Whey Protein Hot Chocolate Mix

Hot chocolate and protein shake, together? This thick and creamy whey hot chocolate mix tastes like molten chocolate and is the most decadent post workout you can have!

Sugar-free, high protein hot cocoa bliss, straight into your sore muscles!

Drinking hot cocoa protein shake

This high protein keto hot chocolate mix is perfect to have on its own, before or after gym instead of your regular shake, for breakfast, or even for dessert after a meal that just didn’t have enough protein. You know… sometimes it happens.

Also before bed. And, when you’re feeling down. Because it will make you happy. Happy and strong. I just love this thing!

P.S.: This whey hot cocoa mix makes for a lovely gift for your bodybuilder and weightlifter friends 🙂

Can you make hot whey protein

You must be thinking, whey hot chocolate? How is it possible? That’s probably because you heard that hot milk destroys whey protein. But that’s not exactly true.

When adding hot liquid to whey, the heat causes denaturation and aggregation (i.e. clumping) of the milk proteins. But the protein nutrients remain unchanged. It’s similar to what happens to an egg white when you fry it, but less pretty.

As I hopelessly witnessed myself when first trying whey protein coffee, whey powder will curdle immediately with hot liquid, forming unsavory clumps. (Which can make one really sad when stuck in a hotel room with ridiculously expensive protein options on the menu)

But that doesn’t mean you cannot have whey protein hot! You just need to follow this mixing technique to avoid curdling:

How to mix whey protein with hot milk

To make hot whey protein without clumps, you need first to form a paste with the whey protein powder and a little bit of room temperature liquid.

You can use plain water or a smaller amount of whatever liquid you plan on adding hot: regular or low-carb milk, coffee, tea, etc.

Forming a paste will pre-dissolve the whey powder and “relax” the proteins, so when you add the hot milk (or coffee, or water) they won’t clump and curdle!

Ingredient notes

Whey protein: I used unflavored whey for this recipe, as I do for most recipes on LikeHotKeto. You can also use any flavored protein that will taste good with hot chocolate. The options are endless. Here’s some, from the top of my head:

Vanilla, chocolate (duh) and all chocolate variations (think, Mexican hot chocolate?), peanut butter, brownie, cookies & cream, coffee, caramel, cappuccino, cinnamon, mocha, hazelnut.

Honestly, I think the only protein flavor family that wouldn’t go well with this hot chocolate mix recipe is fruit.

Altering recipe for flavored whey: Because flavored whey powders are already sweetened and usually contain thickeners, you can half the amount (or maybe leave out entirely) of the keto sugar substitute and xanthan gum.

This will depend on the specific properties of your flavored whey. I suggest you make one mug and try it out before making the whole mix, and adjust what you need.

Cocoa powder: Pure cocoa powder, or baking cocoa. I love using this Dutch process cocoa because of it’s intense, chocolatey flavor and darker color. But any sugar-free, pure cocoa powder you like will do!

Sugar substitute: Your preferred keto sweetener, such as erythritol, allulose, xylitol or blends of those with added stevia or monk fruit – like my homemade keto sweetener recipe.

Low-carb milk: Use you favorite keto friendly, low-carb milk. Nut milks such as almond and macadamia are good, or just mix a couple tablespoons of heavy cream into a glass of water for a quick keto milk substitute.

Salt and baking soda: These are not strictly necessary, but salt makes the chocolate flavor pop, and the baking soda takes out some of the acidity (specially if you are using natural cocoa powder instead of alkalized, aka Dutch) and helps create that lovely foam on the top of the hot chocolate!

Xanthan gum: You know the recipes that make you whisk hot chocolate in a pan on the stove top to thicken!? Well this isn’t it!

Just a little bit of xanthan gum makes this chocolate mix thick and super creamy instantly, as you add in the hot milk. It’s so decadent! The texture is almost like molten chocolate.

Chocolate chips (or shaved chocolate): this is optional, and although it makes for a extra decadent hot chocolate experience, I often skip.

This is because I usually make a whole jar of keto hot cocoa mix, just by shaking the ingredients together, and adding the chips in makes a bit complicated to stir the whey into a smooth paste. It’s hard to tell if the little pieces are chunks of chocolate or lumpy whey.

If you mix by the individual mug, just add the chips right before adding the hot milk. If you want to add the chocolate chips or shavings to the whole 6-serving whey protein cocoa mix recipe, I recommend you blend the mix in a food processor for easier mixing.

How to make

One mug of protein hot chocolate

To make one mug of keto protein hot chocolate, start by adding the powder ingredients for a single serving (cocoa powder, whey protein, pinch of salt, pinch of baking soda, sweetener and xanthan gum) to a large mug and combine.

Then, add 2 or 3 tablespoons (start with 2, go up to 3 if needed) of the room temperature or warm low-carb milk you will use.

Mix it very well, until you form a smooth paste with the whey. It should look almost like Nutella. Don’t eat it yet! Add the chocolate chips (if using).

Get the remaining low-carb milk piping hot. Add a small amount of milk to the paste, and mix to dissolve it. Add the remaining of the hot milk, slowly, while mixing. Done!

Whey hot chocolate mix

Put all dry ingredients for the keto hot cocoa mix to a large, airtight container or mason jar. Shake it, SHAKE IT, shake it until fully mixed. That’s it!

You can also use a food processor to mix the ingredients. I recommend doing this if you’d like to add chocolate chips, as it will be easier to mix the whey protein paste until smooth for the hot chocolate.

To make a mug of protein hot chocolate from the cocoa mix, add 2 full scoops (standard sized 30 grams/1 oz whey protein scoops) or about 4-5 tablespoons of the mix to a large mug, and proceed with the single mug preparation steps described above.

Storage

The LikeHotKeto whey protein hot cocoa mix will last a long time in an airtight sealed jar. I assume it should be good until the “best by” date of the ingredient that is nearer to it. It has never gone bad on us (it has sat for a couple of months on occasion).

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