This Creamy Crock-pot Hot Chocolate is a wonderful treat on a frigid, cold winter’s day or anytime throughout the holidays or year.
Are you moving away from processed foods? Are you done with Swiss Miss, and other packaged hot cocoas? This creamy crock-pot hot chocolate is an incredibly easy, peasy recipe that comes together quickly with irresistible results.
And this is easily made dairy-free and vegan with coconut milk, almond milk or your favorite kind of dairy-free milk out there. These days you have plenty of options. And now they sell vegan whipped cream
I made this with only four cups of milk in my two-quart slow cooker, but this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled and put into a bigger crock to serve to more people. Just cook until heated thoroughly. Since I was just making it for our family, I didn’t want to make an abundance, although I know my family would have been happy with lots of leftovers.
The Verdict:
JSarr: “Did you make this?”
Me: “Yes.”
JSarr: “You made this, made this?”
Me: “Yes.”
JSarr: “I think this might be the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had!”
JSarr: “You made this in the crock-pot?”
Me: “Yes.”
Methinks he liked it. The kids LOVED it and asked for more, and Abbie wants it for Christmas day. I don’t know if I want all of the sugar around, though:). We’ll have enough sugar on that day as it is! Me, I’d rather eat my chocolate than drink it, but I really enjoyed it, too. It’s rich, creamy, and flavorful.
If you use sweetened coconut milk, you can omit the sugar, and then add it to taste later. I do think the sweetened coconut milk is what makes this beverage so yummy.
**Update 12/15 It’s become somewhat of a family tradition that I start the crock-pot
Creamy Crock-Pot Hot Chocolate, Dairy-free, Vegan
Ingredients
- 4 cups coconut milk can use other milks, too; if you use a sweetened milk, you can reduce the amount of sugar you use
- 1/3 cup organic sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 t vanilla
- dash of sea salt
- dash of cinnamon
- optional whipped cream (coconut cream, whipped or whipped cream of choice)
- optional chocolate bar, shaved
Instructions
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Whisk all ingredients together in a crock pot. I used my 2-quart crock-pot. Don't worry if the cocoa powder doesn't completely dissolve into the milk, but try to mix thoroughly.
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Heat on high for 1 1/2 hours or until heated through.
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Stir, and serve immediately or turn crock-pot to warm.
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To make your hot chocolate an extra special treat, you can top with your favorite whipped cream, shaved chocolate bar and candy cane.
Have you tried some other hot, crock-pot drinks like…?
Crock-pot Cranberry Spiced Cider
Kid-Friendly Crock-pot Wassail
Does anyone know how long this will keep? If we don’t drink it all? Or maybe if we make it in the morning to serve in the afternoon?
Hi Rose. If you make it in the morning, it should be fine to serve it in the afternoon. Just keep the crock-pot on warm, and it will be fine.
Would this turn out okay if made on the stove? I want to make it for christmas dinner but I believe our only crock pot will be in use by my mother. 😛 I’m guessing if I kept it at a low temp and watched it carefully, it might be okay…I’m just worried about the bottom burning. Thoughts?
Hi Lisabeth. I think it would work on the stove just fine. Do a test run first, though. Stir constantly over medium heat until cocoa boils and keep stirring for another 2 minutes, and it should be ready. I’d love to know how it goes.
Hi, This recipe’s in my crockpot now! It looks really good!
Awesome! ENJOY, and Merry Christmas!
I love homemade hot chocolate and your looks amazing. The crock pot would make it so easy to make for a crowd and a great way to keep it warm.
Thanks, Serena! It totally warms us up! Merry Christmas!
I wanna try this one! I will use sucanat and rice or almond milk instead, but I bet it’ll be fantastic! Thanks for sharing! Happy holidays!