All You Need to Know About (Ethical & Tasty) Keto Chocolate

To be honest, any low carb chocolate might be keto chocolate if eaten in moderation. The difficulty is that most of us do not desire just a tiny quantity, and one of the benefits of a keto diet is that it allows us to consume most of the fatty things that a regular diet would not allow, such as bacon and chocolate.

However, not all chocolate is directly keto-friendly, as my roommate immediately informed me in her keto primer. She was the inspiration for this piece, as we searched for the greatest keto chocolates available today.

After some digging, we discovered the most common misunderstandings about chocolate in keto culture, as well as the dozen or so key businesses making just keto-friendly chocolates. After sampling a few dark chocolates from some of the major brands, I’m not surprised that rivals keep springing up, claiming to be superior.

What Exactly Is Keto Chocolate?

Like other keto meals, most companies describe keto chocolate as having less than 1g net carbohydrates per serving (regardless of serving size). This often translates to a chocolate bar sweetened with calorie-free sugar alcohols (such as powdered erythritol) while maintaining a high cacao content. Since keto is fundamentally a low carb diet, most keto followers consume less than 50g net carbohydrates per day, with stricter followers consuming less than 20g per day. Yet, apart from the keto element, what exactly is chocolate?

Chocolate is a food formed from the fermented and roasted seeds of the tropical cacao tree, which is frequently sweetened with sugar and smoothed down with milk and a variety of additions. We only buy the most delicious ethical chocolates we can find, yet most of them have far more than 1g net carbohydrates per serving. They’re vibrant and unique chocolates, and the addition of a sweetener really brings out the flavors.

Unfortunately, many consumers dislike keto chocolates because they are unintentionally purchasing high percentage chocolates manufactured with cheap, poor quality cacao (that tastes flat & often bitter). Chocolate can and should have flowery and fruity aromas, as well as earthy mushroom overtones and a lemon bite. When you purchase mass-market chocolates, especially keto chocolates, you nearly always lose that taste subtlety.

Sweeteners for Keto

As a foodie, I’m interested in the pros and downsides of different sweeteners. Therefore, let’s look at the keto chocolate alternatives, which must all be solid sweeteners: erythritol, xylitol, inulin, stevia, and monk fruit. If you’re simply seeking to indulge, you may want the most chocolaty low carb chocolate bars you can find. Although I had previously been interested in the concept of sugar-free chocolate, I had not yet investigated the benefits.

The first three are thicker sugar alcohols, while the last two are super-sweeteners derived from a leaf and a fruit, respectively. Erythritol, xylitol, and inulin have the same or less sweetness than sugar, but if ingested in excessive numbers, they can induce stomach distress. Stevia and monk fruit are both 100-300 times sweeter than table sugar, but must be taken in minute amounts or taste chemical and unnatural.

The majority of keto chocolate products employ a proprietary combination of sugar alcohols plus stevia or monk fruit, although others just use alcohols. Most manufacturers create keto chocolate in the same way they always do, merely substituting the keto sweetener with regular sugar. The problem arises only when a manufacturer utilizes a sweetener that is not a one-to-one equivalent for table sugar, such as pure monk fruit extract.

Here is where supply and demand come into play, since chocolates like that have an unbalanced flavor and even a chemical aftertaste, turning off buyers before they can generate a profit.

Top Keto Chocolate Manufacturers

Not long ago, all sugar-free items were sweetened with maltitol, which is not only less sweet than sugar, but also tastes strange and produces severe stomach discomfort if you consume, example, a whole chocolate bar in one sitting. There was no such thing as victory back then. Although there is no such thing as carb-free chocolate, you’d be surprised how much difference 15% sugar can make.

28g), that’s just 4 net carbohydrates per serving! There are now a plethora of keto chocolate alternatives with zero net carbohydrates. There are roughly a dozen and a half keto chocolate brands available in both online and physical stores, but five stand out: Lilys, ChocZero, KetoLogic, CHOCXO, and ChocoPerfection. Each of them has a wide spread and people seem to love their taste. Half a chocolate bar (1oz.

After all, the most crucial concern with keto chocolate is the net carbohydrates, followed by the taste, which most businesses tend to overlook. Personally, I avoid chocolates manufactured for reasons other than flavor, such as ones aimed at saving animals or increasing your daily fat intake. In such circumstances, manatees and macros sometimes take precedent over ethical chocolate sourcing and product taste. So, if you’re in a pinch and only have one of them, here’s the lowdown.

It’s easy to see all of these keto chocolate companies sprouting up on the internet, but chocolate is a really sophisticated material that’s lot simpler to get wrong than it is to do right. Try purchasing from one of the many small businesses that create wonderful, unique keto handmade chocolates, such as Raphio, Amedei, Zotter, and The Good Chocolate (the latter of which is a craft chocolate company dedicated to producing sugar-free fine chocolates).

Some of those tiny businesses even manufacture keto chocolate chips, which are becoming more rare these days! I discovered many more keto-friendly chocolates than I could ever include here, so I’ve simply kept to the fundamentals. Lindt, Ghirardelli, Hummel, and even Green & Blacks offer high % darks that may work as keto chocolates, but their transparency is dubious, so I’m not promoting them.

Keto Chocolate Recipe (Recipe)

In my own life, I’ve been experimenting with hot chocolate bombs, and I’ve seen a lot of similarities with keto chocolate fat bombs. The difference here is that the fat bombs will taste just as good eaten straight as they will in a glass of almond milk! Yet part of the secret is just purchasing high-quality chocolate, not Lindt or Godiva, but handmade chocolate produced with carefully selected cocoa.

The remainder of the key is to add a modest quantity of additional cocoa butter to reduce the bitterness of the dark chocolate in a manner that coconut oil does not. There are a few additional unique features, but I’ll get to them later. Get your ingredients first!

• 100g/3.5oz. 100% dark chocolate (also called baking chocolate, cacao liquor, unsweetened chocolate, or cacao mass)
• 25g/1oz. organic food-grade cacao butter (extra coconut oil is okay, too, but cacao butter is better)
• 25g/1oz. organic food-grade coconut oil
• 1/8t. pure monk fruit extract
• 1/8t. sea salt
• 1/8t. vanilla powder (or 1/4t. liquid vanilla extract)

Add the dark chocolate, cocoa butter, and coconut oil to the top of a double boiler and melt over low heat until all three are completely melted. If you don’t have a double boiler, you may use the microwave to melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil for 45 seconds on high. Cut the chocolate into tiny bits, then add it to the melted oils and heat for 2 minutes on 20% power.

If the final mass is not glossy and chunk-free, heat on high for 10 seconds at a time, swirling the melted chocolate between sessions, until it is. After the mixture is entirely blended, add the monk fruit, salt, and vanilla and blend for two minutes, or until nearly whipped. Taste the mixture to check whether it is sweet enough; if not, add a teeny-tiny sprinkle more monk fruit. Pour the mixture into your silicone chocolate molds and chill for at least two hours before de-molding for storing.

is what is known as baking chocolate. This is essentially an unsweetened cacao mass that is made by grinding down roasted and peeled cacao beans and is known by many names depending on the location. The difference between my recipe and others is that the foundation is 100% chocolate rather than cocoa powder. Several keto chocolate recipes call for cocoa powder, coconut oil, powdered erythritol, and other ingredients.

The key is the trace minerals and fiber supplied by cacao, which will help with fat digestion. All of the antioxidants that make high-quality chocolate such a superfood are actually preserved by its naturally high fat content, so using chocolate as a basis rather than cocoa powder is healthier for your body (defatted chocolate). The more bitter and tannic qualities of the cacao mass are also less harsh with the addition of cocoa butter, providing for a more agreeable eating experience.

Keto Chocolate Frequently Asked Questions