Protein Hot Chocolate

In my case, I’m trying to stay keto - carbs down and protein up - while my husband snacks on every manner of forbidden deliciousness... in the same small, shared area.

I’ve taken to getting creative, getting extra protein in, while also sweet tooth.

One thing I’ve been doing is making Protein Gummies to bring on each trip, sometimes getting silly with it.

I've made batches of high protein Salty Black Licorice Gummies and Sour Cherry Cola Gummies on recent trips.

Had to fight my husband for them, so I guess you could say they turned out well! 🙂

Another thing I’ve been doing is turning a regular protein shake into a fancy, comforting drink.

With the winter months - and cold weather camping! - coming up, getting a serving of protein in the form of a low carb hot drink seemed like a great way to get it done.

All told, I came up with about a dozen different ways to doctor up a basic protein powder - either vanilla or chocolate whey protein powder.

Today, I’m sharing my high protein hot chocolate recipe!

High Protein Hot Chocolate Mixes

This healthy hot chocolate recipe is not only high protein and low carb, it’s a relatively low calorie homemade hot chocolate, and a comforting alternative to basic protein shakes.

That healthy protein powder does give it the perfect consistency - you get a creamy hot chocolate, whether you use water or milk. (Milk IS creamier, though!).
The best part?

You can do this up as a high protein hot chocolate mix!

I make my protein hot cocoa mix in batches of 10, it takes just a few minutes... and then I can have a cup of hot chocolate on the road, in just minutes!

We keep them in little bins, marked by flavour and whether or not it’s one of the caffeinated mixes.

I’ll usually have one of my caffeinated protein drink mixes in place of my morning cup of coffee, then one of the non-caffeinated ones as a hot beverage in the evening.

In NO way does it feel like I’m doing a protein shake twice a day - it feels more luxurious, kind of a bougie way to camp! Really, isn’t that the best way to camp? 🙂

Anyway, let’s get to that recipe.

Ingredients

This recipe uses a few simple ingredients, which should mostly be easy to find in your local grocery store. I do have some notes for you, though:

Chocolate Protein Powder

Using a chocolate flavored whey powder brings more than protein content to this recipe - it also contributes some of the chocolatey flavor, and negates the use for vanilla extract.

It makes it such that you can mix this up with water if you like, rather than NEEDING milk.

As for the type of protein powder, you can use your favorite protein powder.

Personally, I love Revolution Nutrition's High Whey in Chocolate Cake. It’s high quality, tastes great, and has 25 g protein per serving!

That said, use whatever Chocolate Flavored Protein Powder you like.

Just be sure it’s one that you love the taste of, the grams of protein meet your needs, and - ideally - that it mixes up smoothly.

Need a vegan protein hot chocolate? Use a vegan protein powder - like a pea protein - and a plant based milk. Easy!

Cocoa Powder

For a rich hot chocolate taste, I do add a little Cocoa Powder to boost the flavour from the protein powder.

If you like it less rich - or your protein is INTENSELY chocolately - feel free to skip the cacao powder.

Sweetener

Because I’m on a low sugar diet, I use a bit of Brown Sugar Substitute to boost the sweetness of the protein powder.

Specifically, I like Brown Sugar Allulose - it doesn’t give that weird mouth cooling sensation that the monk fruit / erythritol blends do.

Not watching your carbs? Feel free to use a regular brown sugar.

Optional Ingredients

Like a spicy, Mexican hot chocolate style cocoa?

Add a pinch of Cayenne Pepper or Ground Cinnamon!

Need some marshmallows involved?

You can buy Dehydrated Mini Marshmallows!

Add as many as you like to your packets!

Hot Milk or Water

You can make these high protein hot chocolate packets up with your milk of choice, or with hot water.

Caveat: Any kind of milk is going to make a creamier hot chocolate than water will.

Personally, I use Unsweetened Almond Milk, as I’m limiting my dairy consumption.

Cashew Milk and Macadamia Milk are also great, but if you can’t have nut milks, then Oat milk, Flax Milk, and coconut milk are great options - all are delicious, creamy milks.

If dairy milk isn’t an issue, then skim milk, 2% milk, or whole milk all work well. The higher the fat percentage, the creamier the hot chocolate!

Shaker Bottle

It may not be an ingredient, but a good shaker bottle is a nice thing to have on hand when making these protein hot chocolate drinks up - especially when camping.

Personally, I love the 2 20 oz BlenderBottles that we keep in the camper.

They’re the perfect size for all of the protein drinks I make, and the blender ball thing makes it easy to blend them up smooth, every time!

How to Make High Protein Hot Chocolate

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, here is the visual walk through:

For Protein Hot Chocolate

Combine a scoop of protein powder with the other dry ingredients in a shaker bottle, mason jar, or blender.

Add hot water or hot milk*; shake until well combined, and smooth.

Alternately, you could use an immersion blender or milk frother to mix it up.

Pour into a large mug, garnish as desired (mini marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate chips, whatever!), and enjoy right away!

For Protein Hot Chocolate Mix Pouches

Measure dry ingredients directly into individual snack-sized plastic baggies, seal and shake well to combine.

Press as much air as possible out of each baggie, seal the zipper.

Transfer baggies to an airtight container, labeled with the date, recipe name, and a note to use 12 oz of water or milk*, if you like.

More High Protein Drink Mixes!

Looking for more high protein, low carb drink mixes that can be made ahead? I've developed a whole series of instant drink mix recipes:

Chai Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Cream of Chicken Soup (Low Carb, High Protein)
Cream of Mushroom Soup (Low Carb, High Protein)
Easy Bone Broth
Gingerbread Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Matcha Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Mocha Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate (Low Carb, High Protein)
Peppermint Mocha (Low Carb, High Protein)
Protein Cappuccino (Low Carb, High Protein)
Pumpkin Chai Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Pumpkin Spice Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)