When my mom started working for a new foundation a few years ago, she began traveling much more frequently because of her job title. As the head of the science team, she writes grants for various scientific research projects, so she often hops on an airplane to visit her past and potential grantees to check in on their progress.
Although she occasionally travels to exotic places like Hawaii or Greenland, the majority of her trips stay within the US, generally taking her to Southern California, New England, and Washington, D.C. With how often she packs her suitcase, she easily accumulates thousands of frequent flier miles!
Earlier this month, she flew to Boston once and twice to Pasadena, all within a week and a half, and she barely spent a total of 72 hours at home in between her trips. In talking with her after each visit, her eyes shone with excitement as she shared stories about the people she met and the experiments they conducted.
But whether on the road or at home, Mom always starts her days the same way: jogging for a few miles, followed by a hot shower and a cozy chai latte. She established the final part of that routine over 10 years ago, and I can probably count on one hand the number of times she’s skipped her favorite drink!
After all of her work travel, I wanted to do something special for my mom, and since I inherited my chocoholism from her (that’s why I wrote and published my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!), I made her this Skinny Chocolate Chai Latte! It’s rich and creamy (and so easy to make!), but with only 35 calories, Mom can definitely enjoy it without any guilt after her morning run.
Like I mentioned, this cozy drink is super simple to make! You’ll start with chai. These are the chai tea bags that my mom and I both love. They’re full of the quintessential chai flavors—black tea, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves—and are so much easier to brew than making your own chai entirely from scratch! Even better? They sell a decaf version too, which is perfect for when you’re craving something warm and comforting at night!
To ensure those flavors really shine, you’ll brew extra strong chai. Add two or three of those tea bags to boiling water, and let it steep for at least 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
For the next part, you’ll use a secret ingredient to make the latte super rich and creamy without the extra calories from cream or whole milk. Any guesses?? I’ve talked about it before in my skinny peppermint mocha, skinny hot chocolate, and skinny pumpkin spice coffee creamer recipes (to name a few)…
It’s unsweetened cashew milk! I absolutely adore unsweetened cashew milk, and I actually buy it more often than cow’s milk! It’s supremely thick and creamy, but it only has 25 calories per cup. How amazing is that??
To the cashew milk, you’ll add unsweetened cocoa powder and vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a no-calorie, plant-based sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s highly concentrated. You need less than ¼ teaspoon to sweeten this entire latte! This is the kind that I buy because I love its warm vanilla flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I generally buy it online here because it’s cheaper there. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Then pour, sip, and… Yummmmmmmm. And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your latte and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
Skinny Chocolate Chai Latte | | Print |
- 1 cup (240mL) unsweetened cashew milk
- 1 tbsp (5g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 16-20 drops vanilla crème stevia, or adjusted to taste
- ¾ cup (180mL) extra strong hot chai
- Add the cashew milk, cocoa powder, and stevia to a small pot. Warm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently with a whisk, until the cocoa powder has dissolved and the milk is completely warmed through.
- Add the chai to a mug, and pour in the milk mixture.
I don’t recommend substituting Dutched or “special dark” cocoa powder for the regular unsweetened cocoa powder. The latte already tastes rich and chocolaty without it!
Any sweetener may be substituted for the vanilla crème stevia. However, I highly recommend it! It’s my favorite sweetener, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too.
To prepare the extra strong chai, add 2 chai tea bags (or 3 tea bags, for a stronger chai flavor) to ¾ cup of boiling water, and let them steep for at least 15 minutes. These are the tea bags that I use (and there’s a decaf version that I love, too!).
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low carb, sugar-free}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Skinny Chai Frappuccino
♥ Chai Spice Snickerdoodles
♥ 25-Minute Healthy Chai Spice Ice Cream
♥ Chai Latte Muffins with Vanilla Drizzle
♥ Chai Latte Granola
♥ 35-Calorie Peppermint Mocha
♥ 35-Calorie Hot Chocolate
♥ The Ultimate Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte
♥ Skinny Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
Marina @ A Dancer's Live-It says...
Your mom and I would get along sooo well with our love of chai! 🙂 The chocolate in this recipe makes it even better of course! Glad you inherited your sweet tooth from her. 😉
Amy says...
You would get along so well with my ENTIRE family Marina! We all basically want to adopt you already! 😉
Katie says...
You’ve read my mind, Amy – I just had a chocolate smoothie as I was really craving the rich cocoa flavour (but I suppose I’m always craving chocolate, haha!) This looks delicious, and only 35 calories?! Wow, I’ll definitely be making this next time I’m in need of a chocolate drink.?
Amy says...
We’re basically twins — I’m always craving chocolate too Katie! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this sometime!
Katie says...
I think we must be twins, Amy!! Chocolate is certainly the way forward! Actually, I read a pin on Pinterest that said to eat a piece of dark chocolate in the morning, as the antioxidants can help slow aging and keep you from from craving carbs and sugar all day! That’s what we like to hear!?
Amy says...
If that’s true about dark chocolate’s antioxidants, then… Why not eat a whole bar?? ??
Katie says...
Definitely, haha!?
adinda dinillah says...
this looks very tasty!
i like it amy! 😀
by the way, what is chai?
Amy says...
Thanks Adinda! Chai is a special type of tea that originated in India. It’s a mix of black tea and spices (most commonly ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves). I’d love to hear what you think if you try the chai latte!
Lexy says...
Please help me out by giving an estimated guess at what size teaspoon is equal (APPROXIMATELY) to 16-20 drops of creme stevia. Thank you.
Amy says...
The vanilla creme stevia should come in a bottle with an eyedropper, which is why I use “drops” as the measurement. 16-20 drops is less than ¼ teaspoon. I’d love to hear what you think of the chai latte if you try it Lexy!
Jess Wright @ The Cookbook Obsession says...
I guess I have been living under a rock because I have never heard of chocolate chai. What is wrong with me, right?! This looks fabulous, I love chai. One of my favorites is a chai cake that I make in the crock pot. I can’t wait to try this – great post!
Amy says...
I searched all over Pinterest before posting my recipe, and I didn’t see any either — you’re definitely not living under a rock! 😉 That cake sounds amazing! So perfect for fall. I’d love to hear what you think if you try this chai latte Jess! 🙂
Jess Wright @ The Cookbook Obsession says...
Okay, so I managed to go to the store (which was quite an accomplishment since it’s 30+ miles away) and I got everything to make this. Except cashew milk, I couldn’t find it (DANG!) so I subbed almond milk.
It was pretty dang delicious! This one is going in my book for a repeat. So so good!
I would love to share my Chai cake recipe with you – Could I post a link for you to check it out?
Amy says...
I’m so glad you loved the chai latte Jess! That means a lot to me that you’d drive so far to the store for the ingredients and that you’d want to make it again. 🙂 Go ahead and email me the link! You can find my contact form here.
Cynthia M. says...
I have commented on this before…not sure where….but this recipe has rocked my world! I make it pretty much every night…my only change because I want a big cup to savor is 1 cup cashew milk to 2 cups tea- heaping TBSP cocoa because of more liquid, then eyeball the vanilla extract and sweetener… I don’t have the vanilla stevia….
Just made a huge pot of it for a Ladies Christmas brunch I had at my house…. I made my own chai because of the quantity- cardamon pods, cinnamon sticks and a few black peppercorns….
I do add a splash of half and half to add creaminess- but still maybe 50-60 calories for 3+ cups of deliciousness… Soooo good as the cold weather comes.
Thank You!
Amy says...
Oh my goodness, that means so much to me Cynthia!! I’m truly touched that you’d make it almost every night — and for your Ladies Christmas Brunch too! I’m absolutely honored that you’d make it for such a special occasion. Thank you so much for sharing that with me! 🙂 And I absolutely love the sound of your homemade chai!
Kim says...
Amy;
Hi oh your skinny chocolate chai latte tea looks so good and tasty and I am going to make your chai latte soon,I have all of the ingredients to make your chocolate chai latte but I don’t have the liquid vanilla stevia but I just bought a bottle of chocolate agave to put in your chai latte.is this chocolate agave ok to put in your chai latte?
Kim
Amy says...
Yes! The chocolate agave should be just fine. I’m not sure how much to use, but I’d just say add enough until it tastes sweet to you! 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of this chai latte as well!
Colleen says...
This was a very yummy drink. You really can’t go wrong adding chocolate to something!
Amy says...
I completely agree! Thanks Colleen! 🙂