An average chocolate bar includes chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, anhydrous milk fat, soy lecithin, milk derivatives, and cocoa mass. Generally speaking, milk chocolate and white chocolate are off-limits because they contain milk fat.
So, is dark chocolate vegan? I’ll cover everything in this article and more!
Dark Chocolate - Is It Vegan or Not?
Yes, dark chocolate is vegan, but most chocolate you find at your local store contains milk, which makes chocolate non-vegan.
The good news for all the chocolate-loving vegans is that dark chocolate is naturally vegan, provided that it doesn't have milk or other dairy products.
It’s hard to find vegan milk chocolate, so stay away from it if you’re on a plant-based diet! It gives you a natural flavor that makes your vegan lifestyle a treat. Ensure to read the ingredient list or look for the vegan label, especially if you just started with your vegan diet.
How Do You Know It’s Vegan?
You’ll know it’s vegan by checking whether it has the Certified Vegan logo.
If it doesn’t, then you have to go out of your way and thoroughly check the ingredients list. As mentioned earlier, it’s to ensure you won’t accidentally purchase milk chocolate.
While the name may sound confusing, cocoa butter is 100% vegan.
Another great indicator is the length of the ingredients list, the shorter it is, the healthier the chocolate bars are as it’s likely made from pure cocao tree or theobroma cacao plant.
Usual Dark Chocolate Ingredients
Vegan
- Coconut oil
- Cacao butter
- Cocoa powder
- Maple syrup
- Sea salt
- Vanilla extract
The last two ingredients work to blend the sweetness for a more natural flavor. As soon as you have mixed your chocolate, you can pour them into molds. By doing so, it gives your dark chocolate vegan bar added texture and a slight crunch to your vegan-friendly dark chocolate bar.
You’ll be amazed by what you can make from the pod of the cocoa tree even without the use of artificial flavorings.
Non-Vegan
- Whole milk powder
- Condensed milk
- Sugar
- Honey
- Palm oil
You may replace vanilla with mint, almond, or rice milk ingredients.
Related Posts:
Why Sugar May Not Always Be Vegan
Sugar may not always be vegan because white sugar is filtered with the use of bone char, which is powdered animal bone. (1) However, it only applies to the U.S.
If you’re looking for vegan-friendly sugar, make sure that it is Certified U.S. Department of Agriculture organic sugar.
Also, see if it indicates that it’s unrefined organic coconut sugar or if the sugar is made from beets.
Be on the lookout for manufacturers using bone char in white sugar as they’ll most likely use it in their production for brown sugar.
Even if it's from a cacao tree, and you mix it with non-vegan kinds of ingredients, it won’t serve the purpose.
Our Favorite Vegan Dark Chocolate Snacks
- Theo Chocolate Sea Salt Organic Dark Chocolate Bar
- UNREAL Vegan, Non-GMO Dark Chocolate Peanut Gems
- Raaka Chocolate Coconut Milk
- Alter Eco Dark Quinoa Crunch
- Hu Gems Chocolate Vegan Snacks
- Endangered Species Chocolate Bars
- Taza Chocolate Organic Amaze Bar
- HEALTH WARRIOR Dark Chocolate Chia Bars
- No Whey Foods - Milkless Chocolate Bars
- Nib Mor Organic Dark Chocolate
“Making chocolate is a way of life, not a profession.” - Jacques Torres, Chef
Let’s Make Our Own Vegan Dark Chocolate Recipes!
Vegan Dark Choco Truffles
Taste the natural flavors of dark choco truffles with this recipe.
Ingredients
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 and ¾ cups Chocolate Chips
- 1 cup Coconut Cream
- ¼ cup Cocoa Powder Unsweetened
Chocolate Coating
- 1 and ¾ cups Vegan Chocolate Chips
- 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
Directions
- Prepare the chocolate in a bowl
- Let the coconut cream simmer
- Pour it over the pieces
- Mix it with the sauce
- Put it in the fridge for two to three hours
- Scoop and drop it into the cocoa powder
- Roll it into the ball
- Put it in the freezer
- Drop it one by one into the coating
- Place on tray and return to the fridge
Vegan Dark Choco Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup Vegan Butter
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- ⅔ cup Cocoa Powder Unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Soy Milk
- 3.5 ounces Chocolate
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- Mix vegan butter, brown, and white sugar
- Add vanilla
- Put the flour and the cocoa powder into the bowl
- Add baking soda and salt
- Mix the dry ingredients
- Add 1 tablespoon of soy milk
- Put the chocolate chunks
- Roll it into small balls
- Bake for ten minutes
FAQs
No, the World’s Finest Dark Chocolate isn’t vegan. It offers five different chocolate bars, but none of them are vegan. Both dark and milk chocolate contain milk powder, which isn’t vegan.
Yes, Cadbury is currently making a vegan version of their classic chocolate bar.
The reason why vegan bars are expensive is that they have smaller operations and use higher-quality ingredients compared to other non-vegan chocolate production.
You can always make your own vegan options snack bar that doesn’t use animal products. Make use of coconut milk to make it creamier!
What’s more, they don’t have artificial flavors, including milk solids or cocoa solids.
Yes, KitKat V is vegan. If you’re looking to buy vegan chocolate to satisfy your tastebuds, then you’re going to love KitKat’s vegan chocolates from sustainable cacao.
No, Dove Dark chocolate isn’t vegan because it has milk fat. Look for chocolates or dark chocolates that use almond milk or non-dairy ingredients instead of milk powder.
Not really. While Lindt offers dark chocolates, it isn’t marked vegan on the packaging, which leads most vegan chocolate lovers to believe the chocolate is not vegan.
The best way to identifying vegan dark chocolate is by searching for brands that produce them.
Here are some vegan chocolate brands:
- Green & Black's Mint Chocolate Bar
- Hu Kitchen Hazelnut Butter Dark Chocolate
So, Can Dark Chocolate Be Vegan?
Yes, it can be vegan, which also covers the question - can vegans eat chocolate?
However, not all dark chocolates are vegan as plenty of brands use refined sugar and dairy products, such as egg yolk.
Plant-based dark chocolate may be difficult to find as a lot contains milk and animal products. However, there are vegan recipes you can follow to avoid using whole milk powder.
A good quality dark chocolate fits your taste buds while giving you the complete experience of organic chocolate.
References:
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/
About Author
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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