Crockpot Hot Chocolate Recipe

This crockpot hot chocolate is made with whole milk, heavy cream, a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk, 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate and ¼ cup of cocoa powder. It takes 5 minutes to get into the pot and 2 to 2½ hours on low, and it makes 8 cups, about 10 servings.

Pour, whisk, add the chocolate, then let the slow cooker work. The one job left for you is a stir every 30 to 45 minutes, scraping the sides, so nothing scorches and the chocolate melts evenly. It tastes like melted chocolate bars, not like a packet.

One Batch: 8 Cups for About 10 Mugs

• Yield: 8 cups, about 10 servings of ¾ cup (or 8 full mugs)
• Time: 5 minutes prep, 2 to 2½ hours on low
• Slow cooker size: 4 quart or larger; a 6 quart holds a double batch
• Stirring: every 30 to 45 minutes, scraping the walls
• Holding: switch to warm once the chocolate is melted, for up to 2 to 3 hours
• Leftovers: up to 4 days in the fridge, reheated gently

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Milk, Cream, Condensed Milk and Real Chocolate

Whole milk and heavy cream are the base. You can make it with 2% milk in a pinch, but it drinks thinner. If you want a lighter mug for every day, my healthy hot chocolate is built for that instead.

There is no sugar in the recipe. The can of sweetened condensed milk does that job, and it also makes the cocoa feel thick on the spoon, which sugar alone never does. The ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa gives a darker chocolate flavor, and the 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate give the body. Vanilla and a pinch of salt finish it. Leave the salt out and the chocolate tastes flat.

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Chocolate Chips or a Chopped Bar?

Both work, and the card lists either. Chips are made to hold their shape in cookies, so they melt more slowly and can leave a few soft specks after the first hour. A semi-sweet bar chopped into small pieces melts faster and gives a smoother, glossier cup.

Use chips when you are making this on a busy afternoon. Chop a bar when the hot chocolate is the main event, like a Christmas Eve movie night. It takes about 2 minutes with a serrated knife. Do not swap in milk chocolate one for one, because the condensed milk already brings plenty of sweetness.

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How to Make Hot Chocolate in a Crock Pot

Pour the milk, heavy cream and condensed milk into the crock. Sift the cocoa over the top and whisk until no dry pockets are left. Cocoa is easiest to mix in while the milk is still cold. Added later, it floats in little lumps.

Stir in the chocolate, the vanilla and the salt. The chips will sink in a pile at first, which is fine.

The Low Setting Timing Plan

Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2½ hours. Stir every 30 to 45 minutes, and each time run the spoon or a silicone spatula along the walls and the bottom. The sides of a crock run hotter than the middle, so that is where milk catches first. The first hour matters most, while the chocolate is still sitting in a heap.

It is ready when no chocolate pieces are left and the drink coats a spoon. Whisk well, then ladle into mugs. Skip the high setting: it rushes the milk at the walls before the chocolate in the middle has melted.

For a party, switch to warm once it is done. It holds smooth for 2 to 3 hours on warm with a stir now and then.

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Fixing Grainy, Scorched or Oily Cocoa

• Little dark specks: cocoa that never mixed in. Whisk hard for a minute, or pour it through a fine sieve into a pitcher and back.
• Brown film on the walls: the sides started to scorch. Do not scrape it into the pot. Ladle the hot chocolate from the middle and stir more often.
• A skin on top: normal for milk held warm. Whisk it back in and keep the lid on between refills.
• Oily or grainy: it got too hot. Whisk in a splash of cold milk, turn to warm and stop the heat from climbing.
• Too thick after hours on warm: stir in a little warm milk until it pours again.

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Setting Up a Hot Cocoa Bar for a Group

One batch fills about 10 small mugs, which covers a cookie swap or a kids party. For 20 people, double everything in a 6 quart slow cooker and give the chocolate a little longer to melt.

Put the crock on warm at the end of the counter with a ladle and small bowls around it: mini marshmallows, whipped cream, cinnamon sticks, peppermint sticks, crushed candy canes, toffee bits and chocolate curls. A spoonful of marshmallow cream melts into a mug in seconds. For the adults, a pinch of cayenne gets you close to my Mexican hot chocolate.

A scoop of vanilla ice cream in a hot mug turns it into dessert. Something to dip helps too: hot chocolate cookies or Mexican hot chocolate cookies both work next to the pot.

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Chilling and Reheating Leftover Cocoa

Let it cool, pour it into a jar or a covered container and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days. It thickens a lot when cold. Warm a mugful in a small pot over low heat, stirring, and add a splash of milk if it is too thick. Do not let it boil, or it can split.

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Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate Questions

Can you melt chocolate in a crock pot?

Yes. On low, stirred into milk and cream, 2 cups of chocolate melt smoothly in 2 to 2½ hours. Stir every 30 to 45 minutes so it does not catch on the sides.

Can I use hot cocoa mix or Swiss Miss instead?

That makes a different, thinner drink. This recipe gets its body from condensed milk and real chocolate. If you only have packets, mix them with hot milk as the package says.

Can I make it with cocoa powder only?

Not with this recipe. Without the 2 cups of chocolate it loses most of its body and tastes thin. For a stovetop cup, try my homemade hot chocolate with toasted marshmallows.

How do I make spiked crockpot hot chocolate?

Add the alcohol to each mug, not to the pot. About 1 ounce of Baileys, peppermint schnapps or dark rum per mug is plenty, and the kids can still drink from the same batch.

Can I make it richer?

Stir a few spoonfuls of homemade hot fudge sauce into the pot halfway through. It is not part of the recipe card, so treat it as an extra for chocolate lovers.