You Need This Red Velvet Hot Chocolate in Your Life

It’s still technically winter, which means it’s still technically fair game to drink hot chocolate at every opportunity that presents itself. But once you’ve had your fill of standard hot chocolate, caramelized white chocolate hot chocolate, red wine hot chocolate, Nutella hot chocolate, and Mexican-spiced hot chocolate, promise me you’ll try this red velvet hot chocolate.

Now, before you start worrying about how decadent something called “red velvet hot chocolate” must be, let me tell you that this recipe has a seriously healthy slant.

For one, there is no refined sugar at all. Soft dates are called for instead, and they work like a charm. Also, the red color does not come from food dye — it comes from beets! Raw cacao powder is used instead of the typical melted chocolate, and plant-based milk keeps the whole thing vegan.

And the best part? You can whip it all up in your blender! All you do is blend your milk of choice (almond, cashew, and coconut all work), grated beet, cacao powder, pitted dates, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt together. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you may need to pour the blended mixture through a fine-mesh strainer before moving on to the next step, in case there are still some pieces of grated beet.

Then you pour the mixture into a saucepan and warm it over low-medium heat. Once the hot chocolate is at the temperature you want it, you can pour it into mugs and serve it as is or with a little garnish. The author adds whipped coconut cream and some chocolate shavings to hers, which sounds absolutely delicious.

If you’ve got some picky eaters at home, this could be the perfect way to sneak in an extra dose of veggies. The hot chocolate looks so beautiful and tastes so good that they’ll never know beets are the secret ingredient.

→ Get the Recipe: Red Velvet Hot Chocolate from The Green Life