10 More Vegan Hot Drinks (Compilation #3)

It's chilly weather again, and that means smoothies give way to fancy concoctions in mugs that warm body and soul. But I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I showed you one of these compilations! That may be because they're seasonal, but also because I don't run across new-to-me hot drinks as often as I run across other things. I had some of these last winter and just saved the posts about them until now, because I didn't have enough for a full compilation.

If you missed them, here are the first and second installments in this series. Those are good places to find other unusual things, as well as a few much more conventional options.

As with my other compilations, I have made all these without caffeine. If you're someone who enjoys caffeine, for many of these, just use regular coffee or tea. But there are also plenty of options outside coffee and tea, and I encourage you to explore them, because it's fun and life is short.

1. Hot Watermelon Lemonade with Agave and Cinnamon (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free)

As late summer gave way to a cold snap (I will never complain about that), I had some fresh watermelon on hand on a chilly morning, so I made this unusual recipe from Snacking in Sneakers, substituting agave for the honey. It was a bit thick thanks to the watermelon puree, making for a really comforting, cozy texture. If you haven't tried watermelon hot before, this may be a revelation!

2. Coconut Latte (Gluten Free)

I had a bit of leftover coconut milk, so I decided it should be the basis of a latte. This is a recipe from How Sweet Eats I made using soy milk for the milk and extra-strength Cafix rather than espresso. It had a wonderful coconut flavor!

3. Spiced Banana Latte (Gluten Free, Nut Free)

If you haven't given up on wanting to drink your bananas in spite of it being cold, here's winter's answer to a smoothie. This recipe is from Little Pans, but I used a few minor substitutions: Soy milk for the milk, and Pero grain coffee for the coffee. This was so good on a cold morning!

4. Hot Orange Sipper (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free)

This is a recipe I found at Simply Orange. Simmering orange juice with ginger, anise, and a cinnamon stick results in a delightfully complex, citrusy drink that will keep you warm on a cold, rainy morning.

5. Rooibos Chai Soy Latte (Gluten Free, Nut Free)

Sometimes, you just want tea rather than coffee. But tea gives me the same issues as coffee does (too much caffeine), so I go with herbal versions of both. Rooibos has long been one of my favorite teas, plus fall is a great season to bring in chai spices, so this recipe from Le Famished Cat was a no-brainer. I may have steeped it too long and overpowered it a little with the star anise, but it was still delicious.

6. Lime-Ginger Tea with Vegan Honey (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free)

You may have had lemon ginger tea (most of us have!) but have you tried ginger with lime? The recipe is at The Kitchen Paper; just use agave or vegan honey for the sweetener to make it vegan. My lime did not float, so the sliced lime garnish sunk to the bottom, but that also added an air of mystery. I really liked this tea!

7. Hot Date Cocoa (Gluten Free, Nut Free)

The original recipe called this a chocolate date latte (see Nourished with Natalie for the recipe), but as there is no coffee-like thing in it, it felt more like a hot cocoa to me. And sure, I have had plenty of coffee-free lattes--beet lattes, turmeric lattes, what-have-you--so this isn't fully logical but it does make sense to me so we're going with it. In any case, I really liked this. The date flavor isn't too pronounced, and the bit of cinnamon makes it extra special. I used soy milk for this for the protein, but you can use any plant milk you want.

8. Atole de Naranja (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free)

When I want something to really warm me up, I love atole (a drinkable porridge made from masa harina). It stays hot for a long while and it's lovely to curl up with a mug on a leisurely weekend morning. This recipe from Mexico in My Kitchen is accidentally vegan, so no need to adjust anything! The bright, sweet orange flavor that comes through makes it a delightful breakfast option on a cold day.

9. Sweet and Spicy Almond Butter Date Latte (Gluten Free)

Rainbow Plant Life is one of my favorite places to find recipes, and so when I saw that Nisha had given a recipe for a sweet and spicy almond butter date latte, of course I had to try it! It is everything it promises to be, though I did end up adding more "coffee" (a grain-based version of coffee in my case) because it was otherwise a bit too thick for me, possibly because I used soy milk instead of oat milk. But it was delicious and went perfectly with the baked sweet potato I had alongside it.

10. Chai-Spiced Steamer (Gluten Free)

This rich concoction is from the recipe at Pass Me Some Tasty. I used soy milk. It combines cashews (for creaminess and general deliciousness) with chai-style spices and proves you don't need chocolate, tea, or coffee to have a creamy, comforting morning drink.

Are you drinking anything new or interesting lately?