Taste-testing vegan chocolate? It was a tough job, but we managed it.
Finding the best vegan chocolate can feel like a needle-in-a-haystack endeavour. For every piece of melt-in-the-mouth deliciousness, there’s a bar of bitter – or worse, palate-numbing – dairy-free chocolate dressed up in fancy packaging.
On the bright side, at least there’s plenty of choice. If you’re vegan or lactose intolerant, you’re no longer limited to rich, dark chocolate. These days, dairy-free chocolate brands incorporate plant-based milks to create creamy, full-flavoured bars that taste akin to the ‘real’ stuff – both milk and white – along with tasty truffles and tempting selection boxes.
Of course, flavour and texture aren’t the only factors to consider when identifying the very best vegan chocolate: ingredients and ethics are also high on the agenda. Ensuring there are no sneaky animal products in the final recipe – such as honey – and the cacao beans are sourced from farms that are free from child labour and slavery.
We’ve taken all of this into account while selflessly taste-testing our way through a huge variety of vegan chocolates, with a focus on championing independent companies alongside the traditional big players. Ready to get stuck in? Read on for our pick of the the best vegan chocolate around:
1Divine Organic 85% Dark with Turmeric & Ginger
farmers in Ghana. We love their organic high-cocoa range, especially this turmeric and ginger-infused chocolate – devilishly bold and warming, it’s free from palm oil and presented in fully biodegradable packaging.
2Montezuma’s Like No Udder Milk Chocolate Alternative
Searching for a milk chocolate alternative? This creation from Montezuma’s is said to be ‘as close to milk chocolate as possible, without ever going near a cow’. It’s a gorgeously smooth, creamy bar that isn’t grainy like other milk choc alternatives. Plus, it’s fully organic, and the 100 per cent recyclable packaging is an ethical win. We couldn’t stop eating it.
*Made in an environment that handles dairy. May contain milk traces.
3Raw Halo Vegan Mylk & Pink Salt Chocolate Bar
We can’t get enough of this organic Raw Halo chocolate, made from ethically-sourced single origin cacao, coconut sugar and creamed coconut – and not just because of the bright packaging. For every fifty bars sold, the team plant a tree in either the Andes forests in Peru or Tanjung National Park in Indonesia.
4Doisy & Dam Ballers
Want a side of fun with your sweet treat? We loved these crunchy Doisy & Dam Ballers, which see golden malty rice balls encased in velvety dark chocolate. Not only is Doisy & Dam a B-corp company – the gold standard for ethical business – but its Colombian cocoa is classed as Fino de Aroma (‘fine flavour’) by the International Cocoa Organisation.
5Nono Cocoa Vegan Chocolate Gift Boxes
These sumptuous vegan chocolates from Nono Cocoa contain extra micronutrients – calcium, probiotics, vitamins and antioxidants – to give each treat a feel-good hit. Described as a multi-sensory taste experience, the chocs were initially created for the founder’s autistic son. Today, Nono Cocoa employs people with autism to say ‘no no’ to exclusion.
6Ombar Strawberry Mylk Chocolate
Like Raw Halo, Ombar uses creamed coconut instead of milk to achieve that coveted melt-in-mouth texture. The team pay higher than FairTrade prices for their native Ecuadorian cacao – and they don’t roast it, in order to preserve heat-sensitive polyphenol antioxidants. Each (organic) bar contains billions of gut-healthy live cultures, too.
7Enjoy! Salted Caramel Filled Vegan Chocolate
Founders Chris and Steph create their organic chocolate using just three ingredients: raw cacao powder, cacao butter, and coconut sugar. It’s free from dairy, refined sugar, gluten and soya – but certainly not flavour. Bite into the outer layer of this 70 per cent dark chocolate and you’ll uncover a delightfully gooey salted caramel filling.
8Chocally Vegan Collection
Chocally’s impressively vast vegan range is a visual feast that will delight your taste buds. We couldn’t keep away from the Dark Chocolate Lavender Shards… yum! Not only does founder Cally make the chocolate by hand, but she’s also vegan, so knows a thing or two about creating mouthwatering cruelty-free treats.
*Made in an environment that handles dairy. May contain milk traces.
9Seed & Bean Organic Dark Chocolate Bar
If orange chocolate is your thing, this Seed & Bean bar, made from Trinitario cocoa from the Dominican Republic, is an ethical way to get your fix. This organic choc is made in tiny 45-litre batches in England and wrapped in 100 per cent compostable foil – the first UK chocolate brand to have fully compostable packaging.
10Hotel Chocolat Unbelievably Vegan
Hotel Chocolat is synonymous with sumptuous, decadent chocolate, and the company’s Unbelievably Vegan collection is no exception. We tucked into the H-Box: 14 dairy-free pralines, truffles and caramels made with ‘Nutmilk’ – Hotel Chocolat’s magic ingredient for smooth, creamy chocolate. The perfect gift for the vegan(s) in your life… or simply scoff the lot yourself.
*Made in an environment that handles dairy. May contain milk traces.
11The Raw Chocolate Company Vanoffee Hazelnut Raw Chocolate Bar 38g
Vanoffee, crushed hazelnuts and a touch of Anglesey sea salt is the taste sensation you didn’t know you needed until now. ‘Raw’ means the cacao has been sun-dried rather than heat-treated, and this minimal-process method (paired with a super-fine grind) is the secret behind founder Linus Gorpe’s silky, flavourful chocolate.
12Play in Choc
If you’re looking for an ethical, sustainable alternative to other ‘chocolate + toy’ combos, this is it. The organic, single-origin Peruvian chocolate contains half the sugar of other popular chocolate brands, and it’s also nut-free. Each surprise box contains two small chocolates, a plastic-free 3D puzzle and accompanying fact file – great for little tummies and inquisitive minds.
13Plamil So Free Vegan Smooth Orange Cocoa Bites
Hailing from the oldest vegan company in Europe, these Cocoa Bites are made in the UK using ethical cocoa and 100 per cent renewable energy, and presented in plastic packaging. They’re available in a range of flavours, including Salted Caramel and Strawberry, but our favourite was Smooth Orange – so more-ish we polished off the whole bag.
14Creative Nature Gnawbles Mylk Chocolate Share Bag
Established by Julianne Ponan in 2012, Creative Nature is all about creating healthy, tasty, free-from chocolate snacks, protein bars, and even baking mixes. These light, crunchy Gwanbles contain an impressive 39 per cent less sugar than the market leading product, and come in fully-recyclable packaging.
15Booja Booja Hazelnut Truffle
We couldn’t do a round-up of the best vegan chocolate without including this little wonder. Booja-booja has been making its sumptuous organic truffles since 1999, so it’s safe to say they’ve nailed the formula. The team works closely with artists in Kashmir, Indian through a social enterprise called Persian Dowery.
Net Doctor