The Best Vegan Chocolate for Every Occasion, from Baking to Gifting

If you’ve been eating a diet full of whole plant-based foods, you know the magical way it can curb even the most ravenous sweet tooth. And when you do choose to indulge in a special treat, you likely find yourself much more discriminating. So whether you want the cleanest ingredients for your healthy vegan baking projects, to top off a delicious meal with a little something divine, or to surprise someone with the perfect gift, here are some of our favorite clean vegan chocolate options that you can feel good about.

The artwork on the Fine & Raw Brooklyn Bonnie Collectionis too fun to pass up, encapsulating the NYC-based brand’s mission to “save the world through silliness and chocolate.” The variety sampler—with six 2-oz. chocolate bars, including espresso, ginger, and habanero salt—is the perfect gift for someone special. The bars melt in your mouth, with a creamy blend of 50% raw and 50% roasted cacao sourced directly from cacao farms in Belize and Ecuador.

Looking to delight the discerning chocolate-lover in your life with a top-shelf treat? Spring for a jar (or two) of Nibble Chocolate’s high-quality chocolate cubes, which are made only with sustainably sourced organic cocoa beans and organic whole unrefined cane sugar. The Nibblelitos come in reusable glass jars with bamboo lids, earning them points for style and eco-friendliness.

When you want to stud your trail mix or muffins with vegan chocolaty goodness, look no further than Enjoy Life’s mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Labelled as one of the best chocolate chip options by Mamavation thanks to their low heavy metal content, they are totally vegan and gluten-free and contain just three simple ingredients: cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, and cocoa butter.

Warm up Date Lady Mint Chocolate Sauce and drizzle the rich fudgy decadence over your favorite nice cream or fruit. Think your favorite childhood hot fudge, only sweetened with organic date syrup and a touch of peppermint oil. If you identify as a chocolate purist, opt for the Date Lady Chocolate Spread ($13 at ILoveDateLady.com) and spread on freshly baked vegan muffins or other goodies. But buyer beware: It’s so scrumptious that it sells out quickly!

You’ll only find two ingredients in Alter Eco Total Blackout: organic cocoa beans and organic cocoa butter. The 100% cacao bar contains zero added sugar. Some tasters love the smooth bitter dark chocolate right off the bat; others have to work up to it with the Alter Eco Super Blackout made with 90% cacao or by pairing the 100% version with nut butter or berries. Another feel-good bonus? The packaging is recyclable and compostable so when you’re done, you can keep it out of the landfill.

Some cocoa powders taste sweet and have added sugar, dehydrated dairy, or other ingredients. Other unsweetened varieties may be Dutch processed, which means the cacao beans have been washed with an alkaline solution to reduce bitterness, losing nutrients in the process. (Dutched cocoa can have half the phytonutrients of regular cocoa.) This organic cacao from Nativas skips the alkalization process and retains antioxidants and minerals. And according to recent testing by Consumer Reports, this cacao powder measured the lowest in heavy metal content among readily available cocoa powders, with consistently low levels of lead and cadmium compared with other brands. Pretty sweet!

Instead of reaching for a glass of wine after dinner, nibble on the latest collaboration between Berkeley-based vegan chocolatier TCHO and Napa Valley vineyard Clif Family Winery. TCHO guarantees 100% traceability of their cacao beans, and through initiatives with cacao producers, they have been able to increase the number of beans that meet their high quality standards by 300%. This particular bar is a fudgy dark chocolate folded together with Peruvian cacao nibs aged in red wine barrels for eight months and sea salt infused with berry-forward cabernet. Cheers!

Since its founding in 2006, Seattle-based cocoa company Theo has been at the leading-edge of organic, fair trade chocolate. They have several vegan bars, but we favor this one, which has a smidge of sea salt to balance out the 70% dark chocolate.

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.