This Peppermint Chocolatte is the perfect coffee to get you in the holiday spirit. It’s a festive blend of rich coffee, hot chocolate, and peppermint syrup – all topped off with whipped cream and crushed peppermints. It’s easy, fun, and pretty enough for a party. Plus, it’s 100% vegan and dairy-free.
The weather is finally starting to cool down, and the holiday decorations are starting to appear. This is one of my favorite times of year, because it gives me a great excuse to experiment with all kinds of holiday recipes!
This is the season where I love cozying up to the fireplace, preferably in my pajamas, with a steaming cup of coffee in hand.
And the only thing I love as much as a hot cup of coffee, is a big mug of hot cocoa.
So I decided to marry my love of these two beverages, and create the ultimate coffee concoction. This Peppermint Chocolatte is bursting with holiday flavor from coffee, hot chocolate, and peppermint. Yum!
This would be a perfect match for some homemade vegan Christmas cookies!
Oh, and if you like this recipe, be sure to check out this Thin Mint Hot Chocolate too. Because who doesn’t love Girl Scout Cookies? And bonus – thin mints are completely vegan! (Just substitute almond milk and vegan whipped cream to keep the recipe dairy-free.)
How to Make Vegan Hot Chocolate
This fancy Peppermint Chocolatte is made with half coffee and half hot chocolate. I can’t think of anything that reminds me of the holidays more than a steaming cup of hot chocolate.
And of course, I prefer my hot chocolate to be vegan-friendly! So I whipped up a bit of dairy-free hot chocolate for this recipe. (If you’d like a little shortcut, I love this vegan hot chocolate mix.)
To make a vegan hot chocolate, simply heat 1 ½ cups of almond milk on the stovetop over medium heat.
When the almond milk begins to simmer, whisk in 2 tbsp of cocoa powder and 3 tbsp of sugar.
And that’s it – you have an easy vegan hot chocolate ready for mixing into your Peppermint Chocolatte. This should make enough for at least two beverages.
How to Make a Peppermint Chocolatte
You won’t believe how fast and easy this is!
Start off by brewing some fresh coffee. (I used my Keurig – one of my fave kitchen appliances!) Then pour 1/2 cup into a large coffee mug.
Prepare the hot chocolate and add 1/2 cup to the coffee. You can either prepare the vegan hot chocolate as described above, or choose your favorite store-bought mix.
This is a good time to taste the coffee. If it’s not quite sweet enough for your taste, you can add a bit of sugar at this point. If it’s too strong, add a bit of almond milk.
I found the sugar and almond milk in the vegan hot chocolate was plenty for me – and it tasted perfect without adding anything more!
Add a couple tablespoons of peppermint syrup, and mix the drink well. Feel free to adjust the amount of peppermint syrup to your liking as well.
Finally, top the Peppermint Chocolatte with dairy-free whipped cream and crushed peppermint candies!
You can also get creative with the toppings. Try topping your coffee with gumdrops, peppermint patties, or other holiday candies.
You could even add a shot of Irish liqueur for an adults-only version.
Go ahead and get creative! And don’t forget to show off your coffee creations on Instagram – tag me @deliciouseveryday so I can see what you come up with.
And if you need more ideas for Christmas recipes – check out my collection of the top 25 vegan Christmas recipes!
Peppermint Chocolatte
Ingredients
- 8 oz coffee brewed
- 1 ½ cups Almond Milk
- 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 4 tbsp Peppermint Syrup
- 2 tbsp Peppermint Candy crushed
- Dairy-free Whipped Cream for topping
Instructions
- Prepare the dairy-free hot chocolate. In a small saucepan, heat almond milk over medium heat. When it begins to simmer, whisk in cocoa powder and sugar. Set aside.
- Brew coffee, and fill each mug approximately halfway with coffee.
- Top each mug with the hot chocolate, so you have approximately 1/2 coffee and 1/2 hot chocolate in each glass. Stir.
- Add 2 tbsp peppermint syrup to each mug, and mix.
- Top each coffee with whipped cream, and sprinkle with crushed peppermints.
- Serve hot.
