into it, then immediately dip it into crushed candy canes to create a beautiful and festive candy cane rim.
- Peppermint Mocha Frappe: Blend the mocha mixture with ice to create a refreshing peppermint mocha frappe, perfect for warmer days or when you’re craving a chilled beverage. You can also easily make an iced version by brewing your coffee ahead of time, chilling it, and mixing it with the other ingredients and ice for a refreshing iced peppermint mocha.
- Spiked Peppermint Mocha: Add a shot of vegan Bailey’s Almande, which is a delicious and light tasting spirit made with almond milk and vanilla. It’s delicious, especially during the holiday season to add a little extra holiday cheer.
- Protein-Packed Peppermint Mocha: Blend your mocha with a scoop of your favorite vegan protein powder to create a protein-packed version, perfect for a post-workout pick-me-up.
Topping Ideas
If you want to be fancy and make this treat extra special, I highly recommend adding a dollop of whipped cream on top, and even some shaved chocolate, vegan marshmallows, or crushed candy cane pieces. It makes it extra rich and delicious!
For a homemade whipped cream, you can try out our recipe for delicious from-scratch coconut whipped cream which only has 3 ingredients. I love coconut whipped cream because it tastes just like the real thing and it’s so easy to make. If you want to get really fancy, you can make aquafaba whip out of chickpea brine from a can of garbanzo beans!
If you don’t want to make your own though, not a problem. You can totally use a store bought heavy cream or vegan whipped cream.
I absolutely love the So Delicious Coco Whip which you can actually freeze which is awesome for those (like me) who can’t eat a whole tub of whipped cream before it goes bad. You can just thaw it again a few hours before serving it, so it’ll last you a very long time! Other great vegan brands to try include Reddi-wip coconut or almond whipped creams, Trader Joe’s Coconut Whipped Topping, Soyatoo SoyWhip, and Truwhip vegan whipped cream. There are many more as well, so check your local health food shops!
Chocolate Benefits
Curious to know why chocolate is so satisfying to us?
Cocoa may be far more nutritious than most people think. Chocolate sometimes gets a bad reputation, but real cocoa contains nutrients like magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, and more. It also increases serotonin levels (one of your happy hormones) in the body, which is why chocolate just makes you feel so darn good!
3.5 ounces (100g) of cocoa contains around 77% of your daily iron requirement and a whopping 125% of your magnesium! Magnesium is excellent for promoting relaxation and calm. It also has a surprisingly high amount of protein. For the healthiest version, I suggest using pure cocoa or even better, raw cacao.
I like to buy organic and fair trade cocoa powder whenever possible, and I always make sure that the only ingredient in my cocoa powder is cocoa! Because who needs added sugar and artificial ingredients these days? The more natural the cocoa, the better the flavor and the healthier the product.
Frequently Asked Questions
The mocha sauce is vegan but you will need to make some adjustments to your order to make it vegan. Skip the whipped cream and opt for a non-dairy milk to use such as soy, almond, oat, or coconut milk. Keep in mind there is an upcharge for this. Want coffee shops to drop the milk upcharge? Join our milk petition!
Yes, this creamer contains casein which is a milk protein, therefore, it does contain dairy.
More Wonderful Winter Chocolate Recipes
- If you love hot chocolate, make a batch of our homemade vegan hot chocolate mix! Then any time you want hot cocoa, just add a few tablespoons to your favorite dairy-free milk and heat over the stove to bubbling chocolate milk perfection.
- Nutella has to be the world’s greatest chocolate spread—but it’s not usually vegan! Thankfully you can make your own with this this vegan nutella recipe—plus it’s healthier and loaded with nutrition from the hazelnuts too.
- Cozy up with some thick and spicy Mexican hot chocolate for a fiery twist on traditional cocoa.
- Sip on a chocolate martini for a festive cocktail—whether you’re prepping for a holiday party or just enjoying a night in.
- Delight your loved ones or holiday party guests with vegan chocolate truffles you made yourself! They melt in your mouth and taste even better than the store-bought kind.
This vegan peppermint mocha recipe serves one, but it’s easy to double it or multiply to serve several people. If you’re having a holiday party you could keep this recipe in a crock pot to keep it warm and serve it for your loved ones! They will LOVE you for it. Sometimes it’s hard to wake up on a cold, dark winter morning, but a recipe like this just makes it so much easier. Have a hard time getting your kids out of bed and ready for school? This just might do the trick!
Vegan Peppermint Mocha
Ingredients
- 1 cup non-dairy milk, unsweetened
- ¼-⅓ cup brewed coffee, to taste
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- just less than ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- vegan whipped cream, for topping, optional
Instructions
- Blend all of the ingredients (except for the whipped cream) in a blender for a few seconds until smooth. If you don’t have a blender, you can just whisk the ingredients well.
- Pour the peppermint mocha into a small sauce pot and heat until warm, being careful not to over-boil.
- Pour into a mug and serve with a dollop of vegan whipped cream if desired.
Nutrition
Vegan Peppermint Mocha recipe and photos by Kathy Chrzaszcz for WorldofVegan.com. All content copyright of World of Vegan™, all rights reserved.
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Peppermint mocha was always my holiday Starbucks go to, so its so great I can make it at home with this recipe.
I love hot cocoa so much!! I also love peppermint flavored anything. This recipe is the best of both worlds. I also use hazelnut coffee sometimes in this mocha and it’s even more amazing. Such a perfect beverage for the cold, winter months. My fav!
This looks so delicious! My mother-in-law to be is going to love this so much!
Ok, I don’t drink coffee but I do treat myself to a decaf every once in a while, and adding peppermint extract has been a huge discovery! Yummy!
Oh this is sooo good. I made it with extra coffee and used oat milk making it delicious and creamy. The peppermint flavor puts it over the top!
I’m OBSESSED with adding peppermint extract to my vegan hot cocoa and mochas! I got a bottle of it at Trader Joe’s a few years back over the holidays and have been using it ever since. It’s sooo delicious.
Peppermint hot chocolate is one of my favorite winter beverages and this recipe is the perfect excuse to also use up some of the So Delicious whip I have sitting in my freezer! YUM!