Vegan Chocolate

Chocolates Are for Everybody. Yes, Even Those With Strict Diet Restrictions

- Miko Aspiras

Is chocolate vegan?

Technically, it is. Chocolate is the product of a plant, after all. In the process of turning the cacao bean into a sinful bar, though, the definition becomes unclear as additives like milk prohibit it from being vegan, in the strictest sense of the word.

But don’t lose hope. Due to the growing population of healthy converts, more and more vegan chocolate options are becoming available to the market. Go Max Go, a vegan-owned and operated online company, has come up with gluten-and artificial ingredient-free versions of our favorite candy bars like Butterfinger, while Raaka Co. Virgin Chocolate in Brooklyn produces a version that marries coconut and dark chocolate.

To guarantee that the chocolate is legitimately vegan, do a quick scan of the ingredients. Milk chocolates should use non-dairy alternatives like coconut milk or almond milk. There should be no trace of animal fat as well. Cocoa butter is vegan so you don’t have to worry about that.