Is there anything better than a rich, velvety smooth bite of chocolate? Of course not! I’ve tried them all and these are my favorite vegan chocolates, hands down. Whether you’re gifting them or eating them all yourself, you can’t go wrong with the offerings on this list.

What is chocolate?

We love it from childhood, but do we even know where chocolate comes from? It’s actually pretty fascinating stuff: Chocolate is the bean (seed) of the cacao fruit. Shaped like a small football, cacao pods grow on trees throughout Central and South America, as well as across Africa and Asia. Inside the fruit, there’s a white fleshy pulp (you can eat this! it’s sweet!) and hidden inside the pulp are the chocolate beans.

One cacao fruit can contain as many as 60 beans! The chocolate bean is big for a bean — about the size of an almond or even a Brazil nut. When it comes out of the pod raw, it can be dark purple. It doesn’t taste much like chocolate at that point — it is strong and bitter. But once fermented, dried, and roasted, it starts to take on that warm and nutty flavor we all know and love.

Why vegan chocolate?

Dairy is added to the vast majority of chocolate. And it’s totally not necessary! First of all, it makes chocolate inedible for a large percentage of the population as more than 65 percent of Black and Asian people are lactose intolerant. 

Even if you’re not lactose intolerant, dairy can cause health issues including congestion, inflammation, and acne, among other serious conditions.

But dairy is also an exploitative industry that keeps female cows pregnant and forced to give their milk away. Their babies are taken away from them (so humans can have the milk) — and for male calves, this often means a death sentence as a veal calf. Then, after years of milk production, cows aren’t sent to retirement, they’re slaughtered for cheap beef. 

Best vegan chocolates

So there’s every reason to opt for vegan chocolate, right? You’re in luck. These days, there are more vegan chocolate and confectionery options than ever before. Even Hershey’s and Cadbury now offer vegan chocolate. But if you want the best of the best, try these — my favorite.

1. Amore di Mona has insane caramel. They also make versions of caramel with fruit inside like cherries, which are also so fantastic. Their dark chocolate is really good but I preferred their caramel. Their chocolate is Fair Trade, organic, and uses raw agave nectar.
2. Happy By Chocolate (formerly Chocolate Inspirations) is so good its nuts. They have a whole section of vegan chocolates and brittles. The Artisan Italian Orange Bar and Artisan Organic Hummingbird Nectar Tea Bar are both crazy yum. Cinnamon Toast Toffee to cashew brittle to Peanut Butter Pillows, are they kidding me??? The English toffee is absolutely scrumptious as well.  I also love their hot chocolate, Sweet Buddy Bar, and their Chocolate Peanut butter pillows are insane!
3. Hu is the best! My favorites are Cashew Butter + Raspberry Dark Chocolate, Hazelnut Butter Dark Chocolate, Chocolate-Covered Hunks Cashews + Vanilla Beans, and Chocolate-Covered Hunks Sour Goldenberries. Hu’s chocolates are sweetened with coconut sugar so after eating it you get a less buzzy sugar high!
4. Nohmad Snack Co.‘s Creamy Coconut Milk Cacao and Coffee Crunch Cacao bars are tasty and worth mentioning because of their simple clean ingredients: organic raw cacao, organic raw cacao butter, and organic maple sugar!
5. Lagusta’s Luscious turtle bar is fun! If you’re a Snickers fan, it’s basically three snickers in one. Super heavy and yum! They also make this maple honeycomb bar that I love! If you’re familiar with the British candy bar “Crunchie Bar”, it’s very similar except vegan of course, with maple syrup and no honey! Added bonus, they’re both made of Fair Trade, organic, and non-GMO ingredients.
6. Tony’s Chocolonely Dark Almond Sea Salt is great. The packaging looks so cool.
7. Schmilk has several fun and tasty fair trade flavors; hazelnut, macadamia sea salt, Schmilk truffle, dark, maple, orange, and mint.