A rich and creamy homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe that is ready in minutes. Learn how to make real hot cocoa using staple kitchen ingredients.
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Hey, hey, Valentina with Valentina’s Corner sharing our favorite classic Hot Cocoa.
Hot Chocolate Recipe:
Just like homemade Apple Cider, This hot chocolate recipe is a favorite during the cooler months. This is the easiest recipe and takes just minutes on the stove. Enjoy your warm mug of hot cocoa, the ULTIMATE cozy drink that everyone will love!
Ingredients for Hot Chocolate:
There are just 5 ingredients needed for a classic hot chocolate mix.
- Cocoa powder – be sure it’s unsweetened
- Sugar – add granulated sugar to your desired sweetness
- Chocolate – melt in semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, chunks, or shavings for a rich chocolate flavor
- Milk – we use whole milk for a creamier consistency and it incorporates chocolate better than skim milk.
- Vanilla extract – use homemade vanilla for the best taste
For an extra rich and creamy hot cocoa: replace 1 cup of whole milk with a cup of half and half or heavy cream.
How to make Hot Chocolate:
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder. Add milk, chocolate chunks, and vanilla.
- Place over medium heat until steaming, whisking constantly to avoid burning the chocolate.
- Cool to desired serving temperature and serve with your favorite toppings.
Pro Tip: Cocoa and chocolate can settle at the bottom of the pot. Avoid burning your homemade hot cocoa by cooking it over medium heat and stir continuously.
Common Questions:
Since unsweetened cocoa powder naturally contains, caffeine, hot cocoa does have some caffeine which can give you a little energy boost. One serving contains about 12 mg caffeine. For reference, a cup of black coffee has 95 mg caffeine and black tea can have 25-50mg caffeine.
To make Mexican hot chocolate, you need additional spices: 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Also, use bittersweet chocolate.
You can omit the cocoa and sugar if using a pre-made cocoa mix. I would suggest using 4 packets or 4 servings according to the package instructions.
Hot Chocolate Toppings:
The BEST part about homemade hot chocolate is the toppings and added flavors! We love to make a toppings bar, especially for the holidays and parties.
- Whipped cream
- Mini marshmallows
- Mini chocolate chips
- Crushed peppermint
- White chocolate
- Chocolate syrup
- Sprinkles
- Peppermint sticks
- Chocolate shavings
Nothing beats homemade hot chocolate on a cold day, except maybe hot cocoa and a warm slice of Banana Bread… Mmm.
How to reheat hot cocoa:
- Stovetop – Reheat in a saucepan over low heat until warm, stirring frequently.
- Slow Cooker – When serving at a party, we love to keep hot cocoa warm in a slow cooker on the low heat setting.
What to serve with Hot Chocolate:
- Sugar Cookies – our go-to Christmas cut-out cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies – with a soft, fudgy center
- Chocolate Chip Cookies – soft, bakery-style
- Oatmeal Cookies – oatmeal coconut cookies
- Chocolate Chip Bar – loaded with chocolate chips
Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar, (or add to desired sweetness)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 cups whole milk*
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, (chips, chunks or shavings)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder. Add milk, chocolate chips, and vanilla and whisk together.
- Place over medium heat and bring it to a light boil while stirring constantly. Be sure the chocolate is fully melted and incorporated.
- Set aside to cool to your desired temperature and serve with your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Valentina Ablaev
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
ITS SO GOODDDDD
Hi Natasha, how are you? And also, I think I have a question for you: Could you, by any chance, please have this Hot Chocolate recipe uploaded into your YouTube channel, especially in HD (1080p)? Thanks! 🙂 From Stephanie Foraci
Hi Stephanie! Thank you for the suggestion. I’ll make a note of it to see if that’s something we can do in the future.
I made myself a cup of hot chocolate this morning and it was phenomenal! Using some dark chocolate chips enhanced the rich flavor of this drink. This could be my favorite recipe of the cold months.
Hi Charissa! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing.
4 cups in us customary units is supposed to be approx 948 ml
why does it give me 709.76 ml when chosing metric?
Hi Nour, thank you so much for pointing this out. I appreciate the heads up. You are correct and I have fixed this now. It looks like the conversion calculator glitched and I’m not sure why but it’s fixed.
I made a cup for Christmas morning with a touch less sugar. otherwise full on calories for me just this one day. excellent and super chocolate. Yum!
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing, Pam.
My husband and I were invited to go with our grandchildren to cut a Christmas Tree down. I told them I would bring thermoses of hot chocolate. I checked Ina’s and Pioneer Woman’s recipe but just KNEW yours would be a winner!! I wasn’t wrong. I made enough for 10 servings and used the half and half for part of the milk. I used Ghirardelli Dutch press cocoa and followed everything in the recipe. I did add just 3-4 little pinches of kosher salt to balance and this recipe is perfection!! As I knew it would be! I’ve packed some whipped cream on ice and little snow man marshmallows for the kids to top it. Can’t thank you enough. P.s. when I was asked what I wanted for Christmas, I immediately said “Natasha’s Cookbook!!”
Hi Paulette! That’s wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing!
can i use semi skimmed milk for this as i dont have whole milk and i am making lots of this
Yes, it just won’t be as rich and creamy.
In US Customary Measurement your recipe uses a 1:1 ratio of Sugar to Cocoa, but in the Metric measurement it shows a 2:1 ratio. Is there a reason for this? Which one is correct/better?
Hi Sebastian. The sugar weighs more than cocoa powdered when weighed so it can’t be compared to the measurements in cups (volume).
Made this after a cold parade and everyone loved it. Made it will dairy free milk and dairy free semi sweet chocolate chips and you would never guess it wasn’t real dairy. Saving this for our next cold day.
That’s wonderful, Caitlin!
Thanks for the easy recipe. I substituted powdered milk and sugar free sweetener. It seems to be good. I’ll have to experiment with the ratios a bit.
Thank you for sharing, Suzanne!
Like drinking liquid chocolate. I subbed oat milk for regular milk and it turned out perfectly.