Creamy Homemade Hot Chocolate. A combination of cocoa powder and chocolate chips make this hot chocolate extra flavorful and delicious! Ready in minutes.
Homemade Hot Chocolate: You sweet, creamy heavenly thing. If you were wondering how I would like to spend every December evening, it is curled up, with my hands wrapped around a warm mug of hot chocolate. Bonus points if that hot chocolate is topped with freshly whipped cream and a heavy sprinkle of chopped dark chocolate.
Filed under the list of things I will not consume: frosting from a tub, cool whip, and hot chocolate out of a packet. Friends, it is so incredibly easy to make Homemade Hot Chocolate. Put down that powdery packet! Throw a handful of real ingredients into a saucepan and you will have Homemade Hot Chocolate in minutes! It’s simple, delicious, and so much more satisfying than the store-bought stuff.
Homemade Hot Chocolate
This recipe is made with a combination of cocoa powder and chocolate chips. The cocoa powder adds the distinct “hot cocoa” flavor, and the chocolate chips melt into the mixture making this drink extra creamy, rich and luxurious. A splash of vanilla extract rounds out all that chocolaty flavor and makes this what I consider the perfect Homemade Hot Chocolate.
- Place the milk of your choice in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Using milk instead of water, makes this hot chocolate extra creamy and flavorful. I prefer whole milk or 2% milk, but you can choose any milk that you choose (I’ve even used unsweetened almond milk).
- Whisk in cocoa powder and sugar, and heat until warm.
- Once the milk is warm, add chocolate chips, whisking until they melt into the milk.
- Add a splash of vanilla extract.
- Serve immediately, topped with your favorite garnishes: marshmallows, whipped cream, chopped chocolate, crushed candy canes or more.
One of the wonderful things about making hot chocolate from scratch is that you can make it exactly the way you want it!
- Want it extra rich? Add some half and half.
- Want it less sweet? Use bittersweet/dark chocolate chips.
- Want it healthier? Use skim milk or almond milk, and reduce the sugar a touch.
- Want flavored hot chocolate? Add cinnamon, peppermint extract, a shot of espresso, or a drizzle of caramel sauce.
The options are endless!
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Recipe
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 4 cups milk (preferably whole or 2%)
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place milk, cocoa powder and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium/medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until warm (but not boiling). Add chocolate chips and whisk constantly until the chocolate chips melt and distribute evenly into the milk. Whisk in vanilla extract, serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Ofie
Has anyone tried the espresso chocolate chips?
Allison
I haven’t tried it but it sounds like it would be great!
R
Was looking for a great hot chocolate recipe as the centerpiece of a hot chocolate bar for Christmas. This was amazing…added a dash of cinnamon and almond flavoring to the hot chocolate..then served it up in festive mugs topping the hot chocolate with whipped cream, crushed peppermints, and then sprinkled the top with peppermint vanilla bean sugar and a dash or
2 of black onyx chocolate sugar! Divine!
Allison
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Beverly
Hot chocolate bar is an excellent idea!’
Samantha
They make chocolate sugar? Sounds wonderful!
Carrie Gore
How much half and half should I put in the recipe? I like my hot chocolate rich. Lol
Allison
I’d swap out 2 cups of milk for the same amount of half and half. Enjoy!
Chloe Barker
wow! This was really good and easy! Thanks for the recipe!
Allison
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Julie
Thanks so much for this recipe. We love it!
For the smaller and single serving recipe, why did you reduce the cocoa powder and sugar to TBSP instead of reduced cups size? I reduced to 1/8 cups , is that too much?
Happy New Year!
Julie
Allison
Hi, Julie. 1/8 cup is 2 tablespoons. I find it easier and more accurate for people to measure tablespoons then to estimate where the halfway mark of a 1/4 cup measure is. Most standard measuring cup sets don’t have a 1/8 cup.
This is a forgiving recipe so a little more or less of something really isn’t that big of deal, but I chose to write that recipe that way for ease. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Karen
Amazing! Made this today. My husband loves this recipe. A keeper!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Jocelyn
This was way too sweet, even when I used dark chocolate. For those of you without a sweet tooth, I recommend reducing the sugar by a half, or even cutting it out completely because honestly for me, the sugar from the dark chocolate is enough.
Allison
Thanks for sharing your experience, Jocelyn.
Nancy Baggett
This looks tasty, but since it is made with cocoa, it is cocoa, not hot chocolate. Real European hot chocolate like that served in Austria and Germany contains melted chocolate. The two drinks are NOT the same beverage at all.
Allison
Hi, Nancy. I don’t call this “European Hot Chocolate”, so I don’t see any reason why this recipe needed to be made with only melted chocolate. I find that the combination of cocoa powder and melted chocolate produces the best result without being too rich (as European Hot Chocolate is).
Since most of my readers are in the US (and I as well), I feel comfortable referring to this as hot chocolate. That being said, I agree that the two drinks are not the same thing. European hot chocolate/drinking chocolate is much more rich and decadent than what I consider “American-style” hot chocolate.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Samantha
Is there a certain brand of cocoa powder you recommend? They are not all made equal. What about Ghirardelli?
Allison
I typically use Ghirardelli or Hershey’s. Enjoy! 🙂
Kat
chill out like FOR REAL
Kat
Sounds like a great recipe! Any substitutions for no cocoa powder?
Allison
You can increase the chocolate chips, maybe add 1/4 cup more? Assuming you’re using chocolate chips that are sweetened (milk, semisweet, or bittersweet/dark), you can likely omit the granulated sugar since that is there to sweeten the cocoa powder.
I’d suggest just playing around with it. It’s a fairly forgiving recipe. If you want it sweeter add sugar. More chocolaty, add more chocolate chips. Maybe even start with a smaller serving (in the notes section) until you get it right.
Enjoy! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Helen
Thank you for the recipe.
Please forgive my ignorance but what does ‘half and half’ mean?
I’ve seen it mentioned in a few online recipes for similar drinks eg hot chocolate, choca mocha etc. I cannot find an explanation.
Is it something to do with milk/cream?
Allison
Half and half is half milk and half cream. It is sold in the dairy aisle near cream and milk. It’s less rich than cream but more rich than milk. 🙂