Crockpot Hot Chocolate

Easy and creamy crockpot hot chocolate without sweetened condensed milk! No need for instant mix packets – all you need is chocolate, sugar, cocoa, and milk! This recipe is perfect for special occasions. Top with homemade whipped cream. You could even double the recipe for a large crowd – perfect for when you’re on a budget!

These past few weeks have been full of decorating snickerdoodle cookies and healthier sugar cookies and making my daughter’s favorite candy cane cookies.

Since making cookies is an “event” of sorts for us (as in, we block off an afternoon and spend it ONLY decorating), I thought it would only be fitting to make a pot full of hot chocolate to go with the cookies that get eaten along the way.

Instead of making hot chocolate on the stove-top, we made it in the crockpot! I chose to create a recipe that didn’t use sweetened condensed milk AND one that didn’t sacrifice taste. I think I did it!

Reasons to Make This Crockpot Hot Chocolate Recipe

• Hands off. Simply put, I want to make crockpot hot chocolate instead of stove-top hot chocolate so I’m not multitasking while we are making and decorating cookies.
  • It’s also a delicious recipe to make on Christmas morning. All I have to do is grab the mugs once it’s done and we can enjoy the rest of our day without having to worry.
  • I want to treat us all to delicious homemade hot chocolate, but not worry about possibly scorching the milk or having it boil over and make a big mess on the stove.
• Mood-lifting. Chocolate makes you feel happy because it contains energy-boosting caffeine, tryptophan, and mood-lifting serotonin.
• Frugal. You will most definitely get more for your buck when you make crockpot hot chocolate from scratch rather than getting the packets from the store.
• Nutritious. Hot chocolate contains vitamin C and D. Cocoa powder is a great source of fiber and iron. Dark chocolate contains calcium, Vitamin A, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and Vitamin K. You can read more about all the benefits here.
• Holiday parties or gatherings. Crockpot hot chocolate is PERFECT for a Holiday party. You can mingle with guests and not be concerned with constant stirring on the stove.
  
  Sure, we COULD make hot chocolate on the stove and turn it off, but then it would cool down. Isn’t the whole point of hot chocolate is to drink it hot and not have to stick it in the microwave?

Here’s What You Need

• Whole milk (You can use low-fat, fat-free, or dairy-free milk.)
• Heavy cream (Coconut cream for non-dairy.)
• Granulated sugar (I use Turbinado.)
• Chocolate (I used 50/50 dark chocolate and milk chocolate.)
• Cocoa

Notes on Ingredients

• Whole milk. I highly recommend using whole milk, simply because whole milk is the least processed milk you can buy. It also makes for a perfectly delicious and rich hot chocolate! Low-fat, fat-free or dairy-free milk will all work well too. You can try my homemade recipes for rice milk, peanut milk, almond milk, or coconut milk.
• Heavy cream. For every 3 cups of milk, you need 1 cup of heavy cream. This ratio gives the hot cocoa a perfect consistency – not too thick, not too thin. Coconut cream would be a good non-dairy substitute.
• Sugar. I used Turbinado sugar in this recipe and thought the amount was perfect. Again, if your family is used to eating minimally sweetened things, you could easily cut back on the sugar. I’d start with 1/4 cup at first, adding more as needed.
  • Note: Remember that the type of chocolate you use will play a part in how sweet the crockpot hot chocolate turns out… so you have some wiggle room here to play with the amount of sugar.
• Chocolate. This recipe uses two types: chocolate and cocoa powder. You can use dark chocolate or milk chocolate chips or bars – whatever you have! We liked a 50/50 split of dark and milk chocolate.
• Cocoa. You can also use unsweetened cocoa powder.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker.

Step 2. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes. Whisk the ingredients together really well.

Step 3. Cover and cook again for 30 minutes. Whisk the ingredients together well again.

Step 4. At this point, the hot chocolate is ready to serve with toppings as desired.

Recipe Tips

• If you’re not ready to serve, turn the heat down to as low as it will go (I use the “warm” function on my slow cooker). Whisk well before serving throughout your event!
• I also tried a batch with vanilla extract and didn’t notice much difference. With the high price of vanilla, I didn’t want to give up my precious supply of homemade vanilla extract!
• I know that many slow cooker hot chocolate recipes call for sweetened condensed milk, but I like being able to better control how much sugar is added to the recipe. Unless you make your own sweetened condensed milk, you don’t really know how much sugar is in there NOR the quality of sugar.
• This recipe obviously makes a big batch of hot chocolate, so if you’re looking for a single serving recipe, here’s my version of healthy hot chocolate!

FAQs

To Serve

Toppings are 100% optional, but what kid (big or small!) doesn’t want marshmallows on their hot chocolate?! I served crockpot hot chocolate for a crowd with sides of mini marshmallows and candy canes.

Other ideas include chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, whipped cream (here’s how to make homemade whipped cream and homemade CHOCOLATE whipped cream), sprinkles… the options are endless!

More Holiday Beverages

• Homemade Gingerbread Latte
• Pumpkin Spice Apple Cider
• Homemade Eggnog
• Pumpkin Smoothies

Watch How to Make Easy Crockpot Hot Chocolate