Rich, creamy, and chocolaty smooth, this homemade vegan chocolate liqueur is made with coconut milk instead of heavy cream. It mixes well to make the most delicious adult beverages!
It seems like it should be a simple thing to just mix up a special chocolatey dessert drink. I was surprised to find that a lot of chocolate liqueurs used for mixing contained dairy!
My friend told me that she made her own chocolate liqueur with heavy cream and suggested I make mine with a non-dairy version of heavy cream. Well! Why didn’t I think of that? It’s really not hard to make your own vegan chocolate liqueur. Right? The only problem is…it’s really hard to find non-dairy heavy cream!
Did you know that coconut milk and coconut cream make a great substitute for dairy heavy cream?
As it turns out, coconut cream and coconut milk make a great substitution for dairy cream in both sweet and savory recipes!
Creamy Instant Pot Brussels sprouts are rich and saucy thanks to coconut milk. And you might be surprised to learn that coconut milk is an important ingredient in vegan sweet potato casserole.
Coconut milk isn’t just for chocolate liqueur either. Almost any sweet sauce or dessert that uses dairy cream can be made vegan with coconut cream.
Coconut milk makes vegan salted caramel syrup milky and smooth without dairy heavy cream. Coconut cream is also perfect for sweet desserts and sauces because it thickens as it cools. vegan chocolate ganache and chocolate dipping sauce are both make possible with coconut cream as a major ingredient.
How to make vegan recipes using coconut milk
Unless the recipe says otherwise, it’s best to skim the thick coconut cream layer from the top of a can of coconut milk. You can best do that by treating the unopened can of coconut milk carefully – not shaken and not stirred.
If you open the can and it’s all mixed together, simply place your can of coconut milk in the fridge for a while. The cream will rise to the top and solidify as it cools.
Coconut milk is the perfect ingredient for dairy-free chocolate liqueur. It makes it nice and thick and creamy too and ready for mixing and making any fun adult chocolate beverage.
What can you do with vegan chocolate liqueur?
You probably wouldn’t want to drink it straight because it is so very thick and rich and is best mixed with other adult beverages to make a yummy vegan chocolate cocktail.
I use dairy-free chocolate liqueur to make my delicious Chocolate Martini OR Creamy Chocolate Peppermint Martini – both vegan of course!
Ingredients needed to make vegan chocolate liqueur:
You will need:
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- sugar – I use organic
- 1 can of full-fat coconut milk
- vodka- if you are vegan then check on Barnivore.com for a vegan brand.
How to make homemade chocolate liqueur:
Start by whisking the sugar and cocoa powder. The cocoa powder might be quite lumpy. It’s best to whisk out as many of these lumps as possible before you get started.
Next, pour in the coconut milk and mix well as you are heating. This coconut milk is full fat and nice and thick. You can save calories if you want by using lite coconut milk. The flavor will be the same but it might be a little less creamy.
Let it come to a gentle boil and let boil for about three minutes. I stir while it’s boiling to prevent a hard boil.
Turn off the heat and stir in the vodka. You don’t want to boil the vodka at all. This is an alcoholic adult beverage/mixer after all and you don’t want to cook out the alcohol.
Put the chocolate liqueur in a sealable container – one quart will be large enough. Keep it in the fridge till ready to use.
A few FAQ’s
Are all of the ingredients vegan?
To make sure this recipe is 100% vegan chocolate liqueur, use organic sugar or sugar marked as vegan. Read more on PETA which also shares an interring perspective.
Check your brand of vodka on Barnivore.com.
And then yes, you should be good!
How long will this homemade chocolate liqueur keep in the fridge?
Keep it in a tightly sealed container and it should keep for a while. Mine has been in the fridge for about 3 weeks now and it was fine to use today.
If you have children at home, please keep it out of reach or mark it so that they do not use it.
What can I do with my vegan chocolate liqueur?
Well I’ve been having some fun experimenting! Besides making creamy chocolate martini and chocolate peppermint martini, I’ve also made yummy grown-up chocolate milk! (Just mix a shot of chocolate liqueur with your favorite plant-based milk). And feel free to experiment with your own jazzed-up weekend coffee drink too!
And now for the printable recipe:
Did you love this recipe?
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Homemade Vegan Chocolate Liqueur
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1½ cups sugar
- 13.5 ounce can coconut milk full fat
- 1 cup vodka
Instructions
- Mix together the unsweetened cocoa powder and sugar, removing as many lumps as possible.
- Add the mixed cocoa powder and sugar along with the coconut milk to a medium-sized sauce pan. Mix well.
- Bring to a gentle boil on medium heat and allow to gently boil for 3 minutes. Stir while boiling to avoid a hard boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vodka.
- Pour into a quart-sized sealable container and store in the refridgerator till needed.
This is such a blessing for those of us who are dairy free. Thanks.
This mix doesn’t cool down before stirring the vodka in?
Delicious!! My baby who has a dairy allergy is turning 21 and I wanted to fix him a chocolate martini for his birthday! I waited to add the vodka until the temperature went below 172 degrees F. That’s the temperature that alcohol evaporates. Thanks for such a great recipe!!
Thank you so much for the very helpful suggestion!
Someone had left a suggestion to let it cool down slightly – to 172° I think it’s a good one:)
All I can say is YUMMY YUMMY in my TUMMY
Hey thanks for letting me know. So glad you liked it!
Can I substitute Splenda for sugar? Thanks.
I made this and left it at the fridge over night , the morning after it was totally solid inside the bottle?…. what went wtong?
Hello, thanks for your question. The coconut milk is what made it turn solid. Coconut milk is also what makes this recipe super creamy! I have found that there is a variance in the thick solid texture of different brands of coconut milk and even within the same brand! One can (of the same brand) will be quite solid and the other a little more runny – crazy! And easy fix is to gently warm (to room temperature) the amount you will be using. Spoon out what you need and leave it on the counter or for quicker warming, microwave in ten-second increments. Remember that the idea is to just melt the coconut milk – not heat it up. Even when you mix with ice and other alcohol- when you are using it as an ingredient in a beverage – it shouldn’t solidify because the added alcohol will help.