Can you eat chocolate if you’re vegan?
You can, but it’s got to be certain chocolate. (In other words, chocolate that isn’t made from animal-dairy ingredients).1
Most types of milk and white chocolate is made with all or some of the ingredients above, making it strictly off limits for vegan chocolate lovers.
Only chocolate that’s been made using zero dairy products and hasn’t become contaminated by manufacturers using the same machinery to make vegan and non-vegan chocolate can be classed as vegan.
Interestingly, it is possible to get vegan milk chocolate, providing the chocolate hasn’t been made with dairy milk, but a plant-based milk alternative, such as coconut, instead. Lecithin can also be animal or plant-based; the soy and sunflower version of it are vegan-friendly.7Chocolate is made using cacao beans which are found on cacao trees, meaning chocolate in its ‘raw form’ is vegan friendly as it’s a plant-based food.
To make chocolate products such as bars, truffles, cakes etc., animal and dairy ingredients are often added such as milk products, butter and eggs.
Chocolate products that are vegan friendly will use a dairy alternative such as dairy free spread, coconut oil or oat milk.The name may be deceiving but cocoa butter is naturally free of dairy, eggs, honey and other animal-derived ingredients.
Cocoa butter is a type of fat that comes from cocoa beans. Beans from the cacao plant are roasted, stripped and then pressed in order to separate out the fat, which is how we get cocoa butter.
So seeing cocoa butter listed in the above products may have concerned you, however, you can have peace of mind that cocoa butter is 100% vegan.
Choose between honeycomb slabs, dark chocolate bars, chocolate drops, truffles, and more…
Shop Vegan ChocolateTo make life easier we’ve picked some of our favourite vegan chocolate products, starting with everyone’s winter favourite - which is of course hot chocolate!
Price: £3.99
Description: This luxury hot chocolate is 100% natural, containing only two ingredients, cacao and raw cane sugar
Price: £5.95
Description: Made with high-quality organic coconut sugar and raw cacao powder. Mix with warm soya or nut milks, depending on your preference.
Price: £2.29
Description: An ideal snack for any occasion, these are a great chocolate bar alternative packed with 16g protein and less than 1g sugar.
Price: £2.49
Description: Convenient and delicious snack which is made using natural flavours and Belgium chocolate. Bite into the bar to reveal a thick layer of yummy caramel. Yum!
Price: £2.49
Description: This delicious bar is high in protein, low in sugar and contains sweeteners. Very tasty snack.
Price: £0.99
Description: Made with organic cacao, creamed coconut and coconut sugar, this bar has a luxurious glossy shine, a satisfying snap, and a melt-in-your-mouth smoothness, which is divine.
Price: £2.99
Description: This bar is innocent-looking however the thick coating of 70% dark chocolate hides a wonderfully gooey caramel middle. It tastes so good it’s hard to believe it’s free from dairy, gluten and soya. We promise it is!
Price: £2.99
Description: This bar by Fody uses ingredients dry roasted peanuts, almonds, coconut oil and pure maple syrup ensuring a premium and delicious taste.
Don’t fret, becoming vegan doesn’t mean that you have to say goodbye to chocolate cake.
There are chocolate cakes available in most supermarkets these days, alternatively, we sell the devilishly good chocolate cake by Everfresh. This cake is baked with the goodness of sprouted organic wholegrain and wholemeal flour. Alternately, if you enjoy baking (and fancy yourself as a bit of a Mary Berry), why not browse our vegan baking products range. If you need some inspiration, check out our recipe for a very tasty vegan chocolate fudge decadence cake. Want to carry on reading about vegan chocolate? Why not check out, 7 of the best vegan chocolates Shop VeganLast updated: 6 January 2021
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Author: Andrea Dobronszki, Regulatory Affairs
Andrea started her career as a clinical dietitian and lecturer at a university hospital, managing the dietetic treatment of patients with various diseases, and giving lectures in nutrition for medical students. Later she worked as a Product Developer at a sport nutrition company where she developed food supplements and fortified foods, and ensured that the products complied with the relevant regulations. Andrea joined Holland & Barrett as a Senior Regulatory Affairs Associate and specialises in food supplements, food regulations, nutrition and dietetics. View Andrea’s LinkedIn profile |