Crock Pot Creamy Hot Cocoa is an easy slow cooker homemade hot chocolate that makes a thick and rich mug of chocolate heaven!
Rich and creamy homemade hot cocoa is the perfect cold weather drink to have warming on the counter for when the family comes inside from the cold.
A big mug of Hot Cocoa topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles really hits the spot on a cold winter day. This is a sweet treat perfect for Christmas morning on a Hot Cocoa Bar.
Scroll down to see how I turned my coffee bar into a hot chocolate bar on Christmas morning.
Rich & Creamy Crock Pot Hot Cocoa
So in celebration of the first really good cold front of the season, I am sharing this easy hot cocoa recipe with you.
This recipe is perfect for when you need to keep your hot cocoa warm for a crowd. It is wonderful for a hot cocoa bar like I made last Christmas. Or the kids will love to come in after a day of sledding and snowball fights to a hot mug.
You will need
You can find the ingredient amounts and detailed direction below in the recipe card.
- milk: I used whole milk
- heavy whipping cream makes hot cocoa creamy
- sweetened condensed milk helps thicken hot cocoa, you can substitute more milk or cream
- vanilla extract
- unsweetened cocoa powder, the best brand you can afford
- chocolate chips, I used milk chocolate but semi sweet or even white would work
Let's make Hot Cocoa
Add the milk, whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract to a 4 quart slow cooker. Stir to combine and to help dissolve the sweetened condensed milk.
Add the cocoa powder to the crock pot and use a whisk to mix the dry powder into the liquids until it has dissolved. Add the chocolate chips to the slow cooker.
Cover and heat on low stirring occasionally to help melt the chocolate chips. Continue heating on low until the chocolate has melted completely, about 20 minutes.
Increase the temperature to high and continue to heat the cocoa until ready to serve. Turn the crock pot on the warming setting while serving.
Top each mug with whipped cream or marshmallows and add a candy cane to the mug for garnish.
Recipe FAQs
Make the hot cocoa in a slow cooker to keep it warm. You will be able to keep the cocoa hot for hours and your guests will be able to serve themselves.
A hot cocoa bar needs lots of goodies to put in the hot cocoa. A few ideas are mini marshmallows, candy canes, chocolate dipped spoons, sprinkles, and whipped cream. These are hot cocoa toppings everyone loves.
How to set up a Hot Cocoa Bar
My grandkids had a blast last year when I surprised them with this hot cocoa bar on Christmas morning.
I had to keep refilling the crock pot because everyone loved the hot cocoa so much.
I turned my DIY Coffee Bar into a DIY Hot Cocoa Bar as a surprise on Christmas morning.
I've created a Cocoa Bar Amazon List just for you. You can find products just like mine to create your own DIY Cocoa Bar.
One of the biggest hits of the Hot Cocoa Bar were the chocolate dipped spoons I made. I melted chocolate and white chocolate chips and dipped the spoons in to coat.
I then decorated the spoons with holiday colored sprinkles while the chocolate was still melted.
I made Frozen themed chocolate dipped spoons because my granddaughters love Frozen. You can't really tell from this photo how pretty they turned out. If you look at the photo above you can see it much better.
Hot Cocoa Bar Supplies
- Ingredients to make hot cocoa
- 4 or 6 quart Slow Cooker
- Santa Mugs
- Ladle
- Mini Marshmallows
- Candy Canes
- Holiday Sprinkles
- Chocolate Dipped Spoons
- Rainbow Cakebites or Petite Fours
- Hot Cocoa Themed Wall Decor
- Holiday Tablecloth
- Paper Napkins
I am going to get my warm pajamas on and enjoy a mug of this rich and creamy Crock Pot Hot Cocoa recipe topped with whipped cream of course and curl up in front of the tv and binge watch something good on Netflix this weekend.
Cold Weather Crock Pot Beverages
- Crock Pot Hot Apple Cider: Perfect served anytime during the winter.
- Crock Pot Pumpkin Spice RumChatta is a delicious adult beverage.
- Crock Pot Pumpkin Spice Latte could be spiked with a little Rumchatta or fireball for a little kick.
Pin or Print the Crock Pot Hot Cocoa recipe below
Rich and Creamy Crock Pot Hot Cocoa
Rich and Creamy Crock Pot Hot Cocoa
Warm up on a chilly weekend with a big mug of this Sweet & Creamy Crock Pot Hot Cocoa recipe. Snuggle up and binge watch something good on Netflix with a mug of Whipped Cream and Sprinkle topped Slow Cooker Hot Cocoa.Equipment
- Crock Pot
- Ladle
- Christmas Mugs
Ingredients
- 6 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla extract)
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder (I used (affiliate link Ghirardelli 100% Cocoa Powder)
- 11 oz chocolate chips (bag)
Instructions
- Add the milk, whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract to a 4 quart slow cooker. Whisk to combine.
- Add the cocoa powder to the crock pot and using the whisk mix the dry cocoa powder into the liquids until it has dissolved.
- Add the chocolate chips to the slow cooker.
- Cover and heat on low stirring occasionally to help the chocolate chips dissolve. Continue heating on low until the chocolate has melted completely, about 20 minutes.
- Increase the temperature to high and continue to heat the cocoa on high until ready to serve.
- Set the crock pot on warm while serving.
- Top each mug with whipped cream or marshmallows and add a candy cane to the mug for garnish.
- Makes about 6-8 servings depending on the size mug you serve the hot cocoa in.
Recipe Expert Tips
- Peppermint Hot Cocoa: To make Crock Pot Peppermint Hot Cocoa add 6 crushed candy canes to the crock pot when you add the chocolate chips.
- Number of servings: If serving children in smaller cocoa mugs you will be able to serve more children.
- 4 or 6 quart Slow Cooker
- Santa Mugs
- Ladle
- Mini Marshmallows
- Candy Canes
- Holiday Sprinkles
- Chocolate Dipped Spoons
- Rainbow Cakebites or Petite Fours
- Hot Cocoa Themed Wall Decor
- Holiday Tablecloth
- Paper Napkins
- Holiday decorations
Erlene
I grew up in Hawaii, so I can relate to bundling up when others are wearing shorts. For us, anything in the 70's is considered cold...lol. At least I can use this recipe to keep warm 🙂
Kippi
I just pinned this recipe to my Hot Cocoa Bar board and I will be trying it for Christmas! Happy Holiday Season, Kippi
Kim~madeinaday
OOh yum! I love that this is made with chocolate chips! Sharing on FB! Thank you for sharing on Merry Monday! Hope to see ya next week!
Kim
Arlene Mobley
Thank you Kim I love easy recipes!