From Bean to Bar: How Vegan Chocolate Is Made

Believe it or not, vegan chocolate ingredients are almost the same as regular chocolate ingredients. It all comes down to swapping out certain ingredients that may make it non-vegan like sugar and milk. Swapping out these ingredients isn’t hard, either. You just have to be mindful of it.

Many brands naturally make vegan chocolate bars - especially when it comes to deep, dark chocolates. Don’t worry, we’ll talk about vegan milk chocolates, too. We’re all here to learn!

Making Vegan Chocolate Bars

The truest of true chocolate lovers know that a good bar doesn’t need a lot of ingredients. Simplicity will deliver a dream of a bar already. So, what are these ingredients? 

The Cocoa Bean

Unsurprisingly, the cocoa bean takes center stage when it comes to making vegan (or even non-vegan) chocolate bars. Cocoa beans come from the cacao tree. These beans are harvested, fermented, dried, roasted, and cracked open to gain access to the cocoa nibs. It’s these nibs that are ground to make the chocolate’s base. Is that it? No, of course not.

To make the smooth and glossy bars we’re all used to seeing, all vegan chocolate ingredients are first blended and then tempered. This heating process is essential and what allows the chocolate to be poured into molds. But hold on… 

Cocoa Butter

We earlier mentioned the grinding of nibs to create the base of chocolate. But, as you can likely guess, this will result in a somewhat gritty mass - so unlike the smooth bars we know. This is where cocoa butter comes in. Cocoa butter is an important ingredient that also comes from the cocoa bean.

The high fat content of cocoa butter is what gives all chocolate bars their texture. This also gives chocolate its meltability (that’s a word, right?), which makes chocolate easier to temper and pour into molds. Cocoa butter is often the key to making creamy chocolate bars without the need for dairy.

Sugar (Or Not)

Sweet chocolates are, of course, made with some type of sugar. But not all sugar is vegan - as some might be made with bone char (yes, bone char). So vegan varieties are careful with their sugar or sweetener selection. Some types would be coconut sugar, agave, or even maple syrup. Sometimes, brands opt to skip adding any sugar or sweetener. This would result in your usual bitter, dark chocolate bars that people love. 

While we're here, we’ll go into a little bit about salt. You may notice brands adding salt or even sea salt to their ingredients list… But why? Well, salt helps bring out the sweetness of chocolate and may even draw out more flavor. Salt has its purpose!

Flavorings

We did say that chocolate needn’t have too many ingredients. That’s still true! But flavorings include vanilla, caramel, nuts, fruit zest, and all that good stuff. So they’re not all bad. In fact, they can help elevate your chocolate experience by adding complexity and introducing more textures.

Where there are natural flavors, there are also artificial ones. Better-tasting bars don’t rely on artificial ingredients. The purpose of artificial flavors is to sometimes make making vegan chocolates cheaper. That’s just the way it is.

Emulsifiers

Emulsifiers serve a different purpose from flavorings. Emulsifiers help bind ingredients that usually won’t - think oil and water. You can totally opt not to use emulsifiers, but some brands still prefer them to cut costs. This isn’t always the case, but you will find more affordable chocolates with emulsifiers in its recipe. Emulsifiers aren’t necessarily bad, but those made without tend to deliver a more natural flavor. 

The Dairy-Free Dream

Up above, we’ve mostly talked about regular and even dark vegan chocolate. But how about vegan milk chocolate? Is there such a thing? The answer to that is yes! 

Many people think that milk is added simply to contribute to the creaminess of chocolate. That’s not all there is. It delivers flavor, too! But before we get into that, it’s worth noting that milk chocolate bars are made with milk powder or milk solids. Actual liquid milk isn’t poured in and mixed with other ingredients. Surprising, eh? We thought so!

So what do vegan chocolates use instead of milk powder? We’ve got alternatives like oat milk, rice milk, or coconut milk powder. All these powders serve the same purpose. They add that extra bit of creaminess as well as lend their natural flavors to your vegan chocolate bars. 

Vegan Chocolate Bars and Ingredients Ready!

Don’t fuss over how to make vegan chocolate at home. While you certainly can and it can make a nice one-day project, we think it’s not worth our time, mess, and stress in the long run. We prefer to get our chocolates from reputable brands - brands that you can easily find here at PlantX! Vegan chocolates are right there and waiting for you already!