16 Chocolate Brands With Highest Quality Ingredients

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Some people go for wine, others choose pizza, but nothing brings pure, unadulterated joy on a rough day quite like chocolate. But not all chocolate bars are built equal. Tasty though they are, plenty of popular treats come with lengthy ingredient lists that feel more concerning once the sugar high ends.

Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way. While the candy bars at the grocery store checkout typically fall into the former category, there are a growing number of brands utilizing high-quality ingredients. Typically, these will use a high percentage of cacao, real vanilla, and very little else, unlike a lot of the mainstream names that stuff bars with not-so-healthy additions such as high-fructose corn syrup, added sugar, and artificial colors (if you're wondering what we're talking about, just take a look at the back of a Reese's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups packet).

There's a reason why this kind of chocolate is so popular: it's delicious. However, if you're in the market for some next-level chocolate, we're pleased to tell you that there's no shortage of brands that taste just as good and use higher-quality ingredients. It should be noted, however, that 2022 Consumer Reports piece did indicate the presence of heavy metals in some brands on this list, so consider that with regards to your snacking habits.

Tapping into the benefits of pure cacao and combining it with other nutritional ingredients, Yes Cacao is on a mission to turn chocolate into a health food. Its founder, Justin Polgar, has dubbed himself a real-life Willy Wonka, living out our dream of consuming half a pound of chocolate daily to perfect his Botanical Chocolate Bars.

Each has a different purpose, such as Endurance, Brain Power, and Bliss Out. These names aren't just conceptual. Brain Power, for example, contains Lion's Mane mushrooms, turmeric, and ginkgo, all of which are believed to have brain-boosting properties. Underneath these additions, you'll also find organic wild cacao and CleanCane, Yes Cacao's own-brand cane sugar grown in the Ecuadorian Andes, which uses a special technique to maintain its medicinal and mineral properties.

Behind the scientific jargon, you'll find that Yes Cacao is, most importantly, delicious. Brain Power is sweet and creamy, with a hint of spice that's almost autumnal. Those who prefer dark chocolate should opt for Bliss Out or Endurance, the latter of which has slight minty tones.

Valrhona likes to compare chocolate to wine, scrutinizing cocoa like wine connoisseurs do grapes. The French confectioner — which differentiates itself by making pure cocoa butter chocolate — only purchases the highest-quality cocoa and is committed to working with ethical suppliers.

Sustainability isn't its only mission (although Valrhona does consider itself an industry leader). Taste-wise, its focus on high-quality, high-content cocoa means its chocolate has a smooth, not-too-sweet finish. While it boasts blends ranging from 35% to 100%, two of its most popular are the Caraibe 66% (which contains nuts and has a subtle woody aftertaste) and the Guanaja 70% (which manages to be both warm and bitter). Whichever you choose, ingredient lists are concise. Guanaja, for example, contains just five: cocoa butter, cocoa beans, sugar, sunflower lecithin, and vanilla. Admittedly, Valrhona is pretty expensive. On average, three bars will set you back $30. However, it remains a fan-favorite in baking circles despite the cost, which should tell you everything you need to know about its status in the industry.

Green & Black's has always had an indulgent reputation — think the kind of chocolate you pick up for Mother's Day. All of its bars have four core components: chocolate liquor, cane sugar, cocoa butter, and Madagascan vanilla. Founded by Craig Sams — who opened Britain's first natural food shop in 1969 — and his wife Jo Fairley, these ingredients were always going to be mindfully selected. Sams came up with the idea of Green & Black's after stumbling upon organic cocoa while trekking around the world for peanuts. All of its chocolate is certified by the Fairtrade Foundation, with its 1994 Maya Gold being the first in the U.K. to receive a Fairtrade mark. Other ingredients are natural, too, with Green & Black's ethos being that "great taste comes from following nature's way."

Some of its bars use more cocoa than others. Inevitably, this means some are stronger in flavor. Fortunately, Green & Black's has developed a handy Intensity Scale, with each bar ranked from three (white chocolate) to nine (85% dark chocolate). If you want something sweet but not cloying, rich but not bitter, we recommend Organic Butterscotch, which ranks as a five on the Intensity Scale.

Hu has a simple ethos: "No weird ingredients. Ever." That means chocolate bars without any refined sugar, palm oil, or emulsifiers, instead opting to keep the ingredients list short and efficient. Cacao and cocoa butter are the stars of the show, powering everything from plain chocolate to creative combos such as Cashew Butter + Raspberry and Almond Crunch + Coconut Flakes.

Each bar features unrefined coconut sugar, but even this is kept to a minimum. On average, Hu chocolate contains less than 8 grams — a third less than mainstream confectionery brands. This is great from a nutritional perspective, but that does mean the milk chocolate tastes slightly bitterer than Hershey's or Nestlé chocolate. The brand is also mindful of the dairy it uses in milk chocolate, sourcing only organic grass-fed milk. Dark chocolate is where Hu really shines, offering the widest variety of flavors (our favorite is the Salty Dark Chocolate, which has a solid five-star user rating).

An artisanal sister brand to the Washington staple that is Seattle Chocolate, jcoco was launched as a way to indulge while simultaneously helping others. An impressive 10% of profits go to charity, with over 3.7 million servings donated to food banks such as Northwest Harvest.

Not only is it a charitable gem, but jcoco is equally mindful of how it gets its ingredients. The brand sources cacao from a local Peruvian chocolate maker and pays its farmers directly. It also ensures that other ingredients — including sunflower lecithin – are organic and just as ethically sourced. Several of its sophisticated flavors are award-winning, including Mango Plantain, Boharat Spice, and Single Varietal Contamana Cacao. You're in good hands whichever one you choose, but the Alaskan Smoked Sea Salt and Crisp Quinoa Sesame are the real standouts to us. If you're looking for the shortest, most refined ingredients list, your best choice is a bar from its dark chocolate selection.

Lily's was born out of a dilemma relatable to all chocoholics. Its founder, Cynthia Tice, decided to kick her sugar habit, but she also knew she couldn't go cold turkey on chocolate. So, in 2010, she created Lily's — a line of chocolate bars that rely on natural sweeteners such as stevia extract and a sugar alcohol named erythritol. Both don't affect blood sugar or insulin levels, which makes the brand a go-to for those skipping sugar both by necessity and choice.

Ditching refined sugar already makes Lily's ingredient list higher quality than most, but it's bolstered even further by unsweetened cocoa in percentages up to 92%. Other ingredients added to create flavors such as Blood Orange Extra Dark Chocolate, Birthday Cake White Chocolate, and Crispy Rice Dark Chocolate are free of GMOs. Many also feature chicory root, which is high in dissolvable fiber and great for gut health.

Belgium is renowned for having the best chocolate in the world. The only way to do this properly is by having the best ingredients. The Neuhaus family has run the brand of the same name since 1857, when pharmacist Jean Neuhaus started wrapping his medicines in homemade chocolate to delight customers, and is credited with creating the first-ever Belgian praline using a similar method (just sans medicine).

High-quality milk, cream, and butter have been the priority for Neuhaus from day one. In 2017, they also ditched palm oils and now use only natural ingredients — including sustainably sourced cacao — for its white, milk, and dark chocolate alike. Unlike a lot of brands on this list, Neuhaus does use emulsifiers and boasts pretty long ingredient lists for its truffles or more elaborate chocolates. If you're looking to keep your chocolate as simple as possible, we recommend sticking to the likes of Milk Chocolate 35% or Intense Dark Chocolate 70%.

Alter Eco is an organic brand that prides itself on creating "the cleanest, greenest chocolate." All ingredients are ethically sourced, with Alter Eco keen to support farmer-owned co-ops. While it does use raw cane sugar, it tries to keep numbers low. It's less forgiving of artificial flavors and preservatives, which can't be found in any of its products.

For the highest level of cocoa, go for the Deep Dark Super Blackout. This is dark chocolate with a 90% blend of Ecuadorian and Dominican cacao, respectively renowned for their malty and fruity flavors. Thanks to Madagascan vanilla and the Swiss conching method — which helps to evaporate both the most bitter substances and water vapor — it's surprisingly creamy. If you prefer milk chocolate, just as much care has gone into making these bars equally high quality. Alter Eco's milk chocolate only uses whole milk from grass-fed cows in the alpine valleys of Switzerland and still has a relatively high cacao percentage of 46%.