The Best Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

This is the best homemade hot cocoa mix recipe. It’s made with real ingredients and after stirring up a cup, you’ll be surprised at how rich and fresh it tastes. Most would never guess it was made from a mix!

A cup of hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows and a spoon.

Table of Contents

My kids love to make hot chocolate but the making it from scratch in a pot always ends up making a huge mess of my kitchen. I wanted to make a hot cocoa mix recipe to avoid the mess and so any extras are less likely to get wasted.

I spent literally YEARS testing different variations of this recipe and finally landed on this one. It is a winner and can be adjusted to fit different tastes.

One of my biggest hang ups is that I love a bitter hot chocolate and my family loves it sweet. The answer was in adjusting the chocolate and making two different types!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

So EASY! Just whip up a few ingredients in the blender and it’s ready to store
REAL Flavor This recipe uses real ingredients and has real chocolate in it so it doesn’t taste like a watered down mix.

Ingredients

Milk Powder– You can use any non-dairy milk powder as a substitute. We’ve made this with coconut milk powder many times. I love the A2/A2 milk powder from Azure Standard. If you don’t have any milk powder but DO have milk on hand often, I have directions for how to use the liquid milk as a substitute in the recipe notes.

Chocolate chips– You can use milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or bittersweet chocolate chips depending on the sweetness level you like your hot cocoa. Bittersweet chocolate chips are hard to find for me locally. I get them from Thrive Market. You could use a bittersweet bar but the chips are preferred because when you blend them they are all the same size so they get blended evenly.

Cocoa Powder– Use a high quality cocoa powder or cacao powder for the best taste.

How to Make Hot Cocoa Mix (Super Easy!)

bulk hot cocoa mix ingredients in a blender.

STEP 1: Add ¼ cup cocoa powder, ¼ cup sugar, ½ cup chocolate chips (bitter or semi-sweet depending on your favorite taste), 1 ¼ cups milk powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt to a blender.

Ingredients are blended together in a blender to make a powder.

STEP 2: Blend all the ingredients until there are no chunks of chocolate chips left and everything is incorporated evenly.

Storing homemade hot cocoa mix in a mason jar with a label.

STEP 3: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Makes four 1 cup servings.

Hot cocoa mix in the bottom of a mug with water being added on top.

STEP 4: To make hot cocoa, mix a packed ½ cup of hot cocoa mix with 1 cup boiling water.

An immersion blender is use to mix hot cocoa mix and water inside of a mug.

STEP 5: Stir the mixture or blend with an immersion blender. If you’re stirring by hand you need to stir for a while to make sure all the mix is dissolved.

A overhead view of hot cocoa made from a homemade mix with marshmallows on the top.

STEP 6: Top with homemade marshmallows or whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder.

Tips & Tricks

Use chocolate chips that fit what kind of hot cocoa you like. For example, milk chocolate chips will make a very sweet hot cocoa. Semi-sweet chips make a normal sweetness hot cocoa. Bittersweet chips make a less sweet hot cocoa with a little bitter bite.
I like to use bittersweet chocolate chips with 85% cacao. If you can’t find bitter chocolate chips, a bittersweet chocolate bar will work too. Chop it up in smaller pieces prior to blending it in the blender.
You can substitute milk powder for a non dairy option. We often use coconut milk powder instead and it works perfectly.
If you don’t have milk powder at all, you can make this without it. However, you’ll want to mix it into regular liquid milk. If you do this each serving would use 1/4 cup of mix and 1 cup of liquid milk.
An immersion blender ensures there are no clumps and makes the hot cocoa really frothy. I highly recommend it!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to make homemade hot chocolate premix at home?

In a blender combine ¼ cup cocoa powder, ¼ cup sugar, ½ cup chocolate chips (bitter or semi-sweet depending on your favorite taste), 1 ¼ cups milk powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. To make it use ½ cup mix and 1 cup boiling water.

What makes a great hot cocoa mix?

The key to a great hot cocoa mix is using real ingredients and a combination of BOTH cocoa powder and real chocolate chips, in addition to other ingredients like milk powder, salt, and sugar.

More REAL Ingredient Homemade Snacks

If you made this Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!