14 of the best healthy chocolates, tried & tested

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Best healthy chocolate at a glance

• Best oat milk chocolate: H!P Creamy Original Bar (£2.99)
• Best vegan dark chocolate: Hotel Chocolate 85% Dark Chocolate Batons (£7)
• Best classic vegan chocolate: Deliciously Ella Creamy Vegan Chocolate (£3.05)
• Best healthy hazelnut chocolate: Prodigy Chunky Roasted Hazelnut Chocolate (£1.75)
• Best healthy orange chocolate: Sooper Good Dark Smooth Chocolate Orange (£2.29)
• Best vegan mint chocolate: Montezuma's Like No Udder with Peppermint & Cocoa Nibs (£2.99)
• Best healthy fruity chocolate: Ombar Blueberry & Acai Bar (£2.10)
• Best vegan white chocolate: Nucao Crunchy Nougat White Chocolate (£2.29)
• Best keto chocolate: Nomosu 72% Dark Chocolate (£4)
• Best healthy nut butter cups: Pip & Nut Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups (£1.80)
• Best vitamin-enriched chocolate: Benefit 85% Vitamins Dark Chocolate Bar (£3)
• Best healthy chocolate-coated nuts: The Raw Chocolate Company Salty Chocolate Hazelnuts (£4.99)
• Best vegan caramel chocolate: Raw Halo Mylk & Salted Caramel (£1.99)
• Best chocolate for gut health: Ohso good chocolate with live cultures (£4.99)

The best healthy chocolate 2022

Best oat milk chocolate

H!P Creamy Original Oat M!lk Chocolate

Still relatively new to the healthy chocolate market, H!P vegan bars have been causing quite a sensation since their launch in 2021. With silky smooth chocolate, a range of fabulous flavours and plastic-free packaging, it's easy to see why.

We tried (and loved) them all but the Creamy Original is hard to beat. Made using oat milk and 41% single origin Colombian cocoa, this bar is easily as satisfying as milk chocolate from big name brands. The oats lend a nutty, biscuity flavour which is wonderfully moreish. And we were very happy to learn that H!p bars require 220 litres less water to make than dairy.

One thing to note is the bars are quite sweet. While that makes them a perfect replacement for regular chocolate, some people may prefer a 'healthier' tasting bar.

Available from Holland & Barrett (2.99)

Best vegan dark chocolate

Hotel Chocolat 85% Dark Chocolate Batons

Since 2004, Hotel Chocolat have been leading the way in the world of chocolate by using ethically sourced cacao to make luxury bars. Their 85% Dark Batons have an intensely chocolatey flavour with a luxurious finish and no bitterness. And, as there's no milk used to make the dark chocolate, these are totally vegan.

They are more expensive than supermarket brands, but you get what you pay for with quality and, as the chocolate is so rich and decadent, you really only need one to feel satisfied. We think they would be lovely served at the end of a vegan dinner party.

Available from Hotel Chocolat (£7)

Best classic vegan chocolate

Deliciously Ella Creamy Vegan Chocolate

Of all the chocolate we tried, this bar certainly wins the prize for creamiest. It's made with just four plant-based ingredients; coconut sugar, cacao nibs, cashews and cocoa butter. Yet somehow it tastes exactly like the big name milk chocolate we all know and love. It's pure happiness chocolate, meant to be enjoyed with a cup of tea.

We did notice that, in the ingredients list, there's no origin for the cocoa used. Real chocolate connoisseurs may prefer to choose bars which state where the cocoa is from.

Available from Ocado (£3.05)

Best healthy hazelnut chocolate

Prodigy Roasted Hazelnut Chocolate

Say hello to our new favourite chocolate brand. The good people at Prodigy are creating chocolate which is free from dairy, refined sugar, palm oil and gluten but still gives you that satisfying 'mmm' feeling with every bite.

We were practically cheering with delight when we tried the hazelnut bar. Creamy, chocolatey and smooth with a touch of saltiness – and a generous whole roasted hazelnut in every chunk. Prodigy bars feel like a proper treat but they actually have 65% less sugar than regular bars, thanks to clever ingredients like lucuma (which is bursting with vitamins) and inulin (a member of the dandelion family).

They have plenty more flavours to try, like chocolate orange with baobab and chewy coconut.

Available from Ocado (£1.75)

Best healthy orange chocolate

Sooper Good Dark Smooth Chocolate Orange

If you're a fan of orange chocolate, you'll love this exceptionally tasty bar by Sooper Good that's keto-friendly, gluten-free and made with no added sugar. The dark, slightly bitter chocolate is a perfect match for the zesty flavours of orange – we thought it tasted like healthy Jaffa Cakes.

The sweetness in this silky smooth chocolate comes from stevia, a natural sweetener with no calories, sugar or carbohydrates – so your blood sugar levels won't spike and crash after eating it. Unlike other keto bars we tried, the texture is soft and snappable, not hard and waxy.

They do lots of other flavours. The orange was our favourite but dark chocolate with almonds and sea salt was a very close runner up, so definitely worth a try.

Available from Sooper Good (£2.29)

Best vegan mint chocolate

Montezuma's Like No Udder with Peppermint & Cocoa Nibs

This cleverly named vegan range from Montezuma's claims to be "as close to milk chocolate as possible without ever going near a cow." We think it's somewhere closer to a sweet dark chocolate but still very tasty.

On opening their peppermint bar, we were met with a refreshing minty fragrance. The chocolate tasted delicious, without seeming artificial. And the cocoa nibs (known for their antioxidant properties) added a pleasing crunch, giving us mint choc chip ice cream vibes – but with healthy ingredients. What's not to love about that?

We should mention that there is a strong peppermint zing here, which may not be for everyone. You could always try another flavour, like butterscotch, if you'd prefer it.

Available from Montezuma's (£2.99)

Best healthy fruity chocolate

Ombar Blueberry & Acai Vegan Chocolate

Ombar are on a mission to create chocolate which is as just as nourishing as it is indulgent – and this little bar is a perfect example of that. It's made with 60% unroasted cacao – this protects the heat sensitive cacao polyphenols – which gives a rich chocolatey flavour and numerous health benefits, such as reducing blood sugar levels.

There is a natural rich sweetness which comes from the cocoa butter and coconut sugar, which can be a little cloying. But the tart blueberries and acai berries which are added to this bar cut through the richness, adding a zingy flavour.

All Ombar bars contain no dairy, palm oil or refined sugar, and we were pleased to see they're organic and fair trade, too.

Available from Ocado (£2.10)

Best vegan white chocolate

nucao Organic Crunchy Nougat White Chocolate

We should start by saying that nucao bars are really more of an energy bar than chocolate. However, we very much enjoyed their Crunchy Nougat – a moreish, vegan take on classic white chocolate. Made with tiger nuts, hemp seeds and hazelnuts, these bars do have a 'healthy' taste that we think is most comparable to vanilla.

The nucao range has 65% less sugar than regular chocolate bars and they're naturally sweetened with coconut blossom sugar. These wonderfully nutty bars are packed with plant-powered goodness, so they could be a good option pre-workout snack.

Impressively, nucao partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects to make sure one tree is planted for every bar sold.

Available from Holland & Barrett (2.29)

Best vegan keto chocolate

NOMOSU 72% Dark Chocolate

As you might expect from a keto chocolate bar, this one from NOMOSU (as in, no more sugar) isn't overly sweet. The high quality organic cacao from Ecuador and Dominica gives it a bitter and earthy taste, with a hint of citrus.

NOMOSU chocolate is made with water-purified stevia (rather than using other sugar replacements, such as coconut sugar or agave) so this bar still has a sweetness. Which means if you are following a keto diet, or looking to cut back on sugar, this would be an excellent replacement for your usual afternoon or post-dinner treat.

Their award-winning 72% dark chocolate is a little more waxy than others that we tried. However, for a bar that's keto and vegan, we think it's still pretty satisfying.

Available from NOMOSU(£4)

Best healthy nut butter cups

Pip & Nut Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Pip & Nut have been producing delicious nut butter without any additives for years now, so it only makes sense they would turn their hand to making nutritious chocolate cups as well. We tried both their peanut and almond butter cups, and it was the almond which came out on top.

Pip & Nut's signature smooth almond butter is wrapped in a thin layer of Colombian dark chocolate to make a treat that's guaranteed to hit the spot. There are fruity notes to the cacao, proving its high quality. Although some may feel the intensity of the chocolate masks the flavour of the nut butter.

If you wanted a stronger nut butter taste and you're not vegan, you could switch to the milk chocolate cups instead.

Available from Ocado (£1.80), and Holland & Barrett (£1.79)

Best vitamin-enriched chocolate

Benefit 85% Dark Chocolate Vitamins Bar

Yes, you read that right. You can now get vitamins from chocolate thanks to trendy health brand Benefit. Each of their bars is blended with 12 key vitamins, giving you 50% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A, D, B12, B6, B1, B2, E & C, niacin, biotin, pantothenic acids, folic acid anhydrous and maltodextrin.

The dark chocolate is deeply rich but not bitter. It has a fruity flavour (we tasted dried figs) and is smoother than you'd expect from a bar with such a high cacao content.

Benefit bars are perfect for any virtuous chocolate eaters looking for a treat that tastes great and does you good, too.

Available from Ocado (£3)

Best healthy chocolate-coated nuts

The Raw Chocolate Company Salty Chocolate Hazelnuts

If, like us, you love chocolate and nuts, we urge you to try these tasty morsels. Like a healthier take on Ferrero Rocher, whole roasted hazelnuts are wrapped in 65% chocolate with coconut sugar and a touch of hazelnut paste to enhance the nutty flavour. Vanilla and lucuma add a deep, caramel-like sweetness that's not cloying and doesn't leave an aftertaste.

The good news is that all products from The Raw Chocolate Company are organic, vegan, gluten-free, palm-oil free and contain no refined sugar. Hoorah.

A bag of these nuts is a little more expensive but we'd argue that you only need a few to curb your chocolate cravings – and the cost could encourage you to eat your bag a little slower. However, they do a smaller bag of chocolate almonds for £1.49, if you'd rather spend a bit less.

Available from The Raw Chocolate Company (£4.99)

Best vegan caramel chocolate

Raw Halo Mylk & Salted Caramel chocolate

All of Raw Halo's vegan bars are super rich and creamy, thanks to the use of raw cacao butter and creamed coconut, but it was the salty sweet combination of their caramel chocolate which won our hearts.

Pink Himalayan salt is used, giving a powerful salty hit, but there's still plenty of natural sweetness to balance things out. We were pleasantly surprised by the strong caramel flavour. However, some people may prefer it to be visible in their chocolate bar, rather than blended through.

Available from Raw Halo (£1.99)

Best chocolate for gut health

Ohso good chocolate with live cultures

It's hard to believe that a chocolate bar could offer a source of live cultures and still taste delicious, but Ohso has managed to pull it off. We were shocked to find that these bars still maintained the smooth, sweet hit of cacao that we were looking for, elevated by the slightest hit of vanilla. The mini sizes that they came in also made it really easy to portion control.

While Ohso offer a range of regular and 'no added sugar' bars, we were again surprised to find that the 'no added sugar' milk and 70% dark chocolate were firm team favourites.

Available from Ohso (£4.99)

How we tested...

What we looked for...

Healthy properties: Whether that's low in sugar, vegan, enriched with vitamins or keto-friendly, we only tasted chocolate which could be considered healthier than regular brands. We only tried chocolate which is stocked in health food stores or the healthy aisles of the supermarket.

Taste: We looked for healthy chocolate which tasted sweet, but not cloying, with a good hit of cacao. Depending on the type of chocolate, it was important that we could taste any added flavours or ingredients. Flavourless, bitter and plastic-y chocolate was marked down.

Texture: It was important for chocolate to be smooth, easy to snap and not waxy when chewed. Many of the vegan bars can be too hard or melt too quickly – these were both marked down.

Healthy chocolate recipes and buyer's guides

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This review was last updated in June 2022. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.

Do you have a favourite healthy chocolate that hasn't been mentioned? Please let us know in the comments below...