Who said chocolate was just for dessert? Prove them wrong with these chocolate breakfast bowl ideas

How do you start your mornings? Perhaps you make yourself a fresh, aromatic cup of coffee for a much-needed energy boost. Maybe the idea of warm, nourishing porridge is the only thing that can lure you out of bed. Whether you’re a get-up-and-goer or a laze-around-in-bed type, why not add a little indulgence to your morning routine? Elevate your breakfast bowl…

That’s right, we’re talking about delectable, cacao-rich chocolate. ‘Chocolate for breakfast’ doesn’t have to mean pain au chocolat, chocolate brioche, or chocolate-drizzled pancakes  — it can be healthier and more inventive than that. Experience cacao in a whole new way. Here are our favourite chocolate breakfast bowl ideas…

Making your breakfast bowl base

There are a variety of ways to create a chocolate breakfast bowl base. It simply depends on the taste, texture, and heartiness that you’re going for! Some people like to whip up their go-to porridge recipe and melt in a few chunks of high-quality chocolate. Others like to make a cacao smoothie bowl like this Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie Bowl (which uses cacao powder) or this Banana-Dark Chocolate Smoothie Bowl (which uses real dark chocolate).

Creative breakfast bowl topping ideas

Chocolate bowl toppings are just as important as the base. They’re what draws the eye and add different textures and tastes to the mi. They can dial up or artfully enhance your bowl’s chocolate flavours.

Feel free to mix and match your chocolate bowl bases and toppings. See what you have in your kitchen and what level of ‘chocolatey’ you fancy each morning. Here are a few of our favourite breakfast bowl topping ideas for a nutritious yet indulgent meal:

Peanut butter and cacao balls

We have Deliciously Ella to thank for these peanut butter and cacao balls. We adore the use of naturally sweet and sticky Medjool dates in this recipe. Packed with B vitamins and minerals like copper, potassium, and manganese, dates are a power-packed breakfast food. While cacao powder delivers a chocolate punch in its richest form, peanuts bring a smooth nutty thickness to these bites.

Arrange a few chocolate balls in your bowl, along with your other toppings. You can even try making smaller balls to make them bite-sized. Instead of rolling a tablespoon of the mixture into a ball, use a teaspoon.

Raw cacao nibs

This one doesn’t need much explaining. Raw cacao nibs deliver a level of pure chocolate goodness like nothing else. Be warned — if you’re a fan of smooth, sweet chocolate, then cacao nibs may not be for you. Imagine eating a bar of 100% cacao chocolate. That’s the same level of bitter cacao that you’ll be experiencing with raw cacao nibs.

This being said, as nibs are even smaller than chocolate drops, you’ll only taste a tiny dose of this deep chocolate flavour with each spoonful of breakfast bowl. Plus, they add an excellent crunch to the mix!

Try our 100% dark chocolate flakes

A great cacao nib alternative is our 100% Dark Chocolate Flakes — originally intended for creating rich drinking chocolate with our Velvetiser. As these are 100% cacao real chocolate flakes, they’re also wonderfully full-flavoured and indulgent when sprinkled over breakfast bowls.

Fresh seasonal fruit

We think the best chocolate breakfast bowls incorporate at least one fruit variety for a healthy dose of early morning nutrition and natural sweetness. Most fruits work wonderfully with chocolate and bring their own unique flavours and textures to the table.

While scatterings of blueberries and raspberries look like radiant edible jewels, sliced banana adds a hearty creaminess to a breakfast bowl. If you live in the UK, see if any apples, plums, or pears are in season and available locally near you. At Hotel Chocolat, we have strong environmental commitments. We can’t say no to an eco-conscious chocolate bowl!

Cacao granola

One of our favourite breakfast bowl toppings is cacao granola. Crunchy with a range of flavours and textures, we find that homemade chocolate granola adds that perfect extra ‘something’ to a porridge or smoothie bowl. Take a look at this homemade chocolate granola recipe. Feel free to tweak the ingredients according to what you have in your kitchen cupboards!

Our Selector chocolate bites

What could be a more fitting addition to a chocolate bowl than irresistible chocolate bites? Our Selectors are small packs of our fabulous chocolates. A huge variety of our chocolate grades, styles, and flavours are available in our Selectors, so discover your new favourite. Will it be our spicy and crunchy Hazelnut and Ginger or our heavenly Dark Chocolate Truffles?

Choose one or two different Selectors and add a few innovative chocolates to your next breakfast bowl. These chocolates will add a touch of fine chocolate indulgence to your morning meal — just enough to get you out of bed and in a great mood for the day ahead.

Chocolate-loving spices

Breakfast bowl toppings can also be as subtle as a dash of cinnamon or ginger. A sprinkling of spice can lift your chocolate notes and flavours to a whole new level. Simply select the most-fitting spices for the key ingredients in your breakfast bowl.

Will your bowl be made with orange chocolate in the base and a few segments of clementine as a topping? We recommend a fine dusting of ground ginger to lift these fresh citrus notes. If your chocolate bowl is based on dark chocolate with a seasonal fruit topping of apple or pear, a warming dash of cinnamon will taste divine.

Fancy adding a fiery kick to your chocolate bowl? The smallest hint of chilli powder will give you an exquisite chilli chocolate breakfast creation. You could even add one of our dark hazelnut praline Chilli Chocolates as a tastebud-tingling garnish.

And if you need to take your brekkie to work, why not serve it in a mason jar or similar glass jar?

Get creative with a chocolate breakfast bowl

Enjoy this opportunity to get creative with your breakfast and indulge in some irresistible chocolate at the same time! Do you have any other cacao-rich breakfast bowl ideas?