If you are looking for the vegan chocolate Christmas gifts to look for this year keep reading!
You’ll find a list, along with a guide about what you should consider when buying vegan friendly options.
Lets get started!
Disclaimer: This article is not providing personal medical or dietary advice. Always talk to your doctor before adding a supplement or making major dietary changes. In this post, the writer is providing her personal opinions about the flavor of the chocolate listed below, not about their healthfulness. See our Disclaimers for more details.
Consumer Notice: This article contains affiliate links that are marked in this manner: “(affiliate link*)”. If you click on these links and purchase, I earn a commission at no added cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This post was originally published on 11/5/21. The updated date is listed above.
How Do I Know That My Chocolate Gift is Vegan?
Vegan chocolate will not contain any animal products. This means that you shouldn’t see the following ingredients that are more likely to be found in chocolate:
- Milk
- Milk By-Products(Examples include: “whey,” “lactose,” “butter,” etc.)
- Honey
- Gelatin
If you notice a certified vegan symbol on the package, you can be quite confident it’s vegan!
What About Vegan Milk Chocolate?
Wait a second, how can that vegan milk chocolate Santa bar be fully plant based? I thought milk is not vegan friendly?
You are right, dairy milk is not vegan, but plant based milks often are.
So if you see vegan milk chocolate, just double check that the “milk” they are referring to is of plant origin. You can find this in the ingredients list.
Popular ones include:
- oat “milk”
- coconut “milk”
- almond “milk”
- cashew “milk”
Still, your vegan friends might also avoid some other things that go beyond honey, gelatin, and dairy free ingredients.
Anything Else I Should Check?
Yes!
Many vegans (and non vegans for that matter) also make sure that other things are absent from their food.
Before you go out and by chocolate, try to find out their opinions on these subjects that are related to chocolate:
- Slave and Child Labor: Most of the worlds cacao beans (beans made to make chocolate) are sourced from West Africa. Unfortunately, some areas has been accused of slave and child labor, so many vegans may avoid chocolate sourced from these areas.
Luckily, the Food Empowerment Project has a list of chocolate that is and is not sourced from areas where slave and/or child labor is less prevalent (according to their criteria). Check the list here. - Palm Oil: While technically a vegan ingredient, the palm oil industry has been accused of issues such as deforestation and human rights violations. Furthermore, palm oil is not viewed as the most eco friendly food. Ethical vegans might avoid it for these issues. If that’s the case, make sure your Christmas gift is free of it too!
- Lead and Cadmium: Some health conscious vegans may be aware that cocoa products can contain significant amounts of certain heavy metals.
While these heavy metals naturally occur in cocoa and a variety of foods, a study of cocoa powder and chocolate products in US market showed a correlation between cadmium and lead with the percent of cocoa. It also showed that cadmium was higher in products from Latin America as opposed to Africa(1).
You can more about these issues in our article The Ultimate Guide to Vegan Chocolate.
Alright, now we know how to find vegan chocolate.
Lets get into the list!
Vegan Chocolate Christmas List
You are in luck, because we researched several companies and compiled a list of chocolate bars that are vegan, palm oil free!
Plus, these brands are noted as not sourcing chocolate from coming from areas where child labor and/or slavery are most terrible and prevalent, according to Food Empowerment Projects Chocolate List (as of the date of this post)!
Lastly, I have personally tried and enjoy all of these options below
Take this list with you the next time you go shopping!
Consumer Notice: As a reminder, this section contains affiliate links that are marked in this manner: “(affiliate link*)”. If you click on these links and purchase, I earn a commission at no added cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
For The Dark Chocolate Enthusiast (Really Dark)
Do you have a vegan friend who is all about that really really dark chocolate? Then check out Total Eclipse by Equal Exchange!
Personally, I like my chocolate extra dark, but not so dark that its… just plain bitter.
This chocolate is velvety with a touch of bitterness that extra dark chocolate fans love.
Get some here (affiliate link*):
For The Orange Chocolate Lovers (Common “Christmas Flavor”)
Beyond Good uses single origin chocolate and is both organic and vegan.
Their Orange Zest flavor features pieces of organic candied orange peel, that gives it classic fruity notes.
Don’t give vegans store bought chocolate oranges balls (most store-bought ones aren’t vegan), consider this one instead!
Here’s one place you can find this one (affiliate link*):
For The Peppermint Fans (Another Common “Christmas” Flavor)
Askinosie is an award winning chocolate brand that makes beautifully molded chocolates.
Their Peppermint dark chocolate is sure to win over vegans who are looking for a Peppermint Patty like substitute!
This lightly dark chocolate is creamy, with a minty flavor that lingers. You can find them here.
For the Caramel Fanatics
This one may very well be my favorite! Beyond Good makes a salted caramel chocolate bar that’s dark – but not too dark, with hints (not globs) of caramel, which makes for less mess.
It’s hard to find a vegan caramel flavored chocolate, as caramel often has milk in it. But this one is completely vegan friendly!
Grab some yumminess below! (affiliate link*)-as a reminder, this means if you click on the link and purchase, I earn a commission at no added cost to you.:
For Those Who Like Some Crunch
Did I say that Beyond Good’s Caramel Dark chocolate was my favorite?
Well, I might have to take that back, because this one is also mouth watering!
Beyond Good does it once again with their Crispy Rice chocolate bar.
Remember Nestle’s Crunch bars? Think of Beyond Good’s Crispy Rice as the vegan dark chocolate alternative!
This smooth, yet crunchy, and almost milk chocolate tasting bar is so good, even my non vegan husband likes it. And that is saying a lot for someone who typically shys away from dark chocolate.
You can check it out here (affiliate link*):
Did you find this guide and list helpful? What’s your favorite animal product free chocolate bar? Let me know in the comments below!
And while you’re here, why not poke around on our blog? You can do a search for other vegan food related topics, such as plant based breads, high calorie vegan foods, and vegan finds at Costco!
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Have a happy vegan Christmas <3