These Are the Vegan Chocolates You Need in Your Life
And they're all available for shipping.
February is the best month to expand your chocolate horizons and what better way to start than by exploring the world of vegan chocolate. These chocolates are made with large amounts of cacao, the purest form of chocolate that’s way less processed than the cocoa powder you typically find in non-vegan chocolates. Cacao is also high in antioxidants, so as long as you eat it in moderation, you’re basically doing your body a favor by eating chocolate. But even with the absence of milk, refined sugar, and a mega long list of ingredients you’ve never heard of before, vegan chocolate still holds on to the smooth, silky taste, thanks to rich cacao beans and has just as much versatility in flavors as milk chocolate. Here are some of the top vegan chocolate bars, from traditional pure dark chocolate to bars made with flower petals and a fun twist on vegan peanut butter cups.
There’s nothing wrong with sticking to the classics. And such is the case with VESTA’s Vegan Non-Dairy Dark Milk chocolate bar. Sure, it’s a mouthful, but it’s a mouthful of smoothy, velvety dark chocolate that may make you think there’s dairy in it somewhere. Made of 60% cacao sourced from Belize, these would go great in a bowl of granola or just by itself because there’s nothing wrong with casual chocolate eating either.
Raaka’s Rose Cardamom bar is made with 70% Tanzanian cacao, organic rose petals, and organic cardamom, resulting in a flavor profile just floral enough to make you dream of spring, but not overly earthy. But if you’re longing for summertime, the Waffle Cone bar may be more your speed. It’s 66% Ugandan cacao and made with homemade gluten-free, whole-grain waffle cone pieces, giving you that “bottom corner of the ice cream cone” taste. Every Raaka bar comes with a transparent trade report so you can see how they source cacao and what they pay to obtain it.
GoodSam's 55% dark chocolate bars are the first to combine regenerative farm practices, sugar-free, non-GMO, vegan, and direct trade, which makes them both good for you and the planet. Made with organic cacao from the Planadas region in the Central Andes of Colombia, the bar comes in mint, sea salt, and salted caramel varieties.
Los Angeles-based Compartés creates vegan bars that are made with Peruvian cacao and are free of refined sugar, dairy, and soy. Fruit and chocolate is arguably the best combination, so opt for the "superfood” organic 75% cacao bar with goji berries, strawberries, acai, and dragonfruit or the super crunchy dark chocolate blueberry almond bar.
Founded by South Sudan native Sarah Anyieth, Nhiär Chocolates launched in March 2020 during the height of the pandemic. In a time of isolation and uncertainty, Anyieth felt that everyone could use a ray of light in the form of something sweet that’s also dairy-free, sugar-free, and contains no added salt. All of the bonbons are flavored and colored using natural ingredients like lavender, lemons, and roses. But if ganache isn’t your thing, you can always go for the traditional chocolate bars made using Peruvian chocolate and come in a variety of flavors like sea salt, almond, cashew, and pistachio.
Just in case you don’t feel like making your own vegan chocolate bark, Lagusta’s Luscious’s other variety of treats are a great alternative. Toting the phrase “always vegan and always conflict free,” all of their chocolates are dairy-free, including the Peanut Caramel Bar with Nougat that’s basically a tastier and better-for-you version of a Snickers. Transparency is a key component of Lagusta’s and their chocolate is sourced from farms in Ecuador.
Keeping the peanut butter train rolling with Theo Chocolate’s peanut butter and jelly cups. It’s tough to find an actually tasty dairy-free alternative to Reese’s cups, which is why Theo’s Peanut Butter & Jelly Cups are here to save the day and your stomach. With a 55% dark chocolate shell sourced from the Dominican Republic of the Congo and a creamy peanut butter and raspberry filling, you’ll never want to go back to regular peanut butter cups again.
In the Bronx, you’ll find magic being made at Sol Cacao, and by magic, we mean chocolate. Sol Cacao was founded by three brothers, Dominic, Nicholas and Daniel Maloney, who all grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, literally surrounded by cacao trees. The four bars currently offered are all created using only two ingredients: cacao beans sourced from either Ecuador, Peru, Madagascar, or Colombia and raw cane sugar.
Conexion’s founder Jenny Samaniego was born and raised in Ecuador. After learning that Ecuadorian cacao farmers were having difficulty finding a market for their beans outside of the country, she started on a journey that has led her to become deeply involved in the chocolate-making industry. Single origin chocolate is made from beans that are grown in one specific country or region, and all of Conexion’s vegan bars are made using this practice. They offer vegan bars using dark chocolate sourced from Manabí, Ecuador. If you’re just breaking into the vegan chocolate lifestyle, try the lower percentage light roast cacao bar.