Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix
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A simple 4 ingredient homemade hot cocoa mix that will turn you off the store stuff for good. Use your blender to whip up a 20 serving batch in just 5 minutes. It contains recognizable ingredients that are shelf stable for up to a year! It makes a creamy, rich hot cocoa drink, or a wonderful, make-ahead holiday gift.
Chocolate is one of my main food obsessions. I love it so much I’ve written a guide on cooking with chocolate, and have shared countless chocolate recipes, from classic chocolate cupcakes, homemade chocolate syrup, and chewy chocolate chip cookies, to a decadent chocolate tart.
But what I really love on a cold day is a comforting cup of steaming, hot chocolate. What I don’t love is a packet of odd emulsifiers that fail to deliver the creamy, rich flavor we all really want.
The solution is a simple homemade hot cocoa mix that takes 5 minutes to make. My recipe makes enough for 20 servings and it’s safe to store for a year. Combine it with your choice of hot water, milk, or non-dairy milk to make a creamy, rich cup whenever you like.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No weird ingredients – The average packet hot chocolate mix contains up to 70% sugar and a ton of other random things. My homemade hot cocoa mix is 20% chocolate, 30% sugar, and 50% milk. That’s 100% recognizable and delicious ingredients.
- Better flavor – This homemade mix makes a much creamier cup of hot cocoa than any store bought mix I’ve ever tried.
- A beautiful holiday gift – Pop it into some mason jars with marshmallows, peppermint pieces, or shaved chocolate and tie a pretty ribbon or cloth on top. It makes a lovely, shelf-stable gift that you can make way in advance. An 8 ounce jar can hold 2 servings (1/2 cup of mix) with toppings.
- Endless Variations – You can easily adjust flavors by using simple mix ins which I’ve shared in the flavor variations section below.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This mix went through rigorous testing before I was happy with the creaminess, sweetness, and chocolate flavor. I recommend making it as written first, then mixing it up with alternatives if you’d like to experiment after that.
- Cocoa Powder – You can use either Dutch processed or natural cocoa. Read more about the difference between cocoa powders in my chocolate guide if you’re unsure. I love Guittard Cocoa Rogue or Hershey’s Special Dark.
- Brown Sugar – Any form of sugar will work. Many recipes use powdered or confectioner’s sugar because it melts quickly, but brown sugar adds a caramel flavor that is the BEST (I tested it, trust me). We use a blender to make the mix, so the sugar ends up finely ground and dissolves easily in hot liquid.
- Dry Milk: This is the key ingredient for creaminess. It’s also called powdered milk and you’ll find it in the baking aisle. Either non-fat or whole fat are fine.
- Salt – Please do not skip this, it enhances the flavors of cocoa – it will not make your hot chocolate salty. I use coarse kosher salt which gets blended and broken down during mixing, but sea salt is good as well.
Flavor Variations
I love a good classic cup of hot cocoa, but this mix can also be a fabulous base recipe for tons of hot cocoa mix variations. These should all be added in during the blending stage so they get incorporated thoroughly with the mix.
- Cinnamon – Add 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon.
- Spicy Chocolate – 2.5 teaspoons of cayenne pepper.
- Espresso – 3.5 tablespoons of instant espresso (stronger) or instant coffee (milder).
- Double Chocolate – Add 1 heaping cup of chocolate shavings, crushed chocolate chips, or mini chocolate chips. This can be any flavor chocolate – semi, dark, white, or butterscotch chips.
- Peppermint – 1 cup of chopped candy canes or peppermint candies.
- Winter Spiced – Add 1.5 tablespoons of cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground cloves, 2 teaspoons of ground nutmeg, 2 teaspoons of ground allspice, and 2 teaspoons of ground ginger to the mix during blending.
Another bonus? You can use your homemade hot cocoa to make SO many different delicious recipes, from hot cocoa bombs, hot chocolate cupcakes, or a batch of gooey hot cocoa cinnamon rolls.
Step by Step Instructions
The process is as simple as the ingredient list. In just 5-10 minutes you can have your hot chocolate mix made and enjoying your first creamy cup.
Step 1: Place ingredients into a blender – You can use any blender or food processor. There’s no particular order to put them in, just dump it all in together.
Step 2: Blend on high, pause, shake, and blend again – Let the blender do it’s thing for about a minute. Then remove the blender and (with the lid tightly on) give it a good shake or two. Or, use a spoon and stir the ingredients. Blend again and repeat until it’s become a uniform brown powder with no streaks or clumps.
Note – If you added mix ins like peppermint candies, chocolate chips, or spices, you will see specks in the mix. As long as it’s a uniform consistency (i.e. no large bits), it’s good to go.
Step 3: Make a cup and store the rest! – The proper ratio is 1 tablespoon of hot cocoa mix per every 2 ounces of hot liquid. This equals 1/4 cup for a standard 8 ounce cup.
Stir rapidly while pouring the hot liquid over the mix until no clumps remain. Store the remainder in an airtight jar somewhere dark and away from heat and light for longest shelf life.
Pro Tip – Always stir or shake the mix before using. The ingredients can settle over time.
Optional Mixing Method: If you have no blender… – You can also use a sieve to make a darn good batch of hot chocolate mix if you don’t have a food processor or blender. It takes a bit of time and arm strength, but works great! Use a medium sieve – a fine one is difficult to work the ingredients through.
FAQs & Expert Tips
YES, as long as it’s HOT. Whole milk produces the most balanced cup of chocolate and creaminess. But, I have also made it with water, coffee, 2% milk, coconut milk (the beverage not the can!), oat milk, and almond milk. You can even use half and half if you want a really decadent treat. Be advised the liquid you choose will affect the final flavor, especially for non-dairy milks.
All these ingredients have a really long shelf life, so simply storing in an airtight container will keep your mix good for up to a year (It is safe after that, but it may begin to lose some flavor). Just pop your container in a cupboard, away from any heat, and you’re good to go.
Here in the U.S. not really. Regardless of which you request, you’ll end up with a similar beverage made from hot liquid and powder. In some countries, hot chocolate refers to something called sipping chocolate, which is a drink made from melting chocolate into hot liquid.
Yes! To make a single serving of homemade hot cocoa mix combine 2 tablespoons of powdered milk, 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder with a tiny sprinkle of salt. Stir or shake well, then combine with your hot liquid of choice.
Not boiling, no, but yes it needs to be hot. The hot chocolate mix ingredients need a hot liquid to dissolve and emulsify into a creamy drink. This will not work in cold liquid to make things like chocolate milk. If you’d like a homemade option to make cold chocolate milk or a non-dairy option to make hot cocoa, try my homemade chocolate syrup instead.
More Recipes to Enjoy
You can check out all of my chocolate recipes or other food gift inspiration on the site, but here are just a few of my favorites that are easy to make ahead.
Love this recipe? Please consider leaving a 5 star rating in the recipe card below, or a comment to share your experience with fellow home cooks. I hope you enjoy and as always, Happy Eating!
Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups powdered milk 320 grams
- 1.5 cups brown sugar* lightly packed, 325 grams
- 1 cup cocoa powder Dutch processed or natural, 100 grams
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Blender Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into blender and blend on high speed for 1 minute. If it gets stuck, pulse for 10-15 second intervals instead.
- Give the blender carafe a few shakes, or open and stir, then repeat until the mix is uniform with no streaks.
- Transfer to a clean, dry, airtight container and store until ready for use.
Sieve Instructions
- Measure ingredients into a bowl, give them a quick couple of stirs to combine slightly.
- Scoop ingredients into a sieve over a second bowl and press through to get rid of any clumps.
- Stir to make sure ingredients are well combined (no streaks of white).
- Transfer into clean, dry, airtight container and store.
To make Hot Cocoa:
- Add 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of mix to cup, pour 8 oz of hot milk** over the top while stirring until combined.
Notes
Nutrition
If you made this, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook and share the foodie love with fellow home cooks. Thanks for visiting!
Nutrition information and cooking times are provided as a best estimate. Values may vary based upon ingredients and equipment.
If I wanted to use confectionery sugar instead of brown would it be an equal conversion? Would it taste as good?
I have often found confectionary sugar to be more sweet that white or brown sugar, and it’s a sort of clean sweetness, there won’t be the molasses flavor from the brown sugar. But you should get a very classic chocolaty flavor. I would make sure you blend it together very well, so you don’t get any clumping when you mix it with the warm milk. The cornstarch in the confectioners sugar might do that. If it does, just mix it into milk cold, and then heat it up. Good luck!
I see so many different types of cocoa out there, I love using Hershey’s dark chocolate cocoa. Would that be okay for your recipe, or is too strong? I also like the idea of adding a little instant coffee to the mix, is espresso better than regular instant coffee?
You can absolutely use Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Cocoa! I love that one too. It will make your hot chocolate mix a little more bitter – imagine the difference between eating a milk chocolate bar and a dark chocolate bar! The beauty of this recipe is that you can easily add more sugar or milk to adjust it to your tastes. Go ahead and make a batch, then whip up a half portion to taste. If the chocolate is too bitter or strong, add more brown sugar or milk, pulse it all in the blender and you should be good to go.
As for the coffee, you can definitely use instant coffee, but it will have a less intense coffee flavor than the espresso, so you may find you want to add a little extra to get that real kick!
This is such a great idea for Christmas gifts. I have a question; there are a lot of cocoa powders in the market (I need to check out your blog post about the cocoa powders) but I wonder, do you have a brand preference for this particular recipe?
I am a particular fan of the Guittard Cocoa Rogue if I can get it, it’s very rich, but I’ve made this with your traditional Hershey’s cocoa powder and it turns out beautifully! Since you’re not baking with the cocoa powder, you can use either dutch processed or regular cocoa powder, but if you want to learn more about them, go ahead and check out the cooking with chocolate guide!
This hot chocolate mix was so simple to make and I had all the ingredients for it on hand. Perfect for warming up in the colder months.
Sharon, It makes me smile knowing you were ale to make the hot cocoa mix so easily from your ingredients on hand.
Hot chocolate is such a classic drink around this time of the year and I appreciate how this recipe allows me to now make it on my own.
Thanks Moop, I know my mom adds cinnamon and vanilla quite often. I would love to hear what you might decide to add!
I no longer need to buy hot chocolate mix because of this wonderful recipe. This homemade hot chocolate mix is so easy to make and so satisfying. Worth trying! Thanks for this wonderful recipe Mikayla, we’ll surely have this on repeat!
Thanks Journa, I love that you will use this recipe instead of buying it off the shelf now, you made me smile!
I am in love with this recipe. Brown sugar makes such a big difference. I will be adding these to my gifts this year and already ordered cute little jars.
That’s awesome! I’m glad you liked it! Brown sugar is the magic right!?
This hot cocoa mix is just what I’ve been looking for! I hate those mixes in the store where most of the ingredients aren’t even pronounceable. This mix is great to have on hand when my grandkids come over since hot cocoa is one of their favorites.
That’s exactly how I feel too! I’m glad it’s working for you, I hope you and your grandkids enjoy!
This hot chocolate mix is one of my favorite gifts to give for the holidays. It’s so easy to put together, and everyone always loves it. Plus, the hot chocolate comes out so, so good. Making them again this year!
Your comment made my day! I’m glad it’s worthy of repeating, thanks Amanda!