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In November of 2013, I started my blog over on Blogspot. The summer of 2014 (this year) I transferred to a self-hosted WordPress account (you can read about that journey here). In one year, we’ve made a lot of progress…and I’m hoping for many more years and much more progress! Progressing in baby steps from here to infinity, as Bjork over at Pinch of Yum likes to say.
My first recipe I ever posted to my blog was something I called “Better Than Starbucks Hot Chocolate.” It was definitely better than Starbucks to me because Starbucks spikes its hot chocolate with coffee. The nerve.
As an anniversary present, I’d like to share with you my totally tweaked, totally protein-packed, totally yum, totally light, totally creamy hot chocolate recipe. This is kind of a conglomeration of all hot chocolate recipes I’ve ever tried. I took what I liked from each, added it together, tweaked, and tweaked some more. I love it. Love it, love it, love it. In my quest for lighter snacks (a lesson I learned during my recent Fuel Cycle), I’ve been using this as a pick-me-up in the afternoon as well as a late-evening snack if I’m hungry then. It’s warm and filling.
When making this in your Ninja single-serve cup, be careful when you take the lid off – blending hot liquids causes pressure build up, so unless you take the lid off slowly (I recommend doing this over the sink), you’ll probably end up with stuff everywhere. Not cool. Scalding hot, actually.
As always, feel free to adjust everything to your personal taste. I did some troubleshooting for you in the “Notes” section of the recipe because it’s important that you have a stand-by hot chocolate recipe this winter.
You can snag my official pin for this recipe here.
You can find a cleaned-up version of this recipe (along with quite a few other hot chocolate recipes) in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- ½ - 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
- 1/16 tsp. glucomannan
- 1½ T cocoa powder (I use Hershey's brand)
- 4 tsp. THM Gentle Sweet *or* 2 doonks THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder and 2 packets Truvia (1½ tsp.) - feel free to add more Gentle Sweet or Truvia if desired
- Hearty dash vanilla extract
- Hearty pinch salt (don't skimp as the salt really rounds out the flavors)
- 1 tsp. coconut oil
- 2 level T low-fat cottage cheese
- Fat-free Reddi-Whip and some sugar-free chocolate syrup for topping, optional
- Heat the water and almond milk in a mug in the microwave for 2 minutes to warm. Meanwhile, add all the other ingredients to your blending instrument of choice (I love our Ninja single-serving blender cups). Add the heated water/almond milk and blend well until everything is smooth. Drink up!
-feel free to use more unsweetened almond milk in place of the water (I just try to stay as frugal as possible)
-adjust the protein powder to your liking. Using more will give you a thicker, frothier product, but some people don't like the flavor of that much protein powder.
-if you don't have glucomannan, sub xanthan gum. If you have neither, leave it out but the drink won't be as thick and creamy.
-cocoa powder is another personal preference item. I use Hershey's, and I like 1½ T.
-as always, adjust the sweetener to your personal taste. In chocolate stuff like this, I like to use THM Gentle Sweet or a blend of sweeteners. You may wish to add more as I tend to undersweeten.
-the cottage cheese is what makes this ultra-creamy while still remaining light. If you find you can taste the cottage cheese, decrease to one tablespoon.
Be careful when blending hot liquids and vent the blender as needed to avoid a pressure buildup.
Suggested Products:
- Ninja blender – we LOVE our single-serving blender cups
- Whey Protein Powder – makes this hot drink into a filling snack!
- Glucomannan – gluc makes this stuff ultra thick and creamy
- Hershey Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- THM Gentle Sweet does an admirable job of sweetening chocolate stuff without being bitter. You can purchase it and pure stevia extract powder from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
- Truvia – I like to pair the straight stevia with some Truvia for a more balanced flavor
- McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
- LouAna Pure Coconut Oil – I use refined coconut oil because a) it’s cheaper and b) it doesn’t taste coconutty.
- Hershey Sugar-Free Chocolate Syrup – this is sweetened mostly with erythritol!
Thank you Briana! This hot chocolate was thick, rich, sweet, chocolatey, comforting and delicious!!
Would it be good to add a Tblsp of cocoa butter to this?
I haven’t really experimented much with cocoa butter so I’m not sure. If you want something richer I recommend this recipe >> https://www.briana-thomas.com/velvety-hot-chocolate/
Sweet Briana, ..I made Briana’s Hot Chocolate this morning! WOW! REALLY ..REALLY GOOD….the only thing I changed was more PYURE, but that was it! My 16 year old grandson (Simon) stopped on his way home from church and had some! He LOVED IT! I made a copy of the recipe for them to make for a treat today. (it was 7.1 outside here this morning:)
Also, our 15 year old granddaughter (Julia Grace) just started THM and I gave her the book and cook books for THM. (Her mom, Beth lost her weight and has kept it off..WOW) Julia Grace was pleased with the THM books. But, then I gave her another package, “MY” BRIANA COOK BOOKS …and WOW, she was THRILLED. She sat all day long reading “YOUR” cook books and marking all the things, she was going to make! All that to say, I was NOT going to replace your cook books right away, but that lasted about a week and….. I ordered “MY” COOK BOOKS and they came yesterday and I am so blessed to have them back. I was so happy to give them to Julia Grace, but WOW..did I miss having them to use, but I am set now.
THANK YOU…and the LORD JESUS bless you and Ryan, as you walk this JOURNEY to serve JESUS together. Praying for you…DAILY and Praise the LORD for “YOU!”….love and prayers, miss julianne from Townville, Pennsylvania ( just 7 miles from Faith Builders, in Guys Mills, Pennsylvania)
Hi Julianne! It’s so good to hear from you again. I’m glad you (and your grandson) enjoyed the hot chocolate. And what great gifts for your granddaughter! I hope she really enjoys the cookbooks. What a blessing to start eating healthy at a young age and practice cooking! Thanks so much for purchasing my books. <3 May you have a blessed year and continue growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!
NewYear 2019 and new Goals…… made this for my afternoon pick me up…. OH MY this is decadent… Thank you!!!
I enjoyed this! Even with the cottage cheese! : )
I’ve been drinking this nearly daily, and can’t wait to try some more recipes!
Will reg. whey protein power work in this? Thanks
Yep!
I too blended the ingredients in my Ninja single cup and then warmed them up. Delish! Thank you!
I got your recipe book last week and I just made this recipe! Hokey Pete’s it is AMAZING! I am just starting my THM journey and your recipes are so delicious! Thank you so much for all of your hard work in making so many amazing recipes for us <3
My five kids and I are enjoying this right now!!! It’s so good! I misplaced my THM cookbook and wanted to make their hot chocolate. I found this instead…..we like it better! I made a very large batch ?. I also added some Just Gelatin for an extra nutritional punch.
Soooo yummy!!!! Just made it! Thanks! Really creamy and yummy and I just loved it! Paired it with some of your peanut butter ice cream!! Delicious!!
Hot chocolate and ice cream – now that’s an awesome combination!
I just made this with a 1/4 tsp of caramel extract stirred in on a cold rainy day (typical Memorial Day weekend in Western Washington!) Delicious!
Oh, what a joy and blessing to have this on the coldest day of the year (so far) here in central Florida. I’m sitting by my fireplace DVD, with my flip-flops (and socks), and drinking the best hot chocolate EVER! I’m a happy THM girl.
Blessings,
GG
Wow! I’m surprised at how good that is! The ingredients didn’t sound so appealing but it’s awesome together! Thank you?
You know what? This is really, really good! I am so excited to find a creamy and bad-for-you tasting recipe for hot cocoa! I have tried over and over to make my own, but with disappointing results. I think the cottage cheese does it! Thanks so much, Brianna!
No problem! Glad you like it!
this is delicious! hit the spot on an cold winter evening! Your an inspirtation to me, maybe someday i’ll start a food blog! oh and i used aristocrat cocoa powder which i get from my local bulk food store. -the most amazing cocoa ever!
Trying this today – thank you! I started THM this month and have been struggling a little bit but your recipes have helped!
Oh my goodness, this was just what I needed on a cold night. Thank you for the fabulous recipe. This is going to become my new nightly dessert for a while. 😉
I find that this recipe works better if I just put ALL the ingredients in my Nutri Ninja and whiz them up all together and then put it in a mug to microwave. It seems to be creamier and blend better.
Thanks for the tip!
Just made it and it tastes great but the cottage cheese didn’t blend in at all. Anyone else have this problem?
That probably has to do with the kind of blender you’re using. I use our Ninja single-serving cups, which, because they are smaller, blend things more finely. If you don’t have a high-powered blender or a smaller cup attachment, an immersion blender used in a smaller cup might work better for you.
This was great! I didn’t have the cottage cheese, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly and loved it!! (I wish I could make this recipe in bulk so that all I would have to do is add the heated milk/water!)
I think one lady made a concentrate of this. She blended 3 batches of this together minus the water I think. That way when she wanted to drink it she could just add a cup of hot water to a third of the concentrate, blend, and drink. Not quite as easy as a hot chocolate mix yet, but at least it might make things a *little* easier.
This is really good! It’s so smooth and milk chocolatey. Although I did have strain off some bits of cottage cheese that wouldn’t get smooth.
Thank You, I am going to make a double batch, and freeze part into fudgesicles Yay! 🙂
I’m excited to try this! One question though: With a tsp of coconut oil (4.5 fat grams) and 2 T of low fat cottage cheese (+- 1 gram of fat) and the negligible fat in the cocoa, is this still an FP? I’m still new to THM but thought an FP had less than 5 grams of fat. It looks delicious but I wanted to make sure I correctly understood the math too 🙂 I love, love, love your blog and recipes. Thank you for all the hard work you put into it. Please keep making these amazing creations!
You’re correct: 5 g of fat is the limit. However, It’s more or less the ingredients and separating fuel sources that count. Coconut oil is definitely an S. The low-fat cottage cheese and cocoa powder aren’t really significant sources of anything, so they’re generally considered FP ingredients. You do have to watch those ingredients because sometimes their nutritional info can add up more than you realize, but in this case it’s pretty minimal so I personally don’t see a problem with it. 🙂
Oh ok! Thank you for that information. I’m always excited to learn more about the ins and outs of this program 🙂
Sipping on this right now. What a treat while I wash a ton of dirty dishes! What will you come up with next.!?I have to say that your recipes are always reliable and always bless my home. Man! Wish I could give you a big squeeze. Happy Anniversary, Briana!
Thank you so much for the encouragement! I’m so glad you enjoy the recipes.
Briana, Thanks so much for your great recipes! This one, as with your others, is SO good. In that past, I’ve made “Mint Hot Chocolate” by adding (yuk – the sugary hot chocolate powder) to a cup of peppermint tea to make Hot Chocolate Mint. Could easily do that with this recipe by throwing a peppermint tea bag into the water and almond milk before you heat them up! Looking forward to substituting that for my Thin Mint Shakes, now that the weather has gotten cold!
I am sipping this yumminess right now….mmmmmmm…thank you!!
Hi there ,
Thanks for the recipe . Can we use nonfat cottage cheese or can we only use low fat ?
Thanks in advance ,
Doesn’t matter. 🙂
this looks amazing! I can’t wait to try! thank you for your sweet reply the other day (I just might try to pick your brain soon…) my oat fiber came in the mail yesterday and I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!
I have a hot chocolate recipe I love too, a bit like this one, except I’ve never added cottage cheese. I blend mine in a quart jar using an immersion blender and it works really well. I’m not sure how well it would blend the cottage cheese, though. Maybe I’ll go give it a try as I’ve been thinking about making some for the last hour! I also sometimes add some mint extract.
Thank you for your hot chocolate recipe Briana! I look forward to trying it. One thing I would ask though, is that you might consider using Fair Trade cocoa. Since I learned how cocoa growers often use child slaves, I will only buy Fair Trade. For a great video to learn more about slavery and chocolate, see The Dark Side of Chocolate on Youtube. I will never see chocolate the same way again!
Looks yummy Briana!! 🙂 I can’t wait to try it. Tis the season for hot chocolate! 🙂
Oh, dear me, this is so good!
Yep…already made it. Already pinned it.
THIS is going to become a staple here, and I think in a whole lotta homes!
xoxoxo
Oh wow! You’re on the ball! Thanks so much for letting me know how it turned out.