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This easy, healthy hot cocoa recipe is perfect for winter days. It only takes a few ingredients and a few minutes to make!
My kids are huge fans of hot cocoa, especially after an afternoon of playing in the snow. Even though hot cocoa packets are super convenient, they also come with some ingredients that I’d rather avoid. All you really need for delicious homemade hot chocolate is cocoa, milk (or non-dairy milk), vanilla, and a sweetener.
For another cozy winter drink, try this homemade cooked eggnog!
Supplies Needed
This recipe only has five ingredients, and it’s sweetened with maple syrup. I purchased almost all of the ingredients (with the exception of my homemade vanilla extract) at our local Aldi, which is my favorite place to shop.
Whenever we can, we buy fresh raw milk from a local farmer. Since we don’t currently have a farmer to purchase milk from, I’ve been mostly relying on organic milk from Aldi.
I’m hoping to find a source for milk soon, as I miss having all the cream to use in recipes. My dream is to have our own dairy goats, but that’s still a way off in the future.
This easy hot chocolate recipe is so simple, with just 5 basic ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need:
- milk (we use organic whole milk)
- cocoa powder
- maple syrup
- vanilla extract (find out how simple it is to make your own vanilla extract here!)
- salt (we like this sea salt)
How to Make Easy Healthy Hot Cocoa
This healthy hot chocolate recipe is so easy and quick to make that it only takes a few minutes to mix and heat the ingredients on the stove top.
Just pour the milk in a saucepan:
Add all the other ingredients, and heat over medium heat, whisking often with a wire whisk to keep the milk from scalding.
After the mixture has heated, ladle it into cups and serve! This recipe makes about four 1-cup servings, so we always at least double it for our large family.
You can also easily adapt this recipe if needed, by adding more or less sweetener or other flavors like cinnamon. It’s delicious with homemade marshmallows or a bit of whipped cream!
More Winter Recipes
- Sugar Free Hot Chocolate Recipe
- Chocolate No-Bake Cookies
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Chai Spice Mix Recipe
- Snow Ice Cream
- Popcorn Balls Sweetened with Honey
Easy Healthy Hot Cocoa Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir.
- Heat on medium heat on stove top until the mixture is warm. Once it starts getting hot, whisk the ingredients together with a wire whisk and stir continuously to keep the milk from scalding.
- Ladle into cups and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This worked exactly as written, thanks! Absolutely delicious!!!!!!
I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you so much for the positive review, Katie!
Before I try this, is there any maple flavor at all to it due to the maple syrup? My family’s not a fan of maple at all and I’d rather not waste the ingredients unless I know the “maple” flavor totally disappears in the heating/mixing. Could I just use white cane sugar (same quantity?)?
We haven’t noticed a maple flavor, but we use maple syrup all the time for sweetener, so we may not be sensitive to it. If you want to substitute white sugar, that should work out fine. You may need just 3 tablespoons of the sugar instead of the 1/4 cup maple syrup, depending on how sweet you want it.
My whole family loves this recipe!! Thank you!
Thank you so much for the positive review, Erin! I’m so glad you love the recipe as much as we do!
This healthy hot cocoa is so rich and chocolatey and such a cozy cold-weather drink!