Ovaltine substitute

Substitutes for Ovaltine with ratios

1. 2Milo

   Different texture

   Use the same amount by volume

   The Nestle malt-and-cocoa drink powder that fills the same role across Australia, Southeast Asia, West Africa and Latin America.

   What changes

   Best for

   hot and iced chocolate malt drinks, milkshakes, baking and no-bake slices, sprinkling over ice cream

   The same idea from a different manufacturer, so it works as a straight swap. It runs sweeter than Ovaltine and much more cocoa-forward, with the malt sitting behind the chocolate rather than leading it. Milo is also famously granular and does not dissolve completely, which is a feature in a Milo drink where the undissolved grains float on top, but it means an Ovaltine recipe made with Milo will have a slightly gritty finish. In baking that difference disappears entirely.

2. 3Horlicks or plain malted milk drink powder

   Close match

   Use the same amount plus 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa per 2 Tbsp if the recipe wanted chocolate Ovaltine

   A malt-and-milk-solids drink powder with no cocoa in it, the British counterpart to Ovaltine's classic malt version.

   What changes

   Best for

   hot malted milk drinks, malt milkshakes, malt loaf and malt cookies, bedtime drinks

   For classic malt Ovaltine this is essentially interchangeable. For chocolate Ovaltine the difference is obvious: without cocoa the drink tastes creamy, biscuity and faintly savoury-sweet rather than chocolatey, which some people prefer and which is definitely not what a chocolate Ovaltine recipe intends. Add the cocoa and a little extra sugar. Horlicks is also thicker in the cup because of its higher milk-solids content, so a milkshake made with it comes out noticeably denser.

3. 4Hot cocoa mix

   Different taste

   Use the same amount by volume

   The easiest swap in most kitchens, delivering the chocolate and the sugar but none of the malt.

   What changes

   Best for

   chocolate drinks, quick baking substitutions, chocolate frostings, children's drinks

   Perfectly good if you only cared about a chocolate drink. The loss is specific and noticeable: malt supplies a toasted-grain, slightly savoury depth that makes Ovaltine taste less like candy and more like a malted milkshake, and cocoa mix has none of it, so the result is flatter and sweeter. There is nothing in an ordinary pantry that puts the malt back. If you happen to have malt vinegar in the house, do not try it; it is acid, not malt flavour, and it will ruin the drink.

4. 5Cocoa powder, sugar and dry milk powder

   Different taste

   Use 1 Tbsp cocoa + 1 Tbsp sugar + 1 Tbsp dry milk powder for every 2 Tbsp Ovaltine

   Ovaltine's non-malt components assembled from scratch, for when there is no drink mix in the house at all.

   What changes

   Best for

   hot chocolate, baking where Ovaltine was a flavour and sugar source, chocolate milk, chocolate frostings

   This matches Ovaltine's dry bulk, its sweetness and its milky body, which means it behaves correctly in a batter or a frosting where those things affect texture. The flavour is straightforward chocolate milk. The dry milk powder is worth including rather than skipping, because it is what gives the drink that slightly rich, powdered-milk creaminess people associate with Ovaltine, and in baking it contributes the milk solids that keep a cookie chewy.

5. 6Crushed malted milk balls (Whoppers or Maltesers)

   Different texture

   Use Blitz to a powder and use 1:1 by volume, reducing the recipe's butter by 1 tsp for every ¼ cup used

   A last-resort route to real malt flavour, extracting it from the candy aisle rather than the baking aisle.

   What changes

   Best for

   malt cookies and brownies, malt buttercream, milkshakes, cake toppings

   Malted milk balls have a genuine malt centre, so this actually gets you the flavour Ovaltine was there for, which nothing else on this list except real malt powder does. The catch is that they are coated in chocolate, so you are adding cocoa butter and sugar along with the malt, which is why the butter reduction matters in a bake. They also refuse to grind to a true powder and go slightly pasty, so pulse rather than run the processor. Do not use this for a hot drink; the chocolate coating separates into a greasy film on top.