Are you ready for the best hot chocolate you’ll ever taste? This recipe is sumptuously rich, velvety smooth, and perfect for warming up throughout the winter season.
Why You’ll Love This Hot Chocolate
There’s nothing quite like a cozy mug of hot chocolate in your hands on a cold, wintery day. It’s decadent, slightly indulgent, and one of the best parts of the holiday season. Right up there with making eggnog and the perfect batch of no bake cookies. So why is this the best hot chocolate recipe? Let me tell you!
- It’s rich, thick, and creamy: Unlike store-bought hot cocoa packets that have a watery texture, this homemade hot chocolate is lusciously thick and silky smooth. That’s due the to melding of hot milk with semi-sweet chocolate, cacao powder, and a dash of maple syrup.
- It’s super easy to make: There’s just 4 ingredients – that’s it! And you likely already have them in your pantry already. But if you’d like to make some ingredient swaps, keep reading.
Homemade Hot Chocolate Ingredients
- Milk: You can use dairy or dairy-free milk, including cashew milk, almond milk, or oat milk. The creamier the better! And since this recipe has sugar in it, I’d choose unsweetened milks (if you’re buying them from the store).
- Chocolate: An essential ingredient for making hot chocolate! Whether you’re using semi-sweet bars or chips, just make sure to finely chop it. The the richness of the chocolate from milk chocolate to dark chocolate is really personal preference, but I have a few extra tips in a section below.
- Cacao Powder: The cacao powder (or cocoa powder) plus the chocolate is what makes this recipe so phenomenal. Trust me, you need both.
- Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is a great natural sweetener, but feel free to swap in honey, coconut sugar, or your sweetener of choice.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below
The Best Type Of Chocolate To Use
Unlike its close cousin hot cocoa, which is made from only cocoa powder, hot chocolate requires that you actually use chocolate. You can use your favorite brand of chocolate, though I recommend a semi-sweet or dark chocolate that’s hovering around the 50 to 60 percent range.
Dark chocolate has a distinctly rich flavor that tastes amazing when whisked with milk. And when you’ve finely chopped the chocolate, it’ll melt into the most luxurious, velvety texture. But if you’re not a fan of the bitterness of dark chocolate, don’t worry. A splash of maple syrup sweetens it perfectly.
How To Make Hot Chocolate
Simmer the milk. Add the milk, cacao powder and maple syrup to a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer and whisk together until there’s no clumps.
Add the chocolate. Add the finely chopped chocolate and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the chocolate is fully melted and combined.
Serve. Pour into your favorite mugs and serve. If you want a little extra holiday cheer, top the mugs with whipped cream and a little shaved chocolate!
Hot Chocolate Flavor Variations
While simple hot chocolate is a classic for a reason, there’s many ways to amp it up, if you so choose. Here’s a few fun and delicious ideas.
How To To Store
- In the fridge: Pour any leftover hot chocolate into airtight glass jars, and store in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. It may separate, but that’s fine if it does. It will recombine when you reheat it.
- To reheat: Add the hot chocolate to a saucepan and gently reheat on medium heat, until warmed through. Alternatively, you can warm a mug in the microwave.
More Cozy Winter Drinks
I hope you enjoy this classic hot chocolate recipe. If you make it, let me know how it turned out! I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
Description
This is hands down the best hot chocolate you’ll ever taste! It’s unbelievably rich, velvety smooth, and perfect for warming up throughout the winter season. Watch the video below to see how I make it in my kitchen.
- If you’re using chocolate chips, I still recommend doing a quickly chop with your knife to finely chop the chocolate. Otherwise, you might end up with clumps of chocolate in the bottom of your mug.
- Keep an eye on the stove! Milk can easily boil over, and that’s never fun.
- This is a really thick and luscious hot chocolate, though the type of milk you use will affect the level of creaminess. Nut milks naturally won’t be as thick as full-fat milk. If you’re using full-fat milk and would like it a bit thinner, just swap one cup of milk for one cup of water.
Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 165mg | Potassium: 240mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg
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Recipe originally posted December 2020, but updated to include new information.
