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The Best Homemade Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate Recipe – delicious rich, creamy hot chocolate in the slow cooker from scratch!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate From Scratch
There is nothing better than rich, delicious hot chocolate on a cold day – and its even better made from scratch!
Hot cocoa is so easy to make from scratch with simple ingredients, you can make a big batch for parties (or long days skiing, sledding, or shoveling snow!), and it can simmer slowly for hours, while you let your slow cooker do all the work and you enjoy the winter weather!
This hot chocolate is perfect for skiing and sledding days – you can whisk together the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it slowly melt and simmer while you’re off having fun, and come back to delicious hot cocoa!
We love to serve hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate or caramel syrup, peppermint syrup – and let guests decorate their own cups.
This recipe is a great base – feel free to change it up to your preferences, including adding different types of chocolate, stirring in boozy additions, adding different flavors like peppermint or peanut butter – or try adding more cream and less milk.
We hope you love this homemade hot chocolate as much as we do!
How To Make Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate From Scratch
Hot chocolate is super simple to make in the slow cooker – whisk to mix together, then let it cook slowly while you enjoy a cool winter day, and come back to comforting, rich, and delicious hot cocoa!
- Warm milk in microwave or on stovetop – just 20-30 seconds to be warm to the touch (cocoa powder will mix in to warm milk much better than cold milk.)
- Add milk to slow cooker, turn slow cooker on to high.
- Add in sugar, vanilla, chocolate, and cocoa powder, whisking vigorously after each addition to incorporate. Whisk in cream last.
- Place lid on slow cooker and set to low, let cook 3-4 hours. Stir occasionally.
- When chocolate has melted and hot chocolate has thickened, it is ready to serve!
- Top with mini marshmallows, sprinkles, whipped cream, and even chocolate sauce!
Tips to Perfect Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
For the best hot chocolate, we suggest following our tips to make your hot cocoa perfect, every single time!
Use Warm Milk. Warm milk helps your cocoa powder mix better, it can clump up when added to cold milk.
Whisk Cocoa Powder into Hot Chocolate. To avoid clumps, and for the best texture, we suggest whisking vigorously as you stir cocoa powder into warm milk.
Make on the stovetop. This recipe can be made on the stovetop instead of the slow cooker, with just a few modifications:
- To convert this recipe for the stovetop, add all ingredients except for cocoa powder into stock pot.
- Start to heat on medium low, whisking vigorously as chocolate melts and sugar dissolves into milk.
- When milk is warm and some chocolate has melted, whisk in cocoa powder (it will mix in best when milk and cream are warm or hot, it can clump together when liquid is cold.)
- Keep heating and whisking until chocolate is fully melted and mixed into hot cocoa.
- When chocolate has melted and hot chocolate has thickened, it is ready to serve.
FAQs
Hot chocolate is done when chocolate has melted and hot cocoa is thickened.
We recommend using a high quality chocolate that you love – we’re using a 70% bittersweet chocolate bar.
You can use any chocolate you love other than the bittersweet, such as milk, semisweet, or even white chocolate!
Other Hot Chocolate Recipes You’ll Love
For more of our hot chocolate ideas, check out our adult Rumchata Hot Cocoa Cocktail Recipe, our Olaf Blue White Chocolate Cocoa, White Cocoa Peppermint Latte, adult Peppermint Cocoa Shooters, and a super cute Welcome Elf on a Shelf Cocoa Party & Printables!
You can find even more of our drinks recipes here.
Shop The Post
If you like any of the products we used in this recipe photoshoot, please find the products we used through our affiliate links here:
- A Frame Snowglobe
- Gingerbread Cookie Cooling Rack
- Pom Ribbon
- Frosty Mug & Stirrer
- Slow Cooker
- Wood Tabletop Christmas Tree
- Wood stand
The Best Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate Recipe
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The Best Homemade Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
Instructions
- Warm milk in microwave or on stovetop – just 20-30 seconds to be warm to the touch (cocoa powder will mix in to warm milk much better than cold milk.)
- Add milk to slow cooker, turn slow cooker on to high.
- Add in sugar, vanilla, chocolate, and cocoa powder, whisking vigorously after each addition to incorporate. Whisk in cream last.
- Place lid on slow cooker and set to low, let cook 3-4 hours. Stir occasionally.
- When chocolate has melted and hot chocolate has thickened, it is ready to serve!
- Top with mini marshmallows, sprinkles, whipped cream, and even chocolate sauce!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
