My All-time favorite Protein Mexican Hot Chocolate made with cacao powder and protein powder. This healthy hot chocolate uses almond milk and no chocolate chips, making it Vegan and Dairy free too. The perfect spicy chocolate drink for a cozy night in.

Complete truth here – I had this exact same hot chocolate every day for a week straight! Yes it’s that good, and I’d just been waiting to share the recipe with you all.

The only reason I held off for this long was because my first shoot was too late in the day, so the pictures were quite blurry. Definitely did not do justice to this magical creation right here!

But I really wasn’t too concerned about reshoot opportunities coz this was just on repeat anyway lol.

What’s the difference between Mexican hot chocolate and regular?

The main factor that differentiates a Mexican and regular American Hot Chocolate is the spices – cinnamon and cayenne pepper – that make it spicy.

This is not the kind of spicy you get in savory foods, but more of the aromatic spices kind of spicy.

Protein Mexican Hot Chocolate ingredients:

This healthy Mexican hot chocolate recipe is made with raw cacao or cocoa powder instead of chocolate chips, so it’s a low calorie, Vegan and dairy free recipe too!

Here’s everything you need for this Aztec hot chocolate recipe:

Unsweetened Almond Milk or any other
Water – you could use more milk here, but even the water makes it creamy because of the protein powder in this hot cocoa
Raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa
Chocolate protein powder – the necessity for a high protein hot chocolate; Also makes it a bit like a hot protein shake! I used the Chocolate flavor from Quest Nutrition.
Try to use one that has no added sugar so you actually have a healthy and sugar free recipe.
Use a Vegan one based on your dietary requirements.
Cinnamon
Cayenne Pepper – this is the key for this spicy hot chocolate

Can I put Protein Powder in Hot Chocolate?

Yes, adding the chocolate protein powder in this hot chocolate recipe not only adds the nutrition, but also makes it extra creamy!

Another reason I went for a protein Mexican hot chocolate was because the protein powder replaced all the sugar that would otherwise be needed to cover up the bitter cocoa taste.

I would really recommend using a stevia sweetened protein powder for this recipe if you truly want a sugar free and keto Mexican hot chocolate.

How do you make Mexican hot chocolate from scratch?

This homemade Mexican hot cocoa is really easy to make, and you don’t need to go to Starbucks anymore.

All you need to do here is whisk and heat up the milk, water, cacao powder, cinnamon and cayenne pepper in a small pot over medium heat.

Let it start to simmer, and then remove from heat.

Now add in your chocolate protein powder, whisk again, and pour it into your mug.

And that’s it!

Tips for the Best Mexican Style Hot Chocolate

I’ve tried this protein Mexican hot chocolate recipe at least 6 times already, so you really want to follow these little pointers here.

Don’t add the protein powder to the hot chocolate mixture before heating.
The protein powder will slightly burn and stick to the bottom of the pot – even if you use a non stick.
Make sure you only whisk it in after everything is heated and removed from the heat.

Don’t let the hot cocoa and milk boil – just let it simmer, and stop heating as soon as small bubbles start to form and you see steam. The protein powder and almond milk will burn on the bottom otherwise.

Pour the protein powder hot cocoa into the mug immediately after whisking in the protein powder.

More low calorie Protein Powder recipes you might like: