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Chocolate lovers, this one’s for you. I rounded up my favorite cacao powder recipes — smoothies, brownies, hot chocolate, chia pudding — so you can satisfy that chocolate craving with 100% plant-based, whole food ingredients.
Here’s the thing: I’m not actually a die-hard chocolate person. So if a chocolate recipe makes it onto my blog, you know it’s good. My fudgy brownies and chocolate peanut butter smoothie? Top-rated recipes that readers make over and over.
Table of Contents
What Is Cacao?
Cacao is chocolate in its most natural form— and one of my favorite superfoods for smoothies. It all starts with cacao beans — the seeds of the cacao tree — which get fermented, dried, and turned into the chocolatey products we know and love.
- Cacao powder is made by cold-pressing cacao beans to remove the fat (that’s the cacao butter), then grinding what’s left into a fine powder. It’s minimally processed, naturally unsweetened, and has a rich, slightly bitter, deeply chocolatey flavor. This is what I reach for in smoothies and baked goods.
- Cacao nibs are simply cacao beans that have been crushed into small pieces. Think of them as nature’s chocolate chips — crunchy, unsweetened, and intense. They’re perfect for sprinkling on smoothie bowls, chia pudding, or oatmeal when you want texture and a chocolate hit without added sugar.
Cocoa vs Cacao
They come from the same bean, but cocoa powder is roasted at higher temperatures and is often processed with alkali (you’ll see “Dutch-processed” on the label). Some cocoa powders also sneak in sweeteners or gums. Cacao keeps things simpler and closer to the original bean.
Here’s my honest take: any recipe that calls for cocoa powder can easily be made with cacao powder, and unsweetened cocoa powder works just fine too. The real rule? Read your labels and make sure there’s only one ingredient. That’s it. No sugar, no fillers, just chocolate doing its thing.
Where to Buy Cacao Powder
Good news: cacao powder is way easier to find than it used to be. Here’s where to look:
- Grocery stores: Check the baking aisle or the natural foods section. Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Trader Joe’s all carry it, and most major grocery chains do now too.
- Online: Amazon and Thrive Market both have plenty of one-ingredient options if you’d rather have cacao powder or cacao nibs show up at your door.
Whichever brand you grab, flip it over and check the ingredient list. You want to see one thing: cacao. If there’s added sugar or anything you can’t pronounce, put it back and keep looking.
How to Use Cacao
This is where the fun starts. Cacao powder is naturally unsweetened, which makes it the perfect team player — it brings deep, dark chocolate flavor while fruit, dates, or maple syrup handle the sweetness.
- Smoothies: Add 1 tablespoon of cacao powder to turn any smoothie into a chocolate creation. It pairs beautifully with berries, cherries, banana, and nut or seed butters. (Chocolate + peanut butter is undefeated. I don’t make the rules.)
- Baked goods: Swap it 1:1 for cocoa powder in brownies, mug cakes, and muffins.
- Warm drinks: Whisk it into oat milk with a little maple syrup for homemade hot chocolate, or add it to your coffee for a mocha moment.
- Breakfast: Stir it into oatmeal, chia pudding, or overnight oats.
17 Different Cacao Recipes To Try
Now for the good part. These recipes below will fill any chocolate craving with real, whole food ingredients.
Red Velvet Smoothie
Chocolate Smoothie Bowl
Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
Low-Calorie Zucchini Smoothie
Coconut Smoothie Bowl
Vegan Shamrock Shake
Chocolate Chia Pudding
Chocolate Cherry Smoothie
Mocha Coffee Smoothie
Chocolate Strawberry Green Smoothie
Fudgy Gluten-Free Brownies
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Banana Chocolate Protein Shake
Skinny Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie
Hot Chocolate Smoothie
Fiber Smoothie Cubes
The simplest way: pair it with whole foods and let fruit do the sweetening. Blend a tablespoon into a smoothie with banana or berries, stir it into oatmeal or chia pudding, or whisk it into warm plant milk with a little maple syrup. You get all that deep chocolate flavor without a pile of added sugar — which is the whole point.
Smoothies, hands down. One tablespoon turns any smoothie into a chocolate creation, and it pairs beautifully with berries, cherries, banana, and nut butters. Beyond the blender, swap it 1:1 for cocoa powder in brownies, mug cakes, and homemade hot chocolate.
Honest answer: they’re closer than the internet makes them sound. Both come from the same bean. Cacao is less processed — it’s cold-pressed instead of roasted at high heat — so it stays closer to its natural state, and it’s always unsweetened. Cocoa is roasted hotter, often Dutch-processed, and sometimes has sweeteners or gums added. My rule: whichever one you buy, make sure the label shows one ingredient. That matters more than the name on the bag.
What can’t you do? Add it to smoothies, brownies, chia pudding, oatmeal, coffee, and hot chocolate. Since it’s naturally unsweetened, it plays well with dates, ripe bananas, and maple syrup. And if you want crunch instead of powder, cacao nibs are like unsweetened chocolate chips — perfect on smoothie bowls.
The Red Velvet smoothie tastes so much like the cake! I sucked it down quick, but my son did take a sip and said “yummy!”. I’m going to make this one for all my kids. Looking forward to trying more of these recipes! Thank you!
Hi Kelley! I’m so glad you (and your son) liked it! I love this one too. 🙂
You are amazing – love these recipes. Looking forward to trying these healthy recipes on my teenagers.