Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
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This Crockpot hot chocolate tastes like your favorite brownie. It’s rich, velvety, and chocolatey without being overly sweet. Keep it warm on the counter for holiday guests or a snow day at home.
Before my husband took his first sip of this slow cooker hot chocolate, he said, “It smells like a brownie.” Then he tasted it and nodded. He’s a man of few words, so that’s the review I was going for.
I tested this recipe with one goal: make the chocolate the star. Most recipes lean on a can of sweetened condensed milk, but that sounded way too sweet for me and I wanted to use ingredients I always have in my pantry. So I used light brown sugar instead. It sweetens the pot and adds a hint of caramel without burying the chocolate.
The chocolate itself took the most testing. All milk chocolate was too sweet and rich. All semisweet was sharp and thin. Theres was no warmth, no body. A mix of milk chocolate, semisweet and cocoa landed in the middle: full bodied, balanced and deep, and tasted like the kind of chocolate that wraps around you.
Milk, heavy cream, salt, and the slow cooker’s low heat brought everything together and created a pot of genuinely delicious hot chocolate that can stay warm all through your party.
Why This Recipe Works
- Hot chocolate for guests. This hot chocolate is designed for a slow cooker to heat the chocolate in the background while you get your house ready for guests. Once your friends arrive, the slow cooker keeps it warm so everyone can help themselves.
- Three chocolates. Milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and cocoa are the key to giving you a pot of hot chocolate that tastes like a melted brownie.
- Every ingredient is balanced. Brown sugar, vanilla and salt bring out flavor of the chocolate without making it too sweet. Heavy cream and milk make the hot chocolate thick but not dense. And each chocolate makes up for what the other chocolate is missing.
- Easy to scale. The chocolate to dairy ratios are easy to adjust. Scaled up or down, the flavor stays the same. Make a half batch for movie night or a full pot for the whole street. Each cup will be just as delicious from a 12 serving pot to a 4 serving pot.
If you’d rather keep a dry mix on hand for single mugs, my homemade hot chocolate mix is the one to make.
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
- Whole milk – Whole milk gives the hot chocolate a smooth, creamy base and it cuts the richness of the heavy cream so that it’s not too thick to drink. 2% or extra creamy oat milk works well too.
- Heavy cream – Cream is what makes the hot chocolate thick and velvety. It gives the pot body so it never feels thin or watery, and you won’t need to add any cornstarch or thickeners.
- Milk chocolate chips – Milk chocolate is the biggest part of the blend and the key flavor here. It brings a warm, well-rounded chocolate flavor that sits in the background and keeps everything creamy. I tested a batch with all semi-sweet chips, and it came out sharp, so don’t swap this one out.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – Semi-sweet cuts the sweetness of the milk chocolate and deepens the chocolate flavor.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – All that milk and cream dulls the chocolate flavor a lot. Cocoa lifts the melted chocolate back up and deepens it without adding more sugar or dairy. It’s also where the brownie smell comes from.
- Light brown sugar – Brown sugar does more than sweeten. Cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate both have sharp, slightly acidic notes, and sugar rounds them off so the pot tastes balanced. The molasses in brown sugar also adds a caramel note you won’t get from white sugar.
- Kosher salt – Most hot chocolate recipes skip salt, and that’s a mistake. Salt smooths the bitter edges of the cocoa and the sharpness of the chocolate, and it keeps all that sugar from tasting too sweet. It’s the ingredient that ties the whole pot together.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla goes in after cooking so its flavor stays strong.
How To Make Crockpot Hot Chocolate
Step 1:
Add the milk, cream, cocoa powder, brown sugar, salt and chocolate chips to the slow cooker. Give the pot a stir.
Note: the cocoa will refuse to mix in and will just sit on top of everything. This is normal cocoa behavior. When you give the hot chocolate a stir later it will mix right in.
Step 2:
Cover and cook on low for 2 hours. Whisk after 30 minutes to get the cocoa in and to make sure the chips aren’t burning on the bottom.
Check on the mixture every 30-45 minutes and give the mixture a whisk to make sure the chips are melting.
Step 3:
Once the hot chocolate is steaming but not boiling, stir to make sure all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Once smooth, stir in the vanilla and serve. See below for serving at a party.
Keeping The Hot Chocolate Warm For Parties
For a party, switch the slow cooker to warm and keep an eye on it for up to 2 hours. Check the pot every 30 minutes. Stir if a skin forms on top, and don’t let it come to a boil. If you see bubbling around the edges, turn the slow cooker off. Even on warm, the chocolate can get hot enough to boil and separate. I’ve made this mistake.
Why I Cook It On Low
Skip the high setting. The chocolate chips sink to the bottom of the slow cooker, and high heat gives them a chance to scorch before they melt. Two hours on low melts everything gently and keeps the milk from seizing the chocolate.
Need it faster? Start on the stove
If you don’t have time to start the hot chocolate in the Crockpot, add the ingredients (except vanilla) in a large pot on the stove and melt over medium heat. Stir the whole time so the chocolate doesn’t burn. It’s ready when the chocolate has melted and the pot is steaming, about 5-8 minutes.
To keep the hot chocolate warm for a group, pour it into the slow cooker on the warm setting. The Crockpot insert is cold when the hot chocolate goes in, so give it time to heat up. Then treat it like any other pot on warm: hold it for up to 2 hours, check it every 30 minutes, stir if a skin forms and turn it off if it starts to bubble.
Tips For The Best Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
- Don’t stress about the floating cocoa. It sits on top of everything in the beginning and looks like it will never mix in. But it will. Once you whisk the softened chocolate chips after the first 30-60 minutes, the cocoa blends right in.
- Stir from the bottom. Melted chocolate settles, so scrape the bottom with your whisk each time you stir.
- Don’t let it boil. If you see bubbles at the edges, turn off the Crockpot. This keeps the hot chocolate from burning on the sides of the Crockpot and splitting.
- Keep the Crockpot covered. At the serving stage, keep the Crockpot covered when it’s not being served. That way, the hot chocolate stays warm without extra cooking, and it helps prevent a skin from forming.
- Add the vanilla last. Stir it in after cooking so the flavor doesn’t disappear.
- Making less? This recipe can be cut in half easily and made in a small, 2-quart Crockpot instead.
Variations and substitutions
- Peppermint: Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract with the vanilla. Or put an Andes mint in the bottom of everyone’s hot chocolate mug and let the hot cocoa melt it.
- Mocha: Add 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder with the cocoa.
- Mexican hot chocolate: Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne with the cocoa.
- Salted caramel: Drizzle caramel sauce into each mug and finish with flaky salt.
- Lighter version: Use 2% milk and swap the cream for half-and-half. It will be thinner, but still smooth.
- Use oat milk: To pull back on the dairy, swap the whole milk for extra creamy oat milk or “barista blend” oat milk. These varieties have the best consistency for warm drinks. I use these all the time in my oat milk hot chocolate or lattes at home. Keep in mind, you’ll still use heavy cream and milk chocolate in this recipe, so it won’t be dairy-free.
Set up a hot chocolate bar
This is the part that makes the recipe worth it at a party. Leave the slow cooker on warm for up to 2 hours, set out a ladle and mugs, and let guests build their own. Check the pot every 30 minutes to make sure it isn’t bubbling or getting a skin on top, and give it a stir.
- For toppings: put out whipped cream, every size marshmallow, Marshmallow Fluff, chocolate shavings, mini chocolate chips, white chocolate, crushed candy canes, and a jar of whole candy canes for stirring.
- Flavorings: Put a bottle of vanilla syrup, banana bread syrup, or caramel sauce on the table so people can sweeten their own mug without touching the pot.
If you’re setting up a hot chocolate bar, you can add Christmas coffees and homemade eggnog lattes for a full holiday drink station. The toppings work just as well on coffee, so everyone can customize their drink how they like it.
Storage instructions
Let leftovers cool, then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The chocolate thickens when it’s cold, so give it a good stir or whisk before you reheat it.
You can also serve it cold, straight from the fridge. It’s really, really good chocolate milk, or pour it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Freezing
Leftover hot chocolate freezes well. Pour it into ice cube trays and freeze, then store the cubes in a freezer bag. Drop a few into iced coffee for a mocha, or blend a handful with milk for a frozen hot chocolate.
Reheating
Reheat cold or frozen hot chocolate in the slow cooker on low or in a saucepan over low heat. Make sure to stir constantly while it reheats, so it doesn’t burn or separate.
A single mug reheats well in the microwave. Stir it halfway through. My recommended method is on the stovetop.
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Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker, 6-quarts or larger
Ingredients
- 6 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups (11.5 ounces) milk chocolate chips, I use Hershey’s brand
- 1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the heavy cream, milk, cocoa, brown sugar, Kosher salt, and chocolate chips to the slow cooker. The cocoa will just float to the top at this point, but that’s normal, the cocoa will mix in when you stir the chocolate chips later.
- Cover and cook on low for 2 hours. Whisk every 30-45 minutes to keep the chocolate chips from burning to the bottom of the Crockpot as they melt.
- Continue cooking until the hot chocolate is warm, steaming, and the chocolate chips have fully melted. Do not let the hot chocolate come to a boil.
- Once the hot chocolate is smooth, stir in the vanilla at the end.
- Serve right away, or switch the slow cooker to warm if you’re serving a crowd. Check the slow cooker every 30 minutes to make sure it's not boiling or forming a skin on top. If the chocolate starts to boil, turn it off and let it keep warm from its own heat.
Notes
- Half batch: Cut every ingredient in half. Cook on low for 2 hours in a 2-quart slow cooker
- Don’t use high: High heat can scorch the chocolate chips on the bottom before they melt.
- Stovetop shortcut: Whisk everything except the vanilla in a large pot over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate melts and the pot is steaming, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, then transfer to a slow cooker on warm for up to 2 hours. Check it every 30 minutes, stir if a skin forms, and turn it off if it starts to bubble.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat on low in a slow cooker or in a saucepan, whisking until smooth.
